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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · 17h

Just a reminder: Many PFAS are well-known to be associated with neurological, immune, developmental, and reproductive problems, and cancers. Even types of PFAS that are designed or thought to be "safer" usually have some level of associated toxicity/carcinogenicity. 3/3 🧪

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · 17h

PFAS are industrially profitable, and by now, pretty difficult to avoid. They're in many of the products we use, and they accumulate in our bodies. Without intervention (or sometimes, even with our best attempts at degradation), PFAS stick around in the environment for ages. 2/3 🧪

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · 17h

No new PFAS restrictions in CA cookware, food packaging, dental floss, children's playpens and strollers, and other everyday products. 1/3 🧪
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/c...

Newsom Vetoes California’s Ban on ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Cookware

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Sarah Schwartz

Josh Moody @byjoshmoody.bsky.social · 5d

MIT rejects "compact" proposed by the Trump administration.
MIT prez wrote: it "would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution" and "is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone."
orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

Regarding the Compact | MIT Organization Chart

orgchart.mit.edu

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · 22d

Please be extra patient with your friends and colleagues in the Bay Area today. Most of us were up at 3 am for the earthquake, and to make matters worse, the Earth DIDN'T finish the job and swallow us whole

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · 26d

😳

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · Aug 19

Small joys: The Campanile today, singing the song of angry men.

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · May 19

Because PFAS stick around in the environment, and pose health risks even at very, very low concentrations, delaying regulation or research is an accumulative risk...and for the same reasons, this problem is going to be with us for a while. There will be a lot more to learn. (8/8) 🧪

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · May 19

These 6 PFAS are a minuscule fraction of the PFAS in our environment and economy. There are *thousands* (>14,000) of PFAS species with varying toxicity, utility, and chemistry. So we definitely don't have a full picture of PFAS's human and environmental health risks yet. (7/8) 🧪

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · May 19

The 4 PFAS that are now unrestricted in drinking water have been associated with risks of developmental, reproductive, and immunological problems, DNA damage, and/or cancer...and more. (6/8) 🧪

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · May 19

Some of these other PFAS were made to replace PFOA or PFOS, once the research revealed that those two PFAS were so toxic. These other PFAS may not be as extensively-studied or famous...but we have already learned a lot about their risks. Spoiler alert: They're ALSO toxic. (5/8) 🧪

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · May 19

The 4 PFAS compounds that will have limits removed are less famous. They're nicknamed PFNA, GenX, PFBA, and PFHxS. (Their full names are a doozy... "hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid" doesn't really roll off the tongue.) (4/8) 🧪

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · May 19

The 2 upheld drinking water limits are for PFOA and PFOS, probably the most (in)famous PFAS. They're well-studied and have serious health risks. They've been limited in the US for decades, but are still in some products...and other PFAS can turn into PFOA/PFOS in the environment. (3/8) 🧪

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · May 19

For those unfamiliar with PFAS: These compounds are full of fluorine-carbon bonds, which give great stability and very useful properties (e.g. nonstick, waterproofing, flame suppression). This stability also makes PFAS linger in the environment, hence the term "forever chemicals." (2/8) 🧪

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · May 19

Last week, the EPA rolled back regulations on 4 of 6 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that were strictly regulated in drinking water under the previous administration. (1/8) 🧪
tinyurl.com/y3bdhbkz

Trump Administration to Uphold Some PFAS Limits but Eliminate Others

www.nytimes.com

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · Mar 27

If you give a plant some silicon...it might make a pest-killing goo?
Many thanks to the experts who told me about the complex science of silica supplementation. www.sciencenews.org/article/sili...
🧪

How silicon turns tomato plants into mean, green, pest-killing machines

Treated plants fight pests without the need for toxic pesticides, oozing a "larval toffee" that stunts tomato pinworms’ growth and attracts predators.

www.sciencenews.org

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Reposted by Sarah Schwartz

Andrea Love, PhD | Biomedical Scientist @drandrealove.bsky.social · Mar 5

I can’t believe this needs to be said.

TransGENIC mice

are not

TransGENDER mice

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Reposted by Sarah Schwartz

Jo Wolfe, PhD @jopabinia.bsky.social · Feb 27

New writing! For @sciam.bsky.social, I talk about misleading memes.

If you understand evolution enough to know this already, great! But memes/youtubes/etc reach folks with no biology background. Science has been twisted to justify bad things, such as eugenics, before. NOT IN CRABS' NAME.

🦀🧪🦑⚒️

Crab Memes Amplify Mistaken Ideas about Evolution

Memes about repeated evolution of crabs have been co-opted to joke about technology and “ultimate forms.” They’re hilarious, but they oversimplify natural variation, giving bad arguments a scientific ...

www.scientificamerican.com

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · Feb 18

If you also feel like displaying the NSF's "banned words" wherever you go, you can get them on a t-shirt, tote, or mug. The proceeds are donated to various science and research nonprofits in the US. www.bonfire.com/store/nerd-b... 🧪

Nerd Behavior | Official Merchandise | Bonfire

By researchers, for everyone. All proceeds donated to support research in the USA.

www.bonfire.com

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · Jan 28

So, how are we all doing? 🧪

a man in a suit is carrying a stack of pizza boxes .

Alt: The scene from Community where Troy enters the apartment carrying pizza boxes, only to find the entire apartment engulfed in fire and chaos

media.tenor.com

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · Dec 7

🥲

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · Nov 22

I work in a group studying PFAS. These compounds are nearly everywhere on Earth now, are EXTREMELY hard to clean up or break down, and have been repeatedly linked to a ton of health risks--cancers, heart issues, immune/ neuro/ hormonal effects, etc. Not what you want in your water. 🧪

Trump Promises Clean Water. Will He Clean Up PFAS?

Public health advocates worry that Donald Trump could unravel federal clean water efforts, including restrictions on lead pipes and chemicals known as PFAS.

www.nytimes.com

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · Sep 9

So, which necessary and seemingly-benign scientific entities have gradually become your sworn enemies? I'll go first:

1. Pure glycerol
2. Conda environments
3. eRA. Commons.

🧪 🦠 😒

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · May 11

On a dark road in Massachusetts last night. Absolutely incredible. 🧪

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Sarah Schwartz @flaskandquill.bsky.social · Apr 30

When someone asks me how I would describe myself 🧪

A cardboard box labeled "RUSH...RUSH. TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE"

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