@valanvir.bsky.social
Reposted
And our explainer from last year about what makes measles so dangerous: www.wired.com/story/this-i...
This Is How Measles Kills
Measles is known for its characteristic rash, but it can have serious respiratory and neurologic complications.
www.wired.com
January 26, 2026 at 2:24 PM
And our explainer from last year about what makes measles so dangerous: www.wired.com/story/this-i...
Reposted
Lots of good quotes. Starts off with Dumas gaming the 'paid per line' metric.
Latest post, on reading-to-revise: kucharski.substack.com/p/the-pop-qu...
January 23, 2026 at 7:16 PM
Lots of good quotes. Starts off with Dumas gaming the 'paid per line' metric.
Reposted
First evidence in Europe of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 infection in a dairy cow. Antibodies against H5N1 detected in a cow with mastitis and respiratory signs on a Dutch dairy farm at the end of December. A cat on that farm had died from H5N1. www.tweedekamer.nl/downloads/do...
January 23, 2026 at 9:26 PM
First evidence in Europe of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 infection in a dairy cow. Antibodies against H5N1 detected in a cow with mastitis and respiratory signs on a Dutch dairy farm at the end of December. A cat on that farm had died from H5N1. www.tweedekamer.nl/downloads/do...
Reposted
This is not good! (But to be clear, not in a "stock up on toilet paper, here it comes" way; more in a "man, this is going to be very expensive for European countries if it does there what it did here" way)
First evidence in Europe of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 infection in a dairy cow. Antibodies against H5N1 detected in a cow with mastitis and respiratory signs on a Dutch dairy farm at the end of December. A cat on that farm had died from H5N1. www.tweedekamer.nl/downloads/do...
January 23, 2026 at 11:18 PM
This is not good! (But to be clear, not in a "stock up on toilet paper, here it comes" way; more in a "man, this is going to be very expensive for European countries if it does there what it did here" way)
Reposted
Cow Tools!
We have lived alongside cows for nearly 10,000 years.
We breed them and exploit them
It is now, only now, that we have discovered THEY CAN USE TOOLS
Here I describe our study
(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... in @currentbiology.bsky.social
with @auersperga.bsky.social
We have lived alongside cows for nearly 10,000 years.
We breed them and exploit them
It is now, only now, that we have discovered THEY CAN USE TOOLS
Here I describe our study
(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... in @currentbiology.bsky.social
with @auersperga.bsky.social
January 19, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Cow Tools!
We have lived alongside cows for nearly 10,000 years.
We breed them and exploit them
It is now, only now, that we have discovered THEY CAN USE TOOLS
Here I describe our study
(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... in @currentbiology.bsky.social
with @auersperga.bsky.social
We have lived alongside cows for nearly 10,000 years.
We breed them and exploit them
It is now, only now, that we have discovered THEY CAN USE TOOLS
Here I describe our study
(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... in @currentbiology.bsky.social
with @auersperga.bsky.social
Reposted
Absolutely damning details on the disturbing proposed hepatitis trial that is already (apparently) being rolled out in Guinea-Bissau.
It beggars belief that the people funding this unethical experiment on African children claim to be the guardians of "gold standard science".
It beggars belief that the people funding this unethical experiment on African children claim to be the guardians of "gold standard science".
We have the CDC-funded Hepatitis Vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau protocol.
It’s worse than you thought.
Check it out, first in Inside Medicine…
with @pauloffit.bsky.social David Boulware and others.
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/scoop-the-...
It’s worse than you thought.
Check it out, first in Inside Medicine…
with @pauloffit.bsky.social David Boulware and others.
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/scoop-the-...
Scoop: The leaked protocol of the CDC-funded Hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau. “This is another Tuskegee.”
The protocol reveals that the trial will withhold the Hepatitis B birth dose from thousands—without placebos, without universal maternal screening, and with endpoints critics call indefensible.
insidemedicine.substack.com
January 15, 2026 at 2:31 PM
Absolutely damning details on the disturbing proposed hepatitis trial that is already (apparently) being rolled out in Guinea-Bissau.
It beggars belief that the people funding this unethical experiment on African children claim to be the guardians of "gold standard science".
It beggars belief that the people funding this unethical experiment on African children claim to be the guardians of "gold standard science".
Reposted
A few updates on the deeply unethical study to probe "non-specific" effects of the birth dose HepB vaccine in Guinea-Bissau by Danish investigators.
1️⃣ The study was canceled as per AfricaCDC - HHS disputes this.
2️⃣ Full protocol was leaked and it's bad.
Quick 🧵
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
1️⃣ The study was canceled as per AfricaCDC - HHS disputes this.
2️⃣ Full protocol was leaked and it's bad.
Quick 🧵
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Controversial US study on hepatitis B vaccines in Africa is cancelled
$1.6m project drew outrage over ethical questions about withholding vaccines proven to prevent disease
www.theguardian.com
January 15, 2026 at 8:16 PM
A few updates on the deeply unethical study to probe "non-specific" effects of the birth dose HepB vaccine in Guinea-Bissau by Danish investigators.
1️⃣ The study was canceled as per AfricaCDC - HHS disputes this.
2️⃣ Full protocol was leaked and it's bad.
Quick 🧵
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
1️⃣ The study was canceled as per AfricaCDC - HHS disputes this.
2️⃣ Full protocol was leaked and it's bad.
Quick 🧵
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Reposted
More details emerge on how mRNA vaccines work:
mRNA Vaccines: What's the Adjuvant?
www.science.org
January 15, 2026 at 7:09 PM
More details emerge on how mRNA vaccines work:
Reposted
I didn't even realize how long I had been waiting for a tool like this!
Want to get the data out of a PDF figure? As in, the actual data – not a rough trace-along-the-lines version?
I made an app you might like: adamkucharski.github.io/pdf2plot/
It all started a few years ago... 🧵
I made an app you might like: adamkucharski.github.io/pdf2plot/
It all started a few years ago... 🧵
January 15, 2026 at 7:36 AM
I didn't even realize how long I had been waiting for a tool like this!
Reposted
Fascinating research on a terrifying disease: Turns out boring old albumin, the most abundant protein in our blood, plays a crucial role in protecting us from being eaten alive by “black fungus” mucormycosis
#IDsky 🧪
www.science.org/content/arti...
#IDsky 🧪
www.science.org/content/arti...
Why a fatal ‘black fungus’ struck India during the COVID-19 pandemic
Mucormycosis may be triggered by low levels of albumin, the most common blood protein
www.science.org
January 7, 2026 at 4:16 PM
Fascinating research on a terrifying disease: Turns out boring old albumin, the most abundant protein in our blood, plays a crucial role in protecting us from being eaten alive by “black fungus” mucormycosis
#IDsky 🧪
www.science.org/content/arti...
#IDsky 🧪
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted
We find that subclade K viruses are antigenically advanced; however, this year's flu vaccine surprisingly elicited antibodies in many individuals that efficiently recognized these viruses. The implications are clear: go get this year’s vaccine if you haven’t already!
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Antibodies elicited by the 2025-2026 influenza vaccine in humans
A new H3N2 variant (named subclade K) possesses several key hemagglutinin substitutions and is circulating widely during the 2025-2026 influenza season. In this report, we completed experiments to det...
www.medrxiv.org
January 7, 2026 at 1:34 PM
We find that subclade K viruses are antigenically advanced; however, this year's flu vaccine surprisingly elicited antibodies in many individuals that efficiently recognized these viruses. The implications are clear: go get this year’s vaccine if you haven’t already!
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted
This is really grim stuff - we have an entire generation rotting their brains away on Tik Tok
Yo what the fuck short form videos are bad
Short-Form Videos Degrade Our Capacity to Retain Intentions
arxiv.org/pdf/2302.03714
Ht: HowTown
Short-Form Videos Degrade Our Capacity to Retain Intentions
arxiv.org/pdf/2302.03714
Ht: HowTown
December 31, 2025 at 3:18 AM
This is really grim stuff - we have an entire generation rotting their brains away on Tik Tok
Reposted
some seriously artisanal Derek this morning #chemchat www.science.org/content/blog...
Fixing A Reaction
www.science.org
December 4, 2025 at 7:00 PM
some seriously artisanal Derek this morning #chemchat www.science.org/content/blog...
Reposted
A CIA outfit nicknamed the Marco Polos (started by Billy Waugh) got eyes on Bin Laden in Pakistan in 2005, confirmed by CTC initially, but later refuted. I sat on this story for about a decade but here it is, with help from @seandnaylor.bsky.social
thehighside.substack.com/p/hunting-bi...
thehighside.substack.com/p/hunting-bi...
Hunting bin Laden on 'the roof of the world'
How an encounter in a remote Pakistani bazaar prompted a search for the al-Qaida leader
thehighside.substack.com
November 29, 2025 at 4:19 PM
A CIA outfit nicknamed the Marco Polos (started by Billy Waugh) got eyes on Bin Laden in Pakistan in 2005, confirmed by CTC initially, but later refuted. I sat on this story for about a decade but here it is, with help from @seandnaylor.bsky.social
thehighside.substack.com/p/hunting-bi...
thehighside.substack.com/p/hunting-bi...
Reposted
i’m so happy for him
November 26, 2025 at 10:48 PM
i’m so happy for him
Reposted
Addendum: I quickly wrote something partially about the results, and the potential for misunderstanding, but also about history's profound irony.
open.substack.com/pub/arutherf...
open.substack.com/pub/arutherf...
November 13, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Addendum: I quickly wrote something partially about the results, and the potential for misunderstanding, but also about history's profound irony.
open.substack.com/pub/arutherf...
open.substack.com/pub/arutherf...
Reposted
Our lab's paper describing the North American H5N1 epizootic is out now in Nature! So thrilled to have this out, and congratulations to @lambod50.bsky.social for all the fantastic work on this: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Ecology and spread of the North American H5N1 epizootic - Nature
The panzootic of highly pathogenic H5N1 since 2021 was driven by around nine introductions into the Atlantic and Pacific flyways, followed by rapid dissemination through wild migratory birds, primaril...
www.nature.com
November 12, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Our lab's paper describing the North American H5N1 epizootic is out now in Nature! So thrilled to have this out, and congratulations to @lambod50.bsky.social for all the fantastic work on this: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted
Reposted
@scottehensley.bsky.social
www.cbc.ca/news/health/...
Circulating H3N2 this year is a mismatch?
cc @angierasmussen.bsky.social @kgandersen.bsky.social
www.cbc.ca/news/health/...
Circulating H3N2 this year is a mismatch?
cc @angierasmussen.bsky.social @kgandersen.bsky.social
Canada could face ‘worst kind’ of flu season as experts warn evolving strain may be mismatch for vaccine | CBC News
With flu cases now rising in Canada, medical experts are bracing for a difficult influenza season linked to the global spread of an evolving H3N2 strain that could be a mismatch for this year’s vaccin...
www.cbc.ca
November 12, 2025 at 5:35 AM
@scottehensley.bsky.social
www.cbc.ca/news/health/...
Circulating H3N2 this year is a mismatch?
cc @angierasmussen.bsky.social @kgandersen.bsky.social
www.cbc.ca/news/health/...
Circulating H3N2 this year is a mismatch?
cc @angierasmussen.bsky.social @kgandersen.bsky.social
Reposted
🧪 🦠 Prefusion structure, evasion and neutralization of HSV-1 glycoprotein B www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Prefusion structure, evasion and neutralization of HSV-1 glycoprotein B - Nature Microbiology
Cryo-EM structures of the stabilized prefusion conformation of the glycoprotein B ectodomain—the HSV-1 entry machine—identify a prefusion-specific neutralizing antibody and reveal how prefusion glycop...
www.nature.com
November 8, 2025 at 3:37 AM
🧪 🦠 Prefusion structure, evasion and neutralization of HSV-1 glycoprotein B www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted
It's really important to note that not only was Watson a racist and misogynist but his contribution to the double helix was listening to a Rosalind Franklin lecture and getting mad because Francis Crick wouldn't invite him to his sex parties.
Hey folks, as news of Watson's demise spreads, please don't set aside his weighty legacy of misogyny and racism. He was truly among the worst of us. www.vox.com/2019/1/15/18...
DNA scientist James Watson has a remarkably long history of sexist, racist public comments
“People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty,” he said in 2003. “I think it would be great.”
www.vox.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:59 PM
It's really important to note that not only was Watson a racist and misogynist but his contribution to the double helix was listening to a Rosalind Franklin lecture and getting mad because Francis Crick wouldn't invite him to his sex parties.
Reposted
Brain organoids are getting better at mimicking brains in a dish. But how good is too good? I take a look at the latest developments in my story today in the Times. Gift link: nyti.ms/496PPnC
nyti.ms
November 6, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Brain organoids are getting better at mimicking brains in a dish. But how good is too good? I take a look at the latest developments in my story today in the Times. Gift link: nyti.ms/496PPnC
Reposted
bro are you fucking kidding me
![quote from the Economist article which says "[study authors] are now looking at whether AI facial analysis can give lenders useful clues about a person’s propensity to repay loans. For people without access to credit, that could be a blessing."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ofjbklfvptnupad4lxumblw/bafkreia3yctiqd7ejumpd6novxjpiycphtfkc3bdgd573jw37faqdl7o7m@jpeg)
November 6, 2025 at 5:59 PM
bro are you fucking kidding me