I've complained on here a few times about synteny plots that are harder to read than they need to be. I decided it was time to actaully do something about it: introducing SynTangle, a tool for untangling whole-genome synteny plots github.com/Hanliconius/... 1/

GitHub - Hanliconius/SynTangle: On synteny plots, intrinsic tangledness is real, layout tangledness is noise. This tool is for removing layout tangledness.

On synteny plots, intrinsic tangledness is real, layout tangledness is noise. This tool is for removing layout tangledness. - Hanliconius/SynTangle

github.com

Joe Hanly@hanliconius.bsky.social · last mo.

I hate to do this with real data, but this is a persistent data vis issue in chromosome synteny riparian plots that we Need to get better at. Left, a synteny plot published today. Right, a rearranged version with exactly the same gross arrangement but with reordered chromosomes:

Elon cut off Starlink to Ukraine because they blew up his Russian bots and so now his posts don’t get enough likes? Do I have that right?

the tech industry is about to invent books

Save the date and spread the word! The 2nd Streptococcus Great Britain & Ireland meeting in Durham on April 1st/2nd 2027 will bring together ECRs and experts to highlight cutting-edge research on streptococcal biology.

We are looking for someone with a strong background in metagenomics and epidemiology to join our team for ~2 years at UKHSA to work on the mSCAPE programme. Please see (and share) the link below and feel free to message me with any enquiries. www.healthjobsuk.com/job/Canary_W...

Solidarity with all the people dropping off at University today

Sad Crying

ALT: Sad Crying

static.klipy.com

Senior Bioinformatician role at UKHSA Porton tinyurl.com/vwfpza8a

Two sessions that I am involved with and coming up at next years Microbiology Society Conference to keep an eye out for: 'AI in Microbiology' and 'Microbes in the respiratory tract: interactions and infections'. Get those abstracts ready! #Microbio27 tinyurl.com/3tynjmst

Annual Conference 2027

tinyurl.com

0 😭

dame@dame.is · 2mo ago

it’s that time of year again, Rolling Stone released their list of the top 25 content creators, which is actually a test of how old and out of touch you are… the lower your score, the more out of touch i’ve heard of 11 out of 25

A horribly tragic end to a media frenzy news.sky.com/story/jason-...

Jason Arday, former Cambridge university professor, found dead after resigning following plagiarism row

A former University of Cambridge professor who resigned following accusations of plagiarism has been found dead.

news.sky.com

Sorry but the colander thing is such a piece of shit. Fine, it's not safe to stare right at the sun. But let's not pretend I'm going to have a great time watching a tiny shadow on a piece of paper through a fucking kitchen utensil.

For thousands of years, a solar eclipse has been a prophetic harbinger of a spectacular, epoch-making event. Just saying. #VoteBinface #Clacton

The combined MMR vaccine, developed by Dr. Maurice Hilleman in 1971, “is more convenient for patients, and this convenience actually saves lives. Fewer injections translate as fewer missed doses, and therefore more protection in a shorter time. The MMR vaccine has saved millions of lives worldwide.”

Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccines | Smithsonian Institution

si.edu

This is fucking insane … but wholly predictable

The Associated Press@apnews.com · 3mo ago

BREAKING: President Trump to sign an executive order calling for spacing out childhood shots, among other changes to vaccine recommendations.

‘Historically accurate’

Hugh Laurie's Frustrated Face Palm

ALT: Hugh Laurie's Frustrated Face Palm

static.klipy.com

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 3mo ago

Elon Musk says Grok Imagine will make ‘historically accurate’ AI adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey

Delighted to share our new paper, out now in @natureportfolio.nature.com where we show that neutrophil myeloperoxidase (MPO) tracks RSV severity in infants, and can be used as a functional readout of therapeutic efficacy in the lab. 📄 Read it (open access) 👉 rdcu.be/ftx53

Neutrophil myeloperoxidase as a functional biomarker for RSV severity: implications for in vitro therapeutic screening

Nature Communications - Preclinical human models are needed to investigate mechanisms and evaluate therapies for severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in children. The authors here...

rdcu.be

open.substack.com/pub/profmcin...

Constraints Make Things

Diversity is not constrained by constraint, it happens because of constraint

open.substack.com

An interesting and unexpectedly comforting piece on neutral theory substack.com/@profmcinern...

James McInerney (@profmcinerney)

You kinda have to stick with this one to the end before I get to my point. I hope that one the way you find it interesting. It is about how a lot of decisions mean nothing.

substack.com

the FT has two pieces on the slow-motion collapse of UK higher ed. 4/5ths of unis are doing voluntary layoffs; 38% are doing compulsory. Meanwhile Britain and its flatlined productivity growth sleepwalks through its unprecedented loss of advanced capabilities www.ft.com/content/8097...

Useful article: How to deal with disappointment – by an expert in this misunderstood emotion theconversation.com/how-to-deal-...

How to deal with disappointment – by an expert in this misunderstood emotion

In our professional and personal lives, disappointment is an emotional signal worth learning to read.

theconversation.com

A little write up of Uzal's (Lecturer and Research Associate at University of Jos Plateau State in Nigeria) @bactivac.bsky.social supported visit to learn pneumococcal genomics with me and biofilms with @allan-lab.bsky.social www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2026/sp...

Spotlight on BactiVac Network training opportunities - University of Birmingham

Uzal shares his story of resilience, which features a successful training opportunity in the UK, awarded and funded by the BactiVac Network.

birmingham.ac.uk

New preprint! The first first-author work of my postdoc at the Baker! So, babies' airways are colonised from birth, and our group has shown that early colonisers shape respiratory health. 1/7 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

LOL

William DeWitt@wsdewitt.github.io · 5mo ago

Game over, phylogeneticists! New DNA foundation model "Carbon" reconstructs the tree of life. 🙃 huggingface.co/spaces/Huggi...

Boom!! Finally. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

Premier League LIVE: Arsenal are champions after Man City draw at Bournemouth and Spurs trail Chelsea

Arsenal are Premier League champions after Man City draw at Bournemouth and Spurs trail at Chelsea

bbc.co.uk

Question: anyone struggle with Streptococcus pneumoniae growth in plasticware? Eliminated almost every other variable and it's lovely in glass but terrible in polystyrene plates. Anyone observed, got a mechanism or a fix? Driving us potty!

Rapid release of multiplex PCR amplicon scheme for Andes hantavirus whole genome sequencing validated on control material: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... @scalene.bsky.social @stevepullan.bsky.social @ukhsa.bsky.social output from HPRU in Public Health Genomics

45 = senior?!? 😭

However you dice it, it’s been a great night for Thai-based cryptocurrency billionaires & Vladimir Putin - who, incredibly, is currently getting more good news from the UK than Ukraine.