Carolyn Johnson
@carolynyjohnson.bsky.social
📤 794
📥 185
📝 59
science reporter - Washington Post Email:
[email protected]
Signal: carojo.55
Stowed away on Artemis II are tiny chips that could change medicine - tissue-chip 'avatars' of the astronauts aimed at elucidating the hazards of deep space radiation exposure
wapo.st/3NVLbAJ
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https://wapo.st/3NVLbAJ
2 days ago
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What exceptionally long-lived animal can teach us about how to age better - but this story could also just be called Nature is bonkers! (especially rockfish?)
wapo.st/4lvPy1x
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What Earth’s longest-lived animals can teach us about aging better
Inside the growing scientific quest to understand what creatures with the extraordinary ability to defy the ravages of time can teach us about making human aging better.
https://wapo.st/4lvPy1x
28 days ago
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Carolyn Johnson
American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG)
about 1 month ago
A recent
@washingtonpost.com
article features a new study led by ASHG Past President
@sarahtishkoff.bsky.social
, PhD. Read about her team’s findings on Neanderthal and modern human interbreeding and how social dynamics may have influenced these pairings.
@carolynyjohnson.bsky.social
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Neanderthal males and human females had babies together, ancient DNA reveals
When ancient humans mated, dad was a Neanderthal, mom was Homo sapiens.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2026/02/26/neanderthal-mating-humans/
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Deep in Antarctic ice, these particles can answer basic questions about the universe
wapo.st/40v0xhX
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Deep in Antarctic ice, these particles can answer basic questions about the universe
A dense network of sensors is looking for the fleeting footprints of neutrinos, the most mysterious in the pantheon of known particles.
https://wapo.st/40v0xhX
about 2 months ago
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Carolyn Johnson
Drew Harwell
about 2 months ago
New: A comedian set up a fake ICE tip line as a joke. Then 100 calls flooded in: neighbors ratting on neighbors, a teacher reporting a kindergartener. Fans say the viral TikToks revealed deportation's "banality of evil." Conservatives say he should be in prison
wapo.st/4kM4qbF
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A fake ICE tip line reveals neighbors reporting neighbors
A Nashville comedian’s deportation hotline, set up as a joke, has gone viral among viewers who say it shows the “banality of evil personified” in the U.S. immigration crackdown.
https://wapo.st/4kM4qbF
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In medicine, prevention is pretty much always better than trying to undo damage. Scientists are trying to develop an Alzheimer's "clock" to flag people who have no symptoms now, but will soon -- and could benefit from early treatment
wapo.st/4rmRETx
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New approach roughly predicts when Alzheimer’s symptoms begin
The technique is not yet precise enough to predict a patient’s exact trajectory but could help find long-sought preventive treatment.
https://wapo.st/4rmRETx
about 2 months ago
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Carolyn Johnson
Ken Paller
about 2 months ago
@carolynyjohnson.bsky.social
did an excellent job today of summarizing the research and key issues surrounding the idea of "sleeping on it" (Not A Myth) — Thank You Carolyn!
wapo.st/4rqb1LF
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Why your most creative ideas may come after a night of sleep
Got a problem? Science says you should sleep on it.
https://wapo.st/4rqb1LF
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To sleep, perchance to dream -- of a solution to a problem that has really been bugging you
www.washingtonpost.com/science/2026...
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Why your most creative ideas may come after a night of sleep
Got a problem? Science says you should sleep on it.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2026/02/17/sleep-dreams-creativity-problem-solving/
about 2 months ago
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FDA refuses to review Moderna’s application for first mRNA flu vaccine
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
@rachelroubein.bsky.social
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FDA won’t review Moderna application for first mRNA-based flu vaccine
The decision, which shocked company officials, comes as the FDA says it will take a stricter approach to federal vaccine approvals.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/02/10/fda-rejects-moderna-mrna-flu-vaccine/
about 2 months ago
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Carolyn Johnson
Fenit Nirappil
2 months ago
Our second most read story right now comes from
@markjohnpost.bsky.social
, a Pulitzer-winning science reporter on our team, who announced he was laid off. Just the latest example of how he found the most fascinating areas of science to unpack beautifully
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
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These patients saw what comes after death. Should we believe them?
Researchers have developed a model to explain the science of near-death experiences. Others have challenged it.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/02/05/near-death-experience-neuroscience-afterlife/
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Carolyn Johnson
Peter Baker
2 months ago
No struggling newspaper ever saved itself by becoming a worse and less essential product. But what's happening today at the
@washingtonpost.com
is not just the latest devastating contraction of the news industry; it's the gutting of an American institution vital for a healthy society
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Carolyn Johnson
Will Oremus
2 months ago
im usually pretty decent at pushing through distractions to focus on the work but this is a pretty tough one to tune out ngl
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Carolyn Johnson
Drew Harwell
2 months ago
A retiree wrote this email to a DHS attorney. Within five hours, DHS demanded Google turn over records for his account. A Kafkaesque form of domestic surveillance, intimidating Americans for lawful speech. New from us at the Post:
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
@johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social
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Carolyn Johnson
Sarah Kaplan
3 months ago
My
@washingtonpost.com
colleagues worked round the clock this weekend to expose the truth of what's happening in Minneapolis and bring urgent weather news to millions facing dangerous cold and snow. If you value this work, tell Jeff Bezos to
#SaveThePost
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
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Federal agent secured gun from Minn. man before fatal shooting, videos show
A Washington Post analysis of videos sheds light on the encounter that left 37-year-old Alex Pretti dead.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/01/25/minneapolis-shooting-video-gun/
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Scientists grew tiny models of our nasal airways, complete with mucus-secreting cells and cilia that beat rhythmically to understand how our bodies fight the common cold
wapo.st/4qzFZQY
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Why the same cold virus makes some people more miserable than others
A new study shows the intricacies of the cold virus and how it interacts with nasal airway cells, revealing why some people are hit harder than others.
https://wapo.st/4qzFZQY
3 months ago
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Carolyn Johnson
Holly Ober
3 months ago
Rarity Public Benefit Corporation is trying to turn a UCLA cure for a rare disease into a medicine. The bottleneck now is not showing that it works, but another key part of the drug approval process — developing the commercial manufacturing. Great story by
@carolynyjohnson.bsky.social
🧪
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Scientists are inventing treatments for devastating diseases. There’s just one problem.
Gene therapy treatments for rare diseases are being developed, but getting them out of the lab has proved challenging.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/01/11/gene-therapy-rare-diseases/
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Carolyn Johnson
The Washington Post
3 months ago
Investigators told the reporter that she is not the focus of the probe. The warrant said law enforcement was investigating a system administrator in Maryland who has been accused of taking home classified intelligence reports.
https://wapo.st/4qULbi9
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Carolyn Johnson
André Picard @picardonhealth
3 months ago
Scientists are inventing treatments for devastating diseases. There’s just one problem. Genetic therapies could be used to treat hundreds of diseases. The path to patients is tricky, by
@carolynyjohnson.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
via
@washingtonpost.com
#RareDisorders
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Scientists are inventing treatments for devastating diseases. There’s just one problem.
Gene therapy treatments for rare diseases are being developed, but getting them out of the lab has proved challenging.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/01/11/gene-therapy-rare-diseases/
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Feuding physicists and the bitter battle over the swirls in ‘The Starry Night’
wapo.st/49sbpCF
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Feuding physicists and the bitter battle over the swirls in ‘The Starry Night’
A team of scientists sparked a heated debate over whether Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” depicts turbulence, a complex physical phenomenon.
https://wapo.st/49sbpCF
3 months ago
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Carolyn Johnson
Mike Madden
4 months ago
“One day, a woman wrote to me on Signal, asking me not to respond. She lived alone, she messaged, and planned to die that weekend. Before she did, she wanted at least one person to understand: Trump had unraveled the government, and with it, her life.”
@hannahnatanson.bsky.social
essay:
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I am The Post’s ‘federal government whisperer.’ It’s been brutal.
One reporter’s effort to show how Trump was transforming government brought her 1,168 new sources — and nearly broke her.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/12/24/trump-federal-government-workers/
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Carolyn Johnson
Lena Sun
4 months ago
BREAKING: US. plans to stop recommending most childhood vaccines, defer to doctors, per sources familiar. HHS consulted w chief science officer and top FDA official. Me and @rachel_roubein 1/4
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
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U.S. plans to stop recommending most childhood vaccines, defer to doctors
The plan, which is not finalized, suggests children get fewer shots and shifts to a model telling parents to consult doctors to make their own vaccine choices.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/12/19/childhood-vaccine-schedule-denmark-revisions/
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Trump administration to dismantle key climate research center - “Maybe if Colorado had a governor who actually wanted to work with President Trump, his constituents would be better served,” said a senior White House official.
wapo.st/4p3YwDx
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Trump administration to dismantle key climate research center
Russell Vought, who directs the White House Office of Management and Budget, announced plans to split up the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, citing concerns about “clima...
https://wapo.st/4p3YwDx
4 months ago
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🔥Scientists discover oldest evidence of human-made fire — a 400,000-year-old English hearth
wapo.st/4aaP3GM
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Scientists discover oldest evidence of human-made fire in a 400,000-year-old hearth
A new archaeological find pushes back the timeline on when humans mastered the ability to make fires, a transformative technology.
https://wapo.st/4aaP3GM
4 months ago
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Carolyn Johnson
Maria Sacchetti - reporter - The Washington Post
4 months ago
EXCLUSIVE: Mom of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew rejects White House narrative of her ICE arrest
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
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Mom of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew rejects White House narrative of her ICE arrest
In an interview, Bruna Ferreira, who chose the White House press secretary as her son’s godmother, contested the portrayal of her as a criminal, absentee mom.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/12/07/trump-immigration-karoline-leavitt-brother-bruna/
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Carolyn Johnson
Karl Galle
4 months ago
Overview of the latest study by
@carolynyjohnson.bsky.social
in the
@washingtonpost.com
:
wapo.st/48mtKkg
[gift link]
#HistSTM
#MedievalSky
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How volcanoes upend the story of what sparked the Black Death
Volcanic eruptions could have fueled the spread of the Black Death plague across medieval Europe, according to a new study that pieces together evidence from ice cores, rare blue tree rings from ancie...
https://wapo.st/48mtKkg
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Fascination of the day - the ongoing research into the Black Death and how it started, via a chain of interconnected environmental, societal, geopolitical events... How volcanoes upend the story of what sparked the medieval plague pandemic
wapo.st/48mtKkg
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How volcanoes upend the story of what sparked the Black Death
Volcanic eruptions could have fueled the spread of the Black Death plague across medieval Europe, according to a new study that pieces together evidence from ice cores, rare blue tree rings from ancie...
https://wapo.st/48mtKkg
4 months ago
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Today is World AIDS day - Small study shows a promising path toward HIV cure
wapo.st/3XrYzOc
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Small study shows a promising path toward HIV cure
Antiretroviral drugs that prevent HIV and keep it in check have been transformative, but a cure has been a long sought goal.
https://wapo.st/3XrYzOc
4 months ago
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"A priority among local transportation agencies remains avoiding traffic jams rather than responding to concerns of pedestrians in the most danger, who are more likely to live in poor neighborhoods and wield less political influence."
www.washingtonpost.com/business/int...
5 months ago
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In a first, scientists sequence the oldest RNA from a 39,000-year-old woolly mammoth
wapo.st/4qXwTxU
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How a frozen mammoth named Yuka is redefining the study of ancient RNA
Scientists sequence the oldest RNA from a 39,000-year-old woolly mammoth.
https://wapo.st/4qXwTxU
5 months ago
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A provocative preprint showed AI designing novel viruses. Some of them could kill E. coli! Even scientists don't totally agree on "what it means" -- but they've been talking about it. A window into the debate 🎁link:
wapo.st/4hR6A8t
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Inside the debate over a tech breakthrough raising questions about life itself
A research team at Stanford University has harnessed the power of AI to design phages, raising questions about the future of biotechnology and its applications.
https://wapo.st/4hR6A8t
5 months ago
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It is a tender time for the nascent field of CRISPR gene editing... A small trial shows the potential to use the tech to lower LDL cholesterol and trigylcerides, but a patient died this week in a different trial now on hold 🎁link:
wapo.st/4oGpJfS
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How a ‘one and done’ gene-editing treatment could lower cholesterol
A cutting-edge medical experiment in a small trial has demonstrated the effectiveness of a one-time CRISPR gene editing treatment in lowering cholesterol levels
https://wapo.st/4oGpJfS
5 months ago
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A ferocious paleontology debate -- over teenage T. rex vs. Nanotyrannus -- may finally be settled.
@arctomet.bsky.social
@stevebrusatte.bsky.social
@jgn-paleo.bsky.social
As an editor of mine used to say... ain't no fight like a science fight. 🎁link:
wapo.st/47D18l5
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A ferocious debate over teenage T. rex fossils may finally be settled
For decades, paleontologists debated whether fossils were of a young T. rex or a species called nanotyrannus. A new study settles it: Nanotyrannus is real.
https://wapo.st/47D18l5
5 months ago
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In the middle of a shutdown, NIH appointed a new head for its institute on environmental health sciences. The new NIEHS director, Kyle Walsh, is a Duke neurosurgeon who studies glial cells. He also calls VP JD Vance, who officiated his wedding, one of his closest friends.
6 months ago
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Carolyn Johnson
Robert Reich
6 months ago
Drugs treating cancer, epilepsy, & HIV were developed thanks to millions in federal funding for universities. What lifesaving drugs are future patients missing out on due to Trump’s attacks?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/interactive/2025/trump-university-research-medicine
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/interactive/2025/trump-university-research-medicine
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Just got the best, ever, response when trying to track down a Nobel winner: "Dr. Ramsdell is currently living his best life and is off the grid on a pre-planned hiking trip."
t.co/j5nCkpejnf
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https://wapo.st/3WmtESD
https://t.co/j5nCkpejnf
6 months ago
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Carolyn Johnson
Joshua Weitz
6 months ago
Another excellent piece by
@carolynyjohnson.bsky.social
et al. that raises the question: what is the administration doing other than dismantling for dismantling's sake? 🎁
wapo.st/4q1M3ly
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Trump slashed funding for universities that helped create these vital drugs
Medications that prevent HIV, shrink tumors and treat seizures were invented with government funding. At research universities, that money is now canceled or in jeopardy.
https://wapo.st/4q1M3ly
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AI can design toxic proteins. They’re escaping through biosecurity cracks.
wapo.st/4nxxeFv
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AI can design toxic proteins. They’re escaping through biosecurity cracks.
Artificial intelligence can design toxic proteins that escape biosecurity cracks, sparking concerns over potential misuse.
https://wapo.st/4nxxeFv
6 months ago
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Carolyn Johnson
Hank Greely
6 months ago
@carolynyjohnson.bsky.social
completes my "mitomeiosis" trifecta for the day:
www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...
“Even when they succeeded, it didn’t really succeed,” said Hank Greely... “It’s interesting, but not useful yet.” Cool story & I'm happy to see good labs working on this stuff!
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Scientists keep trying to create human eggs in a dish. It’s not easy.
Scientists are working to create human eggs in a laboratory dish, but the process is proving to be more challenging than expected.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025/09/30/creating-human-eggs-in-lab-fertility/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzU5MjA0ODAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzYwNTg3MTk5LCJpYXQiOjE3NTkyMDQ4MDAsImp0aSI6IjhjNGUyODcwLWY4NTYtNDEwMC05YzM3LTBlOWNlOWVlM2FlZiIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9zY2llbmNlLzIwMjUvMDkvMzAvY3JlYXRpbmctaHVtYW4tZWdncy1pbi1sYWItZmVydGlsaXR5LyJ9.Ulw36EVLAZWIBXmf2hPP6t8kI12XmiH8BbqClqxMH7o
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How an obscure budgeting shift is leaving great science -- including a trial for a devastating children's brain tumor -- in limbo
wapo.st/4ngFN7u
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NIH pulled off a ‘near miracle.’ Scientists say there’s still a problem.
The National Institutes of Health is on track to give away all of its grant money to labs, but research on cancer, aging and diabetes is still being left behind.
https://wapo.st/4ngFN7u
7 months ago
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Carolyn Johnson
Eric Topol
7 months ago
This is a big advance, folks. We've never had a disease-modifying drug for this devastating inherited disease
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
www.economist.com/science-and-...
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Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
7 months ago
"Unraveling how [Robertsonian translocations] form is basic science, unlikely to have an immediate impact on anyone’s health or fertility, but it shows how new technologies continue to open doors, solving decades-old mysteries."
add a skeleton here at some point
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For decades, scientists puzzled over a genetic anomaly. They just solved it.
wapo.st/3VyLmlx
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For decades, scientists puzzled over a genetic anomaly. They just solved it.
By examining “junk DNA,” scientists are finding clues to understanding human biology.
https://wapo.st/3VyLmlx
7 months ago
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‘Can we talk about RFK Jr.?’ Inside the chill sweeping vaccine makers
wapo.st/3JVbyEz
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‘Can we talk about RFK Jr.?’ Inside the chill sweeping vaccine makers
The ascendance of vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the top health official is creating an environment where promising vaccines are harder to develop, scientists and investors say.
https://wapo.st/3JVbyEz
7 months ago
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Terry Tao, the world’s greatest living mathematician, avoided politics. Then Trump cut science funding. Tao on math, funding and why America has been such a special place to do research. 🎁 link:
wapo.st/47r7Ig1
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The world’s greatest mathematician avoided politics. Then Trump cut science funding.
Terence Tao, a renowned mathematician at UCLA, faced funding challenges after the Trump administration froze federal research funds.
https://wapo.st/47r7Ig1
7 months ago
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Carolyn Johnson
Fenit Nirappil
7 months ago
The No. 2 at NIH repeatedly insisted vaccines are unnecessary in a healthy society even when presented evidence healthy children died of flu, according to whistleblower complaints.
@carolynyjohnson.bsky.social
reports
www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...
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Carolyn Johnson
Lena Sun
7 months ago
BREAKING Florida moves to end all school vaccine mandates, first in nation to do so.
@davidovalle.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
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Florida moves to end all school vaccine mandates, first in nation to do so
Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo criticized school vaccine mandates, which every state has, and likened them to slavery.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/09/03/florida-vaccine-mandates-ended/
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Carolyn Johnson
Dan Diamond
8 months ago
Scoop - SUSAN MONAREZ, nation’s newly installed CDC director, is being ousted, people familiar tell
@lenasun.bsky.social
@laurenweberhp.bsky.social
+ me
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CDC director being ousted weeks into job
Susan Monarez, a longtime federal government scientist, was confirmed by the Senate in late July to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/08/27/susan-monarez-cdc-director-ousted/
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Carolyn Johnson
Lena Sun
8 months ago
NEW: More than 750 current and former staff of HHS, including @CDCgov, and NIH, have signed a letter to RFKJr and members of Congress accusing him of endangering the lives of employees and the American people following the Aug 8 attack on the CDC.
www.savehhs.org/letter/hhs-s...
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HHS Staff Response to the August 8th Attack — Save HHS
Public servants and allies are standing together to demand work environments free from violence, accountability for leaders and policymakers who put everyday Americans in danger, and public health lea...
https://www.savehhs.org/letter/hhs-staff-response-to-the-august-8th-attack
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reposted by
Carolyn Johnson
Jacob Bogage
8 months ago
The thing that underlaid Trump’s first impeachment — impoundment — is back. And if anyone is going to do something about it, it’s gotta happen soon.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
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"What I would simply say is cancer can't wait." --Richard Schlueter, a 56-year-old metastatic cancer patient whose therapy was delayed due to terminations at NIH.
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8 months ago
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