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"Moderna's CEO announced the company will no longer invest in new Phase 3 vaccine trials for infectious diseases: 'You cannot make a return on investment if you don't have access to the U.S. market. Vaccines for Epstein-Barr virus, herpes, and shingles have been shelved.” 9:12 AM Feb 12, 2026 604.8K Views

In terms of what cures are being lost:

- Epstein-Barr virus is perhaps the major trigger for multiple sclerosis
- herpes simplex virus causes cold sores, genital herpes, infections in babies, deadly meningitis
- shingles virus causes an intensely painful disease

I watched much of Ian Chapman's (Head of @ukri.org) appearance this morning at @ukparliament.parliament.uk Science, Innovation and Technology Committee..

A few points and new information that bioscientists may find interesting...

A 🧵

Emerging bat virus found in stored throat swabs from 5 patients with suspected Nipah virus infection

As if Nipah virus weren’t bad enough, some patients in Asia were coinfected with an emerging bat virus called Pteropine orthoreovirus (PRV).

Symptoms of PRV include fever, disorientation, abnormal gait, and difficulty breathing.

PRV seems to have traits that increase likelihood of zoonosis.

I'm seeing relatively little chatter or outcry about what is happening at the MRC, the UK's biomedical research funder.

Before Christmas MRC paused the acceptance of many of its grants, including the standard applicant-led research grant. There has been no public information on what is happening 🧵

Regulatory hotspot on the influenza A virus polymerase revealed through the structure of the NEP-polymerase complex Structural studies reveal how influenza virus switches between making new RNA genomes and exporting them from the host nucleus.

Beautiful work from @efodor.bsky.social and Jonathan Grimes' labs - the first full structure of the influenza A virus NEP protein, and a clear indication that its role in viral replication is more nuanced that first thought
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Expert Comment: Reflections on COP30 in Belém | University of Oxford Researchers from across the University of Oxford were on the ground at COP30 in Belém, taking part in side events, presenting new research, and working with partners to support the negotiations and

Researchers from across Oxford University were on the ground at #COP30 in Belém, taking part in side events, presenting new research, and working with partners to support the negotiations and inform the wider political process.

Read on for perspectives from Oxford experts ⬇️

Namibia Confirms Outbreak of Deadly Congo Fever Minister of health and social services Esperance Luvindao has confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in Namibia, for which no vaccine or specific treatment exists.

allafrica.com/stories/2025...

Climate change is spreading dengue, chikungunya and West Nile virus worldwide A new COP30 report finds that rising temperatures, extreme weather, evolving pathogens and climate-driven migration are reshaping disease patterns

From mosquitoes carrying dengue and chikungunya in Indian Ocean islands to West Nile virus now endemic in parts of Europe, climate change is redrawing the global map of infectious disease. Mail & Guardian coverage our COP30 Report - mg.co.za/the-green-gu...

Our new preprint is out 🥳🥳🥳

Henipaviruses, like Nipah and Hendra, package their genomes inside helical shells built by thousands of nucleoproteins. These nucleocapsids are essential to protect the viral RNA, but how do they ever let the polymerase in to read the sequence?

👇

Vaccine-Preventable Disease: A Global Tracker | Think Global Health This map is updated weekly and visualizes outbreaks of nine childhood diseases in collaboration with the International Society for Infectious Diseases

I'd love to say lots of nice things about this invaluable preventable disease tracker from @monscience.bsky.social and team at Think Global Health. It's an incredible resource.

But I can't get over my anger & sadness that this resource is even needed.
www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/vacc...

warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fa...

I am advertising for a PhD position in my group. We'll be investigating how pathogenic RNA viruses replicate in the nucleus. The project will teach cryoEM/ET, virus culture, and in vitro assays.

If you're interested reach out and I'd be happy to have a chat.

Mysteries of trafficking of the vRNP segmented genome and assembly of influenza A virus revealed by in situ cryo-ET!
🔗 rdcu.be/eMmct
We are very excited that our paper is finally out!
🎉 Big congratulations to Moritz Wachsmuth-Melm and to everyone involved.

This made me laugh! 😅

Great work everyone!

Structural and functional characterisation of the Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever Virus RNA Dependent RNA Polymerase Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFV) is found across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East where it can cause Haemorrhagic outbreaks with high case fatality rates. Central to the viral life cycl...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Really excited to have our work out in the world. CCHFV has a 450kDa L-Protein, about twice the size of L-Proteins from other segmented RNA viruses. We have used cryoEM and functional assays to begin to understand it this massive multifunctional protein works.

Structural and functional characterisation of the Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever Virus RNA Dependent RNA Polymerase www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.21.683639v1 #cryoEM

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

Jane Goodall reaches out and touches a small monkey.

Jane Goodall was my first childhood hero, as I loved animals as a kid and was inspired by her story. I still remember the National Geographic specials about her. RIP.

Dozens of heatwaves linked to carbon emissions from specific companies Nearly one-quarter of heatwaves would have been ‘virtually impossible’ without global warming — and can be attributed to the emissions of individual energy producers.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

The structure of the mammalian bornavirus polymerase complex - Nature Communications Borna disease virus 1 replicates and transcribes its negative sense RNA genome in the nucleus of infected cells. Here, the authors present the cryoEM structures of the large polymerase protein in comp...

Very pleased to have our new work out where we perform a structure/function study on the bornavirus polymerase complex with fantastic coauthors. Have a read www.nature.com/articles/s41... @warwicklifesci.bsky.social @loiccarrique.bsky.social @franziskaguenl.bsky.social

Toward more sustainable research: reducing the environmental impact when working with Drosophila Abstract. The ever-increasing amounts of plastic waste and greenhouse gas emissions worldwide threaten our environment. Biomedical laboratories across the

How can we handle lab waste more sustainably? Saroj Saurya (@dunngogreen.bsky.social) and colleagues just published this interesting new piece! Have a read! 🌿

academic.oup.com/genetics/adv...

New study brings vaccine hopes for deadly Nipah virus Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have taken a major step forward in tackling one of the world’s most dangerous viruses, the

🆕 Study evaluates three vaccine candidates for one of the world’s most dangerous viruses, the Nipah virus.

An international team of scientists led by The Pirbright Institute achieves a breakthrough in controlling a deadly virus with pandemic potential ⬇️

#Zoonoses #Zoonotic #OneHealth

Oh wow! This is such great news! Very well deserved!
Massive congrats to you. 🥳

Half way through the decade of action for road safety, and I can't say I feel massively safe cycling on Oxford's streets.
Maybe #worldbicycleday should be introduced here to raise awareness and direct our collective energy towards increasing the safety of non-motorized traffic?

Molecular basis of influenza ribonucleoprotein complex assembly and processive RNA synthesis Influenza viruses replicate and transcribe their genome in the context of a conserved ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex. By integrating cryo–electron microscopy single-particle analysis and cryo–electro...

Excited to share our new @science.org paper! Led by postdocs Ruchao Peng and Xin Xu, we used cryo-EM/ET to reveal the influenza ribonucleoprotein complex structure and its strand-sliding mechanism for RNA synthesis, paving the way for new antivirals.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

ANP32 proteins from ticks and vertebrates are key host factors for replication of Bourbon virus across species | Journal of Virology Viral polymerases rely on cellular cofactors to support efficient transcription of viral genes and replication of the viral genome. The RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of influenza virus, an orthomyxovir...

ANP32 proteins from ticks and vertebrates are key host factors for replication of Bourbon virus across species journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Trump freezes ‘gain of function’ pathogen research ― threatening all US virology, critics say An executive order suspends the use of federal funds for certain experiments on pathogens with pandemic potential. Critics say low-risk science could be affected too.

“This is what I was expecting — an executive order banning gain-of-function research but defined in such a way that it bans all virology research,” says @ggronvall.bsky.social.

Yup.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Exclusive: NSF faces radical shake-up as officials abolish its 37 divisions Changes seen as a response to presidential directives on what research to fund

This is an absolute disaster. If we don't stop this, they will turn NSF into a pawn of the Trump administration. There will be no research on climate, biodiversity, or anything that isn't eugenics or AI or how to more efficiently destroy the planet for profit.

This cannot be allowed to happen.

Exciting job opportunities!

Two postdoc positions are available in the Fodor Lab at
@dunnschool.bsky.social to study influenza virus transcription, genome replication, nuclear export and assembly.

More info: my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

Can Germany rein in its academic bullying problem? Researchers and administrators are exploring ways to restructure a rigid hierarchy that can breed power abuses.

Super important piece on how structural issues in German academia enable toxic behaviour of only few people — and how that impacts the entire research culture.
Read more: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Support: www.netzwerk-mawi.de/en/