also i'm finally back (fully) from vacation, and if you missed this, it's definitely worth a read in my humble, biased (but correct) opinion. thank you evan for sharing your story with me!

happy new year and happy new union! i'm so excited to get to be part of a union for the first time in my career. thank you to everyone who made this happen!

if you're in line to vote for the skull, STAY IN LINE

one of my previous editors (she's not on bsky but hi amy!) worked on this project - it's a great resource! as it says on the page, anyone can use these.

i've had to be on a swedish fish hiatus for years now because the craving was getting really out of control, and i'm brave enough to admit that to you all. but swedish fish supremacy

I think I might've woken up in the middle of the night muttering "MOFs"

It's the holey grail of chemistry awards! The moment many chemists (including a good chunk of @cenmag.bsky.social staff) have been waiting for! MOFs finally got a Nobel Prize! Read more in this story by my amazing colleague Prachi Patel: cen.acs.org/people/nobel...

Nobel week is basically the super bowl for science journalists, and @sarahbraner.bsky.social (with @laurahowes.bsky.social & @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social) gave us a strong opening play with their coverage of the med+physio prize! (did i get the sports metaphor right?)

calling it now: i don't think glp-1 will win for chemistry but i DO think it'll win physiology or medicine. check c&en monday morning to see if some of laura's clairvoyance has passed down to me!

last time she totally called it so... you should probably see this one

i know there's already another bonkers speech to unpack (or ignore, which is always a viable option imo!) but i wrote about *last night's* bonkers press conference about acetaminophen during pregnancy: cen.acs.org/policy/RFK-J...

if you're looking for some weekend reads, we've published our annual trailblazers series! this year, we highlighted some amazing chemists with disabilities. a belated congratulations to @mannyfoxmorone.bsky.social and @kvasquez.bsky.social for getting this out!

And this was published only hours before the CDC chaos!

Did you know Dorothy Hodgkin had a disability? I did not! This is a little taster before @cenmag.bsky.social drops our big Trailblazers package featuring chemists with disabilities in Sept: cen.acs.org/careers/dive...

As human habitation expands into undeveloped areas, homes and businesses creep closer to forests, grasslands, and scrub. In this series, we examine the unique chemistry of these fires and how it might affect air quality and human health: cen.acs.org/environment/... #forestfires #chemsky 🧪

na na na na na na na na na, bat labs cen.acs.org/biological-c...

also while you're on our NEWLY REDESIGNED WEBSITE, check out this measles q&a from @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social and (new editorial fellow!) elizabeth walsh! featuring some actually good news about how durable the existing vaccines are cen.acs.org/biological-c...

so shiny, so chrome

go vote and stay cool!! tldr, if you registered between 6/9 - 6/14 it may not show up in the system. but your affidavit vote WILL count - i forgot to update my residential address (🤦‍♂️) and the poll workers were super kind and helpful! it just might take a bit longer but it's extremely worthwhile.

true to the account's purpose, i have no idea what the context is here but yeah uhh don't cross me i'm tall and i know how to fight. definitely. i'm sure someone will back me up on this

From @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social: 36 chem department chairs have published an open letter calling out recent federal policy decisions impacting science. cen.acs.org/policy/resea... #ChemSky @cenmag.bsky.social

So excited to have Delfi joining us this summer!! We'll be publishing her first Sick Times story next week.

Feels relevant: www.compoundchem.com/2020/06/09/t...

Back in 2020, when protesters gathered around the country calling for the end of police brutality and were met with tear gas and pepper spray, my colleague @craigofwaffles.bsky.social reported on the chemistry of such riot-control agents. The story still seems pertinent: cen.acs.org/policy/chemi...

Lots of people are keeping silent, because lots of people are scared. But my colleague Aayushi Pratap found a group of chemists at Columbia willing to talk about what's going on in the labs they lead. Her story, and Natalie Keyssar's portraits, are worth your time. cen.acs.org/policy/resea...

A couple of us on the science reporting team decided to start skeeting out some of the weird things our coworkers say on Slack!

RFK Jr. says his “Make America Healthy Again” Commission report harnesses “gold-standard” science. Its citations, however, are rife with errors, from broken links to misstated conclusions -- and seven of the cited sources don't appear to exist at all.

I'm looking to talk to international students in the chemical sciences at #Harvard about the Trump administration's halt on the school's ability to enroll international students for @cenmag.bsky.social. #chemsky Signal: bethanyhalford.29 www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/u...

are YOU also getting instagram ads from australia saying you should do your research there? are you considering moving? we want to hear from you! you can even test drive your aussie accent judgment-free cen.acs.org/policy/resea...

Things are changing so fast at the FDA that when I emailed a trade group for comment on a policy announced yesterday morning, they sent me an answer about the new policy from the day before. Here's a humble attempt to tally up the way these changes might affect drug dev: cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...

Tomorrow will have been 5 years since WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Today, @cenmag.bsky.social is publishing a cover package we're ambitiously describing as The Next 5 Years of COVID-19. 🧵

My latest for @cenmag.bsky.social: cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...

Here's what we know about the recent layoffs at federal agencies and the ripple effects they're expected to have on US science. cen.acs.org/careers/empl... #chemsky🧪

A bit of #FridayFun for #Chemsky from the #Newscripts gang @cenmag.bsky.social: @braner.bsky.social gets the origin stories behind some unusual biotech names and ponders why one would want a rotovap in the kitchen. cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...

California #ChemSky folks! How are you being affected by the #CAFires? Did you have to evacuate? Lots of chem labs are near fires and evac zones. Are you still going into work? Reach me by DM, email ([email protected]) or Signal (kvasquez.12).

The deadline is approaching! C&EN is accepting nominations for the next Talented 12 Class of 2025 through January 21, 2025. Our program celebrates early-career chemists from academia, industry, and government who are making a global impact: cen.acs.org/sections/tal... #chemsky #phdsky #academicsky

hello #chemsky, esp. people in education! do you have any stories of weird chemistry final exam traditions? did you make shrines to marie curie or have séances with mendeleev's ghost? and are you willing to exhume those memories for a possible @cenmag.bsky.social story? dm me or lmk in the replies!

Re-sharing for the evening crowd ⤵️ #ChemSky

Pharma Wrapped: C&EN published our 2024 Year in Pharma over the weekend. #biosky #chemsky cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic... 🧵

hi influx of new people, especially from chemsky! i took a semi-social media break after november 5, and i'm easing back into posting a bit more. as a reintro, i'm a writer at chemical & engineering news, where i focus on life science, pharma, and biotech! i'll be posting a bit more of my work soon!

Related, I also wanted to share a more recent @cenmag.bsky.social editorial (lead by @braner.bsky.social) that I encourage #chemsky folks to read. cen.acs.org/careers/dive...

Based on some posts I've seen today, I wanted to share something I wrote last year for @cenmag.bsky.social. Scientific societies need to consider where they hold their conferences AND ALSO support the members living in areas passing hostile legislation. cen.acs.org/careers/dive... #chemsky

Introducing THE SICK TIMES: A new nonprofit publication dedicated to #LongCovid, the continued COVID-19 pandemic, and infection-associated illnesses. From me and @mileswgriffis.bsky.social. (1/11 / attempting to do a thread here, bear with me)