Neil McCarthy

There's a joke to be made here about fat burning in the cold snow, but that's @lydialynch.bsky.social territory I reckon. Think I'll leave the rhino models to @coffeltlab.bsky.social...

Reversing peanut advice prevented tens of thousands of allergy cases, researchers say A decade ago, research said giving young children peanut products can prevent allergies. A new study says that, 10 years later, tens of thousands of U.S. children have avoided allergies as a result.

A decade ago, research said giving young children peanut products can prevent allergies. A new study says that, 10 years later, tens of thousands of U.S. children have avoided allergies as a result. n.pr/4o3hKJO

Nobel Prizes This Year Offer Three Cheers for Slow Science

'All three awards (...) honored achievements rooted in fundamental research from decades ago. Some experts interpret the selections by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences as representing the importance of slow, basic science, work pursued out of a desire to better understand the world.'

PS: Thanks to @edelblumlab.bsky.social for showing me how to do a proper Bluetorial (this isn't bad for my first try, right?)

@ukri.org supported this work, which was led by Liya Mathew (funded by Bart's Charity) and is being continued by Sean Carlson with HARP / @wellcometrust.bsky.social. Huge thanks to @chitinette.bsky.social Julian Naglik (KCL) Newman Sze @brocku.ca and of course @eberllab.bsky.social
10/10

What's next? We plan to build even better models of human intestine complete with patient immune cells so we can see how well these defend against fungal attack (and start testing drug treatments that could help prevent this). Got other brilliant ideas? Let us know! 👇 9/10

Could this really happen in the human intestine? To test this, we built a 'mini gut' model complete with fluid flow and tissue stretch, then added in different fungi. C. albicans strains from CD patients were much better at sticking and invading the model tissues like a pathogen might do. 8/10

John Hurt enjoying some noodles... 👀

Do these filaments matter? Well they are pretty BIG so quite difficult for immune cells to eat. In fact, they can even make neutrophils EXPLODE(!) and punch their way out of hungry macrophages 👽. Quite likely bad news for gut inflammation... 7/10

Why was this happening? We found lots of genetic differences between C. albicans strains from healthy donors and CD patients, which also reacted very differently when we put them in low-oxygen conditions similar to the human gut 🫧 6/10

The main type of fungus we isolated from gut biopsies was Candida albicans. Strains from healthy donors looked like harmless oval yeast: 000. Crohn's disease (CD) strains made invasive filaments that we know can break into human tissues: 0------💥  0----💥 5/10

Azathioprine therapy selectively ablates human Vδ2⁺ T cells in Crohn's disease - PubMed Tumor-derived and bacterial phosphoantigens are recognized by unconventional lymphocytes that express a Vγ9Vδ2 T cell receptor (Vδ2 T cells) and mediate host protection against microbial infections an...

Other labs have shown gut fungi increase in inflammation, so we checked if Vd2+ cells from IBD patients could also pull this trick. Short answer: NO! Vd2+ cells were rare in patient tissue and tough to activate (maybe not helped by some of the treatments used: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26168223/) 4/10

Photo of a gut tissue culture plate in which left well has been overtaken by fungal growth, whereas right well remains clean.

By total chance, we noticed that activating Vd2+ cells in healthy gut tissue cultures kept them nice and clean, but when we didn't do this they would quickly get overrun by fungus!! 🍄😱 3/10

In previous teamwork with @eberllab.bsky.social, we showed that bacteria-sensing #gdT-cells in human gut tissue (Vdelta2+) are great inducers of IL-22 cytokine and anti-microbial calpro, but why would this be a useful response to make? 🤔 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28330898/ 2/10

Bacterial suppression of intestinal fungi via activation of human gut γδ T-cells Gut symbionts condition mucosal immunity to resist infection by enteropathogens, but the specific microbes and mechanisms involved differ significantly between host species. In higher primates, bacter...

📚 NEW #gdT-cell PAPER from our team @QMUL.bsky.social! 🥳 'Bacterial suppression of intestinal fungi via activation of human gut γδ T-cells' out now on @biorxiv-immuno
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Here's my first attempt at a 'Bluetorial'... 🧵 1/10 #gastrosky #IBDsky

Microbiota promote enhanced CD39 expression in γδ intraepithelial lymphocytes through the activation of TCR and IL-15 signaling Intraepithelial lymphocytes expressing the γδ T cell receptor (γδ IEL) provide continuous surveillance of the intestinal epithelium. We report that mi…

📚NEW #gdTcell PAPER ALERT! 'Microbiota promote enhanced CD39 expression in γδ intraepithelial lymphocytes through the activation of TCR and IL-15 signaling' is now out in @mucosalimmunol.bsky.social! #gastrosky #GIsky #IBDsky Join us for a Bluetorial 🧵...

Bacterial suppression of intestinal fungi via activation of human gut γδ T-cells https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.17.676560v1

‘Publish or perish’ evolutionary pressures shape scientific publishing, for better and worse Scientists write papers to share their results – and gain prestige and advance their careers. In this competitive field, selection can favor AI-written papers, citation cartels, paper mills and more.

The “publish or perish” culture in academia creates its own kind of evolutionary pressure.

A scholar who studies human behavior through a cultural evolutionary lens explains how the relentless drive to publish can shape – and sometimes undermine – the quality of research.

buff.ly/SqnFR4g

How RFK Jr. Is Pushing the CDC to the Brink A small but vocal contingent has long been demanding changes at the agency. With an ally in RFK Jr., it’s finally getting what it wants—to the horror of the scientists he’s sidelined.

What happens to US public health without a fully functioning CDC? Americans will get a taste this upcoming cold and flu season.

The perfect end to a great #gammadeltatoronto conference: our latest review has just been published in Advances in Immunology!

"Modulation of humoral immunity by γδ T cells: A potential adjuvant strategy for vaccination"

👉🏼 authors.elsevier.com/a/1l8ltErwXf...

#gdTcells @forum-gd.bsky.social

🎉huge congratulations to Jake Samuel for passing his PhD viva with flying colours today! Big thanks to the examiners ⁦
@neilemccarthy.bsky.social and @nickbrooks22.bsky.social 🥳 and ⁦@cesiboy.bsky.social for Co-supervision! Looking forward to Dr Samuel’s gut-lymphatics-on-a-chip papers next! 🚀

two men are riding a bicycle with a basket on it . ALT: two men are riding a bicycle with a basket on it .

#Bluetorial: In our latest paper on #gdTcells and #IBD in #ScienceImmunology we found that γδ IEL number and regulatory function are severely compromised BEFORE ileal inflammation occurs, suggesting that γδ IELs may maintain IEL homeostasis in response to a pro-inflammatory microenvironment. 1/n

The Dangers of R.F.K. Jr.’s Measles Response The H.H.S. Secretary has touted over-the-counter remedies and stressed that the decision to vaccinate is “personal.”

In keeping with his decades-long crusade against vaccines, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., initially downplayed the West Texas measles outbreak. Now he’s found himself tasked with the job of doing something about it.

As bird flu spreads, feds might undercut states by firing scientists, removing data

As bird flu cases inundate more poultry and dairy farms, state officials worry that the Trump administration’s firings of federal scientists and other actions will undermine efforts to track the virus and protect Americans, reports @nhassanein.bsky.social.

First measles death reported in the West Texas outbreak is school-aged child | CNN The first measles death in the growing outbreak in West Texas was a school-aged child.

An unvaccinated, school-age child has died in West Texas. It's the first known death from an outbreak that's infected more than 120 people.

This New Drug Could Help End the HIV Epidemic—but US Funding Cuts Are Killing Its Rollout Lenacapavir, a twice yearly injection that prevents HIV transmission, was named the breakthrough medicine of 2024. But without US foreign aid dollars, its delivery to millions worldwide is under threa...

After a lifetime on the frontiers of the fight against HIV, researchers can finally see the end of the epidemic in sight. But thanks to the Trump administration’s executive orders, it’s unclear when—or possibly even ever—this breakthrough medicine will see the light of day.

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Marie Curie, Physicist and chemist.

Today is International Day of Women & Girls in Science.

Marie Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. Her contributions have left an indelible mark on the world of science & health & continue to inspire generations of scientists & innovators. 🔬 #WomenInScience #WomenInSTEM

SCIENCESHOTS What does a scientist look like? Children are drawing women more than ever before

When asked to draw a scientist, school-age kids in the United States are increasingly sketching women, according to a study from 2018.

Read more on #WomenInScienceDay: https://scim.ag/4hOUuvx

How a Canadian scientist and a venomous lizard helped pave the way for Ozempic - National | Globalnews.ca In 1984, Dr. Daniel Drucker, an endocrinologist from the University of Toronto, discovered a hormone that helped pave the way for popular diabetes drugs such as Ozempic.

This is the most relevant article to NIH and research cuts I’ve seen.

Imagine if this was today , how many people would be saying “Why are we studying Gila Monsters and their impact on diabetes ? That’s wasted money !”

globalnews.ca/news/9793403...

#hiring #postdoc
We are looking for a postdoc to work on anti-tumor gamma delta T cells in breast cancer metastasis mouse models. Apply here:
www.gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs...

Highly recommended - the topic, the location and the supervisor!

#gdTcells #jobs @tcddublin.bsky.social