Andrew Urquhart

@SolidEvidence @SpeakOutNow16 With the context of Nielsen et al cited in my last tweet, I assess that XFG, NB.1.8.1, and BA.3.2 are all trapped on evolutionary local fitness peaks with no nearby peaks. So they likely need to cross a fitness valley before reaching another fitness peak they can climb.

@SolidEvidence @SpeakOutNow16 I finally found the 2023 paper that sets the context for what I think answers the original question: Nielsen et al, “Host heterogeneity and epistasis explain punctuated evolution of SARS-CoV-2”, PLOS Computational Biology (2023), journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/a…. 1/2

2 more Novaseq 25B plates about to finish. 55 wastewater samples, ~30 million people, 3 coasts. Before anyone asks - yes, we would be able to detect Ebola Bundibugyo. If it has an RNA or DNA genome, we can detect it. afro.who.int/countries/demo…

@SpeakOutNow16 @SolidEvidence BA.3.2 has gotten some press recently, but it was first noted around the same time as the other major current lineages XFG and NB.1.8.1. All were designated over a year ago. And for BA.3.2, it has high immune evasion but low receptor binding.

@SpeakOutNow16 @SolidEvidence It’s been quite some time since a major viral-fitness-enhancing mutation has emerged. The last was probably Spike Q493E in the JN.1 descendants. Multiple variants are currently circulating (see github.com/neherlab/SARS-…), but none is strong enough to sweep away the others.

@byrnes888 @mdc_martinus @mvankerkhove Correction: SARS-CoV-2 aka COVID transmits through droplets *and* droplet nuclei. The later can stay suspended in the air for hours. Reference Beggs et al, “Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2: The Contrast between Indoors and Outdoors”, Fluids (2024), doi.org/10.3390/fluids….

@mdc_martinus @mvankerkhove It's not airborne. Droplets are not airborne. The virus travels on droplets

After 6 years, @mvankerkhove has quietly deleted her tweet stating #COVID19 was “NOT airborne” (22/3/2020). No explanation. No rectification. No public erratum. Transparency and accountability are essential for trust in public health. You don’t learn lessons by erasing them.

@RepThomasMassie @RepMichaelCloud Does this include eliminating programs for disabled veterans who put their lives on the line and sacrificed their health for our country? If so, nice way to stab veterans in the back! And yet another Republican betrayal.

I'm a cosponsor of the Dismantle DEI Act of 2025. HR 925, @RepMichaelCloud's bill, would eliminate federal funding for DEl offices and programs, rescind related executive orders, and establish a private right of action for individuals to sue over violations of its provisions.

@Jeff85538611 @CIDRAP They proved the patients had Covid through both PCR testing and symptoms.

@wolfeagle1989 @CIDRAP How did they prove the patients had Covid?

New study: Long COVID is tied to a higher risk of heart disease, even after mild infection. The study also reveals that women with long COVID experience more heart problems than men. Read more: ow.ly/kofG50YHftc

@Jeff85538611 @CIDRAP Hmm, if the virus isolation and transmission evidence in 2019 and very early 2020 wasn’t good enough for you, see Trender et al, “Changes in memory and cognition during the SARS-CoV-2 human challenge study”, eClinicalMedicine, thelancet.com/journals/eclin… .

@CIDRAP Firstly you need to isolate Covid and then prove it is transmissible and infectious!

@SolidEvidence @craigzimmerman6 But unfortunately for American farmers, they usually bank phosphorus in their fields in financially good years, and many have had a string of tough financial years. So American farm fields may have a need for more phosphorus. And planting season in the corn belt starts soon.

@SolidEvidence @craigzimmerman6 Supply and thus price of some phosphorus fertilizers might also be impacted especially due to impacts on supply of the sulfur used in their production. But phosphorus can be banked in the ground for a few years.

I hope no one needs an MRI this year. The world's largest producer of liquified helium is in Qatar and is shut off. We just got a notice that our supply for the year will be at least cut in half. No one could have predicted this (unless they thought about it).

@alanyinjs @alanyinjs FYI I have gotten caught up on Collection 42. The larger Collection 24, which is too big for most people’s machines but which I use to help manage Collection 42, is updated but still needs pruning.

@alanyinjs Ah, there is a batch of new BA.3.2 designations in the last 24 hours. I just haven’t gotten to updating Collections 24 and 42 with them yet.

I’ve also seen John Cornyn and Greg Abbott try to attack James Talarico like this. If this is the best attack Republicans can find against Talarico, Texas is likely flipping Blue. And expect Democratic strategists to take notice.

@ameliaUrquhart_ 🫂

I hate being a trans woman on the internet sometimes

@JasmineForUS Personally, I hope to see you as Attorney General of the United States and sooner rather than later. We need someone with your qualifications and will to fight for justice in that position! And that’s doubly true after reading Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis’s book “Injustice”!

This morning I called James and congratulated him on becoming the Senate nominee. Texas is primed to turn blue and we must remain united because this is bigger than any one person. This is about the future of all 30 million Texans and getting America back on track. With the primary behind us, Democrats must rally around our nominees and win. I’m committed to doing my part and will continue working to elect democrats up and down the ballot.

@bhanlon15 Note that this article appears to be an excerpt from Jason Gale’s new book “After Covid: The Health Impacts That Will Last Generations”.

#selection-1391.0-1398.0" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">archive.ph/qBbZJ#selectio…

Bloomberg: How Covid Quietly Rewires the Brain Researchers keep discovering more about the long-term neurological effects of SARS-CoV-2. By Jason Gale bloomberg.com/news/features/…

@chantz_y Note that this article appears to be an excerpt from Jason Gale’s new book “After Covid: The Health Impacts That Will Last Generations”.

Non paywalled version: archive.ph/2026.02.25-120…

How Covid is quietly rewiring the brain: "That scale in turn raises a troubling question: whether Covid is not only leaving millions chronically unwell but also accelerating the slow neurological processes that end in dementia" bloomberg.com/news/features/…