Senior Editor at @PLOSBiology; Scientist, Humanist, Optimist and Recovering Academic. Also https://xitter.cf/t.co/RNqdw6U28D All opinions my own.

Cambridge UK
Joined January 2013
I'll still keep a toe in this cesspool for now, but for science-related stuff I'm moving over to Bluesky - please find me and follow me there: bsky.app/profile/roliroberts…
2
112
Roli Roberts retweeted
You silly fool. It’s both - a fatal combination as you may soon find out to your cost.
Replying to @EricIdle
Yesterday it was climate change, today's it's a person. You learn fast.
14
26
1
534
41,756
This could have been taken today - or it could have been an album cover in the 1970s - but it is a timeless self-portrait which was actually taken 115 years ago in 1910. The subject (and photographer) was the playwright and novelist Leonid Andreyev (1871-1919). This glass plate autochrome is original colour and not colourised.
106
615
23
4,470
107,448
Excited to share our pre-print on the molecular architecture of heterochromatin in human cells🧬🔬 w/ @jpkreysing, Johannes Betz,Turoňová lab, @MarinaLusic, Hummer lab, @Beck_Laboratory, @MPIbp 🔗 Preprint here: doi.org/10.1101/2025.04.09.6…
5
117
9
406
35,442
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell
5
118
1
257
4,778
Roli Roberts retweeted
You start a trade war. Then cry ‘foul’ when the country you’ve targeted retaliates (which is what happens in a trade war). And then you promise hell, fire and brimstone cos you’re not getting your way 🤷🏻‍♂️
1,340
1,806
115
12,806
464,106
Trumpism is alive and well in Britain. Several major UK politicians backed the president in some quite shocking ways – and must now be held accountable. Here are 7 of them:
810
1,968
135
8,891
999,266
SNL does the Zelensky - Trump meeting. Hilarious.
174
3,227
312
14,557
1,521,392
Roli Roberts retweeted
What more proof do you need that vaccines work
851
5,045
233
56,782
868,089
Many thanks ⁦@wolfblitzer⁩ for hosting me ⁦@CNNSitRoom⁩ on a very large and dangerous measles epidemic in West Texas with our first reported measles death in an unvaccinated school-aged child, an awful tragedy. But we’re still early…
2
248
4
1,046
35,166
Make a huge mistake. Then make a false claim about how you fixed it. They did it for PEPFAR. Now Ebola. I follow this particular topic VERY closely, so here's what really happened and why this isn't true AT ALL...🧵
Elon Musk: "We will make mistakes. We won't be perfect ... so for example, with USAID, one of the things we accidentally canceled very briefly was ebola prevention."
564
9,629
651
38,600
6,020,073
Is there ANYTHING that Trump has done in the last 40 days - inside the US, or with Canada + Germany to Ukraine - that is not EXACTLY what Putin wanted? Could the Russian intelligence services have ever dreamt of a more perfect candidate and policies to serve Russia’s interests?
1,924
2,256
175
11,744
580,662
Roli Roberts retweeted
Word of the day is ‘ingordigiousness’ (19th century): extreme greed at the expense of principles.
394
4,176
372
16,290
460,725
Roli Roberts retweeted
Sometimes vaccine efficacy is subtle Sometimes it isn't
640
7,872
218
52,384
1,882,849
Last week, the new owners of the Observer wrote to tell me they would *not* be issuing me with a new contract. So...I want to say publicly that it was an absolute privilege to speak on behalf of my Observer colleagues during our strike. I don't regret doing so. And I learned so much from it. 1/
366
2,031
136
8,549
1,075,147
A historic, shameful moment in US history as it votes with Belarus, Russia at the UN. The gamekeeper has become the poacher. Churchill & Roosevelt turn in their graves.
2,408
5,526
579
26,005
1,207,825
So the Tories who hollowed out our armed forces over 14 years are furious that Labour hasn’t rebuilt them fast enough and refuse to accept any responsibility whatsoever for the state of affairs. Have I got that right?
839
2,645
115
11,690
251,930
Roli Roberts retweeted
I'm not a "believer" in vaccines It's not a religion or faith or cult. I support vaccines because there is overwhelming evidence that vaccines have saved millions upon millions of lives. That's it.
1,644
5,216
137
42,924
925,362
27% of those (mostly children) infected in the West Texas measles epidemic so far have been hospitalized. In the infographic from my @PLOSGPH article last month I estimated about 20% typically require hospitalization
13 people hospitalized as ongoing measles outbreak in west Texas rises to 48 cases abc13.com/post/13-people-hos…
2
145
8
338
63,587
The reality: whenever I allow public comments I receive a flood of antisemitism, swastikas, things I don’t even want to mention. I’m not happy about shutting off comments, but that’s X. Tell Elon: he broke it, he can fix it. Meanwhile it’s the only way I can remain on Twitter.
Replying to @stkirsch
Hotez won't allow public comments on his social media posts. That's really all you need to know about the guy.
14
242
24
2,640
58,082