As AI brings new capabilities (for good or ill) we'll need a digital immune system: models that detect & counter malicious use. Like AI-powered fraud detection, but against cyber attacks, bioweapons capabilities, and more. My latest in @BulletinAtomic:.

RT @PrincetonMolBio: “Policy is ultimately about people, and scientists need to be in those rooms helping shape it from the start.” Intervi….

RT @PrincetonSPIA: Princeton SPIA’s @AliNouriPhD discusses the policy implications of the L.A. fires. #palisadesfire

🧑‍🎓So proud of my students! This semester, they delved into the policy ramifications of AI, analyzing safety & security. They crafted policies to address these risks and then briefed their Senator, Congressional Staff, and senior Administration officials👇.

6/6 This combination - easier mutation pathway + worker exposure + possible virus mixing - underscores the paper's conclusion: importance of continued surveillance for mutations in currently circulating H5N1 viruses.

5/6 Added risk: During flu season, if a dairy worker gets both H5N1 and seasonal flu, the viruses could reassort (mix genes) to create hybrid viruses more adapted to human infection.

4/6 Cows have predominantly bird-type receptors and fewer human-type ones, providing limited pressure for adaptation. However, each dairy worker infection creates opportunity for the virus to adapt to human cells.

3/6 While receptor binding is key for human transmission, it's one of several factors affecting viral spread. The easier path to receptor switching in this strain warrants attention, even though current infections are mild.

2/6 While the current H5N1 virus still prefers bird-type receptors, dairy workers have been infected through close contact with sick cows, resulting in mild symptoms so far.

1/6 New @ScienceMagazine study: Lab experiments show a single mutation could switch current dairy cow H5N1's binding preference from bird to human cell receptors. Most previous H5 strains needed multiple mutations for this switch making this single-mutation pathway concerning.

RT @PrincetonSPIA: SPIA NEWSMAKERS: @AliNouriPhD penned an op-ed in @ajc on why the incoming Trump administration should keep the Inflation….

4/4 The data shows a significant shift in how this administrative tool is used - from a narrow solution for specific problems to a routine way to override landowner concerns. Time to reassess this policy.

3/4 In the cases studied where companies sought compulsory unitization, 72% of negotiations with private landowners ended in mandated rather than voluntary access. Only 14% of owners had lawyers during these negotiations.

2/4 "Compulsory unitization" was designed to handle two specific cases: owners who couldn't be found, or those holding out for more money. But the study found companies now use it more broadly - in roughly 40% of fracking applications - to override any resistance.

🧵1/4 @NatureEnergy study reveals how fracking companies in Ohio gain access to private land. When land owners refuse access, companies first try pressure: calls, visits, approaching family members. Multiple times. If that fails, they seek "compulsory unitization" from the state.

5/5 "Given ongoing [spread] in cattle & high exposure risk for farm & dairy workers. crucial for outbreak control & public health to understand how this virus spreads among cattle, potential for mammalian adaptation & capacity for airborne transmission".

4/5 Important context: Human seasonal H1N1 showed efficient air shedding in all ferrets tested. Current H5N1 from cattle showed minimal shedding. Findings help explain transmission patterns and highlight need for monitoring virus evolution.

3/5 The adaptations seen (like PB2-E627K in the dairy worker strain, PB2-T271A in polecat strain) may enable higher replication, allowing some air shedding despite the virus still preferring avian-type receptors. But efficiency remains much lower than human flu viruses.

2/5 Key finding: While 2005 H5N1 showed no infectious virus in air samples, recent strains from a European polecat (2022) and US dairy worker (2024) showed limited infectious virus shedding in air from single ferrets. This matches their observed limited transmission patterns.

🧵 1/5 New @NatureMicrobiol study reveals H5N1 bird flu evolution: Scientists measured infectious virus particles in air from infected ferrets, finding recent strains show low but increased ability to be expelled into air compared to older variants.