Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
LightNews LightNews
khefferon.bsky.social
Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
@khefferon.bsky.social
65 followers 32 following 14 posts
Cornell Microbiologist, Teacher of many students, Defender of Vaccines and GMOs
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
rainmaker1973-m.bsky.social
Nonthing special to see, just a parrot scrolling Youtube Shorts
[📹 djanushvlog]
January 3, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
rainmaker1973-m.bsky.social
The Olive tree of Vouveson on the island of Crete, Greece, is one of the oldest olive trees in the world.
Scientists from the University of Crete have estimated it to be 4,000 years old, which means that, when it sprouted, the last mammoths were still walking on Earth, someone in China was discov...
January 3, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
rainmaker1973-m.bsky.social
How porcupine quills work.
January 3, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
rainmaker1973-m.bsky.social
A map of mytical beasts in Ireland
January 3, 2026 at 11:54 AM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
spacemarschall.net
I find this image quite fascinating and beautiful. It's showing lightning discharging towards space. Astronaut Nichole Ayers took this image from the International Space Station on July 3, 2025.

If you like it too, you can vote for it here:
bsky.app/profile/spac...

🧪⚛️ #sciComm #planetSci
Description by Simeon Schmauß (https://www.flickr.com/photos/semeion/54664805569/): On July 3rd, astronaut Nichole Ayers photographed a gigantic jet from the ISS. These rare upward directed electrical discharges extend ~90-100 km high into the mesosphere. The jet originated from a thunderstorm over Northern Mexico, with city lights from South Texas and the green airglow layer visible along Earth’s limb. I processed this image from the RAW file, adjusting the color profile, white balance and contrast and applied Lightroom's machine learning denoise with low strength. The RAW was provided to me by Frankie Lucena, his analysis of the event, correlating it to measurements from the Geostationary Lightning mapper and ELF-VLF radio signals can be found here: https://spaceweathergallery2.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=224355 City annotations referenced from Riccardo Rossi: https://x.com/RikyUnreal/status/1942367538714734609 Original image listing in the NASA archive: https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/SearchPhotos/photo.pl?mission=ISS073&roll=E&frame=281502 Credit: Nichole Ayers / NASA JSC / ESRS / Simeon Schmauß @stim3on.bsky.social
December 29, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
djzaber.bsky.social
Answer: Think predictability.
Adapting to predictable environments is easier than unpredictable ones. Predictability = Constancy + Contingency.
Sunday is the worst because 60⁰ F temps on Dec 28 is NOT predictable, for critters here & unpredictability can be confusing and ... deadly.
🧪
December 29, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
dzunkovam.bsky.social
Combining traditions with single-cell genomics:
My childhood friend is an expert in #Christmas gingerbread decoration. I asked her to make bacteria and phages in Atrandi Biosciences @atrandi.bsky.social semipermeable capsules 🤩
#microsky #singlecell 🧫🧬🖥🦠🧪
December 29, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
criskotsu.bsky.social
🧪
Decomposition of phenotypic heterogeneity in autism reveals underlying genetic programs - Nature Genetics
Classes of autism are uncovered with a generative mixture modeling approach leveraging matched phenotypic and genetic data from a large cohort, revealing different genetic programs underlying their ph...
www.nature.com
December 28, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
princess-vimentin.bsky.social
I whole heartedly agree!

Science is not simple.
It is so easy to oversimplify something to a point to where it fits a narrative.

Recall that RFK Jr’s MAHA report misrepresented the conclusions of scientific papers to fit the narrative.

We have to fight back.

🧪 www.statnews.com/2025/12/22/r...
Researchers have a moral obligation to push back when their studies are twisted to promote false health claims
NewsGuard has collected 1,000 provably false statements in its False Claim Fingerprints database. Many involve misrepresented research.
www.statnews.com
December 28, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
amazingnatural.bsky.social
Tracks in flooded mine. Looks otherworldly
October 1, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
us.theconversation.com
Sweeping science cuts in 2025 halted clinical trials, erased public health data and forced researchers into impossible choices.

“This year nearly broke me as a scientist,” one writes.

Six researchers share their stories: buff.ly/u2MHIQo 🧪
‘This year nearly broke me as a scientist’ – US researchers reflect on how 2025’s science cuts have changed their lives
US science lost a great deal in 2025, including tens of billions of dollars of federal funding, entire research agencies and programs, and a generation of researchers.
buff.ly
December 28, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
kinesinmotors.bsky.social
🍃 🦠 🧪
Old vaccines for new infections – what we discovered
Vaccines do more than just protect against the disease they were designed for. They also have so-called non-specific effects that can improve overall health.
theconversation.com
December 28, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
kinesinmotors.bsky.social
🍃 🧥 🧪 Physics Underlying Warm Winter Jackets
December 28, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
davidbflower.bsky.social
Snow-capped Mount Etna erupts as skiers glide down slopes. 🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...
Snow-capped Mount Etna erupts as skiers glide down slopes
Scientists say volcanic activity at the site, which frequently erupts, had intensified this week, with craters continuously emitting ash.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 28, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
danmacnulty.bsky.social
Painter et al. have issued a corrigendum conceding that the headline 152× increase in aspen sapling density was an error (now 17.5×), consistent with our critique. But the revised result still relies on averages that mask how most aspen stands showed little or no change. 🧪 doi.org/10.1016/j.fo...
December 28, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
rbreich.bsky.social
America's richest 10% now hold 60% of the nation's wealth.

The bottom half of America? It holds just 6%.

Wealth inequality is eating this country alive.
December 27, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
nature.com
The Trump administration have gutted science agencies, terminated research programmes and cancelled billions of dollars in grants to universities

go.nature.com/4pMeAuU
Will US science survive Trump 2.0?
President Donald Trump and his administration have gutted science agencies, terminated research programmes and cancelled billions of dollars in grants to universities. What are the long-term impacts for the United States and the world?
go.nature.com
December 27, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
coreyspowell.bsky.social
Clever composite photo lets you see a side of the universe normally hidden to human vision. A camera tuned to hydrogen-alpha light reveals glorious interstellar clouds swirling around the familiar stars of the constellation Orion.
(Photo: Włodzimierz Bubak) 🔭🧪

apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap24122...
This wintry scene was captured from southern Poland on the northern hemisphere's long solstice night. Otherwise unseen nebulae hang in the sky, revealed by the camera modified to record red hydrogen-alpha light. The nebulae lie near the edge of the Orion molecular cloud and join the Hunter's familiar belt stars and bright giants Betelgeuse and Rigel. Eye of Taurus the Bull, yellowish Aldebaran anchors the V-shaped Hyades star cluster near top center. Still, near opposition in planet Earth's sky, the Solar System's ruling gas giant Jupiter is the brightest celestial beacon above this horizon's snowy peaks.
January 6, 2025 at 4:31 PM
khefferon.bsky.social
Found myself in Forbes magazine this morning!
www.forbes.com/sites/marian...
Beyond Beyond Burger: Are Alt Proteins Healthy And Profitable?
Alt proteins are a critical part of the puzzle in reducing climate emissions and improving Americans' health.
www.forbes.com
January 5, 2025 at 11:10 PM
khefferon.bsky.social
www.bbc.com/travel/artic...
Is Santa Claus buried in Ireland?
Just a 20-minute drive south from the town of Kilkenny, Ireland, an abandoned medieval village is rumoured to harbour a mysterious Christmas legend.
www.bbc.com
December 24, 2024 at 4:17 PM
khefferon.bsky.social
ambrook.com/research/sus...
Can Gene Editing Save Christmas Trees From Climate Change? - Ambrook Research
And is there a downside?
ambrook.com
December 23, 2024 at 11:27 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
nywolforg.bsky.social
Sweet dreams, Red Wolf Jack 😴
December 21, 2024 at 3:20 AM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
mysecondchance.bsky.social
Firefox (Fire Fox)
One of the RAREST animals on the planet! 📸❤️‍🔥
December 21, 2024 at 8:56 AM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
jonathanslater.bsky.social
Whoever needs this.
December 21, 2024 at 9:45 AM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
jwstfeed.bsky.social
Full detailed image of a star factory.
Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex is the closest star-forming region to Earth, and producing several sun-like stars each year.
🔭 🧪
Red dual opposing jets coming from young stars fill the darker top half of the image, while a glowing pale-yellow, cave-like structure is bottom centre, tilted toward two o’clock, with a bright star at its centre. The dust of the cave structure becomes wispy toward eight o’clock. Above the arched top of the dust cave three groupings of stars with diffraction spikes are arranged. A dark cloud sits at the top of the arch of the glowing dust cave, with one streamer curling down the right-hand side. The dark shadow of the cloud appears pinched in the centre, with light emerging in a triangle shape above and below the pinch, revealing the presence of a star inside the dark cloud. The image’s largest jets of red material emanate from within this dark cloud, thick and displaying structure like the rough face of a cliff, glowing brighter at the edges. At the top centre of the image, a star displays another, larger pinched dark shadow, this time vertically.
December 20, 2024 at 8:09 PM