This is the slow death of NIH by design. The architect is Russell Vought. He is the man who architected the RIFs & probationary terminations. He devised the multiyear funding and censorship schemes. If you don't like what you see, let's get him impeached: actionnetwork.org/forms/civil-...

I'm thrilled to announce that my book LOST IN CURIOSITY: Field Notes from Scientists' Adventures into the Unknown is available to pre-order now and has been chosen for Indies Introduce, the American Booksellers Association's list of best summer/fall debuts! www.instagram.com/p/DYCj597DTp... (1/N)

Put simply, Trump cannot be permitted to exclude broadcasters whose viewpoint he disagrees with. It would be the end of the free press: F.C.C. Orders a Review of ABC’s Broadcast Licenses www.nytimes.com/2026/04/28/b...

This excellent book is out! @roxannekhamsi.bsky.social was my beloved editor @naturemedicine.bsky.social a few years back. While I miss her as an editor, I love the stories she writes. You will never look at disease - or DNA- in the same way again. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/711682...

Our PhD student Kennedy Orwa, who studies applications of AI to health care, was hastily deported today to Kenya along with his 13-year-old son without opportunity to speak to legal counsel. King 5 reports that he held a valid visa that was rescinded without explanation.

ICE deports U.S. citizen to Mexico—racially profiled driving to work. Agents refused to look at his birth certificate or social security card—or even medical records proving born in U.S. hospital. Then they threatened him with 5 years in prison for fraud—accusing him of lying to federal officers.

Riverdale native Jayera Griffin is being recognized for her philanthropic efforts with a Compassion Award at the inaugural FECK Awards, honoring individuals for their forgiveness, empathy, compassion and kindness.

RFK Jr. is taking away our access to new cancer screening and other preventative strategies in plain sight and he is getting away with it. The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force is not allowed to meet so they can’t issue disease prevention recommendations that must be covered under the ACA.

Yikes! What @marynmck.bsky.social said...

8 Million protesters yesterday at #NoKings. No police beaten with flag poles. No fire extinguishers thrown at other humans. No vandalism or theft. No racist flags. No zip ties. No death threats. No pipe bombs. No poop smeared on walls. That's what happens when mature, civilized people protest.

On a recent visit to CVS, I witnessed a depressingly common scene: a man leaving w/out a prescription bc the cost was out of reach. My latest @opinion.bloomberg.com is about the trade offs people are making to afford health care, whether that's meds, ER visits, or insurance coverage itself. 🎁

They really are trying their worst to destroy scientific research in the US.

⏳ Final countdown! Early-bird rates for #HJ26 end tomorrow. Join AHCJ in Minneapolis this year, May 27–30 — and save before rates go up. Register now: healthjournalism.org/training-eve...

This is so heartbreaking. I just read @drkatemarvel.bsky.social's resignation letter out loud to my husband. Too much to process anymore.

Another day, another heartbreak...

The @theopennotebook.bsky.social part of my DNA and is the best resource out there for journalists. And that’s why I support TON’s Page Turners Collective, a community of supporters who give monthly. If you’re able to give, please do the same! www.theopennotebook.com/donate/

I posted a 1912 photo of a man with smallpox and someone asked if it was AI. That says something about the moment we’re living in: because of vaccination, we’re now so far removed from this virus that real images of it look fake. #medicalhistory #vaccines #vaccineswork #skystorians

A powerful article by @kellicaldwell.bsky.social for @themarshallproject.org. This story helped me understand how my sister-in-law could buy a handgun given her history. When she was diagnosed with early dementia, my husband just took it (illegally apparently), and she's in memory care.

Jesus Christ.

Superb reporting from @katherineeban.bsky.social for @rollingstone.com on the scandal around the RFK-fueled, unethical HBV vaccine study in Guinea Bissau that horrified CDC staff, scientists and ethicists around the world. www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

I'll be there in spirit

I'm not in California but I'll say that hospice tossed out my mom in her first stint because she 'wasn't declining fast enough' Readmitted six weeks later and died shortly after. The loss of that level of care in the interim was devastating. But let's go after the dying and their families

"ICE officials are also investigating the couple for other crimes. They were found with a substantial amount of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 'What are those luxury goods doing in their possession?' asked the ICE spokesman, taking a moment to adjust his mask."

📢 Final week to apply! SHERF Fellowship closes Dec. 19. Get mentoring, training and more — don’t wait! Apply here ➡️ healthjournalism.org/fellowships/...

Congratulations! You are going to love this fellowship 💜

The folks at @defendpublichealth.bsky.social bring you this week’s Whopper of the Week. It’s the 21st century but RFK Jr wants to take us back to the 19th. Yes. Really. Forget Pasteur. Forget Koch. Forget germ theory. We’re back to miasma and terrain theory. The dude is bonkers.

A great overview on what to expect from the CDC vaccine meeting tomorrow and Friday. Pay special attention to the playbook at the end — every single one of those tactics is likely to be used and is easily recognizable if you know what to look for. yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/what-to-ex...

Yes, you still need to get your flu vaccine. Now. www.cidrap.umn.edu/influenza-va...

I will translate from NPRese Scientists are alarmed because the Trump admin has gutted the CDC and USDA at a time when this virus could jump to a threat to humans anyday now. 🩺🧪

As I’ve explained: one of the best ways to protect your heart health is to keep up with your Covid and flu vaccinations. Don’t listen to antivaccine activists they don’t care about you or your family www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/w...

The regime is saying it’s woke for a man to be diagnosed with breast cancer. It’s not even a joke.

In this video I discuss some aspects of shingles and the benefits of the shingles vaccination

I’m experimenting with some short videos on infectious disease topics. Here’s one on measles — highlighting some aspects that I find most important to keep in mind. Taking requests for other topics or questions I can address.

Absolutely everything we do at @theopennotebook.bsky.social stems from our commitment to supporting community, equity and professional growth. If TON has helped you in any way, please consider celebrating our 15th birthday with a donation. All donations today are matched.

Happy 15th Birthday to @theopennotebook.bsky.social With @siricarpenter.bsky.social at the helm we're not a little side project anymore. TON is an indispensable resource for the science journalists worldwide.

On the eve of @theopennotebook.bsky.social's 15th birthday, here are here are 15 stories we love from the archives. #TON15 🧪

From humble beginnings to fifteen years, 600 articles—over 1.5 million words. Please consider donating to @theopennotebook.bsky.social on October 24

I've been with @theopennotebook.bsky.social since my dear friend @siricarpenter.bsky.social scratched out a few ideas for what we thought would be a modest little website. Fifteen years later it's a site that empowers journalists to tell science stories Here's how you can keep us going

Most of us who are covid conscious understand that widespread masking is not returning. But masking in healthcare facilities should be an easy ask. Getting folks to mask when they’re sick should be an easy ask. Cleaning the air should be an easy ask. It’s time we adapt!

Here's what can happen when you co-found a journalism non-profit with your dear friend @siricarpenter.bsky.social Happy 15th Birthday @theopennotebook.bsky.social

Journalists always have a responsibility to critically evaluate scientific claims and—especially in the current landscape—"to communicate that uncertainty is the nature of science—it's baked in not as a weakness of science but as a strength of science,” says @rachelzamzow.bsky.social.

If you say 'heteronormative' or 'unhoused person' or 'food insecurity' you're basically talking gibberish and nobody can understand you but if you say you can see inflammation in children at the airport and that vaccines lower IQ or that germs are a myth you get to fire all the scientists.

Everyone in public health, healthcare and biomedical research has been screaming this for months. It’s time for RFK Jr to go. Everyone, please, please get on the phone to your members of Congress. Call them every day. This man is that dangerous.

NEW: The president, who has framed mental health as a national crisis, paused rules to hold insurers accountable for unlawfully denying coverage. And Congress cut funding to the agency that enforces insurers’ equal treatment of mental and physical health.

As Jeanne says, @theopennotebook.bsky.social began 15 years ago as a labor of love. But it takes more than love to put together the hundreds of articles, courses, mentoring programs and more that TON offers. To be blunt, it takes money. We could use your help! www.theopennotebook.com/donate

This is unprecedented. The AMA and other medical professional societies speak as one on respiratory virus vaccines and in their own way, say the Trump Administration cannot be trusted with your health. www.ama-assn.org/delivering-c...

Since Day 1, @theopennotebook.bsky.social has been a labor of love but offering this kind of value is not free and needs your support to keep offering these invaluable services. Please donate now.

The advent of germ theory, vaccines, sanitation, and antibiotics, in this view, indirectly lead to an increase in social services, and a decrease in capital punishment, murder, slavery, and torture. In effect, it raised the value of human life in human eyes.