Feed aggregator

Salary: £22,954 - £23,400 per annum (which is 94.79% of the full-time salary bracket of £24,215 - £24,685) + 15% Shift Allowance = c. £26,397 - £26,910 per annum.

This equates to an hourly rate of £12.70 to £12.94 plus a 15% shift allowance.

We have an exciting opportunity for someone to join us as a 24/7 Veterinary Care Assistant in our Small Animal Wing on a temporary basis. The referral hospital is a very fast-paced environment working with complex and seriously ill animals. The temporary role will begin as soon as possible from September 2025 and will continue until the November 2025.

The main objective of the role is to provide animal care to an excellent standard for the Queen's Veterinary School referral Hospital, to meet the needs of the service in the Small Animal Wing. The small animal wing consists of four dog, two cat, critical care, isolation wards housing an average of 15-25 patients during the overnight period and Theatre Suite.

You will play an important part in a primary care team working alongside nurses and other veterinary care assistants. Responsibilities will include cleaning and animal care duties in order to assist veterinary nurses in the inpatient area and in theatres.

In return, we offer an encouraging and nurturing environment and have a dedicated team of clinicians, nurses and veterinary care assistants who are committed to providing the best care for our patients.

Benefits

• Generous paid annual leave including bank holidays
• Defined benefit pension scheme
• Enhanced family friendly policies
• Access to a dedicated Personal and Professional Development team
• Wellness programme including Occupational Health team and Staff counselling
• Staff discount scheme including shopping vouchers
• Cycle to work scheme
• Travel to work loans
• Eye care voucher scheme
• Discounted gym membership

If you have any questions about this role please contact the Clinical HR Team by email: qvsh.hr@vet.cam.ac.uk

Further particulars for the role and information about the Department are available at: www.vet.cam.ac.uk

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Closing date: Sunday, 7th September 2025

Applications will be monitored regularly, and we may contact candidates prior to the closing date. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Please quote reference PP47031 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

J Vet Cardiol. 2025 Jul 15;61:56-61. doi: 10.1016/j.jvc.2025.07.001. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

A nine-year-old, domestic shorthair cat was referred for investigation of a suspected renal mass, polyuria, polydipsia, hyporexia and weight loss of one month's duration; no respiratory signs were reported. On presentation, the cat had marked respiratory effort. Thoracic auscultation revealed reduced heart and lung sounds bilaterally. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a large pleural effusion and an extensive, homogenous mass within the right ventricular outflow tract, invading the pulmonary valve and causing severe infundibular and valvular pulmonary stenosis and right atrial and ventricular dilatation. The mass extended to, and infiltrated, the right ventricular free wall. Postmortem examination confirmed the presence of a mass associated with the pulmonary valve extending into the right ventricle and infiltrating the right ventricular and right atrial myocardium, resulting in severe infundibular and valvular pulmonary stenosis. Histopathology showed disseminated intermediate to large cell lymphoma affecting the kidney, myocardium, pulmonary valve, pancreas, diaphragm and adrenal glands.

PMID:40795482 | DOI:10.1016/j.jvc.2025.07.001

Adv Healthc Mater. 2025 Aug 7:e01809. doi: 10.1002/adhm.202501809. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The clinical translation of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) - a promising class of porous materials for nanomedicine - is hindered by a poor understanding of their complex interactions with the immune system and in vivo immunotoxicity. To address this gap, a hierarchical "Safety-by-Design" pipeline is established and validated, integrating machine learning (ML) with ex vivo human blood studies and targeted in vivo models. This multi-stage workflow enables the systematic profiling of MOF immunotoxicity, de-risking their development. The power of this approach is demonstrated using four clinically relevant MOFs - NU-901, PCN-222, UiO-66, and ZIF-8 - revealing distinct, framework-dependent immune fingerprints. The initial in silico screening correctly flagged NU-901 and ZIF-8 as potential hazards to human health. These predictions are subsequently validated ex vivo, where NU-901 is confirmed to be selectively cytotoxic to CD14+ monocytes, and ZIF-8 is identified as a specific pro-inflammatory agent via IL-6 induction. In contrast, candidates predicted to be safe - UiO-66 and PCN-222 - demonstrated high biocompatibility ex vivo and advanced to in vivo studies, where they caused only minimal and transient immune activation. This study provides a validated, resource-efficient roadmap for preclinical immunotoxicity assessment, establishing a rational paradigm to accelerate the safe clinical translation of MOFs and other advanced nanomedicines.

PMID:40772350 | DOI:10.1002/adhm.202501809

Equine Vet J. 2025 Jul 20. doi: 10.1111/evj.14558. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Strangles (Streptococcus equi infection) remains endemic in the UK, with ~300 laboratory diagnoses annually. Sub-clinically infected long-term carriers are considered a key driver of endemicity. Analysing genomes of circulating strains could provide valuable transmission insights of this pathogen.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the population structure and diversity of UK S. equi isolates and to model transmission using epidemiological and whole genome sequencing data.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional epidemiological and genomic surveillance.

METHODS: A dated phylogenetic tree derived from 511 S. equi isolates collected from UK horses between 2015 and 2022 was reconstructed. Bayesian Analysis of Population Structure (BAPS) identified clusters of related genomes, while iGRAPH identified clusters of sequences appropriate for transmission analysis, performed using Transphylo.

RESULTS: BAPS identified nine groups, with 82% of strains clustering into two (McG-BAPS3, McG-BAPS5). A statistically significant association (p < 0.001) was found between the year of recovery and trends in the frequency of McG-BAPS groups, with McG-BAPS3 increasing and McG-BAPS5 decreasing in prevalence over the study period. Eight transmission clusters encompassing 64% of total sequences (n = 286/447) underwent analysis. Sixteen direct transmission pairs were identified; 10 were between horses from different UK regions. A transmission chain extending over a 6-month period was inferred from isolates from nine horses.

MAIN LIMITATIONS: Bacterial strains from sub-clinically infected carrier horses may be underrepresented due to data collection via positive laboratory diagnoses. Furthermore, a low sampling proportion relative to overall UK cases provided only a snapshot of broader, unsampled transmission events.

CONCLUSIONS: The rapid change in S. equi population structure indicates acutely infected/recently convalesced short-term carrier horses play a more influential role in transmission than long-term carriers. Our work provides novel insights to our understanding of S. equi transmission dynamics. Transmission of genetically related strains across diverse regions suggests a real-time sequence-based surveillance system could inform interventions to minimise transmission.

PMID:40684376 | DOI:10.1111/evj.14558

Nat Commun. 2025 Jul 17;16(1):6360. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-61152-y.

ABSTRACT

The npmA gene, encoding a 16S rRNA methyltransferase, confers resistance to all clinically available aminoglycosides, posing a significant threat to effective antibiotic therapy. We analyze 1,932,812 bacterial genomes to investigate the distribution and mobilization of npmA variants. npmA is not found in Gram-negative bacteria, where it was originally described, but is identified among Gram-positive bacteria, predominantly as the npmA2 variant in the globally distributed Clostridioides difficile ST11 lineage. We also detect npmA2 in two vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium isolates from a Dutch hospital. Upon sequencing and phenotypic analysis, we determine that E. faecium isolates are pan-resistant to aminoglycosides. Genomic characterization links npmA2 to a composite transposon, Tn7734, which is integrated within a previously uncharacterized Integrative and Conjugative Element (ICE) Tn7740, present in both npmA2-carrying C. difficile and E. faecium clinical isolates. Tn7740-like, but not npmA2, appears across diverse taxa, including human microbiome members. Here, we show that Tn7740 likely facilitates cross-species npmA2 mobilization between these Gram-positive bacteria and emphasize the risk of mobile genetic elements transferring pan-aminoglycoside resistance between clinically important bacterial pathogens.

PMID:40675954 | DOI:10.1038/s41467-025-61152-y

Nat Commun. 2025 Jul 10;16(1):6374. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-61687-0.

ABSTRACT

Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) are intestinal parasites that affect over a billion people worldwide. STH control relies on microscopy-based diagnostics to monitor parasite prevalence and enable post-treatment surveillance; however, molecular diagnostics are rapidly being developed due to increased sensitivity, particularly in low-STH-prevalence settings. The genetic diversity of helminths and its potential impact on molecular diagnostics remain unclear. Using low-coverage genome sequencing, we assess the genetics of STHs within worm, faecal, and purified egg samples from 27 countries, identifying differences in the genetic connectivity and diversity of STH-positive samples across regions and cryptic diversity between closely related human- and pig-infective species. We define substantial copy number and sequence variants in current diagnostic target regions and validate the impact of genetic variation on qPCR diagnostics using in vitro assays. Our study provides insights into the diversity and genomic epidemiology of STHs, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities for developing molecular diagnostics needed to support STH control efforts.

PMID:40640199 | DOI:10.1038/s41467-025-61687-0

A new study suggests that our ancestors’ close cohabitation with domesticated animals and large-scale migrations played a key role in the spread of infectious diseases.

The team, led by Professor Eske Willerslev at the Universities of Cambridge and Copenhagen, recovered ancient DNA from 214 known human pathogens in prehistoric humans from Eurasia.

They found that the earliest evidence of zoonotic diseases – illnesses transmitted from animals to humans, like COVID in recent times – dates back to around 6,500 years ago, with these diseases becoming more widespread approximately 5,000 years ago.

The study detected the world’s oldest genetic trace of the plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis, in a 5,500-year-old sample. The plague is estimated to have killed between one-quarter and one-half of Europe’s population during the Middle Ages.

In addition, the researchers found traces of many other diseases including:

Malaria (Plasmodium vivax) – 4,200 years ago

Leprosy (Mycobacterium leprae) – 1,400 years ago

Hepatitis B virus – 9,800 years ago

Diphtheria (Corynebacterium diphtheriae) – 11,100 years ago

This is the largest study to date on the history of infectious diseases and is published today in the journal Nature.

The researchers analysed DNA from over 1,300 prehistoric humans, some up to 37,000 years old. The ancient bones and teeth have provided a unique insight into the development of diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

“We’ve long suspected that the transition to farming and animal husbandry opened the door to a new era of disease – now DNA shows us that it happened at least 6,500 years ago,” said Willerslev.

He added: “These infections didn’t just cause illness – they may have contributed to population collapse, migration, and genetic adaptation.”

The significant increase in the incidence of zoonoses around 5,000 years ago coincides with a migration to north-western Europe from the Pontic Steppe – that is from parts of present-day Ukraine, south-western Russia and western Kazakhstan. The people embarking on this migration – and who to a large extent passed on the genetic profile found among people in north-western Europe today – belonged to the Yamnaya herders.

The findings could be significant for the development of vaccines and for understanding how diseases arise and mutate over time.

“If we understand what happened in the past, it can help us prepare for the future. Many of the newly emerging infectious diseases are predicted to originate from animals,” said Associate Professor Martin Sikora at the University of Copenhagen, and first author of the report.

Willerslev added: “Mutations that were successful in the past are likely to reappear. This knowledge is important for future vaccines, as it allows us to test whether current vaccines provide sufficient coverage or whether new ones need to be developed due to mutations.”

The sample material was primarily provided by museums in Europe and Asia. The samples were partly extracted from teeth, where the enamel acts as a lid that can protect the DNA against degradation as a result of the ravages of time. The rest of the DNA was primarily extracted from petrosa bones - the hardest bone in humans - located on the inside of the skull.

The research was funded by the Lundbeck Foundation.

Reference

Sikora, M. et al: ‘The spatiotemporal distribution of human pathogens in ancient Eurasia.’ Nature, July 2025. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09192-8

Adapted from a press release by the University of Copenhagen.

Researchers have mapped the spread of infectious diseases in humans across millennia, to reveal how human-animal interactions permanently transformed our health today.

We’ve long suspected that the transition to farming and animal husbandry opened the door to a new era of disease – now DNA shows us that it happened at least 6,500 years agoEske WillerslevMarie Louise JørkovLate Neolithic skull from Madesø

The text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright ©University of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

YesLicence type: Attribution-Noncommerical

Nature. 2025 Jul 9. doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09192-8. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Infectious diseases have had devastating effects on human populations throughout history, but important questions about their origins and past dynamics remain1. To create an archaeogenetic-based spatiotemporal map of human pathogens, we screened shotgun-sequencing data from 1,313 ancient humans covering 37,000 years of Eurasian history. We demonstrate the widespread presence of ancient bacterial, viral and parasite DNA, identifying 5,486 individual hits against 492 species from 136 genera. Among those hits, 3,384 involve known human pathogens2, many of which had not previously been identified in ancient human remains. Grouping the ancient microbial species according to their likely reservoir and type of transmission, we find that most groups are identified throughout the entire sampling period. Zoonotic pathogens are only detected from around 6,500 years ago, peaking roughly 5,000 years ago, coinciding with the widespread domestication of livestock3. Our findings provide direct evidence that this lifestyle change resulted in an increased infectious disease burden. They also indicate that the spread of these pathogens increased substantially during subsequent millennia, coinciding with the pastoralist migrations from the Eurasian Steppe4,5.

PMID:40634616 | DOI:10.1038/s41586-025-09192-8

Mol Ecol Resour. 2025 Jul 9:e70005. doi: 10.1111/1755-0998.70005. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

New approaches are urgently needed to enrich rare or low-abundant DNA in complex samples. Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) inhabit heterogeneous environments, including the gastrointestinal tract of their host as adults and are excreted as eggs and larvae in faeces, complicating our understanding of their biology and the use of genetic tools for species monitoring and population tracking. We have developed a hybridisation capture approach to enrich mitochondrial genome sequences of two STH species, the roundworm Ascaris lumbricoides and whipworm Trichuris trichiura, from extracted DNA from faecal material and worm specimens. Employing ~1000 targeted probes, we achieved > 6000 and > 12,000 fold enrichment for A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura, respectively, relative to direct whole genome shotgun (WGS) sequencing. Sequencing coverage was highly concordant with probe targets and correlated with the number of eggs per gram (EPG) of parasites present, from which DNA from as few as 336 EPG for Ascaris and 48 EPG for Trichuris were efficiently captured and sufficient to provide effective mitochondrial genome data. Finally, allele frequencies were highly concordant between WGS and hybridisation capture, suggesting little genetic information is lost with additional sample processing required for enrichment. Our hybridisation capture design and approach enable sensitive and flexible STH mitochondrial genome sampling from faecal DNA extracts and pave the way for broader hybridisation capture-based genome-wide applications and molecular epidemiology studies of STHs.

PMID:40631469 | DOI:10.1111/1755-0998.70005

Vet Res. 2025 Jul 7;56(1):139. doi: 10.1186/s13567-025-01574-0.

ABSTRACT

Streptococcus uberis is a causative pathogen of bovine mastitis with high genetic diversity. Rhamnose-rich polysaccharides (RPS) are abundant surface structures covalently anchored to peptidoglycan and represent promising vaccine candidates for several streptococcal pathogens. It was previously reported that the RPS of S. uberis strain 233 is composed of a repeating → 2)-α-L-Rhap-(1 → 3)-α-L-Rhap-(1 → disaccharide backbone decorated with α-D-Glcp side-chains. In this study, we identified a hitherto unknown glycerol phosphate (GroP) modification at the 6-OH of the Glc residue in S. uberis 233 RPS using nuclear magnetic resonance analysis. Comparative genomic analysis of 592 S. uberis genomes revealed significant diversity in the RPS biosynthesis gene cluster with six major RPS genotypes. RPS genotypes 1-4, representing 97.5% of the analyzed strains, all contained the rhamnan backbone biosynthesis genes shared between several streptococcal species, as well as a putative GroP transferase gene. Using rhamnan-reactive immune serum, we further demonstrated that rhamnan is a conserved and accessible glycan motif in S. uberis RPS genotype 1 and 2 strains, but this motif is inferred to be shielded by side-chains in genotype 4 strains. Importantly, experiments with sera from cattle, challenged intramammarily with S. uberis, revealed that the rhamnan backbone of S. uberis RPS is an immunogenic glycan motif and remained accessible to bovine IgG antibodies in the presence of single residue RPS side-chains. Overall, this study suggests that S. uberis RPS are modified with GroP and reports that RPS in most strains contain a conserved, immunogenic and antibody accessible rhamnan glycan motif.

PMID:40624561 | DOI:10.1186/s13567-025-01574-0

Front Vet Sci. 2025 Jun 20;12:1583988. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1583988. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis is a common diagnostic tool in the investigation of neurological presentations. Whether its routine use after every brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is warranted is debated amongst clinicians, and its usefulness after a normal MRI has not yet been examined. To investigate whether CSF analysis affected the final diagnosis in dogs and cats with suspected intracranial disease in the presence of unremarkable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), clinical, imaging and laboratory records of dogs and cats with suspected intracranial disease, unremarkable MRI and CSF analysis were reviewed in this multi-center retrospective study. Of 593 animals, (533 dogs and 60 cats), 17 dogs (3%) had abnormal CSF, nine of these demonstrating pleocytosis (with or without elevated microprotein) and eight showing hyperproteinorrachia alone. In only five of these dogs (0.8% of the total cohort) was the final diagnosis and/or treatment meaningfully affected by CSF findings: three diagnosed with inflammatory brain conditions and two had undetermined diagnoses, with corticosteroids initiated following abnormal CSF results. No cats in this population had an abnormal CSF. All dogs with a diagnosis based on abnormal CSF results had an abnormal neurological examination. In this population, CSF analysis was unlikely to reveal an undiagnosed intracranial condition following an unremarkable brain MRI, particularly in dogs presenting with a normal neurological examination. In dogs presenting with an abnormal neurological examination or a high suspicion of inflammatory disease, CSF evaluation following normal MRI is more likely to be diagnostically valuable.

PMID:40621502 | PMC:PMC12226868 | DOI:10.3389/fvets.2025.1583988

Nat Commun. 2025 Jul 4;16(1):6067. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-60248-9.

ABSTRACT

Food-grade titanium dioxide (fgTiO2) is a bio-persistent particle under intense regulatory scrutiny. Yet paradoxically, the only known cell reservoirs for fgTiO2 are graveyard intestinal pigment cells which are metabolically and immunologically quiescent. Here we identify immunocompetent cell targets of fgTiO2 in humans, most notably in the subepithelial dome region of intestinal Peyer's patches. Using multimodal microscopies with single-particle detection and per-cell / vesicle image analysis we achieve correlative dosimetry, quantitatively recapitulating human cellular exposures in the ileum of mice fed a fgTiO2-containing diet. Epithelial microfold cells selectively funnel fgTiO2 into LysoMac and LysoDC cells with ensuing accumulation. Notwithstanding, proximity extension analyses for 92 protein targets reveal no measureable perturbation of cell signalling pathways. When chased with oral ΔaroA-Salmonella, pro-inflammatory signalling is confirmed, but no augmentation by fgTiO2 is revealed despite marked same-cell loading. Interestingly, Salmonella causes the fgTiO2-recipient cells to migrate within the patch and, sporadically, to be identified in the lamina propria, thereby fully recreating the intestinal tissue distribution of fgTiO2 in humans. Immunocompetent cells that accumulate fgTiO2 in vivo are now identified and we demonstrate a mouse model that finally enables human-relevant risk assessments of ingested, bio-persistent (nano)particles.

PMID:40615368 | DOI:10.1038/s41467-025-60248-9

SCHOLARSHIP AWARD: £21,970.00 (TAX EXEMPT) per annum. On site accommodation is available for £300 per month including bills.

Funded by the University of Cambridge Veterinary School Trust, Exempt Charity XO 979/86

Limit of Tenure: 12 months

The Department seeks to recruit a Junior Clinical Training Scholar (JCTS) in Surgery and Anaesthesia from January 2026, or as soon as possible after that date, in order to enhance provision of the Small Animal Surgical and Anaesthesia services and undergraduate teaching.

You will help to facilitate the smooth running of the Small Animal Soft Tissue and Orthopaedic Surgery services by supporting the team with all aspects of the work-up, diagnosis and management of small animal surgical patients, helping with scheduling of appointments, preparation for and assisting with surgeries, and the post-surgical aftercare and discharge of the patients. You will contribute to the Anaesthesia service by assisting with sedations and anaesthesia of the wide range of surgical and medical patients seen at the Queen's Veterinary School Hospital and including the critical care unit. You will support final-year veterinary students during their small animal surgery and anaesthesia rotations.

The successful candidate will be involved in all aspects of the Small Animal Surgical and Anaesthesia Services and will be required to participate in the practical instruction of veterinary students and a weekend / weeknight on call rota within the Hospital. This is an opportunity to develop your clinical and organisational skills, knowledge of small animal soft tissue and orthopaedic surgery, knowledge of anaesthesia and critical care, and to gain experience as a clinical teacher of final year veterinary students in a well-equipped and encouraging academic environment. The Internship will offer an excellent opportunity to prepare for Specialist training, such as a Senior Clinical Training Scholarship (Residency) in Small Animal Surgery.

Candidates must be members of the RCVS and have at least 12 months' experience in companion animal practice. Candidates with some pre-existing experience in small animal surgery and / or anaesthesia will be preferred.

We would welcome anyone wishing to apply for this scholarship to arrange a visit to the hospital to meet the team and find out more. To arrange a visit to the hospital and for informal enquiries about the scholarship programme, please contact Laura Owen (Soft Tissue Surgery: lo247@cam.ac.uk).

Summary of benefits

• Competitive tax-free stipend including accommodation in Central Cambridge and bills included package
• Good work-life balance with manageable weekend and night work
• University library and journal access
• 2 weeks of elective/dedicated research time on top of holidays
• Academic opportunities, e.g. teaching Cambridge students during rotations and College supervision opportunities; weekly department research and clinical seminars; journal and book clubs
• Proven track-record with publications and research projects with guidance on presentation and scientific writing skills.
• Assigned intern supervisor: - regular progress meetings, interview practice, provision of professional references and CV/cover letter proof reading by experienced senior clinicians to aid residency applications
• Generous CPD allowance and encouragement to present at scientific meetings

For more information about the Department and the role please visit www.vet.cam.ac.uk.

An application form (JCTS1) and information pack can be downloaded from the link below or via the following website: http://www.vet.cam.ac.uk/job.

Applicants should supply a completed Junior Clinical Training Scholarship Application Form (JCTS 1), a CV and Covering Letter giving reasons for wishing to undertake the JCTS in the Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge.

Applications should be submitted via e-mail to: vetmed@vet.cam.ac.uk with the above documents as one attachment, by the closing date stated.

Please note: The ability to take up this Scholarship is contingent upon you being able to evidence your right to work in the UK, or through gaining the right to work via the UK immigration system. Evidence will need to be provided before an offer can be made. Regrettably, this Scholarship is not suitable for sponsorship via the Skilled Worker or Temporary Worker visa routes as the minimum requirements cannot be met.

Closing date for applications: Midnight on Thursday 31 July 2025

Interviews will take place in mid-September 2025

Please quote reference PP46095 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society. The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

J Vet Intern Med. 2025 Jul-Aug;39(4):e70182. doi: 10.1111/jvim.70182.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Humans with peripheral vestibular disorders can suppress nystagmus through visual fixation, a capability often compromised in those with central vestibular disorders. Bedside tests that exploit this difference can aid neurolocalization in humans. These tests remain unexplored in veterinary medicine.

HYPOTHESIS: Removal of visual input will reveal or enhance nystagmus in animals with peripheral vestibular disease, while animals with central vestibular disease would show little change.

ANIMALS: Twenty-one dogs and cats with peripheral vestibular lesions and 16 with central vestibular lesions. Diagnosis was confirmed by MRI.

METHODS: A prospective study was conducted using a modified penlight-cover test. Because animals cannot be easily instructed to fixate on a visual target, removal of visual input was used as a substitute for eliminating visual fixation, based on the assumption that visual fixation also occurs spontaneously. A 0.5-W LED penlight was shined into one eye while covering the other to eliminate visual input. Nystagmus beat frequency (BF) and subjective evaluation of slow phase velocity (SPV) were recorded before and during penlight application.

RESULTS: In animals with peripheral lesions, BF increased in 33% and SPV in 24% of cases after removal of visual input. Among those with central lesions, only one of 16 showed an increase in BF, and none exhibited an increase in SPV.

CONCLUSIONS: When used alongside the neurological examination, the modified penlight-cover test, could raise suspicion of a peripheral vestibular lesion if it reveals increased BF or SPV.

PMID:40577055 | DOI:10.1111/jvim.70182

Neurosurg Rev. 2025 Jun 27;48(1):530. doi: 10.1007/s10143-025-03677-w.

ABSTRACT

Neuro-oncological surgery necessitates a careful balance between maximising tumour resection whilst minimising damage to healthy brain parenchyma. Tubular retractors represent an emerging tool proposed to facilitate in the optimisation of this onco-functional balance. The objective was to evaluate the evidence regarding tubular retractors in neuro-oncological surgery. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed. Studies reporting on surgical outcomes of tubular retractors in adult neuro-oncological cases were eligible. Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov, and ICTRP were searched to 14th July 2024. Duplicate title/abstract screening, data extraction, and risk of bias assessments were conducted. Prevalence of gross total resection (GTR) and complications were calculated using random effects models. 49 studies were included in the final analysis with a total of 684 patients. Combined pooled prevalence for GTR was 76% (95% CI: 67-85%), whilst for complications was 14% (95% CI: 8-20%). GTR rate by tumour histology was: 52% for gliomas (95% CI: 41-62%), 80% for metastases (95% CI: 65-92%), and 100% for colloid cysts (95% CI: 99-100%). Complication rate by tumour histology was: 16% for gliomas (95% CI: 5-30%), 12% for metastases (95% CI: 1-28%), and 16% for colloid cysts (95% CI: 8-24%). There was no significant difference between tubular retractor brands and GTR or complication rate (p > 0.05). Despite the mounting interest regarding the utility of tubular retractors in neuro-oncological surgery, the current evidence remains largely in the form of case series. Prospective studies with greater sample sizes, longer follow-up, and direct comparison to conventional retraction are now needed.

PMID:40576849 | DOI:10.1007/s10143-025-03677-w

Nat Microbiol. 2025 Jun 20. doi: 10.1038/s41564-025-02035-2. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Numerous important environments harbour low levels of microbial biomass, including certain human tissues, the atmosphere, plant seeds, treated drinking water, hyper-arid soils and the deep subsurface, with some environments lacking resident microbes altogether. These low microbial biomass environments pose unique challenges for standard DNA-based sequencing approaches, as the inevitability of contamination from external sources becomes a critical concern when working near the limits of detection. Likewise, lower-biomass samples can be disproportionately impacted by cross-contamination and practices suitable for handling higher-biomass samples may produce misleading results when applied to lower microbial biomass samples. This Consensus Statement outlines strategies to reduce contamination and cross-contamination, focusing on marker gene and metagenomic analyses. We also provide minimal standards for reporting contamination information and removal workflows. Considerations must be made at every study stage, from sample collection and handling through data analysis and reporting to reduce and identify contaminants. We urge researchers to adopt these recommendations when designing, implementing and reporting microbiome studies, especially those conducted in low-biomass systems.

PMID:40542287 | DOI:10.1038/s41564-025-02035-2

Microb Genom. 2025 Jun;11(6). doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.001426.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:40531181 | DOI:10.1099/mgen.0.001426

The successful Cambridge grantees’ work covers a range of research areas, including the development of next-generation semiconductors, new methods to identify dyslexia in young children, how diseases spread between humans and animals, and the early changes that happen in cells before breast cancer develops, with the goal of finding ways to stop the disease before it starts.

The funding, worth €721 million in total, will go to 281 leading researchers across Europe. The Advanced Grant competition is one of the most prestigious and competitive funding schemes in the EU and associated countries, including the UK. It gives senior researchers the opportunity to pursue ambitious, curiosity-driven projects that could lead to major scientific breakthroughs. Advanced Grants may be awarded up to € 2.5 million for a period of five years. The grants are part of the EU’s Horizon Europe programme. The UK agreed a deal to associate to Horizon Europe in September 2023.

This competition attracted 2,534 proposals, which were reviewed by panels of internationally renowned researchers. Over 11% of proposals were selected for funding. Estimates show that the grants will create approximately 2,700 jobs in the teams of new grantees. The new grantees will be based at universities and research centres in 23 EU Member States and associated countries, notably in the UK (56 grants), Germany (35), Italy (25), the Netherlands (24), and France (23).

“Many congratulations to our Cambridge colleagues on these prestigious ERC funding awards,” said Professor Sir John Aston, Cambridge’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research. “This type of long-term funding is invaluable, allowing senior researchers the time and space to develop potential solutions for some of biggest challenges we face. We are so fortunate at Cambridge to have so many world-leading researchers across a range of disciplines, and I look forward to seeing the outcomes of their work.”

The Cambridge recipients of 2025 Advanced Grants are:

Professor Clare Bryant (Department of Veterinary Medicine) for investigating human and avian pattern recognition receptor activation of cell death pathways, and the impact on the host inflammatory response to zoonotic infections.

Professor Sir Richard Friend (Cavendish Laboratory/St John’s College) for bright high-spin molecular semiconductors.

Professor Usha Goswami (Department of Psychology/St John’s College) for a cross-language approach to the early identification of dyslexia and developmental language disorder using speech production measures with children.

Professor Regina Grafe (Faculty of History) for colonial credit and financial diversity in the Global South: Spanish America 1600-1820.

Professor Judy Hirst (MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit/Corpus Christi College) for the energy-converting mechanism of a modular biomachine: Uniting structure and function to establish the engineering principles of respiratory complex I.

Professor Matthew Juniper (Department of Engineering/Trinity College) for adjoint-accelerated inference and optimisation methods.

Professor Walid Khaled (Department of Pharmacology/Magdalene College) for understanding precancerous changes in breast cancer for the development of therapeutic interceptions.

Professor Adrian Liston (Department of Pathology/St Catharine’s College) for dissecting the code for regulatory T cell entry into the tissues and differentiation into tissue-resident cells.

Professor Róisín Owens (Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology/Newnham College) for conformal organic devices for electronic brain-gut readout and characterisation.

Professor Emma Rawlins (Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience/Gurdon Institute) for reprogramming lung epithelial cell lineages for regeneration.

Dr Marta Zlatic (Department of Zoology/Trinity College) for discovering the circuit and molecular basis of inter-strain and inter-species differences in learning

“These ERC grants are our commitment to making Europe the world’s hub for excellent research,” said Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research, and Innovation. “By supporting projects that have the potential to redefine whole fields, we are not just investing in science but in the future prosperity and resilience of our continent. In the next competition rounds, scientists moving to Europe will receive even greater support in setting up their labs and research teams here. This is part of our “Choose Europe for Science” initiative, designed to attract and retain the world’s top scientists.”

“Much of this pioneering research will contribute to solving some of the most pressing challenges we face - social, economic and environmental,” said Professor Maria Leptin, President of the European Research Council. “Yet again, many scientists - around 260 - with ground-breaking ideas were rated as excellent, but remained unfunded due to a lack of funds at the ERC. We hope that more funding will be available in the future to support even more creative researchers in pursuing their scientific curiosity.”

Eleven senior researchers at the University of Cambridge have been awarded Advanced Grants from the European Research Council – the highest number of grants awarded to any institution in this latest funding round.

Westend61 via Getty ImagesScientist pipetting samples into eppendorf tube

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Yes

PLoS Pathog. 2025 Jun 9;21(6):e1013227. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1013227. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Influenza A viruses (IAVs) are prime examples of emerging viruses in humans and animals. IAV circulation in domestic animals poses a pandemic risk as it provides new opportunities for zoonotic infections. The recent emergence of H5N1 IAV in cows and subsequent spread over multiple states within the USA, together with reports of spillover infections in humans, cats and mice highlight this issue. The horse is a domestic animal in which an avian-origin IAV lineage has been circulating for >60 years. In 2018/19, a Florida Clade 1 (FC1) virus triggered one of the largest epizootics recorded in the UK, which led to the replacement of the Equine Influenza Virus (EIV) Florida Clade 2 (FC2) lineage that had been circulating in the country since 2003. We integrated geographical, epidemiological, and virus genetic data to determine the virological and ecological factors leading to this epizootic. By combining newly-sequenced EIV complete genomes derived from UK outbreaks with existing genomic and epidemiological information, we reconstructed the nationwide viral spread and analysed the global evolution of EIV. We show that there was a single EIV FC1 introduction from the USA into Europe, and multiple independent virus introductions from Europe to the UK. At the UK level, three English regions (East, West Midlands, and North-West) were the main sources of virus during the epizootic, and the number of affected premises together with the number of horses in the local area were found as key predictors of viral spread within the country. At the global level, phylogeographic analysis evidenced a source-sink model for intercontinental EIV migration, with a source population evolving in the USA and directly or indirectly seeding viral lineages into sink populations in other continents. Our results provide insight on the underlying factors that influence IAV spread in domestic animals.

PMID:40489557 | DOI:10.1371/journal.ppat.1013227

bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 May 24:2025.05.24.655922. doi: 10.1101/2025.05.24.655922.

ABSTRACT

Ornithobacterium hominis is a recently described Gram-negative bacterium that colonises the human nasopharynx and may be associated with poor upper respiratory tract health. Here, we describe the isolation of O. hominis from samples collected from a South African birth cohort, creating the first archive of cultured strains of the species from Africa. Sequenced genomes from this archive reveal that South African O. hominis is more similar to Australian strains than those from Southeast Asia, and that it may share genes with other members of the microbiome that are relevant for virulence, colonisation, and antibiotic resistance. Leveraging existing microbiome data from the cohort, O. hominis was found to be closely associated with bacterial co-colonisers that are rare in non-carrier individuals, including Suttonella, Helcococcus, Moraxella spp., and Gracilibacteria. Their collective acquisition has a significant impact on the diversity of nasopharyngeal communities that contain O. hominis. Individuals who have not yet acquired O. hominis have a higher abundance of Moraxella (particularly M. lincolnii) than individuals who never acquire O. hominis, suggesting that this could be a precursor state for successful colonisation. Finally, a novel co-coloniser species, Helcococcus ekapensis, was successfully isolated and sequenced.

PMID:40475515 | PMC:PMC12139837 | DOI:10.1101/2025.05.24.655922