Jeffrey B. Benyacar
@drjeffreyb.bsky.social
Health policy wonk obsessed with biostats, healthcare econ & what the data actually say | Trekkie who believes regression analysis > hot takes| Mets & Jets fan (professionally optimistic) | sic labitur ætas
Important article. Also TIL: "Since 1978, the Jeryl Lynn vaccine strains have been used to make all mumps vaccine in the United States. This combination of two strains was cultured from the throat of Jeryl Lynn Hilleman, daughter of mumps vaccine developer Maurice Hilleman, in 1963." 🛟
I wrote about mumps during a 2014 outbreak in Ohio. College campuses are a well known location for spikes historically. Soon they may occur everywhere else.
sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-2014-ohi...
sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-2014-ohi...
February 16, 2026 at 8:30 AM
Important article. Also TIL: "Since 1978, the Jeryl Lynn vaccine strains have been used to make all mumps vaccine in the United States. This combination of two strains was cultured from the throat of Jeryl Lynn Hilleman, daughter of mumps vaccine developer Maurice Hilleman, in 1963." 🛟
The aliens are absolutely out there. They're just using Earth as reality TV entertainment. Somewhere in the galaxy, there's a species binge-watching 'Humans: The Hot Mess Chronicles' and laughing at us. 🫠
BREAKING: @barackobama.bsky.social clarifies his position on aliens after his answer during the speed round of our interview went viral.
February 16, 2026 at 8:09 AM
The aliens are absolutely out there. They're just using Earth as reality TV entertainment. Somewhere in the galaxy, there's a species binge-watching 'Humans: The Hot Mess Chronicles' and laughing at us. 🫠
“The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie.”
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Live Not by Lies (1974)
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Live Not by Lies (1974)
February 16, 2026 at 6:29 AM
“The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie.”
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Live Not by Lies (1974)
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Live Not by Lies (1974)
Great article on public speaking, something I frequently ponder. There are those speakers who appear naturally charismatic, own the room with their well timed quips and expressions. Then there are others (me) who fret about how attendees will groan at my ersatz joke. Anyway, worth your time.
Public-speaking tips from the experts: what scientists can learn from comics, musicians and actors
Taking to the stage to present your science is a key part of research, but talks often fall flat, says John Tregoning. Can scientists learn from performers to better engage an audience?
www.nature.com
February 16, 2026 at 6:25 AM
Great article on public speaking, something I frequently ponder. There are those speakers who appear naturally charismatic, own the room with their well timed quips and expressions. Then there are others (me) who fret about how attendees will groan at my ersatz joke. Anyway, worth your time.
🎁 "You will be sitting down in an exam room when the neurologist delivers the diagnosis of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.. She tells you that your son will continue to lose brain function as time passes, resulting in seizures, severe dementia, and.... death." #medtwitter
This Is How a Child Dies of Measles
When your family becomes a data point in an outbreak
www.theatlantic.com
February 14, 2026 at 7:51 AM
🎁 "You will be sitting down in an exam room when the neurologist delivers the diagnosis of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.. She tells you that your son will continue to lose brain function as time passes, resulting in seizures, severe dementia, and.... death." #medtwitter
This is bonkers. "Attorney General Ken Paxton has taken legal action to support Mary Talley Bowden, M.D., in her case against the Texas Medical Board ("TMB")." #medtwitter 🛟
February 14, 2026 at 6:41 AM
This is bonkers. "Attorney General Ken Paxton has taken legal action to support Mary Talley Bowden, M.D., in her case against the Texas Medical Board ("TMB")." #medtwitter 🛟
Banger of an ad. Wasn't she also "concerned" about our HHS Secretary before voting to confirm him? #medtwitter 🛟
February 14, 2026 at 6:37 AM
Banger of an ad. Wasn't she also "concerned" about our HHS Secretary before voting to confirm him? #medtwitter 🛟
Becca Rothfeld on the death of the book section at WaPo:
"What they often evinced was better than interest, better even than bibliophilia; it was the rare and precious capacity to be interested in what they didn't already know interested them. It was a willingness to be changed." 📚
"What they often evinced was better than interest, better even than bibliophilia; it was the rare and precious capacity to be interested in what they didn't already know interested them. It was a willingness to be changed." 📚
February 12, 2026 at 11:29 PM
Becca Rothfeld on the death of the book section at WaPo:
"What they often evinced was better than interest, better even than bibliophilia; it was the rare and precious capacity to be interested in what they didn't already know interested them. It was a willingness to be changed." 📚
"What they often evinced was better than interest, better even than bibliophilia; it was the rare and precious capacity to be interested in what they didn't already know interested them. It was a willingness to be changed." 📚
💯
By treating these people as deserving of respect we provide them power they don’t deserve. They are narcissistic trash who will climb over their patients bodies for a few blog subscriptions
February 12, 2026 at 8:08 PM
💯
"It’s hard to recall a regulator who has done as much damage to medical innovation in as little time as Vinay Prasad. In his latest drive-by shooting, the leader of the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine division rejected Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine without even a cursory review." 🛟
February 12, 2026 at 8:05 PM
"It’s hard to recall a regulator who has done as much damage to medical innovation in as little time as Vinay Prasad. In his latest drive-by shooting, the leader of the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine division rejected Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine without even a cursory review." 🛟
Dr @mdwallach.bsky.social 's post popped up on LinkedIn (we have mutuals there) whilst I was on a Zoom call and I spit up my coffee with that last sentence. He's 🎯 and I will link a gift version of the WSJ cited. The image from the island of Dr. Moreau was not included; my gratuitous add. #medsky 🛟
February 12, 2026 at 8:03 PM
Dr @mdwallach.bsky.social 's post popped up on LinkedIn (we have mutuals there) whilst I was on a Zoom call and I spit up my coffee with that last sentence. He's 🎯 and I will link a gift version of the WSJ cited. The image from the island of Dr. Moreau was not included; my gratuitous add. #medsky 🛟
This piece by Dr @clayjones.bsky.social is a clinical and personal memoir Measles is not just a rash, fever, or the "Brady Bunch" nonsense. Years after a mild childhood infection some children develop SSPE, a progressive fatal brain disease with no cure. Preventable and heartbreaking. 🛟
Also SSPE: sciencebasedmedicine.org/sspe-a-deadl...
SSPE: A Deadly and Not-That-Rare Complication of Measles
[Editor's note: We have two posts today, this post by our regular contributor Dr. Clay Jones, and an excellent guest post by William London about a chiropractor's dubious neuropathy treatment prot
sciencebasedmedicine.org
February 12, 2026 at 4:51 AM
This piece by Dr @clayjones.bsky.social is a clinical and personal memoir Measles is not just a rash, fever, or the "Brady Bunch" nonsense. Years after a mild childhood infection some children develop SSPE, a progressive fatal brain disease with no cure. Preventable and heartbreaking. 🛟
Not surprised at the dearth of null results. Modeling suggests significant results are 10 to 100 times more likely to be published. Structural bias as few celebrate or get tenure on confirming the nul. Publication bias is ascendant in virtually every discipline, not just poly sci! #statssky #episky
February 12, 2026 at 4:35 AM
🎁 "Though measles is known for its fever and rash, its most insidious damage is deferred. By erasing much of the immune system’s memory, the virus can leave survivors vulnerable... to infections they had already learned to defeat. It turns a brief illness into a long-term assault.." #medsky #idsky
Opinion | A viral infection can have devastating effects. I experienced this firsthand.
The consequences of the anti-vaccine movement reach beyond today’s controversies.
wapo.st
February 10, 2026 at 1:16 AM
I'm good with this too. ☕
@thedevilhistory.bsky.social
@thedevilhistory.bsky.social
This math is awesome, I could quit today and be sharp as a tack at age 140.
February 10, 2026 at 1:05 AM
I'm good with this too. ☕
@thedevilhistory.bsky.social
@thedevilhistory.bsky.social
🎁 Kolata never settles on a single analytical spine acting more as a stenographer rather than weaving a coherent narrative thread. I hadn't heard of physicians practicing difficult conversations with LLMs first, almost as if they're training themselves as human models. #medsky impressions? 🛟
A.I. Is Making Doctors Answer a Question: What Are They Really Good For?
www.nytimes.com
February 10, 2026 at 12:56 AM
🎁 Kolata never settles on a single analytical spine acting more as a stenographer rather than weaving a coherent narrative thread. I hadn't heard of physicians practicing difficult conversations with LLMs first, almost as if they're training themselves as human models. #medsky impressions? 🛟
@drsandman11.medsky.social Ring any bells?
Anyone else remember when gas stations were full service by default; checked oil, squeegied the windows, and had free air for the tires with an assistant eager to help? They also gave great directions and some had cool Hess trucks for sale with headlights that worked. ANYONE? 🤔
February 9, 2026 at 6:06 PM
@drsandman11.medsky.social Ring any bells?
Anyone else remember when gas stations were full service by default; checked oil, squeegied the windows, and had free air for the tires with an assistant eager to help? They also gave great directions and some had cool Hess trucks for sale with headlights that worked. ANYONE? 🤔
February 9, 2026 at 7:22 AM
Anyone else remember when gas stations were full service by default; checked oil, squeegied the windows, and had free air for the tires with an assistant eager to help? They also gave great directions and some had cool Hess trucks for sale with headlights that worked. ANYONE? 🤔
Birthday 🎂 but rent 🏋️still due!
February 7, 2026 at 12:14 AM
Birthday 🎂 but rent 🏋️still due!
(Piece published by a French friend on narrative medicine)
💯 Un texte profond et nécessaire d’un ami sur la médecine narrative. Il rappelle que raconter et écouter ne sont pas des ornements du soin, mais ce qui lui donne sens, dignité et portée éthique dans une médecine de plus en plus pressée.🛟
💯 Un texte profond et nécessaire d’un ami sur la médecine narrative. Il rappelle que raconter et écouter ne sont pas des ornements du soin, mais ce qui lui donne sens, dignité et portée éthique dans une médecine de plus en plus pressée.🛟
February 4, 2026 at 8:32 PM
(Piece published by a French friend on narrative medicine)
💯 Un texte profond et nécessaire d’un ami sur la médecine narrative. Il rappelle que raconter et écouter ne sont pas des ornements du soin, mais ce qui lui donne sens, dignité et portée éthique dans une médecine de plus en plus pressée.🛟
💯 Un texte profond et nécessaire d’un ami sur la médecine narrative. Il rappelle que raconter et écouter ne sont pas des ornements du soin, mais ce qui lui donne sens, dignité et portée éthique dans une médecine de plus en plus pressée.🛟
🎁 This piece lands on a core problem with consumer facing medical AI. The failure is not that the model is imperfect but it expresses uncertainty as confidence. No diagnosis was requested. No treatment advice was sought. Just interpretation. The only right answer is "I don't know". #medsky #idsky
Column | I let ChatGPT analyze a decade of my Apple Watch data. Then I called my doctor.
I gave the new ChatGPT Health access to 29 million steps and 6 million heartbeat measurements. It drew questionable conclusions that changed each time I asked.
wapo.st
February 3, 2026 at 10:12 PM
🎁 Power and money don't just corrupt but reveal.
The Longevity Influencer Who Went Into ‘Withdrawal’ Without Jeffrey Epstein
Peter Attia is all over the Epstein files.
www.theatlantic.com
February 3, 2026 at 8:07 AM
🎁 Power and money don't just corrupt but reveal.
"Because if you claim to oppose antisemitism, but fail to recognize that so much of it is now carried out under the guise of anti-Israel activism, then you are not protecting Jews and fighting bigotry. You’re endangering Jews and protecting bigots."
@yonifreedhoff.com
@yonifreedhoff.com
Hatred of Israel is the new antisemitism
As we mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, Jews are facing a worldwide bombardment of antisemitism more intense and widespread than anything since the horrors we commemorate.…
nypost.com
February 3, 2026 at 6:26 AM
"Because if you claim to oppose antisemitism, but fail to recognize that so much of it is now carried out under the guise of anti-Israel activism, then you are not protecting Jews and fighting bigotry. You’re endangering Jews and protecting bigots."
@yonifreedhoff.com
@yonifreedhoff.com
Paul Gagnon's piece from 1988 hits hard and more relevant today: "history is meant to teach judgment,not comfort." "It takes a bone-deep understanding of how hard it is to preserve civilization or to better human life, and of how these have nonetheless been done repeatedly in the past." #historysky
Why Study History?
Civic education can help us to see that not all problems have solutions, to live with tentative answers, to accept compromise, to embrace responsibilities as well as rights—to understand that democrac...
www.theatlantic.com
February 2, 2026 at 7:50 AM
Paul Gagnon's piece from 1988 hits hard and more relevant today: "history is meant to teach judgment,not comfort." "It takes a bone-deep understanding of how hard it is to preserve civilization or to better human life, and of how these have nonetheless been done repeatedly in the past." #historysky
Hope this is phony, but it underscores one reason we encourage kids to hate math from a young age. The wording is polysemic and 75 is indeed a "reasonable" answer. #mathsky
February 2, 2026 at 6:36 AM
Hope this is phony, but it underscores one reason we encourage kids to hate math from a young age. The wording is polysemic and 75 is indeed a "reasonable" answer. #mathsky