Dorian McILROY
@dmcilroy.bsky.social
Virology lecturer at Nantes University. Interested in polyomaviruses, particularly capsid interactions with antibodies and host receptors.
Can we get the virus-specific beta jelly roll fold with these 10 as?
Design stable, folded proteins using only the 10 "ancient" amino acids.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 10, 2025 at 6:41 AM
Can we get the virus-specific beta jelly roll fold with these 10 as?
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
Bluetorial-Jim Watson
I met Jim Watson a few times but did not know him well. However, I was greatly influenced by his book “The Double Helix”. He was a complicated human being with some very, very bad features, but some good contributions.
What follows is my personal perspective.
1/41
I met Jim Watson a few times but did not know him well. However, I was greatly influenced by his book “The Double Helix”. He was a complicated human being with some very, very bad features, but some good contributions.
What follows is my personal perspective.
1/41
a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on
ALT: a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on
media.tenor.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Bluetorial-Jim Watson
I met Jim Watson a few times but did not know him well. However, I was greatly influenced by his book “The Double Helix”. He was a complicated human being with some very, very bad features, but some good contributions.
What follows is my personal perspective.
1/41
I met Jim Watson a few times but did not know him well. However, I was greatly influenced by his book “The Double Helix”. He was a complicated human being with some very, very bad features, but some good contributions.
What follows is my personal perspective.
1/41
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
An Asgard archaeon with internal membrane compartments
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 7, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
On the event of James Watson's death, I highly recommend this 2023 commentary from @matthewcobb.bsky.social and Nathaniel Comfort with crucial new insights into the discovery of the double helix. (And also check out Cobb's brand new biography of Francis Crick) www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:25 PM
On the event of James Watson's death, I highly recommend this 2023 commentary from @matthewcobb.bsky.social and Nathaniel Comfort with crucial new insights into the discovery of the double helix. (And also check out Cobb's brand new biography of Francis Crick) www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
On Oct 1, 2025, GISAID informed us that they had ended updates to the flat file of SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences and associated metadata that we had used to update Nextstrain analyses since Feb 2020. GISAID's stated rationale was that their "resources are limited". 1/5
November 6, 2025 at 9:46 PM
On Oct 1, 2025, GISAID informed us that they had ended updates to the flat file of SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences and associated metadata that we had used to update Nextstrain analyses since Feb 2020. GISAID's stated rationale was that their "resources are limited". 1/5
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
A new NEJM study reports results from a phase 1 trial of a Lassa virus vaccine, a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus vector engineered to express the Lassa glycoprotein (the same platform as the approved Ebola vaccine, ERVEBO). It was safe and immunogenic.
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
Safety and Immunogenicity of an rVSV Lassa Fever Vaccine Candidate | NEJM
No vaccine is currently available for Lassa fever, a viral hemorrhagic disease that
is estimated to cause thousands of deaths each year in western Africa. A replication-competent
recombinant vesicu...
www.nejm.org
November 6, 2025 at 12:12 PM
A new NEJM study reports results from a phase 1 trial of a Lassa virus vaccine, a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus vector engineered to express the Lassa glycoprotein (the same platform as the approved Ebola vaccine, ERVEBO). It was safe and immunogenic.
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
This happens every year. The day after the email goes out at my university, all the slots for flu vaccine shots are fully booked.
November 4, 2025 at 10:46 AM
This happens every year. The day after the email goes out at my university, all the slots for flu vaccine shots are fully booked.
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
Remembering David Baltimore (1938–2025): Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Has anyone else had a more accomplished career modern biomedical science?
Has anyone else had a more accomplished career modern biomedical science?
Remembering David Baltimore (1938–2025)
David Baltimore, one of modern biology’s most influential scientists, passed away
at his home in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, on September 6, 2025 at the age of 87, leaving
legions of former trainees an...
www.cell.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Remembering David Baltimore (1938–2025): Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Has anyone else had a more accomplished career modern biomedical science?
Has anyone else had a more accomplished career modern biomedical science?
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
November 3, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
A word that has become a euphemism for promoting and selling things without data or evidence
November 2, 2025 at 6:19 PM
A word that has become a euphemism for promoting and selling things without data or evidence
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
I've been asked about this paper (www.nature.com/articles/s41...) enough times that I finally had to read it.
The basic claim is that mRNA vaccines had huge synergistic benefit with checkpoint blockade against lung cancer melanoma.
tl;dr it's glam-slop & everyone involved should be embarrassed
The basic claim is that mRNA vaccines had huge synergistic benefit with checkpoint blockade against lung cancer melanoma.
tl;dr it's glam-slop & everyone involved should be embarrassed
SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines sensitize tumours to immune checkpoint blockade - Nature
mRNA vaccines targeting SARS-CoV-2 also sensitize tumours to immune checkpoint inhibitors.
www.nature.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:35 PM
I've been asked about this paper (www.nature.com/articles/s41...) enough times that I finally had to read it.
The basic claim is that mRNA vaccines had huge synergistic benefit with checkpoint blockade against lung cancer melanoma.
tl;dr it's glam-slop & everyone involved should be embarrassed
The basic claim is that mRNA vaccines had huge synergistic benefit with checkpoint blockade against lung cancer melanoma.
tl;dr it's glam-slop & everyone involved should be embarrassed
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
@isv-news.bsky.social #ISV2025
Alec Freyn, Moderna presenting ISV Paper of the Year 2025 - quadrivalent mRNA vaccine against a broad spectrum of orthopoxviruses.
Alec Freyn, Moderna presenting ISV Paper of the Year 2025 - quadrivalent mRNA vaccine against a broad spectrum of orthopoxviruses.
October 30, 2025 at 1:14 PM
@isv-news.bsky.social #ISV2025
Alec Freyn, Moderna presenting ISV Paper of the Year 2025 - quadrivalent mRNA vaccine against a broad spectrum of orthopoxviruses.
Alec Freyn, Moderna presenting ISV Paper of the Year 2025 - quadrivalent mRNA vaccine against a broad spectrum of orthopoxviruses.
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
this figure would be such a good inclusion for an introduction to immunology
@cp-trendsimmuno.bsky.social Essay:
Immunology as a guide to human relationships
www.cell.com/trends/immun...
Immunology as a guide to human relationships
www.cell.com/trends/immun...
October 29, 2025 at 9:58 PM
this figure would be such a good inclusion for an introduction to immunology
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
Acute and chronic viral infections, including Herpes Zoster (Shingles), Hepatitis C, HIV, CMV, influenza, and SARS-CoV-2, are linked with a substantial increased risk of cardiovascular events, from a systematic review. Figure for SARS-CoV-2 below
newsroom.heart.org/news/some-ac...
newsroom.heart.org/news/some-ac...
October 29, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Acute and chronic viral infections, including Herpes Zoster (Shingles), Hepatitis C, HIV, CMV, influenza, and SARS-CoV-2, are linked with a substantial increased risk of cardiovascular events, from a systematic review. Figure for SARS-CoV-2 below
newsroom.heart.org/news/some-ac...
newsroom.heart.org/news/some-ac...
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
This ‘minor’ bird flu strain has potential to spark human pandemic www.nature.com/articles/d41...
This ‘minor’ bird flu strain has potential to spark human pandemic
Experiments suggests H9N2 has adapted to human cells but cases of person-to-person transmission haven’t been reported yet.
www.nature.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:55 PM
This ‘minor’ bird flu strain has potential to spark human pandemic www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
I’ll say this again: so many mRNA-based phase II trials could be funded with a fraction of the money spent on spicy machine learning (not to mention things like adjuvants etc).
October 26, 2025 at 7:37 PM
I’ll say this again: so many mRNA-based phase II trials could be funded with a fraction of the money spent on spicy machine learning (not to mention things like adjuvants etc).
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
Man do they have good reason to be mad at us.
Mosquitoes found in Iceland for first time as climate crisis warms country
Mosquitoes found in Iceland for first time as climate crisis warms country
Three specimens discovered in what was previously one of the only places in the world without the insects
Mosquitoes have been found in Iceland for the first time as global heating makes the country more hospitable for insects.
The country was until this month one of the only places in the world that did not have a mosquito population. The other is Antarctica. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
October 21, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Man do they have good reason to be mad at us.
Couple of comments/thoughts on this paper. 1/ Serum antibody maintained at 100-200 ng/mL at least 72 weeks is pretty impressive. 2/ with HIV-specific bNAbs, could it rival lenacapavir ?
Safety and pharmacokinetics of SARS-CoV-2 DNA-encoded monoclonal antibodies in healthy adults: a phase 1 trial
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Safety and pharmacokinetics of SARS-CoV-2 DNA-encoded monoclonal antibodies in healthy adults: a phase 1 trial - Nature Medicine
In a phase 1 trial, intramuscular injection of synthetic plasmid DNA encoding monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 was safe and well tolerated and did not elicit antidrug antibodies.
www.nature.com
October 21, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Couple of comments/thoughts on this paper. 1/ Serum antibody maintained at 100-200 ng/mL at least 72 weeks is pretty impressive. 2/ with HIV-specific bNAbs, could it rival lenacapavir ?
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
Here are some highlight clips from my very enjoyable chat with Decoding the gurus about my book
Full video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrsV...
Chris of course with the most important raised eyebrow:
Why did I do it?
Was it because I am a shill for EcoHealth Alliance? :)
Hear below
1/
Full video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrsV...
Chris of course with the most important raised eyebrow:
Why did I do it?
Was it because I am a shill for EcoHealth Alliance? :)
Hear below
1/
October 19, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Here are some highlight clips from my very enjoyable chat with Decoding the gurus about my book
Full video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrsV...
Chris of course with the most important raised eyebrow:
Why did I do it?
Was it because I am a shill for EcoHealth Alliance? :)
Hear below
1/
Full video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrsV...
Chris of course with the most important raised eyebrow:
Why did I do it?
Was it because I am a shill for EcoHealth Alliance? :)
Hear below
1/
Now this is really, really interesting. Seems like every single fundamental process in eukaryotes has its origins in bacteria.
1/10 Genome maintenance by telomerase is a fundamental process in nearly all eukaryotes. But where does it come from?
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral RTs, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral RTs, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Antiviral reverse transcriptases reveal the evolutionary origin of telomerase
Defense-associated reverse transcriptases (DRTs) employ diverse and distinctive mechanisms of cDNA synthesis to protect bacteria against viral infection. However, much of DRT family diversity remains ...
www.biorxiv.org
October 17, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Now this is really, really interesting. Seems like every single fundamental process in eukaryotes has its origins in bacteria.
This is worth sharing again
Fourth: play our funny guessing game #DiscoverOrMDPI.
Can you outguess marketing operatives from publishers by telling apart MDPI from Discover journals?
We wrote the game and the blog, and cannot win.
pagoba.shinyapps.io/publi_guess/
Can you outguess marketing operatives from publishers by telling apart MDPI from Discover journals?
We wrote the game and the blog, and cannot win.
pagoba.shinyapps.io/publi_guess/
October 17, 2025 at 11:12 AM
This is worth sharing again
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
Study finds no link between mRNA COVID vaccines early in pregnancy and birth defects www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/stu...
Study finds no link between mRNA COVID vaccines early in pregnancy and birth defects
www.cidrap.umn.edu
October 15, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Study finds no link between mRNA COVID vaccines early in pregnancy and birth defects www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/stu...
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
Very excited to share the latest work from our lab, which was published today in Nature!
nature.com/articles/s41...
PhD graduate and now post-doc Sofia Dahlman, along with co-senior author Sam Forster from The Hudson and other researchers from our lab and others.
nature.com/articles/s41...
PhD graduate and now post-doc Sofia Dahlman, along with co-senior author Sam Forster from The Hudson and other researchers from our lab and others.
Isolation, engineering and ecology of temperate phages from the human gut - Nature
Human host-associated cellular products may act as induction agents for bacteriophages.
nature.com
October 15, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Very excited to share the latest work from our lab, which was published today in Nature!
nature.com/articles/s41...
PhD graduate and now post-doc Sofia Dahlman, along with co-senior author Sam Forster from The Hudson and other researchers from our lab and others.
nature.com/articles/s41...
PhD graduate and now post-doc Sofia Dahlman, along with co-senior author Sam Forster from The Hudson and other researchers from our lab and others.
Staphylococcus on Baird-Parker plate.
October 15, 2025 at 5:39 AM
Staphylococcus on Baird-Parker plate.
Reposted by Dorian McILROY
Persistent viral #infections in #insects are not as harmless as once believed. @salehlabparis.bsky.social &co show how such infections in #FruitFlies alter survival, reproduction, behavior & gene expression, revealing the hidden costs of #viral persistence @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4olpuXm
October 13, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Persistent viral #infections in #insects are not as harmless as once believed. @salehlabparis.bsky.social &co show how such infections in #FruitFlies alter survival, reproduction, behavior & gene expression, revealing the hidden costs of #viral persistence @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4olpuXm