Kai Kupferschmidt
@kakape.bsky.social
science journalist. author. molecular biologist. curious.
interested in #microbes, #misinformation and all things #blue
contributing correspondent at @science.org
co-host of @pandemia.bsky.social
2024 KSJ fellow at MIT
Signal: kakape.93
interested in #microbes, #misinformation and all things #blue
contributing correspondent at @science.org
co-host of @pandemia.bsky.social
2024 KSJ fellow at MIT
Signal: kakape.93
Pinned
Kai Kupferschmidt
@kakape.bsky.social
· Nov 1
The five biggest challenges facing misinformation researchers
The burgeoning field is still grappling with fundamental problems, from getting access to data to defining 'misinformation' in the first place
www.science.org
So what have I learnt about #misinformation research? I tried to condense it into a list of the 5 biggest challenges the field faces.
Second story in my package of stories about misinformation research is up here (and thread to come):
www.science.org/content/arti...
Second story in my package of stories about misinformation research is up here (and thread to come):
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
WOW! Autism Society of America, The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, the Autism Science Foundation, the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network and Autism Speaks put out a statement denouncing the CDC changing its website on vaccines
autisticadvocacy.org/2025/11/lead...
autisticadvocacy.org/2025/11/lead...
Leading Autism and Disability Organizations Statement on CDC's Vaccines and Autism Page
As national organizations dedicated to advancing the well-being of autistic individuals and partners across the disability and public health sectors, we are deeply disappointed by the latest update to...
autisticadvocacy.org
November 24, 2025 at 11:18 PM
WOW! Autism Society of America, The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, the Autism Science Foundation, the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network and Autism Speaks put out a statement denouncing the CDC changing its website on vaccines
autisticadvocacy.org/2025/11/lead...
autisticadvocacy.org/2025/11/lead...
Finally started on AppleTV adaptation of Foundation. Gorgeous to look at, but so far it seems to completely forgo Asimov’s more cerebral idea of psychohistory as a kind of predictive statistics of humans en masse for more of the usual individual with special abilities storytelling… #scifi
November 25, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Finally started on AppleTV adaptation of Foundation. Gorgeous to look at, but so far it seems to completely forgo Asimov’s more cerebral idea of psychohistory as a kind of predictive statistics of humans en masse for more of the usual individual with special abilities storytelling… #scifi
I think this is probably right and also a complete disaster. Just an utter unwilligness to learn from what we all collectively went through just a few years ago…
The default pandemic strategy for many countries does now seem to be "Play it by ear then lockdown and wait for a vaccine"
November 24, 2025 at 10:11 PM
I think this is probably right and also a complete disaster. Just an utter unwilligness to learn from what we all collectively went through just a few years ago…
In the good news category:
After years of research and trials, the WHO this year recommended the first new tool to fight malaria in decades: spatial repellents. They last up to a year and they could help fight malaria as well as dengue and other diseases - and protect refugees.
#IDsky 🧪
After years of research and trials, the WHO this year recommended the first new tool to fight malaria in decades: spatial repellents. They last up to a year and they could help fight malaria as well as dengue and other diseases - and protect refugees.
#IDsky 🧪
New vapor tool fights mosquitoes by slowly releasing insecticide in homes. Will it catch on?
World Health Organization supports “spatial repellents” to prevent malaria, but it’s unclear who will pay for them
www.science.org
November 24, 2025 at 8:02 PM
In the good news category:
After years of research and trials, the WHO this year recommended the first new tool to fight malaria in decades: spatial repellents. They last up to a year and they could help fight malaria as well as dengue and other diseases - and protect refugees.
#IDsky 🧪
After years of research and trials, the WHO this year recommended the first new tool to fight malaria in decades: spatial repellents. They last up to a year and they could help fight malaria as well as dengue and other diseases - and protect refugees.
#IDsky 🧪
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
Sind selbst gespannt darauf, was wir da so alles zu hören kriegen.
Wenn euch das auch interessiert, gibt es hier einen Feed für euch:
wissenschaftspodcasts.de/feed-wisspod...
Wenn euch das auch interessiert, gibt es hier einen Feed für euch:
wissenschaftspodcasts.de/feed-wisspod...
Wisspod-PodcastWisspod-PodcastVorschau zur #WissPodWeihnacht: 24 Podcasts in 24 TürchenAusblick auf das #ganzohr 2025Wisspod-Jahresrückblick 2024 oder: Reichweite, my ass!Eindrücke vom GanzOhr2024Ausblick auf das #ganzohr 2024Jahresrückblick 2023Ausblick auf das #ganzohr 2023Ausblick auf das #ganzohr 2022Lewis MacKenzie about his study on science podcasts
wissenschaftspodcasts.de
November 24, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Sind selbst gespannt darauf, was wir da so alles zu hören kriegen.
Wenn euch das auch interessiert, gibt es hier einen Feed für euch:
wissenschaftspodcasts.de/feed-wisspod...
Wenn euch das auch interessiert, gibt es hier einen Feed für euch:
wissenschaftspodcasts.de/feed-wisspod...
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
Wir feiern dieses Jahr übrigens mit bei der #WisspodWeihnacht!
Das ist ein schöner Adventskalender den wissenschaftspodcasts.de organisiert hat: 24 Türchen, 24 verschiedene Wissenschaftspodcasts, 24 kurze Folgen für euch!
wissenschaftspodcasts.de/themenseiten...
Das ist ein schöner Adventskalender den wissenschaftspodcasts.de organisiert hat: 24 Türchen, 24 verschiedene Wissenschaftspodcasts, 24 kurze Folgen für euch!
wissenschaftspodcasts.de/themenseiten...
Wisspod-Adventskalender 2025 - wissenschaftspodcasts.de
Bei Wissenschaftspodcasts.de gibt es dieses Jahr einen Adventskalender: 24 verschiedene Podcasts haben jeweils eine Folge beigesteuert.
wissenschaftspodcasts.de
November 24, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Wir feiern dieses Jahr übrigens mit bei der #WisspodWeihnacht!
Das ist ein schöner Adventskalender den wissenschaftspodcasts.de organisiert hat: 24 Türchen, 24 verschiedene Wissenschaftspodcasts, 24 kurze Folgen für euch!
wissenschaftspodcasts.de/themenseiten...
Das ist ein schöner Adventskalender den wissenschaftspodcasts.de organisiert hat: 24 Türchen, 24 verschiedene Wissenschaftspodcasts, 24 kurze Folgen für euch!
wissenschaftspodcasts.de/themenseiten...
What most impresses me as a reader is when writers manage to tell stories and make me feel things while at the same time questioning those very stories and feelings, shaping the ambiguity and nuance that is everywhere around us in this world into something tangible instead of ignoring it.
November 23, 2025 at 8:58 PM
What most impresses me as a reader is when writers manage to tell stories and make me feel things while at the same time questioning those very stories and feelings, shaping the ambiguity and nuance that is everywhere around us in this world into something tangible instead of ignoring it.
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
Science journalist Kai Kupferschmidt has written a book entitled ‚Blue | In Search of Nature's Rarest Color’ , which we highly recommend. It is available in German and English. @kakape.bsky.social
November 21, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Science journalist Kai Kupferschmidt has written a book entitled ‚Blue | In Search of Nature's Rarest Color’ , which we highly recommend. It is available in German and English. @kakape.bsky.social
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
How can a PhD blend science with art, and dessert with creativity? 🤔
I tried it by making a “night-sky cake“— colored with phycocyanin, the same vivid blue pigment 💙 found in the algae I study. My supervisor recognized the source of the color immediately — he’s incredibly sharp!
I tried it by making a “night-sky cake“— colored with phycocyanin, the same vivid blue pigment 💙 found in the algae I study. My supervisor recognized the source of the color immediately — he’s incredibly sharp!
November 21, 2025 at 2:30 PM
How can a PhD blend science with art, and dessert with creativity? 🤔
I tried it by making a “night-sky cake“— colored with phycocyanin, the same vivid blue pigment 💙 found in the algae I study. My supervisor recognized the source of the color immediately — he’s incredibly sharp!
I tried it by making a “night-sky cake“— colored with phycocyanin, the same vivid blue pigment 💙 found in the algae I study. My supervisor recognized the source of the color immediately — he’s incredibly sharp!
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
EXCLUSIVE: CDC to end all monkey studies. Decision handed down by recent college grad and former DOGE employee who is now deputy chief of staff at the agency. Animals were being used in studies of HIV prevention. Some may be euthanized. My latest for @science.org
Exclusive: CDC to end all monkey research
Studies related to HIV and other infectious diseases will be phased out, sources say; fate of the agency's animals remains unclear
www.science.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:16 PM
EXCLUSIVE: CDC to end all monkey studies. Decision handed down by recent college grad and former DOGE employee who is now deputy chief of staff at the agency. Animals were being used in studies of HIV prevention. Some may be euthanized. My latest for @science.org
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
About that exclusive, "closed-to-press" MAHA summit last week with RFK and JD Vance: I got in.
Here's what I saw. 🧵 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Here's what I saw. 🧵 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
November 21, 2025 at 5:01 PM
About that exclusive, "closed-to-press" MAHA summit last week with RFK and JD Vance: I got in.
Here's what I saw. 🧵 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Here's what I saw. 🧵 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The official CDC website on autism and vaccines is now a screed of cherry-picked data and conspiratorial thinking claiming that actually vaccines *might* cause autism.
This is where we’re at folks…
🧪
This is where we’re at folks…
🧪
November 20, 2025 at 11:54 AM
The official CDC website on autism and vaccines is now a screed of cherry-picked data and conspiratorial thinking claiming that actually vaccines *might* cause autism.
This is where we’re at folks…
🧪
This is where we’re at folks…
🧪
The official CDC website on autism and vaccines is now a screed of cherry-picked data and conspiratorial thinking claiming that actually vaccines *might* cause autism.
This is where we’re at folks…
This is where we’re at folks…
November 20, 2025 at 11:35 AM
The official CDC website on autism and vaccines is now a screed of cherry-picked data and conspiratorial thinking claiming that actually vaccines *might* cause autism.
This is where we’re at folks…
This is where we’re at folks…
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
Last week, Suncoast Searchlight's four reporters wrote a letter to their board. Their editor-in-chief had secretly been using ChatGPT and inserting hallucinated quotes into their drafts.
The next day, one of those reporters was fired. My latest for @niemanlab.org. www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/flor...
The next day, one of those reporters was fired. My latest for @niemanlab.org. www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/flor...
Florida nonprofit news reporters ask board to investigate their editor’s AI use
Suncoast Searchlight’s four reporters told the board their editor-in-chief was using AI editing tools and inserting hallucinations into drafts. The next day, one of the reporters was fired.
www.niemanlab.org
November 19, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Last week, Suncoast Searchlight's four reporters wrote a letter to their board. Their editor-in-chief had secretly been using ChatGPT and inserting hallucinated quotes into their drafts.
The next day, one of those reporters was fired. My latest for @niemanlab.org. www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/flor...
The next day, one of those reporters was fired. My latest for @niemanlab.org. www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/flor...
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
NEWS: During a hearing in federal court in VA, prosecutors confirmed that the operative indictment in the case against James Comey was never shown to or voted on by the entire grand jury before it was presented in open court.
Defense counsel argued that’s a complete bar to further prosecution
Defense counsel argued that’s a complete bar to further prosecution
November 19, 2025 at 4:36 PM
NEWS: During a hearing in federal court in VA, prosecutors confirmed that the operative indictment in the case against James Comey was never shown to or voted on by the entire grand jury before it was presented in open court.
Defense counsel argued that’s a complete bar to further prosecution
Defense counsel argued that’s a complete bar to further prosecution
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
🎉 Wahnsinn! Wir haben die 50.000 € in unserer Crowdfunding-Kampagne geknackt! 🙌
Einen riesigen Dank an euch alle – ihr habt das möglich gemacht! 💚
#Crowdfunding #RiffReporter #Danke #FollowerPower
Einen riesigen Dank an euch alle – ihr habt das möglich gemacht! 💚
#Crowdfunding #RiffReporter #Danke #FollowerPower
November 19, 2025 at 1:10 PM
🎉 Wahnsinn! Wir haben die 50.000 € in unserer Crowdfunding-Kampagne geknackt! 🙌
Einen riesigen Dank an euch alle – ihr habt das möglich gemacht! 💚
#Crowdfunding #RiffReporter #Danke #FollowerPower
Einen riesigen Dank an euch alle – ihr habt das möglich gemacht! 💚
#Crowdfunding #RiffReporter #Danke #FollowerPower
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Opinion | Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression
The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Laura und ich sind gerade beide unterwegs auf Recherchereise, aber bevor wir abgehauen sind haben wir noch eine Bonusfolge @pandemia.bsky.social für unsere Unterstützer veröffentlicht.
Es geht um Fotos der dritten Pestpandemie, um Masken, Murmeltierfelle und die Mandschurei.
🧪
Es geht um Fotos der dritten Pestpandemie, um Masken, Murmeltierfelle und die Mandschurei.
🧪
Pest (Bonus) | Forscher, Fotos, Fellhändler
Podcast Episode · Pandemia · 11/12/2025 · Subscribers Only · 40m
podcasts.apple.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Laura und ich sind gerade beide unterwegs auf Recherchereise, aber bevor wir abgehauen sind haben wir noch eine Bonusfolge @pandemia.bsky.social für unsere Unterstützer veröffentlicht.
Es geht um Fotos der dritten Pestpandemie, um Masken, Murmeltierfelle und die Mandschurei.
🧪
Es geht um Fotos der dritten Pestpandemie, um Masken, Murmeltierfelle und die Mandschurei.
🧪
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
NEW: The White House intervened on behalf of accused sex trafficker Andrew Tate during a federal investigation.
“It was so offensive to what we’re all here to do, to uphold the law and protect the American people,” one official involved said.
www.propublica.org/article/andr...
“It was so offensive to what we’re all here to do, to uphold the law and protect the American people,” one official involved said.
www.propublica.org/article/andr...
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 3:02 PM
NEW: The White House intervened on behalf of accused sex trafficker Andrew Tate during a federal investigation.
“It was so offensive to what we’re all here to do, to uphold the law and protect the American people,” one official involved said.
www.propublica.org/article/andr...
“It was so offensive to what we’re all here to do, to uphold the law and protect the American people,” one official involved said.
www.propublica.org/article/andr...
“You cannot act upon what you cannot see. And we are plagued by dead language and dead stories that serve people whose aim is nothing short of a dead world.”
Listening to Ta-Nehisi Coates’ beautiful, moving thoughts on journalism in “The Message”.
So much there as I think about misinfo…
Listening to Ta-Nehisi Coates’ beautiful, moving thoughts on journalism in “The Message”.
So much there as I think about misinfo…
November 14, 2025 at 11:16 PM
“You cannot act upon what you cannot see. And we are plagued by dead language and dead stories that serve people whose aim is nothing short of a dead world.”
Listening to Ta-Nehisi Coates’ beautiful, moving thoughts on journalism in “The Message”.
So much there as I think about misinfo…
Listening to Ta-Nehisi Coates’ beautiful, moving thoughts on journalism in “The Message”.
So much there as I think about misinfo…
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
The deadly fever in Ethiopia has been identified as Marburg disease.
It’s the first time a Marburg outbreak has been identified in Ethiopia.
#IDsky 🧪
www.afro.who.int/countries/et...
It’s the first time a Marburg outbreak has been identified in Ethiopia.
#IDsky 🧪
www.afro.who.int/countries/et...
Ethiopia confirms first outbreak of Marburg virus disease
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health has confirmed an outbreak of Marburg virus disease in the South Ethiopia Region, the first of its kind in the country, following laboratory testing of samples from a clus...
www.afro.who.int
November 14, 2025 at 8:07 PM
The deadly fever in Ethiopia has been identified as Marburg disease.
It’s the first time a Marburg outbreak has been identified in Ethiopia.
#IDsky 🧪
www.afro.who.int/countries/et...
It’s the first time a Marburg outbreak has been identified in Ethiopia.
#IDsky 🧪
www.afro.who.int/countries/et...
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
Wer unsere neueste Folge schon gehört hat, weiß, dass Ägypten eine wichtige Rolle spielt in der Geschichte des Trachoms.
Gestern kam die Nachricht von der @who.int:
Ägypten hat die Krankheit eliminiert. Es ist Land Nummer 27. Damit bleiben 30 Länder, in denen Trachom weiter eine Gefahr ist.
Gestern kam die Nachricht von der @who.int:
Ägypten hat die Krankheit eliminiert. Es ist Land Nummer 27. Damit bleiben 30 Länder, in denen Trachom weiter eine Gefahr ist.
Egypt becomes the seventh country in the Eastern Mediterranean Region to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem
The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced that Egypt has successfully eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, marking a historic public health milestone for the country and WHO’s Eas...
www.who.int
November 13, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Wer unsere neueste Folge schon gehört hat, weiß, dass Ägypten eine wichtige Rolle spielt in der Geschichte des Trachoms.
Gestern kam die Nachricht von der @who.int:
Ägypten hat die Krankheit eliminiert. Es ist Land Nummer 27. Damit bleiben 30 Länder, in denen Trachom weiter eine Gefahr ist.
Gestern kam die Nachricht von der @who.int:
Ägypten hat die Krankheit eliminiert. Es ist Land Nummer 27. Damit bleiben 30 Länder, in denen Trachom weiter eine Gefahr ist.
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
CAN LLMs write about science? @science.org decided to find out, and they did it the curious, scientific way. They did an experiment.
Love this thoughtful convo. www.lastwordonnothing.com/2025/11/12/w...
Love this thoughtful convo. www.lastwordonnothing.com/2025/11/12/w...
The Last Word On Nothing | Why AAAS won’t be using AI to write press releases anytime soon
www.lastwordonnothing.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:19 PM
CAN LLMs write about science? @science.org decided to find out, and they did it the curious, scientific way. They did an experiment.
Love this thoughtful convo. www.lastwordonnothing.com/2025/11/12/w...
Love this thoughtful convo. www.lastwordonnothing.com/2025/11/12/w...
"So far, eight suspected cases have been reported. Laboratory testing is ongoing at the Ethiopia Public Health Institute to determine the exact cause."
Always worrying when viral hemorrhagic fever outbreak is suspected anywhere, definitely something to watch.
#IDsky
www.afro.who.int/news/ethiopi...
Always worrying when viral hemorrhagic fever outbreak is suspected anywhere, definitely something to watch.
#IDsky
www.afro.who.int/news/ethiopi...
Ethiopia reports suspected viral haemorrhagic fever outbreak
Health authorities in Ethiopia are carrying out further investigations and ramping up response after suspected cases of viral haemorrhagic fever were reported in the country’s South Ethiopia Region.
www.afro.who.int
November 13, 2025 at 4:57 PM
"So far, eight suspected cases have been reported. Laboratory testing is ongoing at the Ethiopia Public Health Institute to determine the exact cause."
Always worrying when viral hemorrhagic fever outbreak is suspected anywhere, definitely something to watch.
#IDsky
www.afro.who.int/news/ethiopi...
Always worrying when viral hemorrhagic fever outbreak is suspected anywhere, definitely something to watch.
#IDsky
www.afro.who.int/news/ethiopi...