The FDA is conducting "its own review of the evidence" on the safety & effectiveness of abortion drug mifepristone, according to news reports. Yet a wealth of evidence has shown the drug is safe and effective. SCOTUS rejected a case on this last year: www.scientificamerican.com/article/abor...

Confused by patchwork COVID vaccine guidelines across states? @sciam.bsky.social has a map with the latest info from the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations. We'll keep tracking updates. 📊 @unamandita.bsky.social ✏️ @jaimieseaton.bsky.social. www.scientificamerican.com/article/covi...

Chimpanzees get a surprising amount of alcohol from the fruit they eat. This discovery might bolster the "drunken monkey hypothesis" for humanity's love of liquor 🧪🍸

New dome-headed dino just dropped. 🧪 (Very fun story by @jack-tamisiea.bsky.social)

Congratulations, you've just lived through the three hottest summers on record 🫠 But with greenhouse gas emissions still piling up in the atmosphere, those records probably won't stand for terribly long. 🧪 (graphic by @unamandita.bsky.social)

“The Trump administration is ordering the removal of information on slavery at multiple national parks in an effort to scrub them of ‘corrosive ideology.’”

Wondering how the CDC advisory panel's COVID recommendations will affect your ability to get the vaccine? Here's a state-by-state guide, by @jaimieseaton.bsky.social, edited by @laurenjyoung.bsky.social: www.scientificamerican.com/article/covi...

A CDC advisory panel is meeting today and tomorrow to discuss changes to the vaccine schedule for MMRV, Hep B and COVID vaccines. Here's how it could threaten vaccine protection, by @meghanbartels.bsky.social and @andreatamayo.bsky.social: www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...

Thousands of federal grants have been terminated, effectively cutting lifesaving research and the careers of people behind the work. Read their stories, thoughtfully written by @rachelnuwer.bsky.social for @sciam.bsky.social. www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...

Were the No Kings protests the largest single-day demonstration in American history? Depending on who you ask, between 4 and 6 million people showed up – and according to one theory, this could be a turning point www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

CDC injury prevention team faced major cuts, putting critical work at risk : Shots - Health News www.npr.org/sections/sho...

Previous to the FDA, folks would put chalk and plaster of Paris in milk to make it appear white. They could also add formaldehyde to cover the smell and taste of spoiled milk.

As President Trump prepares to announce pharmaceutical tariffs, he has one country, in particular, in his sights: Ireland.

Below, from earlier today, confirmed @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2025/04/18/n...

The measles outbreak in Texas continues to grow—36 more cases in the last week, up to 597 total The true number of cases is certainly much much higher And consistently 97% of cases are in the unvaccinated We don't need more studies The data has been—and remains—very clear

Morning sickness & hyperemesis gravidarum have sickened pregnant people throughout history. Finally, research in recent years by @drfejzo.bsky.social has linked them to a stress hormone some people are hypersensitive to, pointing to possible treatments: www.scientificamerican.com/article/what...

Trump's transportation secretary thinks the New York subway is unsafe. But public transit is actually far safer than driving, in terms of both vehicle fatality and crime rates. Story by me, with graphics by @unamandita.bsky.social: www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-p...

And now Boston area hospitals are laying off staff because of Elons NIH cuts. This is going to be duplicated at hospitals around the country.

harvard stands its ground. well done. hold fast. "Harvard’s pushback has garnered widespread praise from faculty members, scientists and public figures, including former president Barack Obama." from @tanyalewis.bsky.social with @sciam.bsky.social) www.scientificamerican.com/article/harv...

Texas measles outbreak up to 541, 36 new cases since Tuesday (cases reported are only a fraction of actual) www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/... 56 have been hospitalized.

Secretary Kennedy makes headlines for anything he says that sounds remotely pro-vaccine. But for every one of those mildly supportive statements, there are other remarks that continue to cast doubts about these important products. www.statnews.com/2025/04/10/r...

I have never seen anything like this in NYC. 5th Ave covered from 42nd St well to the 20s. Nobody prepared for this volume. Volunteers are holding the traffic on all the side streets. No police in sight. #handsoff

NEW: Mexico confirms country's first human case of bird flu in a 3-year-old girl, who is hospitalized in serious condition. #BlueSky #MedSky#IDSky #SciSky abcnews.go.com/Health/wireS...

Whooping cough is back, folks. Two infants in Louisiana have died from it, and cases are higher than they've been in a decade. Make sure you're up to date on your TDAP vaccine. www.scientificamerican.com/article/whoo...

This was actually a really delightful piece to write, albeit for the dumbest possible reason. 🧪

A natural experiment in Wales provided the best evidence to date that shingles vaccination may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. By @rachelnuwer.bsky.social for @sciam.bsky.social: www.scientificamerican.com/article/shin...

An FDA worker confirms what I've seen out there. CDC's entire FOIA office is gone. The FDA's communications and web office were cut. "The FDA as we know it is gone."

NEW: The entire CDC #FOIA office — nearly two dozen people — received RIF notices. FOIA personnel at FDA and NIH were also dismissed. The CDC has seen a massive uptick in FOIA requests this year. It’s the second busiest year since Covid. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Big win for the Long Covid community -- grants restored. Also hearing other cancelled biomedical grants are getting restored. Maybe raising a ruckus works? Via @thesicktimes.bsky.social @betsyladyzhets.bsky.social thesicktimes.org/2025/03/28/u...

It's only the end of March but already 2025 has logged more #measles cases than all but 2 other years since the US achieved measles elimination status in 2000. #CDC reported there'd been 483 confirmed cases in 19 states as of 3/27. Likely out of date, with TX reporting Friday its count has hit 400

Nothing like injuring a finger on your dominant hand to make you appreciate life with two hands. Especially as a writer!

Dr. Peter Hotez, a distinguished expert in vaccine development and public health, issues a warning that Texas is poised to trigger a national measles outbreak, which will persistently spread until every individual becomes either infected or vaccinated. www.houstonpress.com/news/public-...

The liver, which came from a genetically modified pig, appeared to stay active, producing bile and liver proteins inside the brain-dead transplant recipient, researchers report March 26 in Nature.

Again, the “ruckus” was an op-ed in her school newspaper

HHS is going to lose another 10,000 workers, in cuts to the agency announced today by Secretary Kennedy. With early retirements & buyouts + the layoffs, the HHS workforce will shrink from 82,000 to 62,000. This is a developing story. www.statnews.com/2025/03/27/r...

Unqualified success. The clearest, most inarguable public policy success in ages.

In 15 yrs of reporting, I've never had so many health & biomed researchers & outreach orgs tell me they're afraid to talk w/press or barred from speaking bc of new comms policies. I understand the fear of losing funds. I don't know if silence does more harm than good. If you can speak up, pls do.

Anyone else planning to watch the season finale of Severance tonight? Here's what life as a severed employee "innie" might really be like, according to a psychologist. [spoilers!] By @jessthomson.bsky.social: www.scientificamerican.com/article/what...

The Trump department of health and human services and FDA announced a new initiative to promote infant formula safety, but cuts to the FDA and other health agencies could make this a tall order, experts say: www.scientificamerican.com/article/rfk-...

Manhattan buses have for decades been among the slowest in the nation. But speed gains from congestion pricing have made riding on those routes desirable again.

NEW: The FDA largely protected food inspectors from staff cuts. But the credit card freeze in food science labs, the axing of a key food safety committee and funding cuts to state inspectors all limit efforts to keep food safe: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/h...

People do forget how common zoonotic exposure is. In this study 12% of people working in the guano industry in Myanmar were seropositive for sarbecoviruses: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Musk and Doge’s USAid shutdown likely violated US constitution, judge rules

Really not loving these choices… As bird flu continues to spread, Trump administration sidelines key pandemic preparedness office

People who are worried about vaccines often ask: What are the risks of the vaccine? They do NOT ask: What are the risks of the disease? And with measles? You need to ask. teamtrash.substack.com/p/the-risk-y...

“This is like trying to pause an airplane in midflight and then subsequently firing the crew”- @agawande.bsky.social Gawande, fmr head of global health at USAID, on the cuts. Millions of children's lives have been saved by USAID funding @sciam.bsky.social: www.scientificamerican.com/article/usai...

As predicted, women in New Hampshire had a hard time voting yesterday because of the new proof of citizenship law: “It doesn’t have my married name on it,” she said. Town voting officials then sent her away a second time, to get her marriage certificate. www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2025...

Nothing will kill more children than the ongoing decimation of CDC, NIH, and USAID work to lift vaccine uptake in the US and world. Child survival rose 75% in the last 50 years. Vaccines account for 40% of that. Measles vax alone was 60% of the benefit. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Are you working in a setting where historical data is at risk of being lost/erased/removed? Let the OAH know. I think this is an important way to account for what's there now so that we understand what goes missing. You can fill out the form anonymously. #historysky www.oah.org/2025/03/12/r...

"We are going to regret this" says @craigspencer.bsky.social www.cnn.com/2025/03/13/p...