Now online! Dynamics of natural selection preceding human viral epidemics and pandemics
07.03.2026 15:59 β π 2 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0Now online! Dynamics of natural selection preceding human viral epidemics and pandemics
07.03.2026 15:59 β π 2 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0Multiple vaccines at once not linked to increased risk for adverse reactions www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalrap... via @skepticalraptor.bsky.social
08.03.2026 23:33 β π 33 π 11 π¬ 4 π 0
Now would be a good time to read @graemewood.bsky.social on Mojtaba Khamenei:
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
βThe footage would appear to contradict Trumpβs claim that it was an an Iranian missile that hit the schoolβ¦ The US is the only participant in the war that is known to have Tomahawk missiles.β
08.03.2026 23:29 β π 3 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
Bombed a school & then, 30 mins later, bombed it againβensuring any kids who survived & any rescue workers would be killed
βPeople were pulling out childrenβs arms and legs. People were pulling out severed headsβ
One of the worst war crimes in modern history.
It was a schoolβnot an IRGC base.
Vinay Prasad's unique ability to attract criticism β even when his bosses, including the president, wanted him to keep his head low β did him in at the FDA. www.statnews.com/2026/03/08/v...
08.03.2026 22:16 β π 16 π 5 π¬ 3 π 2
New post, on whether I could get Claude Code to complete a data task that had taken me AGES a decade agoβ¦
kucharski.substack.com/p/how-much-t...
Perfect encapsulation of the MAGA & MAHA hero, RFK Jr ally, & Great Barrington Declaration kook Jay Bhattacharya:
"Itβs unfortunate that he spends a significant amount of time either on rightwing podcasts or addressing rightwing conventions, & maybe finds time for NIH in between those appearancesβ
It's extremely clear that the US doesn't really have an objective here except to inflict maximum pain, and attacking water supply is going to end catastrophically for the entire region. It's not just a war crime, it's approaching a crime against humanity.
08.03.2026 09:40 β π 1454 π 445 π¬ 24 π 13That story had me in stitches.
08.03.2026 03:50 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0I hope that next years appropriations banish multi-year funding. This year a threat from Vought has resulted in MYF kept to last year's levels, which is a disaster and probably the single thing most responsible for this.
07.03.2026 02:10 β π 24 π 1 π¬ 1 π 0The data also reinforce a message that should be clear: American leadership in science and medical research requires far more than getting across the line on top-line budget negotiations and will require continued vigilance to track how HHS treats applications and existing awards.
07.03.2026 01:59 β π 80 π 25 π¬ 1 π 0except we canβt agree on who the bad ones are
07.03.2026 22:03 β π 3 π 0 π¬ 2 π 0Itβs not even the top 1% of labs, because itβs entirely stochastic at the 1st percentile. Theyβre all good, but likely no better than anything else in the top 10%.
07.03.2026 21:34 β π 10 π 3 π¬ 1 π 0
I knew that, to please Trump, Jay Bhattacharyaβs NIH canceled βDEI grantsβ (including at Duke, such as studies on the health of transgender people)βbut I have not been following another scandal: the cancelation of βDEI grantsβ from the NEH
π link for full NYT story:
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/a...
They blew up an elementary school Tom
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Introducing Angie Farella - RFK Jr.'s Latest Addition to ACIP: she wanted to use kids as buffers for COVID because she thought oher coronaviruses made them immune, she wanted to treat COVID with flu antivirals, and more. vaxopedia.org/2026/03/04/i... via @aboutpediatrics.bsky.social
07.03.2026 19:40 β π 32 π 24 π¬ 4 π 2saramohrhair: Where do I find a pediatrician that doesn't push vaccines? matt.keller.33: Look at your states medical boards. Find the pediatrician associated with the most childhood deaths. That's your doctor.
No notes
24.02.2025 13:29 β π 15402 π 2419 π¬ 99 π 56Had to doublecheck the date on this
07.03.2026 16:00 β π 11643 π 3291 π¬ 359 π 230Here is the "effective payline" for each institute, estimated (by Claude) as the percentile where one can expect 80% probability of funding from a logistic regression fit. The effective payline has gone from a historic ~12% to 6% in 2025.
07.03.2026 00:36 β π 93 π 69 π¬ 15 π 15https://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/stark-divide-americans-more-confident-in-career-scientists-at-u-s-health-agencies-than-leaders/
A quick email before I head of to get ready for the @standupforscience.bsky.social rally.
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Refrigerated trucks. Mass graves. ICUs beyond capacity.
Six years on, some call it exaggerated β even as transmission, #LongCovid and system strain persist.
What we forget about #Covid will shape the next pandemic.
My latest for Bloomberg's Weekend Edition via ππβ¬οΈ
tinyurl.com/yk93f7k2
WAIT THEY CAN FUCKING DRIVE NOW
03.03.2026 03:51 β π 1053 π 249 π¬ 36 π 26
More reporting - Prasad:
πΉοΈoverruled career scientists on vax approvals;
πΉοΈrejected treatments of rare diseases over pleas of "patients who have few options and biotech companies invested in developing cures";
πΉοΈopposed public advisory panel meetings for drugs
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/h...
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Graph of award probability of R35 and R01 from NIH factbook as a function of review rank percentile. As is apparent, 2025 is a significant departure, with lower award probabilities at all scores <40 and significant departures from norm, where even being in the top 10% is no longer a nearly certain indicator of success. Data source: https://report.nih.gov/nihdatabook/report/302
The data is in: the NIH goalposts have shifted.
What were once almost certain fundable scores have become coin flips and what used to be likely grants have become aspirational, leading to fewer awards.
Another manifestation of how HHS policies have led to fewer awards and less science.
Hey, great news gang! Vinay Prasad is out at the FDA.
Again.
Letβs hope it sticks this time.
Opinion seems pretty evenly divided.
06.03.2026 20:53 β π 163 π 27 π¬ 10 π 1As a friend of mine has been putting it, if war is what teaches Americans geography, Donald Trump is what teaches Americans how our government & economy work
06.03.2026 21:08 β π 6 π 3 π¬ 0 π 0