Midway through the #AMGDMar26 course and grateful to @helenmcneil.bsky.social of @microbesng.bsky.social for coming along and talking to attendees. Also gives them a much needed rest from hearing my voice!!!
Central station main entry facing northbound toward the clock reading 05:10
Early start Monday morning to travel down to Birmingham for #AMGDMar26
Intentions of updating the timeline on the train were derailed by having minimal arm space and musical chairs. Nutrition provided by Greggs.
A blue sky with some clouds above a red brick building to the left and a grey building in the centre with the university of Birmingham crest
A computer screen showing a terminal inside a browser running fastqc on a number of samples
Day 2 of #AMGDMar26 𧬠was a lovely sunny day on campus @unibirmingham.bsky.social βοΈ
Which alongside cake and the aim of saving the world (see Day 1) provided ample motivation for learning a whole lot about what to do with Illumina sequencing outputs π»
Tidy desk set up. On the left; white coursework book and notebook with the course logo on the front. On the right the laptop with desert lock screen.
Brown envelope with red top secret stamp beside course notebook
Plenty of merch #AMGDMar26 including a tote bag, jβadore a tote bag. Notebook and laptop sticker all with the course logo on. #yesplease
Also looking forward to completing a top secret task. Applying skills to a fictional scenario. Once more. #yesplease
Flat lay of a tote bag and booklet branded with the Analysing Microbial Genomic Data logo (a laptop showing a DNA double helix and microbes) and a sheet of paper that reads Human Bingo
A folded letter marked as classified with portions blacked out, suggesting the participants of the course must solve a fictional act of bioterrorism
Day 1 of #AMGDMar26 𧬠started with an icebreaker that was actually fun π±!
And I cannot wait to live my science fiction dreams over the next few days π€©
Oh and a tote bag?! Great start to the week!
Mags is a white woman and has short curly ginger hair and is wearing a yellow raincoat, she is smiling at the camera and pointing upwards with her left hand. She is pointing at a brick building behind her with a railways sign, university, and the university of Birmingham crest
Made it to Birmingham @unibirmingham.bsky.social for a week of microbial genomics fun! π§«π§¬π» #AMGDMar26
Today is the start of the 5th Analysing Microbial Genomic Data course at @unibirmingham.bsky.social #AMGDMar26 - in the last three years weβve trained nearly 80 attendees from six countries and multiple UK universities
βIf you hear a voice within you say βyou cannot paint,β then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.β
Vincent Van Gogh
Fig. 3. (a) Pinpoint MNWGS58T colonies on blood agar after 24 h of incubation (37 Β°C, 5% CO2). (b) Mature MNWGS58T colony on blood agar after 48 h of incubation (37 Β°C, 5% CO2). (c) Gram stain of MNWGS58T showing Gram-positive rod-shaped cells with coryneform morphology.
Corynebacterium drakensteinense sp. nov., isolated from the nasopharynx of a healthy South African infant. Published Open Access and fee-free in IJSEM using a Publish and Read agreement: https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.007068
#IJSEM
Great news for the toxic PI that wants RNA seq data analysed in under a minute.
The School of Biosciences at University of Birmingham is recruiting FIVE Assistant/Associate Profs in areas including fungal biology, plant science and bioengineering. Full details below ππΎπ§¬π§«
Got silly at end but that was one of the finest Scotland performances I can recall.
Anyone else think this would be a 90 point game and a victory to Scotland? Get in!
This lot almost lost to Wales last week.
Dupont is just the best all-rounder in the game's history.
Could we actually do this?? #SCOvFRA #GuinnessM6N or is this whiskey Iβm drinking getting the better of me?
π€―
*PhiPseq of 108 health/envt variables + human genetic variation maps antibody repertoire in 1,212 adults.
*Age, sex, birth continent affect specific viral epitopes
*Abs vs variable flu epitopes decrease w/age
*Viral Abs & host genetics affect autoimmune disease risk www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Forgotten how cool this paper was. In particular what it (potentially) says about the emergence of capsulated H. influenzae link.springer.com/article/10.1...
New paper out with colleagues from Malaysia www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour... #microsky
From my days as a youngster I can absolutely tell you that is only a very recent development
Better luck next year π
Gregor Townsend job security for life
I donβt want Pollock to be the one to turn this around
Itβs more the massive early lead
Well this is unfamiliar territory #SCOvENG #GuinnessM6N
GREGOR TOWNSEND CONTRACT EXTENSION
Incredible time at #AIR2026 covering breadth of respiratory infection, microbiomes and immunology with some really beautiful biology. Thanks to fellow committee members @resp-micro.bsky.social @drclairesmith.bsky.social @ewanharrison.bsky.social , Alex Kayongo and organisers @eventswcs.bsky.social
Fantastic final day at #AIR2026. A masterclass in in vitro modelling by Scott Randall followed by a great panel discussion with funders @asthmaandlung.org.uk @wellcometrust.bsky.social @cysticfibrosis.org.uk @karlstaples.bsky.social
