Susan Conrad

Opinion | The Human Cost of Trump’s War on Science

This piece by @jeneeninterlandi.bsky.social is one for the ages. The damage Donald Trump (under the guidance of Russell Vought) has done to biomedical research is profound and will be long-lasting. It is a national tragedy to be measured in the sick and the dead. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/o...

Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.

No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.

Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

continue to think that if instead of "raw milk" we called it "doodoo milk" people would understand the risk proposition

Democracy dies in oligarchness

Today marks a major moment for child health: the AAP has released its updated 2026 childhood and adolescent immunization schedule. Updated annually to reflect the latest scientific evidence, this year’s schedule is formally endorsed by 12 leading medical and healthcare organizations.
bit.ly/4r5KbaQ

My Life Shows the Horror of RFK Jr.’s New Vaccine Guidelines The Trump administration just yanked the recommendation for a vaccine that can spare people from what I went through.

Meningococcal disease has been rare. But when it occurs, it is devastating. High death rate. Survivors often lose limbs, as this person did. There's no way to accurately assess who is at risk. And yet meningococcal vaxes are no longer recommended for all children. www.thebulwark.com/p/my-life-sh...

There are so many things right now to find enraging but it’s the sheer nihilistic pointlessness of rescinding the hepatitis vax recommendation that’s shattering me. Like believing in human sacrifice, but with fancier trappings.

Getting ready for the upcoming ACIP meeting, I see. If your kids haven’t had their first MMR dose, get it as soon as you can.

"If we lose hope, we're doomed."

We must continue Dr. Jane Goodall's mission and all fight for the future of the planet.

1956 university of Michigan Children’s Hospital. Three-year-old Peggy Kennedy enjoyed these ducklings paddling around in a tub. Peggy, a polio patient, wore a plastic chest respirator. The ducklings were donated by a local farmer to help cheer up the children.

This is what happens without vaccinations.

The ducks are adorable.

The hospitalized child with a respirator is tragic.

And now preventable.

The true purpose of Bluesky has been revealed and it's Michael Stipe telling us the lyrics to It's The End Of The World As We Know It

Americans will visit Japan and post on social media, “Japan is living in 2075,” and meanwhile they’re just talking about a functioning public transportation system and healthcare not bankrupting people.

I hope you all are up to date on your vaccines. I predict that, as soon as RFK Jr.’s new ACIP (packed with antivax cranks) is up and running, the CDC schedule will be shedding vaccines faster than antivaxxers think those vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccines shed spike protein.

Treating a new Covid strain like a crime and not a public health issue is deranged.

Baby Is Healed With World’s First Personalized Gene-Editing Treatment

Baby Is Healed With World’s First Personalized Gene-Editing Treatment. Technique used on a 9½-month-old boy with rare condition CPS1 deficiency has the potential to help people with thousands of other uncommon genetic diseases, by Gina Kolata www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/h... via @nytimes.com

My take on the "Biden aides thought he needed a wheelchair" is I hate how much stigma stops people of all ages to use mobility devices when it could help them.

Steam rising from orange pipes on a Manhattan Avenue.

The rats have chosen a new pope.

Back by popular demand ... Hope it's not too early to gear up for the next Peepal Conclave 🐤 🐤

"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

So we aren’t getting Liberated now?

What about Liberation Day?

Bridget with The Beatles on Abbey Road.

Bridget hanging out in Grant Wood's American Gothic.

Bridget in Bruegel's Hunters In The Snow (with a freshly caught mouse).

The Cat With The Pearl Earring.

A little while ago, my parents' cat Bridget went missing. As the weeks dragged on, they became extremely worried. My dad devised a way to distract himself: he began to paint Bridget's adventures, imagining her travelling through time and popping up in some of art and music's most iconic scenes.

I should have made more AOCs.

🤯

And ABC has just shut down 538

Important thread about the likely impacts of the cuts to Medicaid. TLDR: It won’t just hit the 37 million children on Medicaid but could collapse the whole pediatric care system. Imagine pulling the bottom blocks out in Jenga. @miafarrow.bsky.social: seems of interest to you.

HPV vaccine has been shown to reduce cervical cancer incidence by at least 90%. A new report (below) shows that the incidence of precancerous lesions has dropped by about 80% since 2008 as well. The Secretary of HHS, Mr. Kennedy, claims that HPV vaccines *cause* cancer.

So much for his Hippocratic oath.

Right back at you!

Books Not Bars 2024 Holiday Campaign BOOKS NOT BARS FOR THE HOLIDAYS Haymarket Books is committed to making our books available for free to people who are incarcerated. In an effort to support those inside who are dealing with the imm...

Help us send 2,000 books to readers who are incarcerated this winter through our Books Not Bars program

In recent weeks, there have been reports of increasing bird flu hospitalizations, new mpox strains, deadly foodborne bacterial outbreaks, measles cases up 20%, and Long COVID prevalence may be much higher.

And yet the US plans to appoint an anti-vaxxer as its top health official.