Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
@derekhennen.bsky.social
Entomologist & Myriapodologist: leaf litter critter enthusiast.
Author of Ohio Millipede Field Guide.
"Scientist & avowed Swiftie" -Rolling Stone
Richmond, VA
www.derekhennen.com
Author of Ohio Millipede Field Guide.
"Scientist & avowed Swiftie" -Rolling Stone
Richmond, VA
www.derekhennen.com
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
Being among the first interrogated and ultimately fired by DOGE, I certainly felt we were facing the business end of a right-wing conspiracy theory 🧵
DOGE was not a money-saving effort. It was an effort to chase down and prove right-wing conspiracy theories. They went after USAID to prove conspiracy theories about foreign aid. Then they went after SSA to, again, pursue conspiracy theories about Dems paying "illegals" to vote. 1/2
All DOGE accomplished was purging critical government staff, handing private data to outsiders, and sentencing thousands in developing countries to death by gutting USAID.
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
November 26, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Being among the first interrogated and ultimately fired by DOGE, I certainly felt we were facing the business end of a right-wing conspiracy theory 🧵
This tiny ground beetle has some big ol' fungal hanger ons. Assuming Laboulbeniales.
November 26, 2025 at 1:59 AM
This tiny ground beetle has some big ol' fungal hanger ons. Assuming Laboulbeniales.
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
Scientists: have you been the target of an online harassment campaign, doxxing, or weaponized FOIA requests? I'd like to talk to you about steps you had to take to protect your digital security for an upcoming Nature story. (You can be anonymous if necessary.)
RTs appreciated.
RTs appreciated.
November 26, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Scientists: have you been the target of an online harassment campaign, doxxing, or weaponized FOIA requests? I'd like to talk to you about steps you had to take to protect your digital security for an upcoming Nature story. (You can be anonymous if necessary.)
RTs appreciated.
RTs appreciated.
I'm only halfway through this episode and it's a total banger. Give it a listen!!
Pals! A new @neverpo.st, thank god. Friend of the Show Meghal spent a year fixing an attention span broken by scrolling; hear what she learned in the process.
Then! Meghal speaks w/ the organizers of a New Luddism conference about reclaiming agency from encroaching technology.
Also: MACHINES!
Then! Meghal speaks w/ the organizers of a New Luddism conference about reclaiming agency from encroaching technology.
Also: MACHINES!
🆕 Never Post! The Year I Learned to Pay Attention
Choose life
www.neverpo.st
November 26, 2025 at 12:12 AM
I'm only halfway through this episode and it's a total banger. Give it a listen!!
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
1. A landmark study was just published in The Journal of Pediatrics.
It found a 68% reduction in suicidality for trans youth getting HRT.
It also found only 7 of more than 400 stopped taking HRT... and of those that did, 4 still identified as gender-diverse.
Transgender care saves lives.
It found a 68% reduction in suicidality for trans youth getting HRT.
It also found only 7 of more than 400 stopped taking HRT... and of those that did, 4 still identified as gender-diverse.
Transgender care saves lives.
Study In The Journal Of Pediatrics Finds Trans Youth Care Lowers Suicidality, Few Detransition
The groundbreaking study found that suicidality dropped for transgender youth receiving hormone therapy by nearly 70%, with only 7 patients of 432 discontinuing treatment.
www.erininthemorning.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:01 PM
1. A landmark study was just published in The Journal of Pediatrics.
It found a 68% reduction in suicidality for trans youth getting HRT.
It also found only 7 of more than 400 stopped taking HRT... and of those that did, 4 still identified as gender-diverse.
Transgender care saves lives.
It found a 68% reduction in suicidality for trans youth getting HRT.
It also found only 7 of more than 400 stopped taking HRT... and of those that did, 4 still identified as gender-diverse.
Transgender care saves lives.
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
an oldie but goodie www.teenvogue.com/story/what-t...
(relatedly, teen vogue's recent anti-union firings will make this type of work more difficult)
(relatedly, teen vogue's recent anti-union firings will make this type of work more difficult)
November 24, 2025 at 4:21 PM
an oldie but goodie www.teenvogue.com/story/what-t...
(relatedly, teen vogue's recent anti-union firings will make this type of work more difficult)
(relatedly, teen vogue's recent anti-union firings will make this type of work more difficult)
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
Imagine, if you will, that NASA updated its website to suggest gravity might not exist, prompting CalTech and CERN to release statements saying, "With great sadness, we can no longer recommend listening to NASA."
This is what's happening in epidemiology.
This is what's happening in epidemiology.
November 21, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Imagine, if you will, that NASA updated its website to suggest gravity might not exist, prompting CalTech and CERN to release statements saying, "With great sadness, we can no longer recommend listening to NASA."
This is what's happening in epidemiology.
This is what's happening in epidemiology.
Found a very handsome Cynipid wasp while searching for leaf litter myriapods! Usually I have to rear out galls, so this was a nice surprise: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
Gall Wasps (Family Cynipidae)
Gall Wasps from Halifax County, VA, USA on November 22, 2025 at 11:23 PM by Derek Hennen. Leaf litter in Southern Piedmont Basic Oak - Hickory Forest
www.inaturalist.org
November 24, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Found a very handsome Cynipid wasp while searching for leaf litter myriapods! Usually I have to rear out galls, so this was a nice surprise: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
Elon Musk donated $277 million to Trump so he could steal the federal government’s data, dismantle the nation’s infrastructure, and stop foreign aid from going to nonwhite people. It’s a quid pro quo breathtaking in scope, corruption, and damage, & completely unprecedented in American history.
Bye bye, “DOGE”.
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
November 23, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Elon Musk donated $277 million to Trump so he could steal the federal government’s data, dismantle the nation’s infrastructure, and stop foreign aid from going to nonwhite people. It’s a quid pro quo breathtaking in scope, corruption, and damage, & completely unprecedented in American history.
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
RE-DISCOVERY #2
Our trip to Okefenokee NWR has resulted in another re-discovery of a long-lost species. Ceratinopsis sutoris Bishop & Crosby 1930 was last seen in 1927 (98 years ago!) and we collected several males and females. The species has a orange-red carapace with black around the eyes.
Our trip to Okefenokee NWR has resulted in another re-discovery of a long-lost species. Ceratinopsis sutoris Bishop & Crosby 1930 was last seen in 1927 (98 years ago!) and we collected several males and females. The species has a orange-red carapace with black around the eyes.
November 22, 2025 at 7:18 PM
RE-DISCOVERY #2
Our trip to Okefenokee NWR has resulted in another re-discovery of a long-lost species. Ceratinopsis sutoris Bishop & Crosby 1930 was last seen in 1927 (98 years ago!) and we collected several males and females. The species has a orange-red carapace with black around the eyes.
Our trip to Okefenokee NWR has resulted in another re-discovery of a long-lost species. Ceratinopsis sutoris Bishop & Crosby 1930 was last seen in 1927 (98 years ago!) and we collected several males and females. The species has a orange-red carapace with black around the eyes.
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
I used to handle interlibrary loans for a public library. ILL is a magnificent expression of the idea that readers deserve books, and books deserve readers. It’s libraries everywhere pooling their resources for the benefit of everyone.
Killing IMLS could have killed ILL.
This is great news. 📚
Killing IMLS could have killed ILL.
This is great news. 📚
Court permanently blocks Trump's executive order to dismantle federal agency for America's libraries IMLS
librarytechnology.org/pr/31973
librarytechnology.org/pr/31973
Court permanently blocks Trump's executive order to dismantle federal agency for America's libraries
Press Release: Court permanently blocks Trump's executive order to dismantle federal agency for America's libraries. The U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island struck down the Trump Adm...
librarytechnology.org
November 22, 2025 at 3:23 PM
I used to handle interlibrary loans for a public library. ILL is a magnificent expression of the idea that readers deserve books, and books deserve readers. It’s libraries everywhere pooling their resources for the benefit of everyone.
Killing IMLS could have killed ILL.
This is great news. 📚
Killing IMLS could have killed ILL.
This is great news. 📚
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
We don’t need to reform ICE.
We don’t need alternatives to ICE.
We don’t need to engage in dishonest debates wondering what the U.S. would do without ICE.
ICE isn’t even 23 years old. Most adults know a world without ICE. And the billions used to fund ICE can be used to meet people’s basic needs.
We don’t need alternatives to ICE.
We don’t need to engage in dishonest debates wondering what the U.S. would do without ICE.
ICE isn’t even 23 years old. Most adults know a world without ICE. And the billions used to fund ICE can be used to meet people’s basic needs.
November 18, 2025 at 11:40 PM
We don’t need to reform ICE.
We don’t need alternatives to ICE.
We don’t need to engage in dishonest debates wondering what the U.S. would do without ICE.
ICE isn’t even 23 years old. Most adults know a world without ICE. And the billions used to fund ICE can be used to meet people’s basic needs.
We don’t need alternatives to ICE.
We don’t need to engage in dishonest debates wondering what the U.S. would do without ICE.
ICE isn’t even 23 years old. Most adults know a world without ICE. And the billions used to fund ICE can be used to meet people’s basic needs.
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
This perfectly encapsulates the "performative neutrality" of which @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social and I accuse the New York Times--with respect to both climate and vaccines--in #ScienceUnderSiege. In fact, it goes beyond that, engaging in outright antiscience pandering:
Breaking News: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he personally instructed the CDC to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism. The move underscores his determination to challenge scientific orthodoxy — in this case, that vaccines save lives — and bend the health department to his will.
RFK Jr. Says He Instructed CDC to Change Vaccines and Autism Language on Website
In an interview, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited gaps in vaccine safety research. His critics say he is ignoring a larger point: Vaccines save lives.
nyti.ms
November 22, 2025 at 4:41 PM
This perfectly encapsulates the "performative neutrality" of which @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social and I accuse the New York Times--with respect to both climate and vaccines--in #ScienceUnderSiege. In fact, it goes beyond that, engaging in outright antiscience pandering:
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
FYI, comments on this new attempt to gut the Endangered Species Act are due by December 22, 2025. The short version is: potential economic impacts will override scientific data; that includes development construction, drilling, etc. www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Regulations for Designating Critical Habitat
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS or the Service), propose to amend portions of our regulations for section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act or ESA). Specifically, we...
www.federalregister.gov
November 21, 2025 at 2:48 PM
FYI, comments on this new attempt to gut the Endangered Species Act are due by December 22, 2025. The short version is: potential economic impacts will override scientific data; that includes development construction, drilling, etc. www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
1) @washingtonpost.com reported Thursday on a controversial policy downgrading how nooses and swastikas are labeled in the Coast Guard.
2) Admin officials attacked The Post, falsely alleging the reporting of "fake crap."
3) The CG said it would review policy language.
4) The CG reversed course.
2) Admin officials attacked The Post, falsely alleging the reporting of "fake crap."
3) The CG said it would review policy language.
4) The CG reversed course.
November 21, 2025 at 1:30 PM
1) @washingtonpost.com reported Thursday on a controversial policy downgrading how nooses and swastikas are labeled in the Coast Guard.
2) Admin officials attacked The Post, falsely alleging the reporting of "fake crap."
3) The CG said it would review policy language.
4) The CG reversed course.
2) Admin officials attacked The Post, falsely alleging the reporting of "fake crap."
3) The CG said it would review policy language.
4) The CG reversed course.
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 12:49 PM
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
Wanna see a visual on the result of the Republican attack on public health?
I’ve got you covered. This is from Pew Research Center’s most recent survey, showing a 27% drop in Republican support for school vaccine requirements from 2016-2025.
I’ve got you covered. This is from Pew Research Center’s most recent survey, showing a 27% drop in Republican support for school vaccine requirements from 2016-2025.
November 20, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Wanna see a visual on the result of the Republican attack on public health?
I’ve got you covered. This is from Pew Research Center’s most recent survey, showing a 27% drop in Republican support for school vaccine requirements from 2016-2025.
I’ve got you covered. This is from Pew Research Center’s most recent survey, showing a 27% drop in Republican support for school vaccine requirements from 2016-2025.
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
We are deep into word-by-word censorship. Not only are universities purging/rewriting their websites based on centralized edicts, they are sending lists of forbidden words to guest speakers...
This week, I withdrew from a speaking engagement at a public university because they sent me a list of prohibited “words & concepts.” I will not humor this censorship. It does a disservice to the stories I’m discussing & the audience, who deserve unfettered access to information & conversation.
November 21, 2025 at 12:15 AM
We are deep into word-by-word censorship. Not only are universities purging/rewriting their websites based on centralized edicts, they are sending lists of forbidden words to guest speakers...
I found another one of @tyuge.bsky.social's special little guys today, down in a lilliputian canyon under a rock. It yearned for the unyielding interstitial spaces, but my pooter yearned for it more.
November 20, 2025 at 3:07 AM
I found another one of @tyuge.bsky.social's special little guys today, down in a lilliputian canyon under a rock. It yearned for the unyielding interstitial spaces, but my pooter yearned for it more.
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
just outright disinformation — American Lysenkoism wreaking havoc and endangering our lives
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
November 20, 2025 at 2:32 AM
just outright disinformation — American Lysenkoism wreaking havoc and endangering our lives
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.
November 19, 2025 at 9:48 PM
I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
This is not what the problem is. We have many excellent, talented, engaging science communicators.
Their reach is deliberately truncated by the social media companies, and billionaire-owned news outlets do not platform them.
Their reach is deliberately truncated by the social media companies, and billionaire-owned news outlets do not platform them.
Scientists are partly to blame by not learning to effectively communicate in lay language on modern communication channels. That information void is then ripe for disinformation to fill.
Embed lay comms & accessibility skills into academia.
Embed lay comms & accessibility skills into academia.
November 19, 2025 at 11:18 PM
This is not what the problem is. We have many excellent, talented, engaging science communicators.
Their reach is deliberately truncated by the social media companies, and billionaire-owned news outlets do not platform them.
Their reach is deliberately truncated by the social media companies, and billionaire-owned news outlets do not platform them.
All this administration does is protect grifters, criminals, and sex pests.
NEW: When Andrew Tate landed in the US, Customs & Border Protection seized his electronic devices. But @propublica.org found that a White House official told DHS to return the devices, emphasizing that the request came from the White House.
By @robert-faturechi.bsky.social & Avi Asher-Schapiro
By @robert-faturechi.bsky.social & Avi Asher-Schapiro
The White House Intervened on Behalf of Accused Sex Trafficker Andrew Tate During a Federal Investigation
Federal authorities were chided for seizing electronic devices from Tate and his brother, and told to return them, records and interviews show. Experts said the intervention was highly inappropriate.
www.propublica.org
November 18, 2025 at 5:30 PM
All this administration does is protect grifters, criminals, and sex pests.
🚨 🚨 BIG NEWS FOR TINY SPIDERS!!! 🚨 🚨
RE-DISCOVERY #1!
Our trip to Okefenokee NWR has already resulted in a re-discovery of a long-lost species. Ceratinopsis bona Chamberlin & Ivie, 1944 was last seen in 1943, 82 years ago. In addition to possessing genitalia that match the descriptions, their black tibia IVs are also diagnostic.
Our trip to Okefenokee NWR has already resulted in a re-discovery of a long-lost species. Ceratinopsis bona Chamberlin & Ivie, 1944 was last seen in 1943, 82 years ago. In addition to possessing genitalia that match the descriptions, their black tibia IVs are also diagnostic.
November 18, 2025 at 5:28 PM
🚨 🚨 BIG NEWS FOR TINY SPIDERS!!! 🚨 🚨