My latest on the blog and Patreon, inspired by folks suddenly realizing the US is in trouble after hearing Heather Cox Richardson. blackgirlinmaine.com/uncategorize...

It’s official: RFK Jr has officially reduced recommended childhood vaccines from 17 to 11, removing universal vaccine recommendations for RSV, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, dengue and two types of bacterial meningitis. This reckless contravention of science is going to kill people.

Die Influenza-Welle nimmt Fahrt auf. Im Rhein-Main-Gebiet sind viele Kliniken bereits ausgelastet (nicht nur Intensivstation). Auch ohne Pandemie gilt: Bei Symptomen nicht unter Menschen gehen, Menschenansammlungen meiden oder Maske tragen- gilt besonders für Risikopatienten. Impfen bleibt sinnvoll!

I'm boosting myself to say this: You're going to see people On Here tell you calling electeds doesn't matter. That's not true. Some are bots. Some are people who like being contrary to be edgy. But calling moves the needle, especially against a blatantly illegal act by Trump and Co. ACT.

EXCLUSIVE: @laurenweberhp.bsky.social & I have spent the last year collecting school+county-level vaccination data from across the US and found that only about 28% of counties now have herd immunity for kindergartners from measles—that leaves about 5.2mn kids unprotected. Gift link: wapo.st/49zDc43

The U.S. has surpassed 2000 documented measles cases this year, the highest in more than 30 years. This is driven by rampant disinformation about vaccines from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including in his capacity as a government official. We will lose our elimination status shortly.

"the researchers found that withdrawing support for rapidly advancing mRNA vaccine technology could result in over 49,000 preventable deaths annually among patients diagnosed with four major cancers"

Universities are combining departments, eliminating programs, pushing AI, buying out tenured profs and moving from cheap labor to the cheapest most exploited labor imaginable

Study of over twenty five million people over almost four years finds that COVID vaccines reduced COVID deaths by 74% and increased all-cause deaths by zero. I don’t know how much clearer it can get than that. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Study in Helsinki indicating benefits of portable air cleaners on lowering infection risk in daycare centers, less absences & parent absences from work in intervention vs. reference (no air cleaner) groups. Cleaning indoor air is not difficult and it works. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

I agree with all this — sick leave is essential to a healthy society. While we’re working on that, though, we need to make it a general norm that if you MUST be around others while sick, you wear a mask (preferably a good one).

Did you remember to get your X-ray diffractometer a present this year? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Our‘s loves reading this new book with beautiful illustrations by undergrad Justine Wong. Only $15 at meitneriumpress.com #crystallography

Twin Cities folks: I cannot stress this enough... if you have capacity, PLEASE get plugged into local organizing efforts. Resistance and community care comes in all forms and I promise you there's something you can do to help. DM me if you need help getting connected.

Whenever I see this article I’m going to share it, because everyone connected to higher ed needs to read this for a great if chilling overview of the bone deep infection that gAI has become in the system.

We've spent a ton of time talking about teens getting injured on e-bikes (or illegal e-motos). We've heard that crash rates are skyrocketing. Marin County Dept of Health even set up a dashboard to see how many e-bike/e-moto crashes are happening. But how many kids are getting hurt *in cars*? 🧵

Interestingly, for every age category and bike type, solo crashes make up a majority of reported crashes. But of all the categories, teen e-bike crashes are the *most* likely to involve a car. So I'm not sure that's an e-bike problem!

Excited to share my colleague Tim Corcoran‘s first pre-print with a Master‘s student first author, Sevan! A home-built Raman microscope that undergrads use in p-chem lab. Stay tuned for how we used it in space research! #chemsky chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...

We're half a decade into studies finding that improving airflow in classrooms will reduce disease transmission enormously, and that bleaching surfaces etc. does very little. And yet nothing changes. Waves of flu and colds wash over schools, and the schools pretend it's an act of God.

If a large portion of households went down from two cars to one car, it would be transformative for walking, biking, and transit in the city

Ever wonder how a scientist studying the surface of the ocean ends up studying airborne disease transmission? Because the surface of the ocean and surface of your lungs are so similar!! Read about here in our new paper. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

The difference between e-bikes and e-motos in multiples of kitchen appliances: 1 Kitchenaid stand mixer: 500W e-bike: 0.5-1.5 stand mixers offroad/dirtbike e-moto: ~25 stand mixers highway e-moto: ~150 stand mixers basic family car: ~250 stand mixers

10 yrs ago today I stopped drinking - forever. It took ~2 of those yrs to say "I don't drink" instead of making excuses to explain my abstinence. Dunno if anyone needs to hear this, but if you feel need to stop but can't...you can! And when you do, no-one needs an explanation. 🙂 #chemsky

I can't believe that my new book, The Data Management Workbook, comes out in less than 2 weeks. I'm very grateful to @cbahlai.bsky.social for writing this wonderful endorsement for it. Christie is not only a great scientist, but also an advocate for data management and open science.

Just now on a 4 block stretch of 40th St (2 way protected bikeway) as it’s getting dark & a bit chilly (feels like temp is 39°F) I saw: -3 Urban Arrows (front loader e cargo bikes) -2 long tail e cargo bikes -a Burley trailer -a 12/13yo riding solo We get the traffic we design & build for. 🚲 ❤️

Thrilled to announce publication of the crystallography children’s book illustrated by undergraduate Justine Wong! You can buy it here for $15: meitneriumpress.com 50% of profits will support undergrad education at the Cal Poly Pomona Crystallography Co-op. #chemsky #chemchat

Epstein survivors just dropped a powerful message for Congress, and it hits like a warning: no more waiting, the truth is coming, ready or not. Watch till the end @housedemocrats.bsky.social @houserepublicans.bsky.social

Trump’s HHS put me on “non-disciplinary” admin leave today. This was retaliation for speaking up. Moves like this are designed to silence us. Let’s not let. www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8Dteoop/

My family has been without half our income for 40 days. It has been.. very hard. We are willing to feel that pain so people can have health care next year, or to undo these illegal recissions. We are not willing to have been put through this for NOTHING.

The average SNAP benefit per month is $177 a person. The average ACA benefit per month is up to $550 a person. People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It’s about people’s lives. And working people want leaders whose word means something to them.

A bit of good news: I think you'd all be pleasantly surprised by how resistant the undergrads are becoming to AI. Institutions have lost their minds on this front, but more and more the students themselves are saying "no" to this horribly corrosive technology.

In September, we had an event where we brought in nine international participants. Out of nine total, one was detained in a back room without explanation. I don’t think people here realize what a dice roll it is, but people outside the U.S. certainly do

I usually say I don’t want to get sick, and most people I’ve been around accept that. I really don’t want to have a long discussion about it and just want to wear my mask.

Support the awesome Skype a scientist program this way!

This year we have sold 31% of the advent calendars that we sold last year 😓 The art is so pretty and colorful 🥺 The facts are so good 🥺 Eels are so cool 🥺 Get an eel facts advent calendar at EelFacts.net

We can't find money to feed hungry children (SNAP) or to keep planes in the sky (FAA), but we can find money for this?

Being on SNAP benefits for 17 years, I've NEVER been told I wouldn't be paid my benefits. NEVER. What is going on is BEYOND cruel. The ppl w/disabilities, ppl w/chronic illnesses & cancer, seniors already isolated, the 16M hh's w/children. WE REFUSE TO BE A NUMBER. WE ARE PEOPLE. WE DESERVE DIGNITY.

Friends— here it is. Updated & expanded thanks to the space afforded to me in the @therumpus.net & the guidance of the brilliant @roxanegay.bsky.social’s edits. The win centers Muslims humanity — but what does that mean in a country that rejects that? therumpus.net/2025/11/05/z...

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

It doesn't have to be all or nothing. Just give it a try. I am not someone who enjoys being cold - but cycling is often my warmest option especially when you generate body heat. It's better than waiting for a bus or even for my car to warm up! I truly never expected that.

All of this *just* happened in two totally separate cases, so be careful with differing stories about where things stand: - TRO granted in the Rhode Island case (Judge Jack McConnell), but no written order yet. - Trump admin was given until Monday to act in the Mass. case (Judge Indira Talwani).

#Bikesky: please share your favorite* "bike lane ends" pics! I'm refreshing some teaching material and would love to use your images (w/ permission & credit, ofc) *by which I means the ones most intent on killing you #BikeLane #BikeLaneEnds #CarBrain @bikesky.social

“The unvarnished truth is that the real and greatest threat to our kids on Halloween is the automobile. Kids are 3X more likely to be hit by a car on #Halloween than on any other night of the year. By focusing on imagined dangers, communities are failing to take action to actually protect children.”

And I got to help make one at the @acs.org meeting in San Jose! You can too on Sunday and Monday! #chemsky

Excited to have proofs in hand of our crystallography children‘s book! Illustrated by an amazing undergrad Justine Wong! More info coming soon… #chemsky

A Reminder that Protected Bike Lanes Can Make Streets Safer for Everyone. “A 2019 study spanning thirteen years in twelve cities found that protected bike lanes dramatically reduced fatalities for all road users on the streets that added them.” [cal.streetsblog.org]

My family’s electric cargo bike has replaced almost all of our local car trips (& allowed us to go from 2 to 1 car). We still use our car when we need to go to the suburbs, but the bike (+ walking) works for 90% of our weekly trips.

There are only three antivirals authorized by the FDA for treating COVID-19. To find more treatment options, researchers screened more than 250,000 drugs and natural compounds and identified four potential candidates for COVID treatment. cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic... #chemsky 🧪

NPR is highlighting Indigenous stories from across its network in celebrations of Indigenous Peoples Day. n.pr/47nGDK8

“The e-bike lets me keep riding bikes and spend time outside, even though I have this health condition,” she said. “I don’t think that a lot of people realize that e-bikes make things accessible to people with disabilities.” www.berkeleyside.org/2025/10/07/e...