Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Nicole I. Jones @redleggirl.bsky.social · Aug 25

I love TB research, but teaching is my favorite. On the first day, students get excited about pasteurization and pipetting while I casually drop the fact that tuberculosis has killed more humans than any other pathogen.

They came for microbiology, they're leaving as TB evangelists.

#TBsky

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Nicole I. Jones @redleggirl.bsky.social · Aug 19

Tuberculosis Spawning in Crowded, Dirty ICE Detention Centers url:https://prospect.org/health/2025-08-18-tuberculosis-spawning-in-crowded-dirty-ice-detention-centers/

Nicole I. Jones @redleggirl.bsky.social · Jul 19

El Paso's dry, sunny climate made it a destination for TB patients seeking "the cure." Sunshine and dry air were thought to heal lungs.

This sunflower is thriving in the same desert heat that once drew thousands here for TB treatment. Different kind of growth, same relentless El Paso sun. #TBsky

Nicole I. Jones @redleggirl.bsky.social · May 15

Winston Churchill demonstrating the art of the strategic pause. Sometimes progress means stopping halfway up the mountain to bask in the sunlight.

PhD lesson from my bulldog: Break overwhelming tasks into manageable chunks. Not every staircase needs to be conquered in one breathless dash. #TBsky

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Reposted by Nicole I. Jones

Infectious Diseases @infectiousdz.bsky.social · Apr 9

Why do we like vaccines and water systems so much?

It used to be 50/50 whether your kid lived to be an adult. With 4 kids, 94% chance they wouldn't all make it.

Fun times. Maybe let's not do that again.

We don't have magic cures for diseases like measles. We have vaccines.

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Reposted by Nicole I. Jones

Katherine Horton @kchorton.bsky.social · Apr 9

New pre-print modelling impact of US funding cuts on HIV, #TB, MCH and family planning. We estimate impact of termination of US funding to NTPs via #USAID & The Global Fund may lead to 2.2 (1.5-2.9) million excess TB deaths between 2025 and 2040, reversing over a decade of progress.

bit.ly/4lowp18

Line chart showing median number of TB deaths in 79 low- and middle-income countries from 2010 through 2040. A black line shows a decline from 1.25 million deaths in 2010 to just under 1 million deaths in 2024. A blue line shows the number of deaths staying constant through 2040 if 2024 funding and programmes are maintained. A red line shows the number of deaths increasing to 1.2 million in 2040 if US funding to national TB programmes is terminated.

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Reposted by Nicole I. Jones

Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · Apr 1

@booker.senate.gov dismantles a Confederate monument.

Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · Apr 1

WASHINGTON (AP) — Cory Booker breaks the record for longest Senate speech, previously held by segregationist Strom Thurmond.

Photo of Cory Booker in a black suit and tie

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Nicole I. Jones @redleggirl.bsky.social · Mar 29

How do I join to help spread the #EndTB message?!

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Nicole I. Jones @redleggirl.bsky.social · Mar 27

Adding to my TBR pile!

Nicole I. Jones @redleggirl.bsky.social · Mar 26

I would like to be added, please.

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Nicole I. Jones @redleggirl.bsky.social · Mar 25

World TB Day finds me where I belong - suited up and heading in to work on Mtb cultures.

TB exists because we allow it to exist. But in labs around the world today, scientists like me are working to change that equation.

One culture, one experiment, one discovery at a time.

#TBsky

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Nicole I. Jones @redleggirl.bsky.social · Mar 22

I got green! I did such a nerdy happy dance when I saw it!

Nicole I. Jones @redleggirl.bsky.social · Mar 22

When your research subject gets the @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social treatment. A reminder that TB isn't just lab work - it's human stories spanning centuries. And why we desperately need to overwhelm it with new treatments before it outsmarts us again.
#TBsky

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Reposted by Nicole I. Jones

John Green @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social · Mar 20

It's true: Tuberculosis is more than a disease. It's a form and expression of injustice. atmos.earth/for-john-gre...

For John Green, Tuberculosis Is More Than A Disease | Atmos

The bestselling author says our inability to fix solvable crises is an indictment of our empathy and shared humanity.

atmos.earth

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Reposted by Nicole I. Jones

Madhu Pai, MD, PhD @madhupai.bsky.social · Mar 19

2023: mRNA vaccine scientists win the Nobel Prize

2025: US government cuts research on mRNA vaccines

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Nicole I. Jones @redleggirl.bsky.social · Mar 16

Today at Fort Stanton, New Mexico, I'm reminded that TB sanatoriums didn't become museums by accident - they represent decades of scientific progress, global cooperation, and public health investment. What we stop funding today becomes tomorrow's crisis.

#Tuberculosis #GlobalHealth #TBResearch

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Nicole I. Jones @redleggirl.bsky.social · Mar 14

Americans seem hell-bent on experiencing the struggles that our grandparents worked so hard to eradicate. TB doesn't care about politics, but it thrives on neglect.

#TBResearch #PublicHealth #HistoryRepeating

theconversation.com/as-tuberculo...

As tuberculosis cases rise in the US and worldwide, health officials puzzle over the resurgence of a disease once in decline

Reports of TB date back to the time of Hippocrates, but the Kansas outbreak shows that the ancient disease is very much a modern-day scourge.

theconversation.com

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Nicole I. Jones @redleggirl.bsky.social · Mar 6

“It’s extremely alarming that grants that have been vetted by the scientific community ... are now being cancelled because of political ideology,” says Lisa Fazio, a cognitive psychologist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, who studies misinformation.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Exclusive: NIH to terminate hundreds of active research grants

Studies that touch on LGBT+ health, gender identity and DEI in the biomedical workforce could be terminated, according to documents obtained by Nature.

www.nature.com

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Nicole I. Jones @redleggirl.bsky.social · Feb 21

Defending proposals and defying expectations. We can do it. 💪📚

#PhDLife #ProposalDefense #WomenInSTEM #WeCanDoIt #MilitaryScholar #TBResearch #AcademiaStrong

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Reposted by Nicole I. Jones

PetraHeitkamp @petraheitkamp.bsky.social · Feb 14

Great article showing impact on Tuberculosis of funding freeze

"Stopping this—literally overnight—means that these strains have the potential to spread not just abroad but here in the US."

#EndTB #keepthelightson #11KEveryDay #RestoreTBFunding

CIDRAP @cidrap.bsky.social · Feb 13

USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts

The 90-day funding freeze, and the subsequent dismantling of USAID, has sent shockwaves throughout the community of people working on TB control.

Photo: USAID/Flickr cc

www.cidrap.umn.edu/t...

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Nicole I. Jones @redleggirl.bsky.social · Feb 14

Roses are red, MacConkey is pink, my bacteria wrote LOVE (I need sleep I think).

Klebsiella pneumoniae on MacConkey agar showing off its lactose fermentation (and apparently its romantic side).

#PhDLife

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Nicole I. Jones @redleggirl.bsky.social · Feb 2

Me: Checking that NCBI Blast still exists while calling my congressional office for the 39th time this week.

I guess this is what they mean by "being persistent in research."

Want to annoy your Congressional Representative, too? Checking out www.house.gov to get the number.

Homepage | house.gov

www.house.gov

Nicole I. Jones @redleggirl.bsky.social · Feb 1

Not going to sugarcoat it - it's been a brutal week for American science and academia. But leaving lab tonight, an owl nearly took me out while hunting... which feels like an oddly fitting metaphor for this week.

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Nicole I. Jones @redleggirl.bsky.social · Jan 26

Koch identified Mtb using potato slices as culture medium and a homemade microscope. While modern science thrives on collaboration and funding, history shows that dedication to understanding this disease persists even in challenging times.

Sometimes you have to grow your own potatoes. 🥔🔬