Kirishanthy K
@kirishanthy.bsky.social
Biosafety, Biosecurity, Biorisk management
Immunology, Public Health, Infectious diseases
an amma
she/her
Immunology, Public Health, Infectious diseases
an amma
she/her
This A.I. Just Created Viruses Not Found in Nature www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/s...
This A.I. Just Created Viruses Not Found in Nature
Scientists trained artificial intelligence on libraries of DNA and then asked the model to create recipes for viral genomes. Sixteen of them were viable, yielding new viruses.
www.nytimes.com
August 7, 2026 at 12:47 AM
This A.I. Just Created Viruses Not Found in Nature www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/s...
Reposted by Kirishanthy K
Pandora Report 7.17.2026
This issue highlights a new proposal to modernize U.S. biosecurity governance, the continued spread of avian influenza and New World screwworm, the escalating Ebola outbreak in the DRC, and upcoming events and opportunities.
pandorareport.org
This issue highlights a new proposal to modernize U.S. biosecurity governance, the continued spread of avian influenza and New World screwworm, the escalating Ebola outbreak in the DRC, and upcoming events and opportunities.
pandorareport.org
The Pandora Report
Where Science Meets Security
pandorareport.org
July 17, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Pandora Report 7.17.2026
This issue highlights a new proposal to modernize U.S. biosecurity governance, the continued spread of avian influenza and New World screwworm, the escalating Ebola outbreak in the DRC, and upcoming events and opportunities.
pandorareport.org
This issue highlights a new proposal to modernize U.S. biosecurity governance, the continued spread of avian influenza and New World screwworm, the escalating Ebola outbreak in the DRC, and upcoming events and opportunities.
pandorareport.org
NIH scientists plead not guilty to smuggling monkeypox viruses into U.S. | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
NIH scientists plead not guilty to smuggling monkeypox viruses into U.S.
Defendants face prison time for criminal charges but samples may all have been inactivated and used for routine diagnostics
www.science.org
June 11, 2026 at 2:38 PM
NIH scientists plead not guilty to smuggling monkeypox viruses into U.S. | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Why the Ebola and Hantavirus Outbreaks Have Confounded Scientists www.nytimes.com/2026/05/27/s...
Why the Ebola and Hantavirus Outbreaks Have Confounded Scientists
www.nytimes.com
June 9, 2026 at 9:56 PM
Why the Ebola and Hantavirus Outbreaks Have Confounded Scientists www.nytimes.com/2026/05/27/s...
Reposted by Kirishanthy K
Bill 60 is a vicious, one-sided tenancy legislation. It will cause widespread suffering and loss of life. Anyone who stays neutral is complicit. In this @thestar.com article, I focus on why mayors should fight it.
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Ricardo Tranjan: Think Doug Ford has walked back his war on tenants? There’s more to come. Here’s how it should be fought.
Last week, the Ontario government introduced Bill 60, Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act. It includes many troubling legislative changes, but popular outcry so far has focused on the direct attack
www.thestar.com
November 1, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Bill 60 is a vicious, one-sided tenancy legislation. It will cause widespread suffering and loss of life. Anyone who stays neutral is complicit. In this @thestar.com article, I focus on why mayors should fight it.
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
NIH kicks off yearlong effort to modernize biosafety policies | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
NIH kicks off yearlong effort to modernize biosafety policies
New initiative leaves researchers with questions about details and scope
www.science.org
September 17, 2025 at 1:46 AM
NIH kicks off yearlong effort to modernize biosafety policies | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted new global labour standards (go.nature.com/4016xir & go.nature.com/4752pu9) for occupational safety and health regarding biological hazards in the workplace
nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/d41...
go.nature.com
August 8, 2025 at 12:31 AM
International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted new global labour standards (go.nature.com/4016xir & go.nature.com/4752pu9) for occupational safety and health regarding biological hazards in the workplace
nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Kirishanthy K
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont... ‘Selling dreams of the future while failing to act now is not just cynical but despicable when it concerns the senior population.’ @ricardotranjan.bsky.social @policyalternatives.ca
Ricardo Tranjan: The law allows landlords to make the elderly homeless. Whose dreams of the future is government helping?
In Quebec, New York and Germany, laws protecting elderly renters from eviction are robust. Why doesn’t Ontario?
www.thestar.com
July 9, 2025 at 10:14 PM
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont... ‘Selling dreams of the future while failing to act now is not just cynical but despicable when it concerns the senior population.’ @ricardotranjan.bsky.social @policyalternatives.ca
Approaches for inactivating highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 cattle isolate for safe containment level 2 laboratory practices | Applied and Environmental Microbiology journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Approaches for inactivating highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 cattle isolate for safe containment level 2 laboratory practices | Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Historically, human infections from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) have
occurred from contact with infected birds, with estimated mortality rates of 52%.
Recently, this virus has spilled ove...
journals.asm.org
May 24, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Approaches for inactivating highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 cattle isolate for safe containment level 2 laboratory practices | Applied and Environmental Microbiology journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Detection of Measles Virus Genotype A in a Non-Endemic Wastewater Setting: Insights from Measles Wastewater and Environmental Monitoring in Canada’s Capital Region | Environmental Science & Technology Letters pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Detection of Measles Virus Genotype A in a Non-Endemic Wastewater Setting: Insights from Measles Wastewater and Environmental Monitoring in Canada’s Capital Region
The recent global resurgence of measles in 2023–2024, despite vaccine preventability, underscores a critical public health issue, largely due to reduced vaccination coverage during the SARS-CoV-2 pand...
pubs.acs.org
April 11, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Detection of Measles Virus Genotype A in a Non-Endemic Wastewater Setting: Insights from Measles Wastewater and Environmental Monitoring in Canada’s Capital Region | Environmental Science & Technology Letters pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
In the five years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, with over 150,000 articles published and 17 million genome sequences analyzed, we've gained profound insights into SARS-CoV-2. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Four ways COVID changed virology: lessons from the most sequenced virus of all time
After 150,000 articles and 17 million genome sequences, what has science taught us about SARS-CoV-2?
www.nature.com
March 14, 2025 at 1:10 AM
In the five years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, with over 150,000 articles published and 17 million genome sequences analyzed, we've gained profound insights into SARS-CoV-2. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
C.D.C. Study Finds Silent Bird Flu Infections in Dairy Veterinarians www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/s...
C.D.C. Study Finds Silent Bird Flu Infections in Dairy Veterinarians
The vets had no symptoms, and one worked only in states where no dairy infections had been reported.
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2025 at 9:46 PM
C.D.C. Study Finds Silent Bird Flu Infections in Dairy Veterinarians www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/s...
"Women and girls in science: what would you tell your younger self?' health.sunnybrook.ca/women-and-gi...
Women and girls in science: What would you tell your younger self?
February 11th is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, an opportunity to promote equal access and participation in science for women and
health.sunnybrook.ca
February 11, 2025 at 7:11 PM
"Women and girls in science: what would you tell your younger self?' health.sunnybrook.ca/women-and-gi...
Potential Ebola outbreak reported in DRC at a time of strained U.S.-WHO relations www.statnews.com/2025/01/28/p... via @statnews.com
Potential Ebola outbreak reported in DRC at a time of strained U.S.-WHO relations
A potential Ebola outbreak has been reported in the DRC, at a time when the Trump administration has paused communication with the WHO.
www.statnews.com
January 29, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Potential Ebola outbreak reported in DRC at a time of strained U.S.-WHO relations www.statnews.com/2025/01/28/p... via @statnews.com
Happy Thai Pongal!
January 14, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Happy Thai Pongal!
Reposted by Kirishanthy K
HHS has launched a new Biosafety and Biosecurity Innovation Initiative (BBII), coordinated by NIH, to strengthen biorisk management and reduce the risks posed by advances in biotechnology:
osp.od.nih.gov/policies/bio...
osp.od.nih.gov/policies/bio...
Biosafety and Biosecurity Policy
OSP develops and implements policies promote life sciences research while protecting public health and national security by minimizing the potential threats posed by biological pathogens and the poten...
osp.od.nih.gov
January 7, 2025 at 7:16 PM
HHS has launched a new Biosafety and Biosecurity Innovation Initiative (BBII), coordinated by NIH, to strengthen biorisk management and reduce the risks posed by advances in biotechnology:
osp.od.nih.gov/policies/bio...
osp.od.nih.gov/policies/bio...
"Investigation launched into Queensland lab breach, with vials of Hendra virus, lyssavirus and hantavirus missing" www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...
Live virus samples lost in major Queensland lab breach
An investigation has been launched after it was revealed 323 virus samples went missing from Virology Laboratory in 2021 in a "major breach" of biosecurity protocol.
www.abc.net.au
December 10, 2024 at 7:41 PM
"Investigation launched into Queensland lab breach, with vials of Hendra virus, lyssavirus and hantavirus missing" www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...