James Wood
banner
jw132.bsky.social
James Wood
@jw132.bsky.social

Infectious Disease Epidemiologist
Working at Cambridge University

Political science 60%
Sociology 21%

Reposted by Alan McNally

Silence over Sudan 🇸🇩 : why do Manchester City’s owners get away with so much?

www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Silence over Sudan: why do Manchester City’s owners get away with so much?
Two midweek matches in England had a backdrop of war and geopolitics, but only one drew large protests
www.theguardian.com
Two PhD student positions on Fire Resilience of Amazon Forests (Application deadline Nov 26), Wageningen
@masha-vandersande.bsky.social @w-u-r.bsky.social

www.wur.nl/nl/vacature/...

UK government opts out of key fund to stop deforestation...... 🤷‍♂️
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
UK opts out of flagship fund to protect Amazon and other threatened tropical forests
Decision is bitter blow to Brazil ahead of fund’s launch at Cop30 – and an embarrassment to Prince William
www.theguardian.com
🚨 Company linked to Michelle Mone owes £39m in unpaid taxes ⤵️

👀Great report by David Conn 🗞️ www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

A reminder that Mone/Barrowman admitted in recent interview they have £60m from the botched deal stashed in family trust funds ⤵️🤦🏻‍♂️
If you're looking for a faculty position at the intersection of ecology and computing (both broadly defined), please apply to this joint search between the CEE Department and the College of Computing at MIT: cee.mit.edu/people/share...
Faculty Position in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Schwarzman College of Computing - cee.mit.edu
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), together with the Schwarzman College of Computing (SCC) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge MA, seeks candidate...
cee.mit.edu
The new UNEP report is out with the latest estimates of 2100 warming outcomes under current policies, NDCs, and net-zero targets. Here is how it compares to both the IPCC scenarios and other estimates (CAT and IEA, who will release their own updates soon!).
Wrote this on the train home from Metascience. Can’t quite believe this one needed saying, but I really think that if conversations about research integrity and open science don’t take academic bullying seriously, we’ll keep perpetuating the same system that science reform was trying to change.
"Hostility, exclusion and academic bullying should be formally recognised as research integrity issues because they directly impact who gets to succeed and whose voices are silenced."

By @maddipow.bsky.social
Research integrity needs a kindness agenda or we will lose ECRs
Responding to early-career researchers’ honest questions with accusations of misconduct is a travesty of open science, says Madeleine Pownall
www.timeshighereducation.com

Reposted by James E. Wood

Professor Sir Charles Godfray CBE FRS, Chair of the 2025 Review of the Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Strategy for England, will deliver the keynote address at a conference at the University later this month.

🖱️ tinyurl.com/4em9n73j

@aberdlsagb.bsky.social #AberTB #bovineTB #bTB #TB

Reposted by James E. Wood

It’s 100 years since efforts to control bovine TB began & 50 since badgers got the blame. Review after review after review & still the #WarOnWildlife continues. We need a new approach - one which manages risk rather than one which seeks to eliminate the hazard. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Labour could end badger cull but only with Covid-style testing and vaccines – report
Review says ministers have only ‘small chance’ of wiping out bovine tuberculosis by 2038 without more investment
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by James E. Wood

UK warned it’s on course to fail in efforts to wipe out bovine TB | Science, Climate & Tech News

https://www.europesays.com/uk/396299/

Controversial efforts to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) in cattle are likely to fail unless there’s greater urgency and funding…#uk #news #uknews
UK warned it's on course to fail in efforts to wipe out bovine TB | Science, Climate & Tech News - United Kingdom
Controversial efforts to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) in cattle are likely to fail unless there's greater urgency and funding from the government, scientists
www.europesays.com

Reposted by James E. Wood

UK warned it's on course to fail in efforts to wipe out bovine TB
UK warned it's on course to fail in efforts to wipe out bovine TB
Controversial efforts to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) in cattle are likely to fail unless there's greater urgency and funding from the government, scientists have warned.
news.sky.com

I think we need action and regulation, not research on this. It is clear what is needed re live mixed animal trade.

Reposted by James E. Wood

Cambodia has confirmed its 9th and 10th human cases of H5N1 bird flu this year. 6 of these cases occurred in June alone. Sadly, 6 people have died in 2025. 🧪🧬🦠🔬🥼😷🐓💉

Reposted by James E. Wood

Quick thread on the WHO's SAGO report on the origins of COVID-19, highlighting key points and even *new* data.

Their summary is that a zoonotic origin of COVID-19 is best supported by available data. This is consistent with most scientific reviews and statements in the rest of the literature.

The Guardian view on China, Africa and disappearing donkeys: an unexpected crisis offers a clue to perils ahead

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Guardian view on China, Africa and disappearing donkeys: an unexpected crisis offers a clue to perils ahead | Editorial
Editorial: The surging export of hides created domestic tensions – and shows how globalisation plays out in unexpected ways
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by James E. Wood

Traded wild animals are often sick & teeming with potential pathogens

Several Chinese teams found coronaviruses in confiscated pangolins, including those that share 92% of their genome with SARS-CoV-2

The viruses caused covid-like symptoms in pangolins, and have the potential to infect humans

4/

Reposted by James E. Wood

Some scientists like @jw132.bsky.social recognise the “small possibility” that research-associated activities could have triggered the pandemic.

But that “should not prevent us for focusing on the bigger picture”: the wildlife trade poses a much greater zoonotic risk than do lab accidents.

3/

Reposted by James E. Wood

Like it or not,such human-wildlife interfaces are here to stay

Without understanding how viruses jump species & why some jumps cause outbreaks & others don’t,you’re really flying blind,says @mvankerkhove.bsky.social @who.int

“You’re making recommendations that may not be the most appropriate”

2/

Reposted by James E. Wood

Wildlife trade acts as a vast global network of unregulated natural laboratories,with ample opportunities for viruses to circulate & evolve to become more dangerous

We can either turn a blind eye or try to understand & mitigate the risks

My latest in @nature.com

1/

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Exclusive: Inside the thriving wild-animal markets that could start the next pandemic
Live-animal markets are a natural laboratory for viruses to evolve and spark deadly outbreaks, yet scientists lack support to study the risks they pose.
www.nature.com

Reposted by James E. Wood

The number of confirmed #measles cases in the US this year had risen to 1168 as of 6/5.
Given we're not yet half way through 2025, seems likely this year's tally will exceed that of 2019, currently the highest single year tally since measles elimination in 2000. www.cdc.gov/measles/data...

Important new piece by @janeqiu.bsky.social in @nature.com describing the live animal markets that we continue to allow to put us all at risk

Reposted by James E. Wood

#H5N1 #birdflu found its way into 1 of California's few remaining herds that hadn't been infected. CA's total is now 767, of which 630 have recovered & cleared quarantine.
Cumulative national total: 1073 herds in 17 states.
Wisconsin soon to join the milk testing program. Watching with interest.

Reposted by James E. Wood

Exclusive: Inside the thriving wild-animal markets that could start the next pandemic www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Exclusive: Inside the thriving wild-animal markets that could start the next pandemic
Live-animal markets are a natural laboratory for viruses to evolve and spark deadly outbreaks, yet scientists lack support to study the risks they pose.
www.nature.com

Reposted by James E. Wood

I don't know if there is a more appropriate goodbye to Loretta Swit, than her last scene in MASH in the series finale.

Loretta won two Emmy's for her role as Major Houlihan.
BREAKING: In a serious blow to US pandemic flu preparedness, HHS has cancelled a contract with Moderna to test and license prototype vaccines for #H5N1 #birdflu and other potential pandemic viruses.
In a pandemic, mRNA is the fastest way to vaccine doses. www.statnews.com/2025/05/28/m...
HHS cancels nearly $600 million Moderna contract on vaccines for flu pandemics
HHS has notified Moderna that it is canceling a nearly $600 million contract for vaccines for flu strains that could trigger future pandemics.
www.statnews.com

Reposted by James E. Wood

The Razor Science Show provides cutting-edge science and technology stories, including the documentary "Bird flu - the next pandemic?". Neil Cairns interviews @drtomfrieden.bsky.social , @jw132.bsky.social, @linekebegeman.bsky.social, and @debbyvanriel.bsky.social.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5XK...
Bird flu - the next pandemic?
YouTube video by RAZOR Science Show
www.youtube.com

Reposted by James E. Wood

This documentary covers the current bird flu situation. Clearly presented, realistic and where necessary with nuance. Interviews by Neil Cairns & team with @linekebegeman.bsky.social, Tom Frieden, @jw132.bsky.social, Jim Paulson and myself.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5XK...
Bird flu - the next pandemic?
YouTube video by RAZOR Science Show
www.youtube.com

As Gaza’s children are bombed and starved, we watch – powerless. What is it doing to us as a society?
Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
As Gaza's children are bombed and starved, we watch - powerless. What is it doing to us as a society? | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett
I thought we all believed in a collective responsibility towards children. This terrible conflict has made me question that, says Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett
www.theguardian.com

The life and death of a ‘laundered’ cow in the Amazon rainforest
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The life and death of a ‘laundered’ cow in the Amazon rainforest
Cattle moved between ranches, allowing meat from farms linked to deforestation to end up on supermarket shelves
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by James E. Wood

#USDA confirmed another California dairy herd has been infected with #H5N1 #birdflu. That brings CA's total to 756. The CA Dept of Ag. says 422 of those herds have recovered & cleared quarantine.
Cumulative national total = 990 herds in 17 states. This doesn't include the herd MN reported y'day.