📽️ WATCH: Epidemiologist Erin McCanlies spent much of the past 20 years studying how parents’ exposure to toxic chemicals affects the chances that they will have an autistic child. RFK Jr. cut her entire division — yet promises to identify the causes of autism by September: https://propub.li/4nhXQua

Just in case it finally disappears, the CDC page I've been obsessively refreshing for months is currently still there, confirming that vaccines do not cause autism

After blaming rising autism rates on acetaminophen (which he couldn't pronounce), Trump is now railing against vaccines in a manner that is largely incoherent www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3ia...

Autumn is here ! 🍁🍂 #pokemon

Hello, Eugene Oregon! Wanna listen to some FREE space talks by astronomers tomorrow? Come to the relaunched Universe on Tap to hear Ben Farr discuss black holes and @sanjanacurtis.bsky.social talk about the origin of elements- no prior knowledge assumed! Claim 52 Brewing at 6pm, Sept 22 🔭🧪🎢

Tl;dr = No. www.science.org/content/blog...

LiveAI demo fails on the first prompt at Meta Connect 2025. #Meta #AI #LiveAI

ABC announced that it was pulling Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show “indefinitely” after his comments about Charlie Kirk’s death. nyti.ms/46vgZl3

Weird stuff going on inside NIH! My latest, with reporting on internal messages citing a DOJ order on... attending a conference? As one source said... what the actual fuck?

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)

Ta-Nehisi Coates on Charlie Kirk and the pundits and politicians sanitizing his legacy.

Some personal news: I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting. Thread incoming. substack.com/@karenattiah...

Had a blast visiting the Knight Cancer Institute in Portland to talk about their record-setting $2 billion gift from Nike founder Phil Knight, and how they plan to use the cash to become a household name in cancer research and care. Check it out, and enjoy the photo quality from my ancient iPhone!

In a stats spat for the ages, Capricor says the FDA rejected its muscular dystrophy cell therapy on the basis of misinterpreted data and "massive change in the agency’s feedback" 😮 my story:

The same Supreme Court that said it is unreasonable to consider race when giving kids access to education, has said it's reasonable to consider race when looking to remove someone from the country. Funny how that works.

Exclusive: Jeffrey Epstein’s estate has given Congress a copy of the 2003 birthday book, including the letter with Trump’s signature that he has said doesn’t exist.

Acetaminophen remains a safe pain relief option during pregnancy. Despite recent unfounded claims, there’s no clear evidence linking prudent use to fetal development issues. ACOG's guidance remains. When needed in pregnancy, acetaminophen should be used in moderation, after consulting a doctor.

Brb investing my life savings in folate supplements so I can go to Florida and sell them on the street at a 5000% markup

He's gonna blame Tylenol? Even RFK Jr., as the head of the most powerful health organization in human history, can't find evidence for vaccines causing autism (because they don't)!

Don’t sleep on the NYT investigation into a botched Trump 1.0 Seal Team 6 operation in which 2-3 North Korean fishermen were shot & killed. Key point: Seal Team 6 record was so checkered Obama reduced ops & increased oversight. Trump reversed course. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/u...

Trump has accused his opponents with multiple mortgages of fraud. New records show that 3 of his cabinet members list multiple homes as their primary residences on mortgages. 🔎🤯 via @robert-faturechi.bsky.social @justinelliott.bsky.social @amierjeski.bsky.social: www.propublica.org/article/trum...

And around 1,000 current or former HHS staff too!

Great news if you love drama: the FDA said it plans to publicly release drug rejection letters asap after they're sent to the companies themselves, and has also put out 89 new rejection letters--including Replimune's controversial melanoma snub. My story: www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/fda-...

When people say "We used to drink raw milk from our own cow and it was fine," That's... usually not the case! In families w their own cow, the mom usually boiled it before using. We just forgot bc that's a boring chore that mom did. And who pays attention to that? youtu.be/vKDPast9WFk

the two americas

New: Key GOP senator Bill Cassidy promises "oversight" of RFK after CDC firing/exodus. But he isn't saying what that means. He's "reserving judgment" on RFK—won't say if he has confidence or regret voting to confirm. Other Rs aren't thrilled w/ the HHS secretary. www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

Officers who shatter car windows aren’t being disciplined — they’re being promoted. One officer who smashed a window in front of a local TV reporter now has a senior ICE position overseeing operations on the East Coast.

In a post on Truth Social, the president suggested that the CDC was being “ripped apart” over a question that was answered long ago — whether Covid vaccines work. (Gift article) www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/h...

I'm beyond grateful to the judges for highlighting my work on the dismantling of the US scientific enterprise. This award goes out to the brave federal workers who have participated in my stories and helped the public to cut through the noise and chaos. Your stories are being heard.

"Pat, why do you carry that ridiculous 600mm lens on long hikes?" Buddy, I can see mountains reflected in the eyes of a trailside pika.

AP live feed of the CDC walkout in Atlanta. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ7Q...

I wrote about the immolation of the CDC defector.com/rfk-jr-is-ma...

We present: The Art of #InverteFest - August 2025 Edition A digital art book showcasing the work of 100 artists from around the world, in celebration of overlooked invertebrate fauna. Thank you to the artists who contributed to our book! Download here drive.google.com/file/d/19wfG... #Art #SciArt

SCOOP BREAKING: CDC director being ousted weeks into job. Me @ddiamond @LaurenWeberHP www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

In June, Exelixis' stock soared on the back of a big phase 3 win over Bayer's gastrointestinal cancer med Stivarga. Now, the company is laying off 130 employees and closing down its Pennsylvania location. In biotech, life comes at you fast! My story:

The Department of Health and Human Services is terminating a National Institutes of Health grant program that supports students from marginalized backgrounds in the biomedical sciences. www.statnews.com/2025/08/25/n...

Five journalists, including Maryam Abu Daqqa, a freelance correspondent and photojournalist who submitted invaluable reporting to AP, were killed by Israel in a double airstrike on Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. Maryam was 33 years old and leaves behind a 13-year-old son.

NIH scientists have developed a therapy that fixed a Tay-Sachs mutation in mice, sparking hope for the patients with this extremely rare adult form of the disease 🧪 hard to write stories like this and not constantly think about how hard NIH is being hit right now

My latest on the Health Sec who promised to figure out what causes autism and the autism research that's been stopped along the way www.propublica.org/article/rfk-...

Approval for a gene therapy that could save kids with a rare disease from brain damage has been delayed by the FDA, a move that has the fingerprints of the recently returned Vinay Prasad 🕵️🧪 my story:

To summarize the last 8 months as “transition stuff” is absurd. I’ve seen a lot of transitions. None prior halted all Council & review meetings, terminated grants midstream, fired Scientific Advisors without cause, or blanket terminated staff with no regard for their criticality to the mission.

Another FDA delay, which the affected company blames on "persistent resourcing challenges" at the agency that have been "exacerbated by organizational changes implemented under the current administration" (i.e. FDA laid off a bunch of people and now are struggling to function)

New statement from the NIH reads, in part: "This is not business as usual; it is a deliberate course correction to strengthen accountability and ensure NIH funds research that delivers measurable impact for all Americans."

NEW: A week after a deadly shooting at the CDC rattled the nation, Atlanta residents flooded the streets again Saturday morning to protest against the Trump administration's research cuts and HHS Secretary RFK Jr.'s promotion of public health misinformation. More by @alexip718.com:

ICYMI: Yesterday the NIH director not only formalized the agency's priorities under his leadership, he also ordered staff to immediately review all research activities--external and internal--to ensure alignment with those priorities. Work that doesn't match may be eliminated. My story:

BREAKING: The NIH director has ordered an immediate review of all the agency's research activities. Any projects that don't fit agency priorities "may be restricted, paused, not renewed, or terminated." My story:

NEW 🚨 The violence is the point. Elected Dems must call for widespread resignations (RFK, Bhattacharya, Prasad) in response to the CDC shooting. Public health must demand this of them, and the public must demand that of us. With @publichealthguy1.bsky.social in STAT: www.statnews.com/2025/08/15/c...

Not to belabor a "I told you so", but it's been clear for years that the whole "lab leak" discourse has absolutely nothing to do with a potential lab leak and everything to do with a broader anti-science agenda. I really, and truly, hope more scientists will realize this and take corrective action.

Deep learning models trained on 40,000 chemicals were able to design new antibiotics from scratch--including one that a model built starting from a single atom. My story: