Tessera

In case anyone was still in doubt about how fast climate change is happening, this is the #showmystripes graph for my little corner of the UK... 😥 @edhawkins.org showyourstripes.info/c/europe/uni...

Show Your Stripes

Visualising how the climate has changed for every country across the globe

showyourstripes.info

And it's out! Registration for the @ukhsa.bsky.social conference 2026 is now open. See you all in Manchester on 22-23rd September! www.conference.ukhsa.gov.uk/event/73c514...

UKHSA Conference 2026

conference.ukhsa.gov.uk

Had a lot of fun talking about the benefits of fungi (rather than my usual gloom-and-doom about fungal pathogens!) with the folk over at Zoe recently. I suggest frying up a few mushrooms whilst you listen... zoe.com/learn/how-to...

How to Unlock The Secret Power of The Mushrooms

Could mushrooms hold the secret to better gut health and lower cholesterol? And can they protect your brain health? Today, we find out.

zoe.com

Quadram Institute @quadraminstitute.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Enjoyed spending today with the @nihr.bsky.social and @ukhsa.bsky.social supported Health Protection Research Units, hearing about research into everything from HIV testing strategies to vaccine engagement. Big research questions with big impacts...

What microbes shared between parents and children? And what microbes are shared between grandparents, parents and children? 👪 Take part in our PEARL-AGE study to help us find out ➡️ buff.ly/48VykCL @earlhaminst.bsky.social

An illustration of silhouettes of five people in a family holding hands. There are illustrations of microbes inside their guts

RSPB @rspb.bsky.social · 3mo ago

And for the last time... Just about to kick off my final lecture as 39th @greshamcollege.bsky.social Professor of Physic. It's been a LOT of fun - thanks to everyone who has come along over the years!

On World Bee Day, it's important to be able to tell what's a bee and what's a colleague. #WorldBeeDay

Close-up of a fluffy Shrill Carder Bee feeding on a purple flower, dusted with pollen. Pale blue text reads: “If your manager runs a very small overstretched team, communicates mostly through high-pitched buzzing, and can only reliably be found in a handful of fields… that’s not your manager, that’s a Shrill Carder Bee.”

An Ashy Mining Bee with black and silver-grey fur perched on a pale green leaf. Pale blue text jokes: “If your colleague prefers working alone, leaves little piles of mess behind, disappears when conditions aren’t ideal, and has sealed themselves inside a dirt tunnel… that’s not your colleague, that’s an Ashy Mining Bee.” The bee appears alert, with large dark eyes and long antennae.

Close-up of a Patchwork Leaf-cutter Bee standing on a green leaf. Its striped body and fuzzy face are shown in detail. Pale blue text reads: “If your work bestie has been taking bits off the office plants, keeps carrying tiny circles of leaves around, and says they’re ‘working on a side project’… that’s not your work bestie, that’s a Patchwork Leaf-cutter Bee.”

A fluffy Buff-tailed Bumblebee balances on purple flowers against a soft green background. Pale blue text jokes: “If your Executive Director runs a huge underground operation, is cute and fuzzy, and solves obstacles by biting straight through them… that’s not your Executive Director, that’s a Buff-tailed Bumblebee.”

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus @drtedros.who.int · 3mo ago

After having consulted the #DRC & #Uganda where the #Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus is known to be currently occurring, I determine that the epidemic constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), as defined in the provisions of IHR. My statement: bit.ly/4wGGiwX

Passionate about science and journalism? Then take a look at this opportunity with the @smclondon.bsky.social and help play a key role in communicating important science to the world. www.sciencemediacentre.org/about-us/job...

Press Officer | Science Media Centre

sciencemediacentre.org

Willem van Schaik @wvschaik.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Should you eat mouldy food? (Spoiler alert, the answer is almost always 'no'). BBC Bitesize asked some infectious disease chap at @unibirmingham.bsky.social to explain why... www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/art...

What happens if you eat mouldy food? - BBC Bitesize

Can you eat mouldy bread, fruit or vegetables?

bbc.co.uk

Super-excited to be organising the first in-person meeting of the @target-amr.bsky.social network today and tomorrow. We will be launching an initiative for pump-priming and an amazing comic by Eddie Ross on AMR Genomics

A comic with a phylogenetic tree. The background is the opening slide of a conference

The selfless dedication of people around the world to help support those affected by the ongoing hantavirus outbreak has been remarkable, but this is perhaps the most incredible part of the response so far: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Army parachutes onto Tristan da Cunha to help Briton with suspected hantavirus

The specialist team parachuted onto Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory, to treat them.

bbc.co.uk

The UK's Scientific Advisory Committee on GM is recruiting. So if you are a scientist with an understanding of genetic modification, please take a look and consider applying - I can guarantee it will be an interesting role! www.hse.gov.uk/careers/sacg...

Scientific Advisory Committee on Genetic Modification (SACGM) - HSE

Recruitment of Chair and Independent Members for the Scientific Advisory Committee on Genetic Modification .

hse.gov.uk

Measles still kills almost 100,000 people each year. That's 100,000 too many, so I was delighted to join colleagues from @who.int at today's inaugural meeting of the WHO Colllaborating Centre on Measles and Rubella at @ukhsa.bsky.social. One more step on the road to measles elimination...

Sad to hear that Dame Bridget Ogilvie has died. A pioneering science leader and a great immunologist, but mostly I will remember her as a kind and enthusiastic supporter of early career scientists through her work at @thelisterinstitute.bsky.social. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridget...

Bridget Ogilvie - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Pleasure to visit the HPRU in Chemical Threats and Hazards at @uniofleicester.bsky.social earlier this week and hear about everything from PFAS in water to pollen counts (top discovery: pollen counts are currently done by an army of volunteers with microscopes - who knew?!)

Robin May @robinmay9.bsky.social · 8mo ago

After a lengthy Bluesky outage (caused solely by inertia, not a position statement) I figure it's high-time I rejoined. And what better way than with a shout out to @biology.ox.ac.uk for a superb reunion event and tour of the new building at @ox.ac.uk yesterday. #newbuildingenvy

Couldn't have said it better myself. Oh, wait a minute...

Gresham College@greshamcollege.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Applications are open for the next Gresham Professor of Physic! We're looking for a candidate hailing from the fields of Medicine and/or Biological Sciences. 👉 https://gres.hm/physic Here's a few words from our current Professor of Physic Robin May on what he's enjoyed most about the role...

Brian Bilston @brianbilston.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Here’s a poem called ‘English Roundabouts’.

English Roundabouts

They’re making the roundabouts great again
by painting the flag of St George
to keep our circular road systems safe
from the dark, satanic hordes.

What do they want? Patriotic junctions!
When do they want them? Before it’s too late.
Good old-fashioned English roundabouts,
as decreed by Alfred the Great.

Behold the sacred intersection,
this blessed plot, this septic isle.
English roundabouts for English people,
draped in red and white and bile.

St George is cross, as well he may be –
whipped-up hate, he’s seen before.
Give way to the right, the road signs rage,
and the far right most of all.

Brian Bilston

Gresham College @greshamcollege.bsky.social · 11mo ago

😱 Why Do We Fear? Free tickets now open 👉 gres.hm/why-fear Fear keeps us alive, but can also trap us in phobias or push us toward thrill-seeking. Prof @robinmay9.bsky.social asks, can understanding its biology help us overcome it? *also of @imibirmingham.bsky.social

Robin May @robinmay9.bsky.social · 11mo ago

One week left to apply, folks! And I promise that I'm not spending my final month in post making all sorts of daft decisions that you'll have to unravel if you get the job...! 😉

Robin May@robinmay9.bsky.social · last yr.

This is the job I've been doing for the last five years and it is FANTASTIC. So if your finger is hovering uncertainly over the 'apply now' button, then stop hesitating and press it! www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cg...

Institut Pasteur Education @pasteuredu.bsky.social · last yr.

🖥️ The MOOC “Medical Mycology” is open for registration!    👉 bit.ly/medical-myco... 🍄 Welcome to the fascinating world of fungi, agents of major infectious diseases! Discover the taxonomy, ecology, identification of fungi, epidemiology of infectious diseases, drugs, link with HIV…Share this info!

Medical Mycology

Welcome to the fascinating world of fungi, agents of major infectious diseases!

bit.ly

Stefan Oehlers@oehlerslab.org · last yr.

Just in case Pinewood Studies are reading this, then I'm more than happy to discuss my consultancy fee with you (I'm thinking maybe a hand-me-down Bond dinner suit - without bullet holes - and a quick spin in the Aston Martin?)

"an ability to operate sensitively and effectively in a political and/or ambiguous environment" - 90% chance Robin is consulting on the next James Bond movie villain!

Quick Check Needed

civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk

Institute of Microbiology and Infection @imibirmingham.bsky.social · last yr.

Great to be able to talk about the impact of climate change on infections at today's 'Leave No One Behind' schools' conference with @mulberrytrust.bsky.social @greshamcollege.bsky.social and @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social. Yet another reason (as if we needed one) to get to #netzero ASAP.

Excellent talk from @robinmay9.bsky.social about his life, David Attenborough being his inspo and the Food Standards Agency 🦠🥪