Cormac Sheridan

“We can’t afford cancer research but $11 billion for one week of an absurd war is fine” is a hell of an argument

Ella Ms Sweeney interviews John Gibbons on ‘The Lie of the Land' Ella chats with John Gibbons live about ‘The Lie of the Land’—don’t miss this in-person convo!

Very much looking forward to this public interview with the inimitable Ella McSweeney based around THE LIE OF THE LAND and hosted by UCD One Health.

It’s on Weds Mar 25th from 7pm.

www.eventbrite.ie/e/ella-ms-sw...

The dawn of in vivo immune cell engineering in oncology - Nature Biotechnology Immunotherapy is at an inflection point. After three decades of accelerating progress, immunotherapy is entering the realm of in vivo engineering. This Comment discusses the potential of in vivo engin...

The time is ripe for transitioning the field of immunotherapy to in vivo engineering as ex vivo engineering is now mature, with extensive knowledge on the safety & lifesaving aspect of these immunotherapies especially in blood cancers, solid tumors & autoimmunity go.nature.com/4r732m4
rdcu.be/e2yJa

Now with oligos: antibody–oligonucleotide conjugates are the new drug modality to watch - Nature Biotechnology Developers have married gene-modulating oligonucleotides with the targeted precision of antibodies, and the first filings using such conjugates in Duchenne muscular dystrophy are imminent.

Getting beyond the liver has been a key goal for developers of oligonucleotide-based drugs. For many tissues - notably the CNS, muscle & heart - antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates can elicit therapeutic effects well beyond those of unmodified siRNA or antisense drugs. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The NIH has lost its scientific integrity. So we left “We can no longer lend our credibility to an organization that has lost its integrity,” write four scientists and administrators who recently resigned from the NIH.

Powerful piece in STAT this morning from some NIH staff members who have resigned

www.statnews.com/2026/01/10/n...

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What’s the fuss about aluminum in vaccines? Despite extensive safety record, U.S. health advisers are set to discuss claimed link to asthma

Dogmatism, not data, drives RFK Jr.'s damaging anti-vax agenda. www.science.org/content/arti...

12 former commissioners of the FDA came together to write a Perspectives piece for the New England Journal of Medicine; raising our concerns about recent changes to vaccine approval policy at the FDA and its implications for patients and public health.

'We've done all we can do to fix M50,' warns TII Transport Infrastructure Ireland says there is almost nothing it can do to address traffic gridlock on the M50, while accepting that the road has reached capacity

One more lane, one more road won't fix this. It never have and it never will!

The only solution is to fundamentally change our transport system away from private cars towards active and public transport.

Something is rotten in the state of science publishing... As if the external attacks from RFK Jr. et al weren't enough, dodgy operators are undermining it from within.

Pretty much ANY statistic you see cited to frighten you about vaccines comes from the VAERS database. (Including the recent evidence-free missive from Vinay Prasad). Here's why VAERS can NEVER be a proper source for population-level vaccine risk estimates.

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Measles deaths down 88% since 2000, but cases surge Global immunization efforts have led to an 88% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2024, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO). Nearly 59 million lives have been saved...

#Measles deaths down 88% since 2000, says
@who.int . Vaccines have saved almost 59m lives in this time - but cases are on the rise again - vigilance against the world's most contagious virus is essential. #vaccineswork www.who.int/news/item/28...

Great to hear a scientist and environmentalist - @elainemcgoff.bsky.social - and a farmer in nitrates derogation separately say the same thing here: that the government-led drive for maximum productivity was a MASSIVE mistake, with our rivers and (now, potentially) farmers paying the price.

FDA approves new mechanism to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, expanding limited arsenal - Nature Biotechnology The first-in-class small molecule Jascayd targets a fibrotic signaling cascade, offering new hope in a stagnant therapeutic field, as several other programs near maturity.

Just out in @natbiotech.nature.com - a deep dive into what's next in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis after the approval of @boehringerglobal.bsky.social's Jascayd (nerandomilast). There's still huge scope for innovation here - & many good ideas being pursued. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Australia’s unprecedented toxic algal bloom has a surprise culprit A relatively unknown species is producing a notorious neurotoxin, devastating sea life

Good piece by Eric Stokstad on an unusual and very damaging toxic algal bloom - we can expect more of these as #climatechange creates #ecosystems havoc www.science.org/content/arti...

You could equally argue that humans are the only irrational species. I have a lot of respect for the decision-making processes of other species.

Lovely picture, Ann. Immediately reminded me of the cover of Anna Burns' amazing novel Milkman.

Screenshot of a letter to the editor of the Irish Times, a response to a letter earlier in the week that misrepresented the findings of a scientific paper.

‪Over the weekend our letter, in response to John FitzGerald's article earlier last week, was published in the @irishtimes.com

We corrected several incorrect claims that were made in the article.

with @hannahdaly.ie @colmduff.bsky.social David Styles

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/lett...

Drug pricing and pharmaceutical innovation: a false promise The UK is facing a pharma exodus. Major pharmaceutical companies have withdrawn about £2 billion in proposed investment from the country, blaming insufficient government investment. Central to the dis...

"The argument that paying more for medicines leads to more innovation is unfounded." Good editorial in @thelancet.com
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines sensitize tumours to immune checkpoint blockade - Nature mRNA vaccines targeting SARS-CoV-2 also sensitize tumours to immune checkpoint inhibitors.

A paper in Nature reports that mRNA vaccines targeting SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, also sensitize tumours to immune checkpoint inhibitors. #medsky 🧪

Serial Ketamine Infusions for Depression This randomized clinical trial evaluates outcomes following adjunctive ketamine infusions vs midazolam for depression.

@tcddublin.bsky.social clinical trial shows repeated infusions of #ketamine of no benefit to patients hospitalised with #depression jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

@johncreedon.bsky.social John, it's actually a murder of crows - but if there are only two or three it can be downgraded to an attempted murder ;)

Centenary celebrations for release of 1926 census The upcoming release of the 1926 census records of Ireland will be celebrated across a major public programme of events next year.

The upcoming release of the 1926 census records of Ireland will be celebrated across a major public programme of events next year

No Kings!

Big pharma seduced by transcription factors again. What has changed? - Nature Biotechnology Long considered undruggable, transcription factors have finally become fair game for a clutch of innovative biotechs who are combining biological insights with innovative chemistry to bring into play ...

Most transcription factors were historically considered undruggable. But some innovative biotechs are changing all that - & big pharma is starting to pay attention (and big bucks). Out now in @natbiotech.nature.com

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

MSF strongly condemns the killing of Omar Hayek by Israeli forces this morning in #Gaza. Our thoughts are with his family and colleagues.

Omar is our fourteenth colleague to be killed in Gaza since the war started. We call yet again for an end to the genocide.

A miniature CRISPR–Cas10 enzyme confers immunity by inhibitory signalling - Nature Panoptes, an anti-phage defence system against virus-mediated immune suppression, is revealed.

Today in @nature.com , we highlight how a cousin of CRISPR-Cas10, mCpol, establishes an evolutionary trap in anti-phage immune systems.

Check out @erinedoherty.bsky.social and my work from @doudna-lab.bsky.social lab here:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Congratulations Frank Looking forward to reading it - You've let the harrow play ;)

Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children’s Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability This nationwide cohort study with sibling control analysis examines the association of acetaminophen use during pregnancy with children’s risk of autism, ADHD, and intellectual disability.

Impressive degree of mendacity to try insist on a Tylenol autism link, given its flatly contradicted by better data, like this study of >2 million Danish kids. There's a grim history of false "causes" for autism, a dogwhistle RFK Jr & Trump blowing..

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

@johncreedon.bsky.social Delighted to hear Gavin Friday's Angel John An old favourite & arguably the funkiest tune that ever came out of Ireland