1/ #Switzerland data on where #SARSCoV2#COVID19 infections took place in last 2 weeks. <50% have known location, but of these:
- Club/disco 42%
- Bar/restaurant 27%
- Family member 12%
No entries for shopping/public transport, & schools closed at moment
2/ None of this is surprising, but it backs up what we believe about #SARSCoV2 - closed, crowded, close-contact settings #ThreeCs are high-risk. For places like Geneva with worrying case-counts, reasonable to consider closing & reducing density in these places
3/ However, with that plan we must acknowledge that it is not these business-owners fault that their venues are inherently high-risk. We must decide how we are going to support these businesses during times when it is not safe to have them open or operating at full capacity.
I realise my first tweet may have been unclear - when I say there are no entries for shopping/public transport - I mean this is not an option on the form - probably because hard to determine. However, important not to interpret this as lack of infections - just that we can't say.
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I'm excited to announce a new paper with @MLReichmuth and @C_Althaus, out now in @PLOSPathogens!
We used phylogenetics & modelling to investigate the introduction & expansion of #SARSCoV2 Alpha & Delta variants into #Switzerland & to simulate different interventions.
1/17
First, we wanted to estimate the number of times Alpha & Delta were introduced into Switzerland before they were dominant.
For this we used sequences: we looked for where Swiss Alpha/Delta seqs descend from non-Swiss sequences - coming to Switzerland from elsewhere.
2/17
We looked at two ways of counting these introductions:
Liberal: every Swiss sequence coming from non-Swiss sequences is an introduction
Conservative: only the first Swiss sequence in a subtree of mixed-Swiss-non-Swiss sequences is an introduction
Benevolent dictators have no place in academic science.
I don't care if they usually make the right decision. Or if people don't think they've abused their power yet.
Science should not depend on one person being well-behaved.
Balance should be built in, power distributed.
1/5
"If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together" the African proverb says.
Can driven, visionary people start up groundbreaking ideas & cut through barriers to implement them? Absolutely! This 100% is part of science.
2/5
But if you want your idea to be a keystone of science communities & the public, you have to make it about more than *you*.
If you want to run a private business, go do that.
If you want to be keystone of public science, you have to be transparent, trustworthy, & stable.
3/5
23B (XBB.1.16) is now available on CoVariants! It's visible as part of Per Country & Per Variant plots, on the shared mutation page - and of course, has a page of its own.
As I covered earlier, 23B (XBB.1.16) is descended from the recombinant 22F (XBB) variant, with some additional mutations. You can read more about how it evolved & acquired those mutations below 👇🏻.
Also from this article:
'Marion Koopmans ... says she has received multiple calls from Bogner“with a rather intimidating tone.” So have colleagues, she adds. “I have heard similar experiences from quite a few.”'
And:
"And Science heard many stories about researchers who saw their data curtailed, or cut off, without explanation. Some linked the actions to their being critical of GISAID or being seen as a potential threat."
If you're an early career researcher (yes even 'just' a PhD student!) 1 of my biggest pieces of advice would be:
Go claim/create your Google Scholar page!! 👈🏻✍️🏻
I put this off bc I thought I 'didn't have enough on it'. I also generally thought "nobody is looking for me".
1/4
Now that I'm (a little) on the other end, I see how wrong I was.
It's *just fine* to not have "much" in your Google Scholar profile - anyone worth their salt will be evaluating you relative to your career state.
Much more important: to be findable!
2/4
And alongside that: it's so useful to have an easy way for people to see what your field is & what you've been up to/who you work with/your expertise.
Google Scholar is also pretty easy to maintain (will vary depending on how unique your name is), as it auto-updates.
3/4
23A (XBB.1.5) is now available on CoVariants! It's visible as part of Per Country & Per Variant plots, on the shared mutation page - and of course, has a page of its own.
As I covered earlier, 23A (XBB.1.5) is descended from the recombinant 22F (XBB) variant, with some additional mutations. You can read more about how it evolved & acquired those mutations below 👇🏻.