Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Blythe Terrell @blytheterrell.bsky.social · 1d

As a Sugar Person, I dreaded this ep ... but tbh walked away feeling a *little* better.

We also find out: Does maple syrup deserve the health buzz it's getting? What about agave ... or honey? 🐝

No more sweet little lies; it's time to drizzle some research on your breakfast and dig in 🤓

Science Vs @sciencevs.bsky.social · 1d

NEW EP ALERT🎉🧪

We are tackling SUGAR.

RFK Jr. has said it's "poison" — but we're also told that not all kinds are created equal.

So, what's the science? Does high-fructose corn syrup deserve its bad rap? Should you switch to agave ... honey ... maple syrup??👂👇

open.spotify.com/episode/6AXH...

Sugar: How Bad Is It Really?

open.spotify.com

Blythe Terrell @blytheterrell.bsky.social · 7d

jfc.

Truthout @truthout.org · 7d

Emmy award-winning journalist Mario Guevara was deported today to El Salvador – a country he fled over 20 years ago — in retaliation for filming law enforcement activities. Officers arrested him while he was reporting at a “No Kings” protest against Trump, even though he was wearing a “PRESS” vest.

Journalist Mario Guevara Deported After Reporting on Anti-Trump Protest

Human rights organizations have condemned Mario Guevara’s deportation as an authoritarian attack on the free press.

truthout.org

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Blythe Terrell @blytheterrell.bsky.social · 7d

Earnest moment alert: I feel SOOO fortunate to get to instruct a couple of grad courses. I'm teaching a four-week session to science grad students about science communication & podcasting right now, and we just have so much fun. "These three hours flew by," one of them told me last week 🫀♥️

Blythe Terrell @blytheterrell.bsky.social · 9d

👀👀👀

Science Vs @sciencevs.bsky.social · 9d

This moment from our latest episode with science writer @edyong209.bsky.social is 🔥

We asked Ed — how do we talk up the benefits of science in the face of government cuts? He told us that's the wrong approach. 🧪

Listen wherever, or watch on Spotify 👇

open.spotify.com/episode/7Evh...

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Blythe Terrell @blytheterrell.bsky.social · 10d

Find more here! www.eurekalert.org/news-release...

New clinical study shows masturbation can relieve menopause symptoms

The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University and sexual wellness brand Womanizer released headline results from a groundbreaking clinical study examining how masturbation can affect menopause symptoms i...

www.eurekalert.org

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Blythe Terrell @blytheterrell.bsky.social · 10d

🧪 Scientists really out there doing the lord's work on menopause. Tell your mom! 👏👏👏

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Blythe Terrell @blytheterrell.bsky.social · 11d

At Science Vs, we weren't really thinking of our autism/Tylenol ep as "pre-bunking," but that's exactly what it was.

Thank you to @psychologytoday.bsky.social for including us here! 🧪

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/misi...

The Risk Is Not From Tylenol but Untreated Fevers

False claims of a link between autism and Tylenol during pregnancy are dangerous. Psychological science teaches us the best way to counter it.

www.psychologytoday.com

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Reposted by Blythe Terrell

Science Vs @sciencevs.bsky.social · 11d

The FDA is reviewing the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone. Science knows a whole lot about its safety (it's very safe). 🧪 More here 👇👇👇

open.spotify.com/episode/76vS...

The Abortion Pill: How Dangerous Is It Really?

open.spotify.com

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Reposted by Blythe Terrell

✰ megan ✰ @meganisthinking.bsky.social · 14d

shania twain was right, the best thing about being a woman is the prerogative to have a little fun

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Blythe Terrell @blytheterrell.bsky.social · 14d

ANIMATRONIC ONES?!?!

Mean Girls "Get In, Loser" meme that reads instead, "We're buying animatronic dinos to do pranks 4ever"

Blythe Terrell @blytheterrell.bsky.social · 14d

Who would like to give me $2,100?? In return, I can promise you Premium Content for years to come

tyty for sending this to me @katherine1977.bsky.social

Fossillocator @fossillocator.bsky.social · 15d

It looks like Dinosaur Field Station of NJ is closing and selling their Dino sculptures

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Blythe Terrell @blytheterrell.bsky.social · 15d

👀👀👀 🧪

Nature @nature.com · 15d

We used machine-learning tools in an attempt to recreate the method for cutting funding, and then applied it to past US NIH grants to reveal the broad-reaching consequences

go.nature.com/4pBArFH

What research might be lost after the NIH’s cuts? Nature trained a bot to find out

We used machine-learning tools in an attempt to recreate the method for cutting funding, and then applied it to past US National Institutes of Health grants to reveal the broad-reaching consequences of such action.

go.nature.com

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Blythe Terrell @blytheterrell.bsky.social · 15d

Loved this conversation with @edyong209.bsky.social — you can watch it on video if ya want!

Science Vs @sciencevs.bsky.social · 15d

Animals sense the world in many ways we can’t imagine — and Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer, Ed Yong, is on the show to tell us all about it! By the end, you’ll be looking at your dog in a totally different light. open.spotify.com/episode/7Evh...

How to Smell like a Dog, with Ed Yong

Spotify video

open.spotify.com

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Reposted by Blythe Terrell

Rebecca R Helm @rebeccarhelm.bsky.social · 16d

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA

10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

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Reposted by Blythe Terrell

Steven B Smith 🇨🇦 @sbsmith.bsky.social · 18d

There’ll be a lot of talk about Tylenol and autism soon. This is well worth a listen. It’s not as simple as just dismissing RFK as a crank, it’s about drilling down and understanding why his cited studies could be misleading. All packaged in an enjoyable format. Better than doomscrolling 👍

Science Vs @sciencevs.bsky.social · 22d

New Ep alert 🚨 RFK Jr.’s big report on autism is scheduled to come out this month, and we’re hearing that it might point the finger at Tylenol as a possible cause. The science on this is full of plot twists and nerd fights - we dive in. open.spotify.com/episode/0afn...

Does Tylenol Cause Autism?

open.spotify.com

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Reposted by Blythe Terrell

Anita Williams @catanita.bsky.social · 18d

The amazing team at @sciencevs.bsky.social dropped a #Tylenol podcast a few days ago, giving explanation of why the link has been made and how it's not quite as it seems
A great example of bias and confounding, and how meta-analysis isn't always the pinnacle of evidence
#EpiSky #MedSky

Does Tylenol Cause Autism?

Podcast Episode · Science Vs · 09/18/2025 · 28m

podcasts.apple.com

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Blythe Terrell @blytheterrell.bsky.social · 18d

Welp, nvm.

ACIP reversed this vote "on the ... MMRV vaccine for children younger than 4 years old. The reversal removes the vaccine from the federal program that provides free vaccine to uninsured and underinsured children."

www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...

ACIP tables vote to delay hepatitis B vaccine birth dose

www.cidrap.umn.edu

Reposted by Blythe Terrell

Nieman Lab @niemanlab.org · 18d

"If they deport me, I’ll leave with my head held high, because I’m convinced it will be for carrying out my journalistic work and not for committing crimes.” www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/09/22/i...

‘I’ll leave with my head held high’ | Hispanic journalist facing deportation pens letter

Monday, Sept. 22, marks 100 days of detainment for Mario Guevara.

www.atlantanewsfirst.com

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Reposted by Blythe Terrell

Nathan A. Tanner @nathan-a-tanner.bsky.social · 19d

this is a very good look at the Tylenol and autism question, spoiler alert RFK is wrong

Science Vs @sciencevs.bsky.social · 22d

New Ep alert 🚨 RFK Jr.’s big report on autism is scheduled to come out this month, and we’re hearing that it might point the finger at Tylenol as a possible cause. The science on this is full of plot twists and nerd fights - we dive in. open.spotify.com/episode/0afn...

Does Tylenol Cause Autism?

open.spotify.com

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Blythe Terrell @blytheterrell.bsky.social · 22d

Striking detail: "Eight members voted not to change the recommendation for the VFC program. One member, Dr. Martin Kulldorff, voted yes. Three abstained; committee member Dr. Cody Meissner did so, he said, because he wasn’t sure what they were voting on."🧪

www.cnn.com/2025/09/18/h...

CDC advisers vote to recommend against combined measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox vaccine for young children | CNN

Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted Thursday to recommended against using the combined measles, mumps, rubella and varicella vaccine for young children.

www.cnn.com

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Blythe Terrell @blytheterrell.bsky.social · 22d

👀 Huh.

I will say that I've been worried this would go the other direction. Deciding not to recommend MMRV vaccines is bad science either way, but my fear was that changes would disproportionately affect kids in poor families covered by Vaccines for Children

Alex Knapp @thealexknapp.bsky.social · 22d

In a very weird turn of events, ACIP voted to:
1. No longer recommend MMRV shots for kids under 4.

But also:

2. Continue to cover payments for MMRV shots under the Vaccines For Children program.

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Blythe Terrell @blytheterrell.bsky.social · 22d

Service journalism! 🧪

www.theatlantic.com/health/2025/...

Who to Trust If You Can’t Trust the CDC

No American institution is equipped to replace the agency. But a few trusted resources can help.

www.theatlantic.com

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Reposted by Blythe Terrell

Shannon Osaka @shannonosaka.bsky.social · 22d

It's not your imagination: Wildfire smoke in the U.S. has dramatically worsened since 2019. According to a new study, it's already killing 41,000 people a year - and it's poised to get much worse.

new from me @johnmuyskens.bsky.social and @sadbumblebee.buzz

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

Record wildfire smoke kills more people each year than car crashes. It’s about to get worse.

The past six summers have been the smokiest on record. New research shows that smoke could become the costliest consequence of climate change for Americans.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Blythe Terrell @blytheterrell.bsky.social · 22d

Tons of stuff in here that surprised me — including the question of whether acetaminophen could act as an endocrine disruptor?! Wasn't even on my radar that scientists were looking into this 🧪

Science Vs @sciencevs.bsky.social · 22d

New Ep alert 🚨 RFK Jr.’s big report on autism is scheduled to come out this month, and we’re hearing that it might point the finger at Tylenol as a possible cause. The science on this is full of plot twists and nerd fights - we dive in. open.spotify.com/episode/0afn...

Does Tylenol Cause Autism?

open.spotify.com

3

Reposted by Blythe Terrell

Slay Bones @clayjones.bsky.social · 24d

It isn’t common, but when a young infant is infected with Hep B from mom or other caregiver there is a roughly 90% chance of chronic disease. That means suffering. That means liver transplant. That means earlier death.

The vaccine is decades old and incredibly safe. There is a clear right answer.

Alex Wayne @aawayne.bsky.social · 24d

NEWS: By vaccinating babies at birth, the U.S. nearly eradicated hepatitis-B in children.

Kennedy's vaccine advisory panel is expected this week to recommend delaying the shot, opening a window for kids to be infected.

Exclusive by @jackie-fortier.bsky.social

kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Panel Expected To Recommend Delaying Hepatitis B Shot for Children - KFF Health News

A federal vaccine panel, recently reshaped by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is expected to vote on delaying the hepatitis B shot for newborns. Pediatricians warn that coul...

kffhealthnews.org

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