Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
@sociovirology.bsky.social
I study the social lives of viruses. Associate Prof at UC Davis. Previously: UHS | B.S. @UPRM | Ph.D. @Cal | PD @UCSanDiego @Yale @nyuniversity
🇵🇷 🏳️⚧️🌈✊
🇵🇷 🏳️⚧️🌈✊
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
A new approach to pandemic preparedness:
1️⃣ Stop preparing for pandemics
2️⃣ Rewrite history of the last major pandemic
3️⃣ Go to the gym
Simple - 🤷♂️.
www.city-journal.org/article/nih-...
1️⃣ Stop preparing for pandemics
2️⃣ Rewrite history of the last major pandemic
3️⃣ Go to the gym
Simple - 🤷♂️.
www.city-journal.org/article/nih-...
NIH Directors: The World Needs a New Pandemic Playbook
The old one failed to cope with Covid and may even have caused it.
www.city-journal.org
November 14, 2025 at 3:21 PM
A new approach to pandemic preparedness:
1️⃣ Stop preparing for pandemics
2️⃣ Rewrite history of the last major pandemic
3️⃣ Go to the gym
Simple - 🤷♂️.
www.city-journal.org/article/nih-...
1️⃣ Stop preparing for pandemics
2️⃣ Rewrite history of the last major pandemic
3️⃣ Go to the gym
Simple - 🤷♂️.
www.city-journal.org/article/nih-...
Yearly reminder for letters of recommendation: Double and triple check your language for gender bias!!
It is super easy to counter our unconscious bias. Check, be mindful, and use a calculator like this one: www.tomforth.co.uk/genderbias/
It is super easy to counter our unconscious bias. Check, be mindful, and use a calculator like this one: www.tomforth.co.uk/genderbias/
Gender Bias Calculator
www.tomforth.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Yearly reminder for letters of recommendation: Double and triple check your language for gender bias!!
It is super easy to counter our unconscious bias. Check, be mindful, and use a calculator like this one: www.tomforth.co.uk/genderbias/
It is super easy to counter our unconscious bias. Check, be mindful, and use a calculator like this one: www.tomforth.co.uk/genderbias/
A very belated spooky season post from our lab! 🎃👻🕸️✨
November 12, 2025 at 5:22 PM
A very belated spooky season post from our lab! 🎃👻🕸️✨
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
One more step backward, one more reminder that progress in academia is never linear. But take heart, familia. Nos quisieron enterrar, pero no sabían que éramos semillas.
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
UC to Stop Funding Systemwide Postdoc Program
Established in 1984 to encourage women and minority Ph.D.s to pursue academia, the program has attracted right-wing criticism for prioritizing diverse candidates.
www.insidehighered.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:07 PM
One more step backward, one more reminder that progress in academia is never linear. But take heart, familia. Nos quisieron enterrar, pero no sabían que éramos semillas.
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
🧵Remember the preprint claiming SARS-CoV-2 has a "synthetic fingerprint"?
It said a restriction map was "extremely unlikely to have arisen by random evolution.”
I took its claims seriously.
The "synthetic fingerprint" hypothesis collapses. My new preprint explains why.
arxiv.org/abs/2510.23833
It said a restriction map was "extremely unlikely to have arisen by random evolution.”
I took its claims seriously.
The "synthetic fingerprint" hypothesis collapses. My new preprint explains why.
arxiv.org/abs/2510.23833
October 29, 2025 at 7:32 AM
🧵Remember the preprint claiming SARS-CoV-2 has a "synthetic fingerprint"?
It said a restriction map was "extremely unlikely to have arisen by random evolution.”
I took its claims seriously.
The "synthetic fingerprint" hypothesis collapses. My new preprint explains why.
arxiv.org/abs/2510.23833
It said a restriction map was "extremely unlikely to have arisen by random evolution.”
I took its claims seriously.
The "synthetic fingerprint" hypothesis collapses. My new preprint explains why.
arxiv.org/abs/2510.23833
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
Come be my chair at The University of Arizona! We have great bike riding, hiking, and of course, science! arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
Department Head, Department of Immunobiology
Strategic LeadershipDevelop and execute a bold
vision for the Department of Immunobiology that advances understanding of
how immune and micr...
arizona.csod.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Come be my chair at The University of Arizona! We have great bike riding, hiking, and of course, science! arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
Wonderful and engaging presentation from #ASMicrobe by @jaycdoesid.bsky.social of @ucsandiego.bsky.social on important vaccine awareness work that is so needed in these days of disinformation. @asm.org
Change Clothes and Go: Viral Mutations and the Remix of Infection
YouTube video by American Society for Microbiology
www.youtube.com
October 21, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Wonderful and engaging presentation from #ASMicrobe by @jaycdoesid.bsky.social of @ucsandiego.bsky.social on important vaccine awareness work that is so needed in these days of disinformation. @asm.org
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
Terrific writeup of our new paper led by @nanamikubota.bsky.social, thanks Pitt media!
www.medschool.pitt.edu/news/bacteri...
www.medschool.pitt.edu/news/bacteri...
Bacteria Can Use Viruses to Kill Other Bacteria, Pitt Researchers Find | School of Medicine | University of Pittsburgh
Many bacteria, including the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, are chronically infected by viruses that can reproduce without killing the cell. These viruses, called filamentous phages, t...
www.medschool.pitt.edu
October 15, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Terrific writeup of our new paper led by @nanamikubota.bsky.social, thanks Pitt media!
www.medschool.pitt.edu/news/bacteri...
www.medschool.pitt.edu/news/bacteri...
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
Did you know that it only takes one spontaneous mutation in your bacterial culture to activate a phage, and trigger a subsequent cascade of bacterial/phage evolution? 🧪 Curious how you could detect similar events in your experiments? Check out Nanami’s work!
Preprint out! Bacteria w/ hyper-replicative filamentous phage lead to overnight emergence of cheater phages. Bacteria w/ both phages can outcompete wildtype, then rapidly lose phage via a phage Tragedy of the Commons
@shellyscrib.bsky.social @vscooper.micropopbio.org www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@shellyscrib.bsky.social @vscooper.micropopbio.org www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Filamentous cheater phages drive bacterial and phage populations to lower fitness
Many bacteria carry phage genome(s) in their chromosome (i.e., prophage), and this intertwines the fitness of the bacterium and the phage. Most Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains carry filamentous phages ...
www.biorxiv.org
April 2, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Did you know that it only takes one spontaneous mutation in your bacterial culture to activate a phage, and trigger a subsequent cascade of bacterial/phage evolution? 🧪 Curious how you could detect similar events in your experiments? Check out Nanami’s work!
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
Published in Current Biology! P. aeruginosa can use its filamentous phage to inhibit competitors but high phage production is susceptible to cheater miniphage invasion. Subsequent phage tragedy of the commons can lower bacteria and phage fitness. Link: authors.elsevier.com/c/1lt5I3QW8S...
Preprint out! Bacteria w/ hyper-replicative filamentous phage lead to overnight emergence of cheater phages. Bacteria w/ both phages can outcompete wildtype, then rapidly lose phage via a phage Tragedy of the Commons
@shellyscrib.bsky.social @vscooper.micropopbio.org www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@shellyscrib.bsky.social @vscooper.micropopbio.org www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Filamentous cheater phages drive bacterial and phage populations to lower fitness
Many bacteria carry phage genome(s) in their chromosome (i.e., prophage), and this intertwines the fitness of the bacterium and the phage. Most Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains carry filamentous phages ...
www.biorxiv.org
October 2, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Published in Current Biology! P. aeruginosa can use its filamentous phage to inhibit competitors but high phage production is susceptible to cheater miniphage invasion. Subsequent phage tragedy of the commons can lower bacteria and phage fitness. Link: authors.elsevier.com/c/1lt5I3QW8S...
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
Very happy to share that I will be starting as an Assistant Professor in the department of Biological Sciences at the University of South Carolina in January! My group will be working on environmental phage ecology and evolution, and I am recruiting for the upcoming year (more info below).
October 8, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Very happy to share that I will be starting as an Assistant Professor in the department of Biological Sciences at the University of South Carolina in January! My group will be working on environmental phage ecology and evolution, and I am recruiting for the upcoming year (more info below).
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
Jane Goodall, ethologist and conservationist, has died. She was 91
October 1, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Jane Goodall, ethologist and conservationist, has died. She was 91
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
This moment from our latest episode with science writer @edyong209.bsky.social is 🔥
We asked Ed — how do we talk up the benefits of science in the face of government cuts? He told us that's the wrong approach. 🧪
Listen wherever, or watch on Spotify 👇
open.spotify.com/episode/7Evh...
We asked Ed — how do we talk up the benefits of science in the face of government cuts? He told us that's the wrong approach. 🧪
Listen wherever, or watch on Spotify 👇
open.spotify.com/episode/7Evh...
October 1, 2025 at 2:56 PM
This moment from our latest episode with science writer @edyong209.bsky.social is 🔥
We asked Ed — how do we talk up the benefits of science in the face of government cuts? He told us that's the wrong approach. 🧪
Listen wherever, or watch on Spotify 👇
open.spotify.com/episode/7Evh...
We asked Ed — how do we talk up the benefits of science in the face of government cuts? He told us that's the wrong approach. 🧪
Listen wherever, or watch on Spotify 👇
open.spotify.com/episode/7Evh...
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
🌐 From the first web page created in 1991… to 1 trillion web pages archived today.
Every meme, blog, tweet & vanished site is part of our shared story. This is our collective memory. And it’s being saved.
Join in our celebration this October: blog.archive.org/trillion/
#Wayback1T #WaybackMachine
Every meme, blog, tweet & vanished site is part of our shared story. This is our collective memory. And it’s being saved.
Join in our celebration this October: blog.archive.org/trillion/
#Wayback1T #WaybackMachine
October 1, 2025 at 2:04 PM
🌐 From the first web page created in 1991… to 1 trillion web pages archived today.
Every meme, blog, tweet & vanished site is part of our shared story. This is our collective memory. And it’s being saved.
Join in our celebration this October: blog.archive.org/trillion/
#Wayback1T #WaybackMachine
Every meme, blog, tweet & vanished site is part of our shared story. This is our collective memory. And it’s being saved.
Join in our celebration this October: blog.archive.org/trillion/
#Wayback1T #WaybackMachine
New out in #mBio from our lab! Dr. Ile Agu reviewed developments on *host* influences on influenza deletion containing viral genomes (DelVGs, fka defective viral genomes).
Hoping for more research in this area. So much promising basic and applied science!
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org
Hoping for more research in this area. So much promising basic and applied science!
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org
Host cell state: an overlooked factor impacting the production of influenza A deletion-containing viral genomes and non-infectious particles | mBio
Within the infected host, influenza A virus has a bipartite existence as intracellular
viral genomic segments undergoing replication and assembly into progeny particles
and extracellular progeny parti...
journals.asm.org
September 30, 2025 at 4:45 PM
New out in #mBio from our lab! Dr. Ile Agu reviewed developments on *host* influences on influenza deletion containing viral genomes (DelVGs, fka defective viral genomes).
Hoping for more research in this area. So much promising basic and applied science!
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org
Hoping for more research in this area. So much promising basic and applied science!
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@asm.org
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
PLEASE SHARE!
I'm reporting on #H5N1 #BirdFlu (#AvianInfluenza #HPAI) for @thesicktimes.bsky.social, & want to talk to farmworkers or people who work with them re impacts of H5N1 on farmworkers. I'm especially interested in hearing re human cases since Feb 2025. Sources can be anonymous! (1/4)
I'm reporting on #H5N1 #BirdFlu (#AvianInfluenza #HPAI) for @thesicktimes.bsky.social, & want to talk to farmworkers or people who work with them re impacts of H5N1 on farmworkers. I'm especially interested in hearing re human cases since Feb 2025. Sources can be anonymous! (1/4)
July 10, 2025 at 7:31 PM
PLEASE SHARE!
I'm reporting on #H5N1 #BirdFlu (#AvianInfluenza #HPAI) for @thesicktimes.bsky.social, & want to talk to farmworkers or people who work with them re impacts of H5N1 on farmworkers. I'm especially interested in hearing re human cases since Feb 2025. Sources can be anonymous! (1/4)
I'm reporting on #H5N1 #BirdFlu (#AvianInfluenza #HPAI) for @thesicktimes.bsky.social, & want to talk to farmworkers or people who work with them re impacts of H5N1 on farmworkers. I'm especially interested in hearing re human cases since Feb 2025. Sources can be anonymous! (1/4)
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
#AltPride #AltGov
To close out Pride Month, we are recognizing neuroscientist Ben Barres. Beyond making seminal discoveries related to glial cell function, he was also a staunch advocate for equality in science for both women and the LGBTQIA+ community. 1/n
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
To close out Pride Month, we are recognizing neuroscientist Ben Barres. Beyond making seminal discoveries related to glial cell function, he was also a staunch advocate for equality in science for both women and the LGBTQIA+ community. 1/n
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Ben Barres (1954–2017)
Neurobiologist who advocated for gender equality in science.
www.nature.com
July 1, 2025 at 12:56 AM
#AltPride #AltGov
To close out Pride Month, we are recognizing neuroscientist Ben Barres. Beyond making seminal discoveries related to glial cell function, he was also a staunch advocate for equality in science for both women and the LGBTQIA+ community. 1/n
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
To close out Pride Month, we are recognizing neuroscientist Ben Barres. Beyond making seminal discoveries related to glial cell function, he was also a staunch advocate for equality in science for both women and the LGBTQIA+ community. 1/n
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
So this interview lasted 2 hours so this “you’re scaring me” part might seem like an overreaction or fearmongering to someone without that context.
There’s a lot of evidence to support my hypothesis that a potential H5N1 pandemic would be worse than COVID.
There’s a lot of evidence to support my hypothesis that a potential H5N1 pandemic would be worse than COVID.
April 21, 2025 at 1:28 PM
So this interview lasted 2 hours so this “you’re scaring me” part might seem like an overreaction or fearmongering to someone without that context.
There’s a lot of evidence to support my hypothesis that a potential H5N1 pandemic would be worse than COVID.
There’s a lot of evidence to support my hypothesis that a potential H5N1 pandemic would be worse than COVID.
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
ACTION ITEM-----ACTION ITEM
Implementation of Schedule F
This is what a lot of us have been worried about.
This allows for many civil service positions to replaced with political appointees. This could include NIH institute directors and even POs.
BUT THERE IS A COMMENT PERIOD...
1/n
Implementation of Schedule F
This is what a lot of us have been worried about.
This allows for many civil service positions to replaced with political appointees. This could include NIH institute directors and even POs.
BUT THERE IS A COMMENT PERIOD...
1/n
the word alert is in a purple circle
ALT: the word alert is in a purple circle
media.tenor.com
April 23, 2025 at 6:03 PM
ACTION ITEM-----ACTION ITEM
Implementation of Schedule F
This is what a lot of us have been worried about.
This allows for many civil service positions to replaced with political appointees. This could include NIH institute directors and even POs.
BUT THERE IS A COMMENT PERIOD...
1/n
Implementation of Schedule F
This is what a lot of us have been worried about.
This allows for many civil service positions to replaced with political appointees. This could include NIH institute directors and even POs.
BUT THERE IS A COMMENT PERIOD...
1/n
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
In this first publication from the lab, now out in @narjournal.bsky.social, we review the current state of RNA phage biology with a focus on meta-omics methods. Many things left to be discovered!
#PhageSky
doi.org/10.1093/nar/...
#PhageSky
doi.org/10.1093/nar/...
Advancing RNA phage biology through meta-omics
Abstract. Bacteriophages with RNA genomes are among the simplest biological entities on Earth. Since their discovery in the 1960s, they have been used as i
doi.org
April 23, 2025 at 9:04 AM
In this first publication from the lab, now out in @narjournal.bsky.social, we review the current state of RNA phage biology with a focus on meta-omics methods. Many things left to be discovered!
#PhageSky
doi.org/10.1093/nar/...
#PhageSky
doi.org/10.1093/nar/...
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
Another nice example of a host-acquired gene in poxviruses, which modulates the host immune response.
dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...
dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...
Viral piracy of host RNA phosphatase DUSP11 by avipoxviruses
Author summary Viruses face a critical challenge of disabling or avoiding host immune defenses. Cells typically recognize the presence of a virus through specific molecular markers, including triphosp...
dx.plos.org
April 22, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Another nice example of a host-acquired gene in poxviruses, which modulates the host immune response.
dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...
dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
“Awards that are not aligned with NSF's priorities have been terminated, including but not limited to those on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and misinformation/disinformation”—National Science Foundation
www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...
www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...
Updates on NSF Priorities
www.nsf.gov
April 18, 2025 at 10:19 PM
“Awards that are not aligned with NSF's priorities have been terminated, including but not limited to those on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and misinformation/disinformation”—National Science Foundation
www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...
www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
We're disappointed to see Ben Barres's powerful book "The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist" among the ~400 titles removed from the Naval Academy Library. Needless to say, we're proud to have published his book and will keep it — and his memory — alive.
The Coming Out of a Transgender Scientist
"I know that I am making the right decision because whenever I think about changing my gender role, I am flooded with feelings of relief."
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
April 8, 2025 at 8:24 PM
We're disappointed to see Ben Barres's powerful book "The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist" among the ~400 titles removed from the Naval Academy Library. Needless to say, we're proud to have published his book and will keep it — and his memory — alive.
Reposted by Sam Díaz-Muñoz (they / ella)
The vaccine against Shingles helps protect against dementia, results of a natural experiment, adding to prior evidence
"implications are profound"
New @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/s41...
"implications are profound"
New @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/s41...
A natural experiment on the effect of herpes zoster vaccination on dementia - Nature
Using a natural experiment that avoids common bias concerns, this study finds that the live-attenuated shingles vaccine reduced the probability of a new dementia diagnosis within a follow-up period of...
nature.com
April 2, 2025 at 3:29 PM
The vaccine against Shingles helps protect against dementia, results of a natural experiment, adding to prior evidence
"implications are profound"
New @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/s41...
"implications are profound"
New @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/s41...