Ed Rybicki 🇿🇲🇿🇦🇬🇧🍷🚀's Avatar

Ed Rybicki 🇿🇲🇿🇦🇬🇧🍷🚀

@edrybicki

Semi-retired biotechnologist and virologist, interested in making vaccines, lover of 70s rock and hard SF. And good red wine. Posts are both personal and professional, and may include music and/or strong opinions. And possibly zombies.

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Posts 07.09.2023
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Latest posts by Ed Rybicki 🇿🇲🇿🇦🇬🇧🍷🚀 @edrybicki

Nice one!! He writes Big SF well 😁

10.03.2026 13:28 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Ares as a phage? I Iike that!! 😁

10.03.2026 13:17 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

🤔... 🙄... 🤨.. 😠.. 😡.. 🤬

10.03.2026 11:43 👍 6 🔁 3 💬 2 📌 0

As apparently no less an unlikely figure as Tucker Carlson recently said, what happens when you piss off Shi'ite Muslims by assassinating a senior ayatollah such as Khamenei? There's a lot of them, and they're in a LOT of places...?

10.03.2026 12:20 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

No kidding! Thanks for actually saying this out loud.

10.03.2026 11:50 👍 14 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0

Gimme an N!
Gimme an A!
Gimme a Z!
Gimme an I!
Whatsit spell? TRUMP!

10.03.2026 12:15 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 1

...where all justifications are made up, and the law doesn't matter 😟

10.03.2026 10:46 👍 7 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0

Well, come on all of you nice gentle folk
Gonna tell everyone this thing is not a joke
Put down your books and pick up a sign
Gonna picket these bastards all down the line...

RIP Country Joe 😢

10.03.2026 10:45 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
Preview
Ancient Ice Cave Bacteria Show Resistance to Modern Antibiotics A novel bacterium recovered from 5,000-year-old ice exhibited resistance patterns to modern antibiotics, which may offer insights into how drug resistance evolves.

So it's entirely natural and not our fault, right??
www.the-scientist.com/ancient-ice-...

10.03.2026 10:24 👍 7 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

US & Europe: 16:00 (GMT) | 17:00 (CET)

A recorded presentation will be available: www.isv-online.org

10.03.2026 10:18 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
Scientists trace crop viruses back to the last Ice Age Long before humans cultivated crops or sailed between continents, a group of plant viruses was already evolving among wild plants in Eurasia. According to a new international study published in Plant ...

@gieck.bsky.social Adrian, I was going to send this to you, because I thought "It's right up his street!". And of course, you co-authored it...😎 phys.org/news/2026-03...

10.03.2026 10:02 👍 6 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
The coldest 'stars' in the galaxy might actually be alien megastructures Ever since physicist Freeman Dyson first proposed the concept in 1960, the "Dyson sphere" has been the holy grail of techno-signature hunters. A highly advanced civilization could build a "sphere" (or, in our more modern understanding, a "swarm" of smaller components) around their host star to harvest its entire energy output. We know, in theory at least, that such a swarm could exist—but what would it actually look like if we were able to observe one? A new paper, available on the arXiv pre-print server and soon to be published in Universe from Amirnezam Amiri of the University of Arkansas, digs into that question—and in the process discloses the types of stars that are the most likely to find them around.

The coldest 'stars' in the galaxy might actually be alien megastructures

10.03.2026 09:59 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
DART images reveal asteroids can toss slow 'cosmic snowballs' between moons About 15% of asteroids near Earth have small moons orbiting them, making binary asteroid systems common in our cosmic neighborhood.

DART images reveal asteroids can toss slow 'cosmic snowballs' between moons

10.03.2026 09:58 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
How a protein pair ensures that faulty mRNA is destroyed Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is one of the most important processes in our cells to ensure that no faulty or incomplete proteins are produced. Scientists have now identified a central mechanism behind this control system.

How a protein pair ensures that faulty mRNA is destroyed

10.03.2026 09:58 👍 3 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
Infection-acquired protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection and clinical severity by number of prior infections | Nature Communications Prior infection is protective against SARS-CoV-2 infection, but the degree of protection provided by multiple subsequent infections is not clear. Here, the authors use data from a household transmission study in Nicaragua and show that 1, 2 or 3+ infections are associated with increasing...

Infection-acquired protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection and clinical severity by number of prior infections | Nature Communications

10.03.2026 09:57 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Amphotericin B promotes respiratory viral entry by enhancing late endosomal maturation and fusion via glucocerebrosidase-mediated ceramide remodeling | Nature Communications This study reveals that Amphotericin B activates glucocerebrosidase to remodel late endosomal lipid and protein composition, promoting respiratory viral entry. This highlights a risk of secondary viral infections during antifungal therapy.

Amphotericin B promotes respiratory viral entry by enhancing late endosomal maturation and fusion via glucocerebrosidase-mediated ceramide remodeling | Nature Communications

10.03.2026 09:57 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
Preparation of targeted lipid nanoparticles for precision nucleic acid delivery | Nature Protocols This protocol outlines the steps to prepare functionalized lipid nanoparticles covalently conjugated with whole antibodies or antibody fragments for targeted nucleic acid delivery to different tissues or cell types.

Preparation of targeted lipid nanoparticles for precision nucleic acid delivery | Nature Protocols

10.03.2026 09:57 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
An interstellar comet packed with alcohol? What ALMA found in 3I/ATLAS Comet 3I/ATLAS continues to make astonishing headlines, thanks to new findings from astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). This new research reveals that 3I/ATLAS is packed with an unusually large amount of the organic molecule methanol—more than almost all known comets in our own solar system.

An interstellar comet packed with alcohol? What ALMA found in 3I/ATLAS

10.03.2026 09:56 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Pathogenic virus infects and structurally reorganizes human cells, finds new study Orthohantaviruses, such as the Puumala virus, are widespread in Europe, causing flu-like illnesses and severe kidney damage in those infected. It is increasingly considered a zoonotic threat. Researchers from the Medical Faculty of the University of Duisburg-Essen and the University Hospital Essen, Germany, have gained new insights into how these viruses alter the internal structure of their host cells. Their findings are published in the Journal of General Virology.

Pathogenic virus infects and structurally reorganizes human cells, finds new study

10.03.2026 09:56 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Nearby red dwarf star hosts at least four planets—with one in the habitable zone In 2020, a study confirmed that two planets orbited the nearby red dwarf, GJ 887. Now, astronomers have confirmed the existence of two additional planets orbiting GJ 887 in a new study published in Astronomy and Astrophysics. The new study suggests that one of these newly confirmed planets is in the habitable zone.

Nearby red dwarf star hosts at least four planets—with one in the habitable zone

10.03.2026 09:55 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Microbes hitchhiking on marine snow could limit how deep carbon sinks In some parts of the deep ocean, it can look like it's snowing. This "marine snow" is the dust and detritus that organisms slough off as they die and decompose. Marine snow can fall several kilometers to the deepest parts of the ocean, where the particles are buried in the seafloor for millennia.

Microbes hitchhiking on marine snow could limit how deep carbon sinks

10.03.2026 09:55 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Scientists trace crop viruses back to the last Ice Age Long before humans cultivated crops or sailed between continents, a group of plant viruses was already evolving among wild plants in Eurasia. According to a new international study published in Plant Disease, the ancestors of modern tymoviruses likely emerged before the last Ice Age, reshaping scientists' understanding of the vast evolutionary history of plant disease.

Scientists trace crop viruses back to the last Ice Age

10.03.2026 09:55 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
Infection-Acquired Immunity: Impact of Prior COVID-19 Cases In a groundbreaking advancement that could reshape our understanding of immunity within the COVID-19 pandemic, a recent study published in Nature Communications reveals compelling insights into how protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection—and the severity of ensuing illness—varies significantly depending...

Infection-Acquired Immunity: Impact of Prior COVID-19 Cases

10.03.2026 09:55 👍 8 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Deep ocean microbes may already be prepared to tackle climate change Deep-sea waters are warming due to heat waves and climate change, and it could spell trouble for the oceans' delicate chemical and biological balance. However, a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences demonstrates that the microbe Nitrosopumilus maritimus may already be adapting well to warmer, nutrient-poor waters. Researchers predict that these surprisingly adaptable iron-dependent ammonia-oxidizing archaea will play an important role in reshaping ocean-nutrient distribution in a changing climate.

Deep ocean microbes may already be prepared to tackle climate change

10.03.2026 09:54 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
CRISPR-based technique unlocks healing power of mitochondria for heart failure therapy After a heart attack, the heart struggles to recoup and maintain energy. One-third of patients develop heart failure as a result—a condition that impacts 6.8 million Americans and carries a high lifetime risk, with 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. expected to develop the condition during their lifetime. This makes finding lasting treatment a medical priority.

CRISPR-based technique unlocks healing power of mitochondria for heart failure therapy

10.03.2026 09:54 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
Most pandemic viruses show little adaptation before infecting humans A new University of California San Diego study published in Cell challenges a long-standing assumption about how animal viruses become capable of sparking human epidemics and pandemics.

Most pandemic viruses show little adaptation before infecting humans

10.03.2026 09:54 👍 3 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
Contraceptive vaccine reduces fertility in animals to address wildlife overpopulation A Purdue University contraceptive vaccine seeks to address animal overpopulation by markedly reducing fertility in feral horses, deer, swine and other animals. Dr. Harm HogenEsch, distinguished professor of immunopathology in Purdue University's College of Veterinary Medicine, and Dr. Raluca Ostafe, director of Purdue University's Molecular Evolution Protein Engineering and Production Facility, both members of the Purdue Institute for Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Disease, have designed the vaccine based on the IZUMO1 mammalian sperm protein. It induces a robust and long-lasting immune response and infertility in female mammals.

Contraceptive vaccine reduces fertility in animals to address wildlife overpopulation @ISV-news.bsky.social

10.03.2026 09:54 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Will Labour condemn this attack? @yvettecooper-mp.bsky.social

09.03.2026 10:30 👍 9 🔁 3 💬 2 📌 0

Just another mossy Monday...😎

09.03.2026 13:31 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Nailed it.

09.03.2026 12:36 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0