Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

William C Phelps, PhD @wcphelps.bsky.social · 2d

I wonder if her cross caught fire?

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 3d

Christ follower enters the chat

Reposted by William C Phelps, PhD

Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social · 2d

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William C Phelps, PhD @wcphelps.bsky.social · 3d

Continued degradation of science and medicine in the US. Since they don't understand the science, Trump political appointees at NIH will use lists of words to disallow highly rated research grants. 🧪
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Changes at NIH Give Political Appointees Greater Power To Fund or Block Research - KFF Health News

The National Institutes of Health’s long-held standard of peer review for grantmaking has been subverted by President Donald Trump and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, who gave unprecedented power to po...

kffhealthnews.org

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William C Phelps, PhD @wcphelps.bsky.social · 3d

New measles outbreak in South Carolina. Total now topping 1500 in the US. 🧪
www.huffpost.com/entry/south-...

South Carolina Confirms Measles Outbreak With U.S. Cases At 25-Year High

"The people involved in the outbreak are unvaccinated and did not have immunity from a previous measles infection," the state's health agency confirmed.

www.huffpost.com

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William C Phelps, PhD @wcphelps.bsky.social · 11d

The latest company to stop work with AAV vectors. 🧪
www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/biog...

Biogen officially ends all AAV gene therapy work, prompting team restructure

Biogen has discontinued all gene therapy programs using adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsids, instead shifting resources to modalities that have the highest likelihood of achieving better treatment | ...

www.fiercebiotech.com

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Reposted by William C Phelps, PhD

Pestilence @pestilence4all.bsky.social · 14d

Many viruses have evolved ways to ‘thwart’ the immune system. For example, hepatitis B virus produces large quantities of non-infectious viral particles, many free of the viral genome. Such decoy viral capsids can overwhelm neutralizing antibodies leading to immune tolerance.
Get vaccinated

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William C Phelps, PhD @wcphelps.bsky.social · 13d

More often, news stories about AI highlight negative features or troubling uses. This is a nice story on the incorporation of AI in emergency departments in the UK to rapidly assess brain CT scans and see more people walk out with fewer side effects.
Good stuff.
www.optimistdaily.com/2025/09/ai-t...

AI tool speeds up stroke care across England, tripling recovery rates | The Optimist Daily

New NHS AI tool cuts stroke treatment time by 60 minutes and boosts recovery rates—now available at all stroke centres across England.

www.optimistdaily.com

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William C Phelps, PhD @wcphelps.bsky.social · 13d

Fabulous!
apnews.com/article/geor...

George Takei to lead Banned Books Week, urging the fight against censorship

Actor and activist George Takei is taking on a new role as honorary chair of Banned Books Week. The American Library Association announced Monday that the 88-year-old will lead the event, which runs f...

apnews.com

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Reposted by William C Phelps, PhD

The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 15d

Climate change is not a con-job. If you want to know more about the evidence for and causes of #ClimateChange, head to our website: royalsociety.org/news-resourc...

Climate change: evidence and causes | Royal Society

Supplementary information for the project 'Climate Change: Evidence and causes'.

royalsociety.org

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Reposted by William C Phelps, PhD

Joy-Ann Reid @joyannreid.bsky.social · 15d

I'm so embarrassed to be an American right now. Donald Trump is a senile old codger, standing before the United Nations, reading a speech clearly written by an alt right lunatic and a bunch of oil and gas lobbyists. Well done, U.S. voters. You really fucked this one up.

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William C Phelps, PhD @wcphelps.bsky.social · 14d

Good to hear from an expert on autism.

Liz Szabo @lizszabo.bsky.social · 14d

Autism expert responds to Trump acetaminophen and vaccines claim

www.npr.org/2025/09/23/n...

3 thoughts from an autism researcher on Trump's acetaminophen and vaccine claims

President Trump and his administration claim there could be a link between autism and acetaminophen and vaccines. We asked a researcher who has studied autism for decades for her thoughts.

www.npr.org

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Reposted by William C Phelps, PhD

Steven Beschloss @stevenbeschloss.bsky.social · 15d

“I’m really good at this stuff. Your countries are going to hell.”

To the people of the world who wonder if there are Americans who grasp how mad he is: There are. We can see it. We are working to mobilize our people to oppose him and his dangerous regime.

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William C Phelps, PhD @wcphelps.bsky.social · 15d

Trump and RFK, Jr are taking us down a very dangerous road.
apnews.com/article/maha...

Trump's misleading comments on autism validate the 'MAHA' movement and reveal its political potency

President Donald Trump's unproven statements about Tylenol, childhood vaccines and autism are validating the so-called Make America Healthy Again movement and revealing its potential political power.

apnews.com

William C Phelps, PhD @wcphelps.bsky.social · 20d

This is a very sad day for the country and ABC should be ashamed. Kimmel said nothing disrespectful of Kirk. He spoke about the over-the-top response and republican narrative and misinformation. Need to stop watching ABC.

Kara Swisher @karaswisher.bsky.social · 21d

Exactly this

William C Phelps, PhD @wcphelps.bsky.social · 29d

An important point missed in most debates about vaccines is the danger that unvaccinated people pose to immune deficient people. From JAMA 2024 the proportion is estimated at 6.6% of the adult population. It is probably actually higher since this is self-reported. 🧪
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Prevalence of Immunosuppression Among US Adults

This analysis presents population prevalence estimates of immunosuppression among US adults using data from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey.

jamanetwork.com

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William C Phelps, PhD @wcphelps.bsky.social · Sep 6

My choice would be that the American dream is much harder to obtain and available to a smaller slice of the population.

William C Phelps, PhD @wcphelps.bsky.social · Sep 5

Two more scientific organizations with deep and broad expertise to understand the risk of infection and disease call for RFK, Jr to step down. Thanks to the American Society of Virology and the American Society for Microbiology. 🧪

American Society for Virology @amersocvirology.bsky.social · Sep 4

As RFK testifies in front of the Senate today, ASV wants to emphasize the risks posed by his decisions related to virus outbreaks and the public health of Americans. Together with our partner organizations, we call for RFK's resignation: asm.org/press-releas...

Joint Statement Calling for Secretary Kennedy Resignation

The American Society for Microbiology released a joint statement calling for the resignation of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

asm.org

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William C Phelps, PhD @wcphelps.bsky.social · Sep 4

Pushing Florida health back 100 yrs. Incredibly stupid and irresponsible decision that will lead to unnecessary illness and death. 🧪 www.msn.com/en-us/news/n...

MSN

www.msn.com

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William C Phelps, PhD @wcphelps.bsky.social · Sep 1

CDC scientists and physicians unable to do their jobs due to antivaccine activism under RFK. It is likely to get worse. 🧪
www.huffpost.com/entry/demetr...

Ex-CDC Vaccine Chief Issues Dire Warning Under RFK Jr.: ‘Tip Of The Iceberg'

"I only see harm coming," said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis.

www.huffpost.com

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Reposted by William C Phelps, PhD

Pierre Polyester @canadian-critic.bsky.social · Aug 31

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William C Phelps, PhD @wcphelps.bsky.social · Aug 30

Saw this the other day. Running pilots in several states. Currently traditional Medicare doesn't require pre-authorization; this change would mean an AI bot can overrule your Dr. Really bad idea!

Charles Ghoul-ba ✡️ @charlesgaba.com · Aug 30

As @mcuban.bsky.social noted the other day, one of the biggest arguments AGAINST M4All is that if we had it right now RFK Jr would be in charge of 100% of the healthcare system instead of only 50% of it.

Still lots of arguments for it, but that’s a definite concern.

More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · Aug 29

Medicare will start requiring prior approval for certain procedures — and will hire private AI companies to determine if patients are covered.

The AI companies would have financial incentives to deny claims, because Medicare plans to pay them some of the savings from rejections.

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Reposted by William C Phelps, PhD

Dr. Tom Frieden @drtomfrieden.bsky.social · Aug 29

The four high-level CDC leaders who resigned yesterday after the ouster of the CDC director had deep expertise in immunization and infectious diseases and were crucial agency leadership.

Americans are witnessing an unprecedented assault on our health protection agency.

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Reposted by William C Phelps, PhD

🇨🇦 NanaGale @nanagale.bsky.social · Aug 28

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William C Phelps, PhD @wcphelps.bsky.social · Aug 29

The destruction of CDC by RFK is very hard to watch. How many years will it take to recover once this Trump infused nightmare ends?

Forbes @forbes.com · Aug 28

Multiple CDC leaders have resigned in the wake of layoffs and a shooting at the agency’s headquarters this month.

CDC Staffers Walk Out: Ex-Agency Leader Says ‘Let’s Get The Politics Out Of Public Heath’

Multiple CDC leaders have resigned in the wake of layoffs and a shooting at the agency’s headquarters this month.

www.forbes.com

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William C Phelps, PhD @wcphelps.bsky.social · Aug 26

I applaud the Amer Acad of Pediatrics for clear guidelines on COVID vaccines for infants, in contrast to the current CDC leadership. This is an interview with Paul Offit, a courageous expert in pediatrics. 150 children died in the past year of COVID! Read that again. 🧪
www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

Why the American Academy of Pediatrics is diverging from CDC vaccine guidelines

The American Academy of Pediatrics released new COVID vaccination guidelines, and for the first time, they diverge significantly from the recommendations from the CDC. The changes leave parents with c...

www.pbs.org

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