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Nicholas A. Christakis

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Nicholas A. Christakis is a Greek American sociologist and physician known for his research on social networks and on the… more

Nicholas A. Christakis
H-index: 96
Public Health 23%
Physics 18%
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by Nicholas A. Christakis

nachristakis.bsky.social
Super cool science: Parachutes are expensive and delicate to manufacture, which limits their use for humanitarian airdrops or drone delivery. Laser cutting a closed-loop kirigami pattern in a disc induces porosity and flexibility into an easily fabricated parachute. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Kirigami-inspired parachutes with programmable reconfiguration - Nature
A thin planar disc designed with appropriately patterned cuts transforms itself, due to air flow effects, into an effective parachute exhibiting good positional stability, regardless of its initial orientation.
www.nature.com
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by Robb Willer — Reposted by: Nicholas A. Christakis

robbwiller.bsky.social
🚨New WP!🚨

Structured AI Dialogues Can Increase Happiness and Meaning in Life

In a preregistered RCT, four psychology-grounded #AI chatbots improved well-being across several outcomes.

Co-authors: Jonas Schoene, Johannes Eichstaedt, Aadesh Salecha, Sonja Lyubomirsky

🧵👇
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Reposted by: Nicholas A. Christakis

nejm.org
Plague is a high-consequence infectious disease with epidemic potential.

The latest video in our partnership with @glaucomflecken.bsky.social summarizes new research evaluating ciprofloxacin versus aminoglycoside–ciprofloxacin for bubonic plague in Madagascar. 👉 nej.md/DrG27
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Reposted by: Nicholas A. Christakis

yaledatascience.bsky.social
Join the Social Algorithms Workshop at Yale to learn how algorithms amplify ideas, and (sometimes) mislead us, organized by @jugander.bsky.social w/ talks by @brendannyhan.bsky.social & @informor.bsky.social. Use code sawitonX on last registration page for 25% off yalefds.swoogo.com/socialalgori...
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by Nicholas A. Christakis

nachristakis.bsky.social
@cfcamerer.bsky.social wait doesn’t that violate the efficient markets hypothesis? ;-)
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Reposted by: Nicholas A. Christakis, Brendan Nyhan, Gavin L. Foster , and 5 more

johnpfaff.bsky.social
You.
Are.
Allowed.
To.
Insult.
The.
Police.

It’s a core First Amendment principle. This is utterly lawless behavior, for which there will be no (short-term) consequences.

That he does it so casually, as they are walking away, in front of cameras.

Rightly confident in his impunity.
“[t]he freedom of individuals verbally to oppose or challenge police action without thereby risking arrest is one of the principal characteristics by which we distinguish a free nation from a police state.”
330 4.1K 9.5K

Reposted by: Nicholas A. Christakis, Catherine J. Frieman, Noel D. Johnson

jenlucpiquant.bsky.social
Scientists revive old Bulgarian recipe to make yogurt with ants. Ants carry lactic and acetic acid bacteria that help coagulate milk, as well as formic acid to acidify it. They even partnered with Danish chefs to create three recipes using ant yogurt. arstechnica.com/science/2025...
Scientists revive old Bulgarian recipe to make yogurt with ants
Ants carry lactic and acetic acid bacteria that help coagulate milk, as well as formic acid to acidify it.
arstechnica.com
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by Megan L. Ranney — Reposted by: Nicholas A. Christakis

meganranney.bsky.social
“Combination vaccines were developed to reduce missed opportunities, increase coverage and minimize the trauma of multiple injections … Undoing that progress would put children at risk."

*ps, my editorial note: they are also SAFE

www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-s...
Trump's call to split up the MMR childhood vaccine revives long-settled debate
President Trump's suggestion​ that the combination measles, mumps and rubella vaccine should be separated marks a sharp break from decades of immunization practice.
www.cbsnews.com
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Reposted by: Nicholas A. Christakis, Gordon Hodson

zoeliberman.bsky.social
Spread the word: I'm looking to recruit a PhD student for Fall 2026 to @ucsb.bsky.social! Reach out if you are applying this cycle and hoping to study infant and child social cognition, specifically expectations about friendship and/or groups. Bonus: live in paradise! And.. 1/3
UCSB Campus. Meadow in the foreground with Storke Tower and mountains in the distance
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by Nicholas A. Christakis

nachristakis.bsky.social
On the other hand, I wholly agree that the graver and more pressing threat is the ascendant right-wing assault on our universities (shockingly backed at the highest levels of government at the moment!). Great verve, consistency of thought, and credibility is required to repulse this.

by Nicholas A. Christakis

nachristakis.bsky.social
Judging from his mischaracterization of some facts, and his non-engagement with actual content of words in the volume, I am not sure it's "gold." And, well, he lacks fortitude to be non-anonymous (so far as I can see?), whereas those he criticizes are public in their views. @rebeccasear.bsky.social
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Reposted by: Nicholas A. Christakis, Elizabeth Saunders, James Q. Wilson , and 20 more

walterolson.bsky.social
“ABC7 spoke to Pertissue Fisher, a woman who lives in the building. She said ICE agents took everyone in the building, including her, and asked questions later….’They was bringing the kids down, too, had them zip tied to each other.’”

It can’t happen here, you say. But it is happening.
ICE agents raid South Shore apartments; Trump says Chicago could become military training ground
ICE agents raided a South Shore apartment building overnight as the city braces for a possible military deployment.
abc7chicago.com
140 2.1K 3.3K

Reposted by: Nicholas A. Christakis

iainthomson.bsky.social
The Jane Goodall Institute threatened to sue Gary Larson over this cartoon.

Goodall told them not to be so stupid, sold it on a tshirt, and wrote the introduction to The Far Side Gallery 5. Absolute legend.
Gary Larson cartoon about Jane Goodall
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by Nicholas A. Christakis

nachristakis.bsky.social
A giant of a scientist, Jane Goodall, has died. www.cnn.com/2025/10/01/e...
Conservationist Jane Goodall, whose work revolutionized the study of primates, has died | CNN
Jane Goodall, whose lifelong work as a primatologist helped broaden the world’s understanding of animal behavior and emotions, has died, her institute said Wednesday. She was 91.
www.cnn.com
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by Nicholas A. Christakis

nachristakis.bsky.social
NB @curtlanglotz.bsky.social

by Nicholas A. Christakis

nachristakis.bsky.social
I hope when I die it takes place during a faculty meeting — because the transition will be so imperceptible.
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by Emma Zang — Reposted by: Nicholas A. Christakis, Cameron Campbell, Gema Zamarro , and 1 more

dremmazang.bsky.social
🚨 We’re hiring! Yale Sociology is searching for a Senior Quantitative Sociologist to join our department.

Apply here: apply.interfolio.com/174709
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
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by Ryan Enos — Reposted by: Nicholas A. Christakis, Elizabeth Saunders, Will Jennings , and 5 more

ryanenos.bsky.social
I have never seen such a blistering rebuke of a President by a federal judge. He is telling us clearly to stand up for our liberty against a dictator. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
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Reposted by: Nicholas A. Christakis, Brian Keegan

netsciconf.bsky.social
📌 Save the Date!

The flagship conference of the Network Science Society - 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗦𝗰𝗶 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 - is coming to Northeastern University’s Network Science Institute, 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟭-𝟱, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲.
Prepare to share ideas, discoveries & challenges in network science.

Registration opens soon! 🔗 www.netsci2026.com
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Reposted by: Nicholas A. Christakis

theatlantic.com
MAGA is embracing the kind of tactics it once deplored, Idrees Kahloon argues. "A culture of self-censorship is destructive. But prescribing state ideology as a cure is like treating a migraine with a lobotomy."
America’s Illiberalism Doom Loop
Republicans had real grievances with progressive orthodoxy—and are using them to justify drastic reprisals.
bit.ly
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by Nicholas A. Christakis

nachristakis.bsky.social
If you are going to make sensible comments about political strategy, we’re going to have to ask you to leave.
4

Reposted by: Nicholas A. Christakis

csh.ac.at
#SpreadtheWord
We are looking for #PhD candidates passionate about using large-scale data analysis, quantitative models, and complexity science to study the complex interactions within #epidemiology, #OneHealth, and #publichealthsystems.
More info: csh.ac.at/education/gr...
Graduate Program * Complexity Science Hub
Courses are offered both by CSH and by our partner universities, one of which will serve as the degree-granting entity. Students will be guided to the
csh.ac.at
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by Nicholas A. Christakis

nachristakis.bsky.social
If 90 percent of the field adores you and 10 percent will describe you as “difficult,” you’re likely screwed, career-wise.

www.chronicle.com/article/why-...
Why Aren’t Professors Braver?
Fear and self-censorship in academe.
www.chronicle.com
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Reposted by: Nicholas A. Christakis

stuartatkinson.bsky.social
Yesterday Curiosity took pix of jagged peaks in the distance with its ChemCam. I stitched them together, did some work on them, and... just look at that view... I've been doing this since Sojourner landed & this is one of my fave images ever... Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/S Atkinson
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by Nicholas A. Christakis — Reposted by: Jonathan H. Adler

nachristakis.bsky.social
The rise in cancellations that began around 2014 was initially celebrated by the left... as “consequence culture.” Now comes the inevitable role reversal. Vice President JD Vance urged those who saw people celebrating Kirk’s assassination to “call them out,” including by calling “their employer.”
Opinion | The Censorship You Practice Today Will Be Used Against You Tomorrow
www.nytimes.com
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by Nicholas A. Christakis — Reposted by: Anna Nagurney

nachristakis.bsky.social
My afternoon lecture at the Kyiv School of Economics, on Social Network interventions, was interrupted halfway through by an air raid, so we relocated to a subterranean bomb shelter, and simply continued, near some blast doors. This was a common experience for these students and teachers.
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by Nicholas A. Christakis

nachristakis.bsky.social
The rector, Tymofii Brik, and the President, Timofiy Mylovanov, are pushing this KSE on an impressive trajectory.
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by Nicholas A. Christakis

nachristakis.bsky.social
I was honored to visit the Kyiv School of Economics #KSE this past week, and to talk about social AI and social network interventions. The energy and intelligence of the students was extraordinary — at times crammed into bomb shelters for their classes. And the faculty were creative and devoted.
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Reposted by: Nicholas A. Christakis

anthropology.net
Did Maya rulers encode dates in their hand gestures? A new study of Copán’s Altar Q argues its hand signs represent Long Count calendar numbers — a hidden script alongside hieroglyphs. #Maya #Archaeology #Epigraphy www.anthropology.net/p/hands-that...
Hands That Speak Across Time: New Clues to Maya Writing at Copán
A fresh look at Altar Q suggests rulers embedded secret calendar dates in their hand gestures
www.anthropology.net
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Reposted by: Nicholas A. Christakis

owasow.bsky.social
“Since June, the share of adults who say the country is on the wrong track increased 13 percentage points from 62% to 75%. The shift occurred primarily among Republicans.”
apnorc.org/projects/pes...
Line chart titled “Pessimism among Republicans spikes for the first time since Trump’s second inauguration.” It shows the percent of adults saying the country is headed in the wrong direction, by party, from January 2024 to September 2025. Overall pessimism stays mostly steady around 70–75%. Republicans are highly pessimistic in 2024 (near 90%), then drop sharply to 26% in early 2025 before rebounding to 51% by September 2025. Democrats show the opposite pattern: around 50% in 2024, jumping to about 90% by late 2024 and remaining high through 2025. The latest poll (Sept 2025) shows 75% overall, 92% of Democrats, and 51% of Republicans saying “wrong direction.”
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