this baseball game...

I was fortunate to be able to spend one month on Dr. Bartlett's critical care elective in medical school. He was a dedicated physician who examined each patient with fresh perspectives of intellectual curiosity. Quite an amazing life story. RIP legend!

Not sure if any non-AI bot really cares, but I'm going to take a month break from social media to clear my headspace and restore my attention span to factory settings as I study for my 10year recertification exam. Stay sane and healthy out there!

Trump’s attack on vaccines yesterday — delivered from the White House — “was the most dangerously irresponsible press conference in the realm of public health in American history” @pauloffit.bsky.social told us. More on Trump’s false claims with @lenasun.bsky.social

My deepest shock is watching Oz’s eyes absorbing the scene in front of him. I heard Oz present a talk at a cardiovascular conference many years ago. He knows better. How can someone so cheaply abandon their medical principles like this? Hippocrates rolling in his grave watching this fire.

Any qualified medical professional has an instant reaction of shock and horror in hearing this clip. This is dangerous

A 19-page article in the National Geographic that covers the work of @uramakri.bsky.social @ncbsbangalore.bsky.social @tifr.res.in on black tigers, mutation load and corridors for tiger migration. Important story and impactful work. 👏🏾 www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

i don’t think people on bluesky understand the severity of this situation. i woke up to literally hundreds of texts from friends and family thinking about either moving back home to india or applying to other countries for jobs. this includes me.

I have to say, did not realize that the path to Turkmenistan as a country was so direct

Operation Warp Speed was arguably one of the most successful policy initiatives in recent history, accelerating vaccine delivery that saved millions of lives. It’s remarkable to see some now urging the leaders who backed it to disown the achievement.

So sir…does this also apply to seatbelts and childseats in cars? Should Florida parents just be given the right in all matters related to their children? Maybe they should have the right to give them a small bump of cocaine in the morning if that fits their worldview?…This is absolutely bonkers

We are descending further into madness. This is not a drill. This is snake-oil quackery now endangering the health of millions of children. Florida Says It Plans to End All Vaccine Mandates www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/u...

Prior CDC directors under both Republican & Democrat administrations speak out regarding RFK Jr & his anti-science actions endangering the public’s health & what to do about it “This is unacceptable, & it should alarm every American, regardless of political leanings.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...

This past week, ICE seized people while they were fighting a wildfire in Washington State. Today, this report about hospitals and surgical centers in California. calmatters.org/health/2025/...

AI = Arrested Intelligence?

It was a pleasure talking with Zed Nelson about his arresting new book "The Anthropocene Illusion." Fair warning, the photos may leave you feeling a sort of gnawing emptiness at our capacity for artifice and delusion... at least that was my reaction. www.npr.org/sections/goa...

Yesterday was the last day of data collection for our scarlet monkeyflower project involving a resurrection study in 3 latitudinally arrayed common gardens. With tons of support from family, friends, and colleagues along the way, the literal seeds of this project developed in 2010.

I miss the old brand #CDC

Complete chaos

I have never seen so many public servants protest the mismanagement of a government. Trumpists will point to this as proof of the deep state, but the reality is that these are professionals who are desperately trying to get the public to understand how bad things are.

AP live feed of the CDC walkout in Atlanta. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ7Q...

I have been truly impressed with @ajc.com reporting & felt that the print edition provided an enhanced experience. Change is inevitable but I’m nervous about our future media landscape. This is a sad day in the Southland! Please keep our local journalism alive! www.ajc.com/business/202...

Full resignation letter from Demetre C. Daskalakis, a CDC leader, does not hold back. "The recent shooting at CDC is not why I am resigning. My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so. I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud."

Enough is enough. The health of the country is in danger. Read our resignation letters: insidemedicine.substack.com/p/breaking-n...

RFK Jr to CDC director Susan Monarez, "You're outta here!" Susan Monarez to RFK Jr, "Hold my sub sandwich..."

Heroes in our public service are making sharp sacrifices to stand against extremist attacks on our institutions. What a contrast to what others are doing.

“I am unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health.” That’s from the resignation of CDC’s Demetre Daskalakis @drdemetre.bsky.social (on X) 🧪

Wow

Whoa

There is a destruction of leadership at the CDC. The newly confirmed Director is out Most of the top leaders who run key centers have resigned en masse Wholesale implosion All because of @SecKennedy leadership What a disaster

Translation of story: Red states cut off their nose to spite their face and lose billions of dollars in public health grants in the process

Unclear if the general public will truly understand the depth of talent & expertise that we are throwing out the window here. If a domestic terror attack on CDC was minimally addressed, can we expect the same leadership to raise any alarms here? This is a public health 5 alarm fire…

This is chaos

The week beginning Aug 4 was the most dangerous, tragic week of RFK Jr’s tenure yet. A Lancet Editorial outlines why—unpacking a movement that seeks to discredit mainstream medicine and portray institutions and experts as enemies, not partners. tinyurl.com/4zppw6ay

Mural art that caught my eye on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta at sunset. Seems to capture the zeitgeist of the moment…

‘The Extinction Administration’ is sadly an apropos nickname in many ways…

A ladybird beetle spreading its wings captured with a high-speed camera. In real-time wing deployment from the fully folded state takes less than 0.1 seconds. Credit: University of Tokyo / Saito et al.

Yesterday the Supreme Court issued a convoluted, 36-page emergency order about NIH grant terminations. Two main takeaways: -$2 billion (not the government # of $780 million) in NIH grants will likely be re-terminated -future legal challenges will be much harder w/ @maxkozlov.bsky.social:

There is no solace for NIH funded researchers in this Supreme Court decision. Grants that were ripped away on dubious grounds, restored by a reasonable judge are now again terminated by an out-of-control Supreme Court. Labs will shutter, people will lose jobs. www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

This story is horrifying in its show of cruelty & incompetence. One can only imagine what ineptitude played out in DOGE attacks on other essential govt functions & people. Interesting that govt & media has now gone silent on the whole concept of DOGE? How long until we learn what we’ve really lost?

Supreme Court votes 5-4 to allow NIH to stop making nearly $800M in research grants that don’t align with Trump administration policies for now www.npr.org/2025/08/21/g...

Responses to climate change – insights and limitations from herbaceous plant model species

The Trump administration has refused to say how many workers have been lost. My @propublica.org colleagues did the analysis & here, in unprecedented detail, is what they found: In total, 20,500+ workers — 18% of the Department of Health and Human Services’ workforce — have left or been pushed out.

This is really significant. I've been frustrated that we have to guess how much power and water AI consumes, because these tech companies won't say (even though they know). This is the most transparent estimate from one of these companies so far. I hope others will follow suit.

"I could walk into a plant & within 5 minutes could tell you if there was a rodent problem," said a former FDA investigation director who left after >20yrs. “Once you’ve been in a hot warehouse & you smell rodent urine, it’s like fresh-cut grass, you know exactly what it is the minute you smell it.”

In my new Substack post... Did you know air pollution can raise blood pressure? I break down a just-published JACC trial testing HEPA filters in homes near highways—and what it means for heart health. @jaccjournals.bsky.social 👉 neverdelegateunderstanding.substack.com/p/00314b6f-e...

If you think climate change has gotten worse during your lifetime, you're right and there's a good reason. If you're Gen X like me, more than 3/4 of fossil fuel CO₂ emissions have occurred in your lifetime. Even if you're a Millennial, it's at least half. 📊: @neilrkaye.bsky.social

Great On Point audio segment on citrus greening and the potential global collapse of citrus fruit crops. The things we take for granted… www.wbur.org/onpoint/2025...

Citrus greening? Scary story that I’m surprised I had never heard of before. Unfortunately, the people who might devise solutions to these problems (USDA, research universities, etc) are themselves being gutted in funding & expertise. A world without citrus fruit? www.foodandwine.com/what-is-citr...