John Higgins

The crown jewel of the Cascades

Boneconducted is now my favorite word of the week.

Viral immunologist taps ‘incredible potential’ of immune system New Fred Hutch Cancer Center viral immunologist Dr. Paul Thomas is working to turn the "incredible potential" of the immune system into real-life diagnostic and therapeutic applications. He studies ho...

Viral immunologist @pgtimmune.bsky.social, who recently joined Fred Hutch's Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Division, aims to harness the "incredible potential" of the immune system to advance diagnostics, vaccines and cancer therapies. bit.ly/3WJVpos

Delicatessen Now: "love the smell of condiments in the morning...it smells like victory."

My Dinner with Andre the Giant

Samwise Gamgee bears the ring for a while and gives it back to Frodo without having to lose a finger in the bargain. A most excellent Hobbit, Samwise. As for their Hobbit neighbors who live in blissful willful ignorance of the world while other creatures safeguard The Shire at great cost...

I’m all up for a scare on Halloween like the next gal, but this is just taking the gore too far! 🎃💀

"We've always been at war with Venezuela" -- Ghost of Orwell.

Brandeis University honors Fred Hutch molecular biologist Dr. Steven Henikoff, a molecular biologist at Fred Hutch Cancer Center, has won the prestigious Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Research from Brandeis University recognizing h...

Congrats to Steven Henikoff, PhD, of @basicsci.fredhutch.org on receiving the 55th Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Research! @brandeisuniversity.bsky.social recognized Henikoff with this prestigious award for his innovative studies on gene expression.

Brandeis University honors Fred Hutch molecular biologist Dr. Steven Henikoff, a molecular biologist at Fred Hutch Cancer Center, has won the prestigious Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Research from Brandeis University recognizing h...

Dr. Steven Henikoff receives the 55th Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Research.
www.brandeis.edu/rosenstiel/r...

(Personal note: I continue to be inspired and astonished by my postdoctoral mentor & current colleague)

I would think someone seeking such a conversation would be available whenever it was most convenient for the would-be mentor.

The Lies Have It: Advice for Journalists Approaching Misinformation Kai Kupferschmidt, KSJ '24, shares actionable tips for journalists seeking to reduce the harm of misinformation.

@kakape.bsky.social KSJ '24, shares actionable tips for journalists seeking to reduce the harm of misinformation.

ksj.mit.edu/news/2025/10...

@jhigginswriter.bsky.social wrote an article about my lab and our frog 🐸 at the Hutch! Thank you!

I wanted to write this story as soon as I heard we were getting frogs again. Our photographer/videographer Robert Hood really brought it to life. Purely coincidental that frogs (or at least folks dressed up as frogs) are having a moment.

When you remember how much people in the past suffered for justice without ever surrendering hope, despair feels like an indulgence of privilege that insults their memory.

The pride of Edmonds, WA and as true a patriot as you'll ever meet.

Looking forward to reading about this work from one of the premiere labs figuring out how this incredible, complex machine gets built every time a cell divides (and what happens when it doesn't get built correctly.)

Fear the 🐸!

Curiously, no S or P in the logo, as in Seattle Pilots, the team that was relocated to Milwaukee in 1970 and renamed the Brewers. There's a chance the current Seattle Mariners will play the former Seattle Pilots in the World Series (unless LA and/or Toronto object).

Fear the 🐸!

Big congrats to Claudia Rowe, National Book Award Finalist!

If I remember it right, the key is in the timing...the cuckoo eggs get slipped into the nest just before they're ready to hatch, so they're not around long enough to learn the password.

Here's the one I was thinking of about increased teaching effort: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Superb Fairy Wrens teach their young a password when they're still in the egg that hatchlings must give to prove they're not a cuckoo. That teaching intensifies if there are a lot of warning calls that cuckoos are around (can't cite the research off the top of my head).

Political Violence and the Reality Distortion Field Sadly, we’ve always had violence in America; what’s different today is the aftermath, and the battle to define political opposition amid violence.

To be clear, I was quoting this article, and I agree: prospect.org/politics/202...

This Shutdown Fight Has Life-or-Death Consequences At the heart of the fight over the government shutdown is the fate of health insurance for millions of Americans who may soon face an impossible choice: accept a significant increase in their premiums...

Millions of Americans--especially those who work for or own small businesses, live in rural areas, or retired early--will be forced to make tough choices if enhanced subsidies for ACA plans expire. The health of the nation will suffer for it. My latest @opinion.bloomberg.com (gift link):

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Fred Hutch is dedicated to the elimination of cancer and related diseases as causes of human suffering and death.

Looking for your next step in fly genetics? The Rajan Lab at Fred Hutch is hiring a staff scientist + postdoc for projects on fat–brain signals, immunity, and brain aging. Stable, long-term role in a collaborative lab. Apply: careers-fhcrc.icims.com/jobs/30062/j...

Woodstein!

"This effort to amp up your political side in times of extreme emotion, to not just condemn the individual act but to slander all your political opposition at once, is the kind of thing you see in societies in open civil warfare."

Neat trick, but but but ..the skin is so tasty left on the fish, fried in a cast iron pan or on a cedar plank over a grill.