I really enjoyed this comprehensive explainer of what's in the pipeline for Alzheimer's and what we've learned from past failures. I left feeling optimistic about what we might see in the next decade! drglorioso.substack.com/p/the-alzhei... #medsky #scicomm #episky #dementia

“So much of the experimentation with GLP-1s is happening outside of traditional research models, careful clinical trials and even the health system. Given the immense popularity of these drugs, regulators and the medical establishment need urgently to figure out how to best capture and keep pace”

🏛️ New #PhD opportunity at @lshtm.bsky.social & @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social building models of #InfectiousDisease transmission that incorporates data on health inequalities Interested in developing #epidemiology & modelling skills? Apply by 11 May 2026 Details 🔽 www.lshtm.ac.uk/study/fees-a...

Featured on INOMICS: Oxford University Economics Summer School #Econsky

The timing of childbearing has been widely studied by demographers since the 20s. It's newly worth reading the early stuff from the 30s-60s because it handwrings about fertility being "too low" among some: press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...

@mcsweeneys.net nails it. Funny/not funny 🫠

There are reasons to believe the record-low U.S. birthrate could be only temporary as today’s young women postpone pregnancy. Several PAA Members featured in @nytimes.com piece: buff.ly/848YtKB @karenguzzo.bsky.social @philipncohen.com @alisongemmill.bsky.social @marthajbailey.bsky.social

@mcsweeneys.net nails what it feel like to be a demographer these days… 🤌 🎯 www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/ame...

You’ve probably seen the recent headlines suggesting that drinking coffee (but not decaf) may lower your risk of #dementia. Although it’s tempting to stop at the headlines, it always pays to dig deeper. That’s exactly what coffee lover &TNG alumna @drjenndowd.bsky.social does in this post. 👇

Updating my birthrate fan chart. Since 1989, birth rates for US women age 15-17 have fallen 87%. For those age 40-44 birth rates have increased 146%. The total (not shown) has fallen 23%.

Important context on new US fertility numbers… from demographers, not podcast bros :) #demography

Expert context & nuance for that birthrate report from a demographer whose specialty this is

Once again: your excess mortality estimates are very sensitive to your choice of counterfactual…

1/ With #measles cases on the rise again in the U.S., TNG Alumna Dr. Jenn Dowd @drjenndowd.bsky.social answers the question on everyone’s mind: Do you need another vaccination? All the information you need to keep you and your family safe from measles is in this deep-dive post.

🤩 INERACTIVE d3 🤩 #30DayChartChallenge An interactive version of the slope plot showing the increase in life expectancy across all counties of the world 🚠 #demography 🔗 ikashnitsky.phd/x/d3/05-expe...

The pandemic rewritten: How opportunism, selective amnesia, fantasy and anti-science became a cottage industry How to read post‑pandemic “analysis” from confident non‑experts armed with hindsight, podcasts, books and very little data. marcveldhoen.substac... 1/2

Pope Leo when he hears JD Vance is writing a book about the Catholic faith

For more about the advice for #GenX and elder millennials on measles vaccines to boost immunity since we may not have gotten enough from our childhood doses, check out this piece by @drjenndowd.bsky.social @thosenerdygirls.bsky.social : jenndowd.substack.com/p/measles-is...

Measles is Back-Do you need another booster? TL:DR: Most adults will already be well protected from measles, but if you were born in certain years, you might want to consider a "better safe than sorry" dose. Read more here: jenndowd.substack.com/p/measles-is... #publichealth #medsky

🚨I’m Hiring!: Postdoc in Social Epidemiology (REMOTE) I'm seeking to hire a postdoc with research interests in the social determinants of health with a focus on dementia and methods to strengthen causal inference. This is a great opportunity to contribute to research to inform public health policy.

1/ Hi Blue Sky friends- it's been one year since I starting writing Data for Health on Substack! It's been a wonderful & humbling ride so far. If you haven't subscribed already, thanks for considering. A "mixtape" of some highlights so far: substack.com/home/post/p-... #demography #episky

🚨@oppforhealthlab.bsky.social has a new website!!🚨 Fully redesigned, and full of helpful summaries of our work and associated resources. Our mission: "Advancing health by expanding opportunity and hope." Find out how: opportunityforhealth.org

🚨PhDs in demography, sociology, public health, biomedical science.... Check out this exciting postdoc opportunity to work in the new and growing area of "medical demography" with Dr. Marcus Ebeling! www.demogr.mpg.de/en/career_61...

“We argue for a paradigm shift in demography, moving beyond alarmist narratives fixated on “lowest-low fertility”. Initially useful, the concept now obscures more than it reveals, as it conflates vastly different demographic trajectories across an increasingly heterogeneous global landscape”

The call for papers is approaching! Submit to the @vypr.bsky.social by May 15! @demographyvienna.bsky.social #demography

I have a joke about aging but you'll never know if it’s because I’m old or because I was born in the 80s or because things suck rn

In the category of least surprising correlations in the world "Regression models show general pronatalism is predicted by religious commitment and insecure masculinity..." 🤔 If we repeat this enough, might the men who seemingly can't talk enough about low birth rates let up? #demography

A great write-up on brand-new research I was involved in. We used a really different approach from the ones that we & many others have used previously to estimate how many Covid deaths there *really* were--almost 20% more than known. Our results broadly accord w others but add new demographic detail

The “writing is thinking” posting will continue until a single freaking person in Silicon Valley has figured this out

Love seeing good demography research covered in @people.com! Well done @leahrabrams.bsky.social, this is a professional goal I would still like to unlock :). people.com/rising-death...

The trend started at least a half decade (and likely a lot more but it does depend how you measure it) before the pandemic. The pandemic definitely worsened it, though.

New harmonized fertility data across four British longitudinal cohort studies (1946–90) show consistency with national statistics – opening up new possibilities for cross-generation research on fertility & family life in Britain. @clscohorts.bsky.social www.demographic-research.org/articles/vol...

UPDATE: UK #meningitis B outbreak 6 cases have been confirmed to be meningitis B through laboratory testing as of 17 March 2026. More about the outbreak 👇

Helpful explainer about the current meningitis B outbreak in Kent university, the need for public health investment & why students are more vulnerable - in addition to socialisation making them more likely to catch it are unlikely to have had access to the MenB vaccines as they were not available

Timeline cleanse… spring vibes @nuffieldcollege.bsky.social are magical.

#TodayinHistory #dataviz #Onthisday #OTD 🎂Mar 16, 1813 John Snow born in Yorkshire, England 🇬🇧 1854: His dot map of deaths in Soho leads (eventually) to discovery of the water-borne source of a cholera epidemic. I celebrate his birthday with a couple of my favorite Snow Map re-creations

#Measles cases continue to rise - this is worrying. The good news is that there is a super effective vaccine that protects you and your loved ones. Read the full update from Sandy Laping, MSc @sandylaping.bsky.social and Cindy Leifer, PhD @cindyleifer.bsky.social here:

“I let the last batch of birthrate freaks manipulate me out of happiness” totally implies “Let the current crop of birthrate freaks go wild on you!”

And like many things people might get pleasure from in life, drink nice coffee cos you *actually* like it, not only because of the supposed health benefits! See for example @drjenndowd.bsky.social’s piece on interpreting observational studies: bsky.app/profile/drje...

Need

I can't believe we are 6 years out from *that* March 15th. Besides the day I joined @thosenerdygirls.bsky.social, that Sunday I tweeted our preprint on COVID mortality from my phone, & by Monday a key figure was broadcast on Italian TV 😳. What a wild ride. jenndowd.substack.com/p/reflection...

Excellent review essay of three books on demography - After the Spike and No One Left, which promote “underpopulation” panic; and Toxic Demography, which describes the political mobilisation of demography represented in the first two books doi.org/10.1111/padr...

Is the tide turning against pronatalism? If so, it may well be because demographers have been the voice of reason on this topic, providing evidence-based reasons for why there is no need to panic about declining fertility. Expertise matters!

As someone who idly thought about maybe getting vaccinated and then instead raw dogged the virus because it went around school - really, do yourself a giant favor, RSV is miserable and long lasting. Get vaccinated ASAP.

1/ The US is seeing a very late rise in RSV this year (dark line below), suggesting we still have a lot of infections ahead of us this season. It's not too late to get vaccinated if you are an older adult, or to protect newborns through immunization. www.cdc.gov/rsv/php/surv... #episky #medksy

I've honestly been baffled in the last year to see some people on the left regurgitating right-wing talking points on the "birth rate crisis" and pronatalism. This intervention from demographer @lesja.bsky.social in @journalspectre.bsky.social is such a breath of fresh air!

This is great news and I can't wait to prescribe this for the many patients who have been asking when they can get the RSV vaccine if they are at increased risk but not yet >50. RSV vaccine now approved for at risk individuals 18-49. www.gsk.com/en-gb/media/...

I build a feed for european grant funding that's updated daily and (IMO) far more transparent then the official EU fundign website: michelnivard.github.io/eu-grants-fe... (inspired by the NIH equivalent @sashagusevposts.bsky.social build yesterday)

Don’t get your hopes up everyone… #episky #medsky #dementia open.substack.com/pub/jenndowd...?

Then and always: People migrate seeking better life opportunities