Michelle Wille

Avian influenza & avian virome ecology | "Expert in Ducks" - spam mail | "Walking encyclopedia for avian influenza" - CVdS | (she/her)

[Sayed Abdel-whab (ORCID: 0000-0003-2103-0922) @Sayedabdelwhab]

New tool for virology:
ViralMap uses AI to predict 10 key features of viral proteins like signal peptides, glycosylation sites, furin cleavage sites, transmembrane domains & disulfide bonds from the protein sequence alone.
#Virology #AI #Bioinformatics
https://t.co/0PHjW3D1qS

[@KAPPA-FLU @KappaFlu]

H7N3 is back on the radar. Mexico reports an HPAI H7N3 detection in a wild plain chachalaca in Chiapas, the first occurrence in the affected zone. Enhanced nationwide surveillance is underway. #Influenza #HPAI #OneHealth
https://t.co/gH61L6EVDa

[Joachim Schork @JoachimSchork]

Have you heard about the gtExtras package for R? This package aims to elevate your R table game, merging the powerful static tables of gt with dynamic graphics.

gtExtras offers opinionated helper functions, simplifying the creation of stunning and functional tables in R. From themes inspired by data journalism to inline graphics, it wraps around the gt package's complexities, making your data visualization journey smoother.

Key Highlights:

1️⃣ 65 Functions Ready for Action: Dive into a variety of functions designed to enhance your tables, from styling to plotting.
2️⃣ Themes Galore: Apply one of seven unique themes to style your tables, including nods to FiveThirtyEight, ESPN, and The New York Times.
3️⃣ Color & Plot with Ease: Utilize color schemes like the Hulk palette for a color-blind friendly experience and embed plots directly in your tables.
4️⃣ Effortless Highlighting & Utilities: Highlight rows, integrate images, or even create custom themes without the heavy lifting.

Special thanks to Thomas Mock for developing the fantastic gtExtras package, and to Yan Holtz for introducing it through a blog article where I first discovered the package.

Link to an article about the package by Thomas Mock: https://t.co/pVGEO5Iogg
Link to the blog article by Yan Holtz: https://t.co/N6URPX6tAu

Stay informed with my free newsletter, where I consistently offer fresh insights on statistics, data science, and programming techniques in R and Python.

For more information, visit this link: https://t.co/ktUcWo9XpO

#datastructure #RStats #DataVisualization #DataAnalytics #Statistics #R4DS #StatisticalAnalysis

[nature @Nature]

Preprints don’t change much after peer review — and are rarely retracted.

https://t.co/KKgmDZuWJG

[Erik Karlsson @E_A_Karlsson]

By the current numbers:

Since 2026: 5 cases, 1 death (CFR 20%)
Since 2023: 39 cases, 16 deaths (CFR 41.0%)
Since 2004: 95 cases, 53 deaths (CFR 55.8%)

Read more: https://t.co/ozlCZxakyG

#AvianInfluenza #BirdFlu #OneHealth #H5N1

[Nav Toor @heynavtoor]

AI is making every scientist more productive. It is also making all of science less creative.

A paper in Nature just proved both are true at the same time.

Researchers at Tsinghua University and the University of Chicago studied 41.3 million scientific papers.

They tracked what happened to research before and after AI entered each field.

The individual numbers are impressive.

Scientists who use AI publish 3 times more papers. They get nearly 5 times more citations. They become team leaders a year and a half earlier than scientists who do not use AI. By every personal measure, AI makes a scientist more successful.

Then the researchers looked at the bigger picture.

The total number of different research topics being studied is shrinking. Not growing. Shrinking. By 4.63%. More than 70% of the 200 fields they examined are getting narrower. Scientists are reading each other's work 22% less. The top 20% of papers are collecting 80% of all citations. Everyone is producing more. But they are all producing the same things.

The researchers gave this a name. "Lonely crowds." Hundreds of scientists working on the same problem. Nobody reading what the others are doing. The field looks busy from the outside. Inside, it is an echo chamber.

The reason is not complicated. AI works best where there is a lot of existing data to learn from. So scientists go where the data is. Because that is where AI gives them the biggest advantage. The fields with less data, where the questions are harder and the answers might actually change everything, get ignored. Not because they are unimportant. Because they are inconvenient.

This creates a trap that nobody talks about.

Every scientist using AI is making the rational choice. More papers. More citations. Faster career. But if everyone makes the same rational choice, they all end up in the same place. The edges of knowledge, where the real breakthroughs live, go unexplored.

AI is helping scientists find better answers. It is also helping them avoid the hardest questions. And the hardest questions are usually the ones that matter most.

[Erik Karlsson @E_A_Karlsson]

#Cambodia confirms its 5th human #H5N1 case of 2026: a 9-month-old girl from Phnom Penh. Exposure investigations are ongoing. Initial sequencing indicates the virus belongs to the reassortant clade 2.3.2.1e lineage circulating since 2023.

#AvianInfluenza #BirdFlu #OneHealth

[Jan Broder Engler @JanBroderEngler]

This book by Kang Wu is all about #tidyplots 🤩

It’s packed with beautiful example plots and their code. Kang really pushes #tidyplots to its limits—and sometimes even beyond 😂

https://t.co/dDtAjRCYGL

@KangWu82336800

#rstats #dataviz #phd

[Ming "Tommy" Tang @tangming2005]

A Bioinformatician's UNIX Toolbox
I know I am still old-school :)
https://t.co/R4l4tqGhlF

[Michelle Wille @DuckSwabber]

Australia has 3 confirmed detections of HPAI H5N1. Two in WA - in a giant petrel and brown skua, and one in SA - in a southern giant petrel. There is a further suspected case from a giant petrel in WA. Find the latest updates on https://t.co/dk6PXomChO

[Nature Microbiology @NatureMicrobiol]

Addressing the zoonotic threat of merbecoviruses https://t.co/XSAINFbtKU #MicroSky

[Doherty Institute @TheDohertyInst]

On Saturday the first case of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 was confirmed in Australia. What does this mean for our wildlife population? Origin, transmission and prevention measures explained by experts.
https://t.co/aVl0b8C2Jn
@DuckSwabber

[FluTrackers.com @FluTrackers]

Antarctic -6 species tested + for #H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b: so.elephant seal, king penguin, gentoo penguin, Antarctic fur seal&South Georgia diving petrel-"By January 2026, widespread elephant seal pup mortality was detected in all surveyed breeding areas.." https://t.co/ViisE2VNih

[Michelle Wille @DuckSwabber]

The WOAH notification of Australia's first HPAI H5N1 case is now online.
https://t.co/od5dePOcCV

[FluTrackers.com @FluTrackers]

Influenza Other Respir Viruses . Migratory Bird and Marine Mammal Surveillance Fails to Find Evidence for an HPAI #H5N1 2.3.4.4b Incursion Into Australia in 2025 https://t.co/w55xKesk4W h/t tetano

[The Conversation - Australia + New Zealand @ConversationEDU]

This is not the moment to call defeat. There is a chance we can stop this infectious virus, this time at least. @DuckSwabber @DrMeaganDewar @Deakin @FedUniAustralia @unimelb https://t.co/HThq9WisTM

[Michelle Wille @DuckSwabber]

WHA: https://t.co/Xi913bWLyo
BirdLife: https://t.co/bpf8Bbatjg
ACDC: https://t.co/hT3abYozHr
DPIRD WA: https://t.co/Sqa7TMSKlM
(4/4)

[Michelle Wille @DuckSwabber]

Until Friday, Australia was the only continent free from HPAI H5N1. Sadly, this is not the case - a 2344b confirmation in a Brown Skua, and a suspected case in a Northern Giant Petrel which turned up in WA. 👉 https://t.co/wgkgMy7nqx
(1/4)

[Michelle Wille @DuckSwabber]

For correct and up-to-date details, please check out the H5 bird flu websites by DAFF, DCCEEW, BirdLife, Wildlife Health Australia and the Australian CDC. Some links here:
DAFF: https://t.co/4N6euHYCgM
DCCEEW: https://t.co/Y1P5mUx7TU
(3/4)