Virology professor at Nantes University. Interested in polyomaviruses, particularly capsid interactions with antibodies and host receptors. Opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect the views or policies of my employer.https://bsky.app/profile/dmcilroy.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/dmcilroy.bsky.social/post/3mwytwg3rq22phttps://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2026/10/03/les-victimes-ne-veulent-plus-mourir-en-silence-des-malades-du-cancer-et-des-agriculteurs-mobilisent-l-opinion-pour-la-sortie-des-pesticides_6787824_3244.html?lmd_medium=al&lmd_campaign=envoye-par-appli&lmd_creation=android&lmd_source=default Spent a hectic day driving people from Paris to this demo and back. On the march, we got interviewed by Le Monde. There was no virology.03 Oct 2026 21:38 +0000at://did:plc:b5ug4bnalgpaopf7ehco5muf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwytwg3rq22phttps://bsky.app/profile/dmcilroy.bsky.social/post/3mwlf4fq3bc2jIt seems that I am getting progressively less and less efficient at writing. After a whole morning and half the afternoon, I have just added two short paragraphs to the intriduction of a paper. And no, I am not going to ask fucking Claude (or one of his mates) to write it for me!28 Sep 2026 13:08 +0000at://did:plc:b5ug4bnalgpaopf7ehco5muf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwlf4fq3bc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/dmcilroy.bsky.social/post/3mvjxbekpic2zI will also be on strike today, although with a 5% budget deficit, there is zero chance that research and higher ed spending is going to increase in France. [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 Sep 2026 06:03 +0000at://did:plc:b5ug4bnalgpaopf7ehco5muf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvjxbekpic2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/dmcilroy.bsky.social/post/3mv4dkft4t22hAt the French Papilloma-Polyomavirus meeting, which is in Chinon this year. Three very interesting talks in the first session from Samuel Alizon and his group, with a couple of them looking into the interactions between vaginal microbiome and HPV infection in the longitudinal PAPCLEAR cohort.09 Sep 2026 20:05 +0000at://did:plc:b5ug4bnalgpaopf7ehco5muf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv4dkft4t22hhttps://bsky.app/profile/dmcilroy.bsky.social/post/3muzayjksgs2dThat's one greedy microbe! [contains quote post or other embedded content]08 Sep 2026 14:42 +0000at://did:plc:b5ug4bnalgpaopf7ehco5muf/app.bsky.feed.post/3muzayjksgs2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/dmcilroy.bsky.social/post/3muwshpltsc2sWhat I did on Sunday: spend hours tracking down and re-analyzing data from 2024 to re-draw a figure. Things I did NOT do: gardening; prepare the talk for incoming international students that I gave today (it was very uninspiring); call my mum for a chat; get a birthday present for my daughter.07 Sep 2026 15:16 +0000at://did:plc:b5ug4bnalgpaopf7ehco5muf/app.bsky.feed.post/3muwshpltsc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/dmcilroy.bsky.social/post/3mu5g6qv2522zTrehalose is like magic! [contains quote post or other embedded content]28 Aug 2026 13:00 +0000at://did:plc:b5ug4bnalgpaopf7ehco5muf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu5g6qv2522zhttps://bsky.app/profile/dmcilroy.bsky.social/post/3mu4wmudkfk2mWhy is the EGA server not accepting my connection requests with FileZilla? Why is metadata so complicated? But more importantly, why is it me doing this, and not someton else?28 Aug 2026 08:22 +0000at://did:plc:b5ug4bnalgpaopf7ehco5muf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu4wmudkfk2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/dmcilroy.bsky.social/post/3mu2nd4qr4k2lTwo manuscripts finished (one major revision, one new submission), and the team project document finished, so now it's time to start preparing for the new academic year.27 Aug 2026 10:30 +0000at://did:plc:b5ug4bnalgpaopf7ehco5muf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu2nd4qr4k2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/dmcilroy.bsky.social/post/3mtjfklbg3k2tLooks like it's time for us to abandon the Bunsen burners in lab class. [contains quote post or other embedded content]20 Aug 2026 13:55 +0000at://did:plc:b5ug4bnalgpaopf7ehco5muf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtjfklbg3k2thttps://bsky.app/profile/dmcilroy.bsky.social/post/3mtjecqitrs2tCurrently struggling with my first submission to the EGA ega-archive.org/about/ega/ https://ega-archive.org/about/ega/20 Aug 2026 13:33 +0000at://did:plc:b5ug4bnalgpaopf7ehco5muf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtjecqitrs2thttps://bsky.app/profile/dmcilroy.bsky.social/post/3mtgsjz4fp222Kind of following on from this, I spent some time browsing Anthony Fauci's diary entries. Although he sometimes comes across as rather dismissive to certain colleagues, a lot of the entries really do him credit, like his account of a visit to Uganda in 2001. https://www.faucisdiary.com/diary/2001-04-11 [contains quote post or other embedded content]19 Aug 2026 13:10 +0000at://did:plc:b5ug4bnalgpaopf7ehco5muf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtgsjz4fp222https://bsky.app/profile/dmcilroy.bsky.social/post/3mtg3gnf46c2qBest hypothesis out there. [contains quote post or other embedded content]19 Aug 2026 06:16 +0000at://did:plc:b5ug4bnalgpaopf7ehco5muf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtg3gnf46c2q