banner
kakape.bsky.social
Kai Kupferschmidt
@kakape.bsky.social
33K followers 1.8K following 1K posts
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
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
kakape.bsky.social
Kai Kupferschmidt @kakape.bsky.social · Nov 1
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...
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
14 68 190
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
pandemia.bsky.social
Pandemia @pandemia.bsky.social · 3h
Ihr findet uns ab sofort auch auf Instagram.
Unter dem handle @truekeim :)

www.instagram.com/truekeim?igs...
1 5
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
oliverdarcy.bsky.social
Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy.bsky.social · 11h
Last week, new WaPo opinion editor Adam O'Neal quietly carried out another purge of staffers, cutting editors and major names like Marc Fisher and David Hoffman, among others.

Meanwhile, he welcomed three conservatives to the section.

Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/washington...
Post Traumatic Disorder
Adam O’Neal says he’s bringing “intellectual diversity” to The Washington Post’s opinion pages—but the moves he’s making behind the scenes tell a different story.
www.status.news
66 260 560
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 1d
Not happening somewhere else. Here. In America. Right now.
mollyjongfast.bsky.social
Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · 1d
CHICAGO (AP) — Storming an apartment complex by helicopter as families slept. Deploying chemical agents near a public school. Handcuffing a Chicago City Council member at a hospital.

apnews.com/article/chic...
Using helicopters and chemical agents, immigration agents become increasingly aggressive in Chicago
Activists, residents and elected leaders say increasingly combative tactics used by federal immigration agents are sparking violence and fueling neighborhood tensions in the nation’s third-largest cit...
apnews.com
21 390 1.1K
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 1d
My new op-ed with @lkfazio.bsky.social:

Trump sent a 'compact' to our universities. They should reject this devil's bargain.
Any institution that yields to these broad and intrusive demands would forever be subservient to the whims of the government.
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
7 190 550
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
plantevolution.bsky.social
PlantEvolution 🌱🌾 @plantevolution.bsky.social · 1d
Game changer for cell-based plant genetics: the labs of Caixia Gao & Jin-Long Qiu have developed very efficient self-replicating vectors and they just published a very nice proof-of-concept paper.
#plantscience
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
1 26 57
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
monicamedhist.bsky.social
Monica H Green @monicamedhist.bsky.social · 21d
My thanks to TEAMS (Teaching Association for Medieval Studies) for posting a notice on their newsletter of the new #OpenAccess teaching module on the Black Death: teams-medieval.org/untitled-4/. #histmed #MedievalSky #PandemicPedagogy 🧪🗃️
Open-Access Teaching Module on the Black Death Now Available
Free, new materials for teaching the Black Death
teams-medieval.org
1 30 70
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
sanderlab.bsky.social
Leif Erik Sander 🇪🇺🇺🇦 @sanderlab.bsky.social · 1d
Nobelpreise für Medizin 2025 geht an Shimon Sakaguchi, Mary Brunkow & Fred Ramsdell für ihre bahnbrechenden Arbeiten zur peripheren Immuntoleranz. Gratulation 👏
#Tregs #Tolerance #FoxP3 #Nobel2025
Super Erklärstück dazu von @florianschumann.bsky.social @jasimmank.bsky.social @zeitonline.bsky.social
Nobelpreis für Medizin: Wenn Ihr Immunsystem nicht Amok läuft, liegt es an diesen Zellen
Kämpfen, aber nicht gegen sich selbst: Wie dem Immunsystem das gelingt, haben die Medizinnobelpreisträger gezeigt. Es könnte helfen, Krebs und Neurodermitis zu behandeln.
www.zeit.de
1 31 91
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
jlazarus.bsky.social
Spooky Back From the Dead Lazarus @jlazarus.bsky.social · 1d
Once again worth pointing out that before Trump came along politicians didn't tell bald-face, easily disprovable lies. They equivocated or shaded, and occasionally told a whopper if they thought no one would ever find out. But Trump's complete disregard for truth is a brand new thing.
acyn.bsky.social
Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 2d
Trump: Portland is burning to the ground—insurrectionists all over the place. The politicians are afraid for their lives. That’s the only reason they say there’s nothing happening.
2 20 59
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
pandemia.bsky.social
Pandemia @pandemia.bsky.social · 2d
Wir sind die Influenza-Influencer...
7 1 23
kakape.bsky.social
Kai Kupferschmidt @kakape.bsky.social · 2d
“Anyone who does not have an autoimmune disease, that’s because of these regulatory T cells,” says Markus Feuerer, an immunologist at the Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy.

www.science.org/content/arti...
Medicine Nobel for researchers who identified immune system’s security guards
Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi discovered regulatory T cells that prevent autoimmune disease
www.science.org
2 30 79
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
ardenthistorian.bsky.social
Annika Brockschmidt @ardenthistorian.bsky.social · 4d
Weil dank Merz jetzt wieder darüber geredet wird, dass man die „AfD inhaltlich stellen“, also ihre Themen bedienen müsse, hier nochmal mein Interview mit @tabouchadi.bsky.social zur Forschungslage (es funktioniert nicht). Wir reden über medialen & politischen Umgang mit Rechtsextremen & was hilft.
Audio-Essay: Umgang mit der AfD - was sagt die Forschungslage? - mit Tarik Abou-Chadi
open.spotify.com
39 400 1K
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
couts.bsky.social
Andrew Couts @couts.bsky.social · 4d
NEW: ICE is planning to hire a team of nearly 30 people to surveil social media 24/7, build dossiers on people, and flag them for arrest and deportation. @dell.bsky.social has the scoop: www.wired.com/story/ice-so...
ICE Wants to Build Out a 24/7 Social Media Surveillance Team
Documents show ICE plans to hire dozens of contractors to scan X, Facebook, TikTok, and other platforms to target people for deportation.
www.wired.com
800 4.9K 6.5K
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
pandemia.bsky.social
Pandemia @pandemia.bsky.social · 5d
Pandemia wird allein durch euch, unsere Hörer:innen, finanziert.
Mit einer Mitgliedschaft bei Pandemia+ helft ihr uns, das Projekt am Leben zu halten und häufiger Folgen zu recherchieren und produzieren.
Das geht zum Beispiel bei Apple Podcasts oder hier:

steady.page/en/pandemia/...
Pandemia +
Ein Podcast von Laura Salm-Reifferscheidt und Kai Kupferschmidt.
steady.page
1 3 5
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
pandemia.bsky.social
Pandemia @pandemia.bsky.social · 5d
Ein toter Forscher, ein vermeintlich ungefährliches Bakterium und der Kampf von Mensch und Mikrobe um eine wichtige Ressource: Eisen.
Darum geht es in unserer Bonusfolge zur Pest-Serie für unsere Unterstützer.
Und: Der nächste Mehrteiler ist schon in Arbeit und beginnt hoffentlich diesen Monat...
Pest (Bonus) | Heavy Metal
Podcast-Folge · Pandemia · 01.10.2025 · Nur Abonnent:innen · 26 Min.
podcasts.apple.com
4 3 16
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
gregfolkers.bsky.social
Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 6d
Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, former Director of NIAID, is Fired by Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy in Retaliation for Filing Whistleblower Complaint with the Office of Special Counsel

bit.ly/4gRA3yx
8 110 200
kakape.bsky.social
Kai Kupferschmidt @kakape.bsky.social · 6d
Thanks!
2
kakape.bsky.social
Kai Kupferschmidt @kakape.bsky.social · 6d
Curious if law experts can explain whether this runs afoul of the Hatch Act and if not why not?
1 3 12
kakape.bsky.social
Kai Kupferschmidt @kakape.bsky.social · 6d
Over on X you can see how the Trump administration is using every channel of communication to frame the shutdown as the fault of Democrats.

Using such official communication channels for partisan politics obviously erodes trust. As with many things we are witnessing, this will have lasting effects
4 16 47
kakape.bsky.social
Kai Kupferschmidt @kakape.bsky.social · 6d
“But debate over the tactical wisdom of the Democrats’ decision should not obscure the responsibility of Mr. Trump and the Republican Party. Mr. Trump is threatening to hurt Americans in two ways and forcing Democrats to choose which one to prevent.“
Opinion | The Real Stakes of the Shutdown
www.nytimes.com
3 2
kakape.bsky.social
Kai Kupferschmidt @kakape.bsky.social · 6d
Short and to the point. You do have to wonder why others seem to be struggling so much with this…
chrismurphyct.bsky.social
Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 6d
Good morning.

The government is shut down because Trump wants to act like a king and steal from you.

Democrats have no obligation to support a budget that funds the destruction of our democracy - and DOUBLES health premiums to fund a tax cut for billionaires.
8 27
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
adamjkucharski.bsky.social
Adam Kucharski @adamjkucharski.bsky.social · 7d
At our recent @lshtm.bsky.social event on misinformation, Chris Whitty gave some useful reflections on common causes and some important considerations for handling it.

Full event: www.youtube.com/live/H_nClQ2...
3 21 53
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
filipecampante.bsky.social
Filipe Campante @filipecampante.bsky.social · 7d
PS: The NYT headline is truly atrocious.
1 1 32
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
filipecampante.bsky.social
Filipe Campante @filipecampante.bsky.social · 7d
Honestly, if you see an event like this in literally any country in the world, it's a fifteen-alarm fire for democracy. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/u...
Trump and Hegseth Recount Familiar Partisan Complaints to Top Military Leaders
www.nytimes.com
3 20 67
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
anneapplebaum.bsky.social
Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · 8d
from @brianklaas.bsky.social, "a dystopian America, where people blame everything but the real cause: a country awash with unlimited guns"
www.forkingpaths.co/p/guns-at-an...
Guns at Annunciation
I was baptized at the church where kids were murdered. It's a canary in the coal mine for a dystopian America, where people blame everything but the real cause: a country awash with unlimited guns.
www.forkingpaths.co
60 460 1.5K
Reposted by Kai Kupferschmidt
scientificdiscovery.dev
Saloni @scientificdiscovery.dev · 8d
I don't think the average person is going to learn much by accessing a paywalled scientific paper.

But the current system keeps out journalists, science communicators, policy researchers, and fact checkers from reading into a topic as well.
scientificdiscovery.dev
Saloni @scientificdiscovery.dev · 9d
In general I think it's hard to combat scientific misinformation when some of the best research is locked behind an academic paywall, while lots of nonsense gets published free for everyone to read in predatory journals.
6 26 120