If we want preprints to really catalyze faster, more open science, then leading infrastructure needs to reduce this friction. Authors should know when feedback exists — otherwise we’re shouting into the void.

If the smoke in the air is bothering you: Reminder that an n95 mask can help (and you can wear one outside to reduce exposure). For inside, if you don’t have an air purifier, a furnace filter taped onto a box fan can help clean your indoor air.

Given the current wildfire growth across the PNW and the forecast winds over the next week, we could see a situation where smoke becomes persistent across much of the PNW by next week. Time to get those air filters / N95s / etc if you haven't already.

Traveling soon? Stay protected during the COVID-19 surge by wearing a high-quality mask in crowded or indoor spaces like an N95, KN95 or KF94. Learn more: www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID...

If you are accommodating someone with dietary restrictions, please refrain from having feelings about whether/how much they eat. "I got them this special thing, why didn't they eat as much as I want them to?" Could be they're full, they don't like that food, they decided it's not actually safe.

As an interesting data point, 4 of 5 women I told about this on the same day also experience significant pain from IUD insertion / replacement procedures and have (also) never been offered pain management options. (The fifth didn’t comment.) We need to change this. Pass it on 👆🏼 to your friends.

This is one of the things we have to talk about (real world clinical practice is translating very slowly on the basis of new evidence). If you have an IUD or are considering getting one, read about paracervical blocks & ask your provider about it. diyps.org/2025/05/29/i...

You can read the full research paper here: doi.org/10.3390/epid... Or, read my summary and highlights from the paper here: bit.ly/3J8yBLL Let me know what questions you have! (6/6)

New open-access research on a new symptom score for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency - the EPI/PEI-SS. An n=324 study analyzed this symptom score in people with EPI and in the general population (without EPI). Read the open access paper here (doi.org/10.3390/epid...), or skim this summary below 👇🏼

Lots of lingering surface smoke from the #BearGulchFire is moving through the Puget Sound area today, with air quality in the moderate to unhealthy for sensitive groups categories. AQI is currently worst near the fire, and in Pierce & S. King Counties. Be cautious! #wawx

Every question (more than 25!) that I’ve ever answered about exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI/PEI): bit.ly/EPI-FAQ (But if you find a question I haven’t answered, please ask it! And I’ll answer it + update the post.)

👀 a new feature in PERT Pilot is out today! 🎉 When you are choosing an enzyme dose for a new meal, you can see it in context of your past meals (and what you logged that work for you and didn’t work so well). You can find PERT Pilot here, for free: bit.ly/PERT-Pilot-iOS

All the technical language around AI obscures the fact that there are two paths to being good with AI: 1) Deeply understanding LLMs 2) Deeply understanding how you give people instructions & information they can act on. LLMs aren’t people but they operate enough like it so that the skills transfer.

PERT Pilot users on iOS - I have a new feature to test if you want to get early access to it! ✨ (DM or email me for info on accessing the test version)

Every question (more than 25!) that I’ve ever answered about exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI/PEI): bit.ly/EPI-FAQ (But if you find a question I haven’t answered, please ask it! And I’ll answer it + update the post.)

Even if you don’t use it that way, AI is often used as an accessibility tool that helps many of us to accomplish tasks more efficiently & comfortably than otherwise would be possible. (enabling us to complete tasks we might otherwise avoid or be unable to do at all.) examples: bit.ly/43rQMSM

Risky post! (This is great, fun to read and the frustrated tone throughout really does capture how it feels sometimes to be an experienced programmer trying to argue that "LLMs are actually really useful" in many corners of the internet)

Even if you don’t use it that way, AI is often used as an accessibility tool that helps many of us to accomplish tasks more efficiently & comfortably than otherwise would be possible. (enabling us to complete tasks we might otherwise avoid or be unable to do at all.) examples: bit.ly/43rQMSM

Excellent explanation of why we need to improve/expand data retention and good #datamanagement practices by @danamlewis.bsky.social. Applying common data standards more broadly would add huge value, too. #lifesciences

We are leaving data behind in clinical trials…and shooting ourselves in the foot for the future. There are going to be “haves” and “have nots” of diseases and conditions that get new breakthroughs powered by AI. But there’s things you and I can do *today* to fix this: bit.ly/4mCfwRb

We have enough evidence to suggest doctors should probably be using AI themselves to get a second opinion on their diagnoses. They can choose whether to use that advice, but not using it seems increasingly like voluntarily ignoring an important tool that can help patients.

If AI didn’t nail it the first time, don't quit. Rephrase. Retry. Revisit. 🧠 The people getting the most out of AI aren’t the ones who got it perfect the first time. They’re the ones who kept experimenting. Try, try again. (More tips: bit.ly/3YrWJgQ)

What if we talk more about passive impact, and not just passive income, when thinking about the opportunities to build new things? bit.ly/4juoVrT

Here's the graph I put together for alcohol intake and increased risk of breast cancer from the 3 reports

I have experience getting grants via these traditional institutions and also via fiscal sponsors. the headaches involved in each path widely differ. Funders also need to be willing to fund people with track records and not ding fiscal sponsorship as a path for getting serious work done. 1/2

A good read. As someone who falls into category of independent researcher (aka “experienced misfit” as described here), if you’re interested in supporting these roles and this type of effort in the world, the action items suggested in this article are a good start.

As the #measles outbreak in the US surpasses 800 confirmed cases across 24 states, including a fifth case reported this week in WA, we are urging parents and caregivers to make sure their children are protected from the disease by getting two doses of the MMR vaccine. doh.wa.gov/newsroom/doh...

RIP my mentions but pointing to an inappropriate use of AI and saying "this is why all AI is bad and garbage and you shouldn't use it" is like using a stand mixer to whip up a batch of concrete and saying "see this is why all KitchenAids are bad"

Are you a health equity researcher who has lost federal funding for a project? RWJF’s Evidence for Action is offering Rapid Response grants to support community-centered, social science research disrupted by cuts. ☀️ More details: www.rwjf.org/en/grants/ac...

I sometimes muse about the savage job-destroying nature of the open source community: hundreds of thousands of developers working tirelessly to unemploy as many of their peers as possible by giving away the code they've written for free.

🤦🏼‍♀️ so many broken links and navigation paths in Google’s Play Console for developers (and emails). Almost seems intentional?

Pssst if you didn’t know: it’s common to find exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in people with diabetes with GI symptoms. Type 1 and Type 2, both. If you have diabetes, have GI symptoms, and your doc doesn’t bring up EPI, ask about testing for it. Data on prevalence in diabetes: bit.ly/46OpN4J

1/ 📢 Paid opportunity for community members in the U.S.! We’re looking for 8 people with lived experience to help review how researchers plan to engage communities in health research. (This is part of the CHEER Study, assessing engagement in research.)

I managed to get one last update of PERT Pilot out, before Apple requires iOS 18 (goes into effect later this week) for app users. Next version (0.2.7) will have the increased requirement, but at least existing users (0.2.6) will have access to EPI/PEI-SS even with older iOS. 💪🏻

Prompting matters, not just the model 👉🏼 Open access research paper on prompts+models with evaluation from a healthcare provider *and* patient perspective here: bit.ly/3G0M9XP (Co-authored with @thelizarmy.bsky.social!)

Try a task with AI. 🤔 Result not quite right? → Reword your prompt → Give it more guidance → Try a different tool/model Still not working? 📝 Park it on a “try again later” list 🎯 Try a different kind of task instead

Tried using AI and didn’t get the result you wanted? You’re not alone. But that doesn’t mean AI “doesn’t work.” 🧵 How to get better at using AI (Or blog post here: bit.ly/3YrWJgQ)

Tried using AI and didn’t get the result you wanted? You’re not alone. But that doesn’t mean AI “doesn’t work.” 🧵 How to get better at using AI (Or blog post here: bit.ly/3YrWJgQ)

With Carb Pilot, you have several ways to create and record your meals: 1) use AI meal estimation 2) manual meal entry (if you know the counts) 3) repeat an existing meal and edit that 4) use voice entry (microphone button on home screen or via the widget) Change what nutrients you see any time!

Vibe coding or otherwise developing apps for new platforms that you've never developed for before - what's it like to be a new developer of an iOS or Android app? (It's a little bit of a "chicken or egg" question if you're planning to do both, for which one to try first.) 👇🏼

Not everyone (HCPs or pts) knows enzyme doses may need adjusting for different meals, depending on fat *or* protein content. If you know someone with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI / PEI), they may be interested in PERT Pilot: Android: bit.ly/PERT-Pilot-A... iOS: bit.ly/PERT-Pilot-iOS

iOS and Android development experience for newbies via @danamlewis.bsky.social #wearenotwaiting #belikelight diyps.org

🧪 LLMs show promise in helping patients understand clinical notes, a study reveals. Persona-based prompts yielded the most effective responses from models like ChatGPT 4o. Further work on optimizing LLMs for patient use is warranted. Evidence usage by LLMs needs improvement. 🩺💻 #MLSky

Prompting matters, not just the model 👉🏼 Open access research paper on prompts+models with evaluation from a healthcare provider *and* patient perspective here: bit.ly/3G0M9XP (Co-authored with @thelizarmy.bsky.social!)

Applications for are OPEN for e-bike rebates through WE-Bike, Washington’s first-ever statewide e-bike rebate program! You may qualify for a rebate of either $300 or $1,200 depending on your income level. Apply at this link by April 23: ebikeswsdot.aptim.com

With Carb Pilot, you have several ways to create and record your meals: 1) use AI meal estimation 2) manual meal entry (if you know the counts) 3) repeat an existing meal and edit that 4) use voice entry (microphone button on home screen or via the widget) Change what nutrients you see any time!

New version of PERT Pilot for iOS is out! People with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency can use PERT Pilot to record what they eat, what enzymes they take, and whether/not it worked for each meal. 🎉And now, also track EPI symptoms over time using the EPI/PEI-SS in the app! bit.ly/PERT-Pilot-iOS

Oh yeah - Carb Pilot got a(n optional) new feature this week, too! But like all features, it’s optional. Only want to see carbs? Or just protein? That’s what it’s designed for - see what you care about in your saved meals & nothing else. bit.ly/Carb-Pilot-iOS

New version of PERT Pilot for iOS is out! People with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency can use PERT Pilot to record what they eat, what enzymes they take, and whether/not it worked for each meal. 🎉And now, also track EPI symptoms over time using the EPI/PEI-SS in the app! bit.ly/PERT-Pilot-iOS

DYK #abortion is safe, legal, and available in Washington, whether or not you live in the state. Find the answers to all your questions at doh.wa.gov/abortion