Jana Schlütter

Do you remember the Human Genome Project? I’m not sure the Trump administration wants you to The NIH archives of the Human Genome Project could fall victim to Trump administration cuts, writes a former archivist.

It’s not just people and scientific expertise we’re losing. History is being erased.

www.statnews.com/2025/06/05/n...

When humans look at something we find beautiful it causes dopamine release in our brains & looking at plants shifts our brain activity away from fight or flight & into rest & digest mode.
A field of phacelia, Norfolk:

Coinciding with it's "No" letter Harvard has refashioned its university homepage into essentially an advertisement for the social benefits of university research. This is the current front page.

AI models miss disease in Black and female patients Analysis of chest x-rays underscores need for monitoring artificial intelligence tools for bias, experts say

AI models still miss disease in Black and female patients. My new story in @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

‘Anxiety is palpable’: detention of researchers at US border spurs travel worries Several high-profile incidents in the past month have scientists on edge.

Heard about that French scientist who got turned away at the border? @heidiledford.bsky.social & I report on researchers' increasing anxiety about traveling in or out of the US: 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

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.

Detail of a work-in-progress botanical oil painting. Close up of snowdrops.

Hey there, just reminding you to go outside this weekend and seek out the #springflowers that are starting to emerge. You deserve that joy 🌼

#art #snowdrops #botanicalart #sciart #floralart #painting #bloomscrolling @bsky.art

CDC cuts expected to devastate Epidemic Intelligence Service, a ‘crown jewel’ of public health Members of the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service were warned Friday that many of them were about to be fired

They're legendary disease detectives: The CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service. Very little may be left of it after today, writes @helenbranswell.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/02/14/t...

Hello, Bluesky! ☀️

We fund frontier research in Europe—bold ideas, unexpected discoveries and science that shapes the future. So it’s only fitting we’ve landed here. Sorry for being late.

Follow us for updates on ERC funding, research policy, and our grantees' discoveries.

Thank you @thelancet.bsky.social

Pressemitteilung der infektiologischen Fachgesellschaften zu den jüngsten Entwicklungen in der USA und ihre gravierenden Auswirkungen auf die globale Gesundheit Mein Kommentar: „Die jüngsten gesundheitspolitischen Entwicklungen in den USA betrachten wir als infektiologische Fachgesellschaften mit großer Sorge. Neben der Pausierung lebenswichtiger medizinischer Hilfsprogramme werden wichtige Gesundheitsinformationen zensiert – darunter medizinische Leitlinien zu HIV und anderen Infektionskrankheiten, die von den Webseiten der Gesundheitsbehörde CDC entfernt wurden. Diese gravierenden staatlichen Eingriffe gefährden die medizinische Versorgung von vulnerablen Patientinnen und Patienten weltweit. Zudem greift die Regierung massiv in die Wissenschaftsfreiheit ein. Auch in Deutschland und Europa sind ähnliche autoritäre und wissenschaftsfeindliche politische Strömungen erkennbar. Vor dem Hintergrund dieser Entwicklungen und ihrer gravierenden Folgen für die öffentliche Gesundheit appellieren wir an die demokratischen Parteien, sich für den Schutz von Wissenschaft und Medizin vor Zensur und staatlichen Eingriffen einzusetzen und die internationale Zusammenarbeit in der Bekämpfung von Infektionskrankheiten zu stärken.“

Pressemitteilung d infektiologischen Fachgesellschaften zu den Ereignissen in den USA & den Folgen für die globale Gesundheit.
Appell an die Politik in Deutschland, Medizin + Wissenschaft vor staatlicher Zensur u. Willkür zu schützen u. internationale Zusammenarbeit zu stärken.
tinyurl.com/3fd7rtrx

Bluesky’s science takeover: 70% of Nature poll respondents use platform Roughly 6,000 readers answered our poll, with many declaring that Bluesky was nicer, kinder and less antagonistic to science than X.

Roughly 6,000 readers answered our poll, with many declaring that Bluesky was nicer, kinder and less antagonistic to science than X

https://go.nature.com/42tH8Ai

U.S. records first fatal bird flu case amid growing concerns about virus The U.S. has recorded its first fatal case of H5N1 bird flu, in a person from Louisiana who contracted the virus from infected chickens and wild birds in a backyard flock.

The lack of severe infections among US #H5N1 #birdflu cases up till now may have created the notion among some people that the virus has become harmless. The death of a person in Louisiana is a reminder that that is not a safe bet. www.statnews.com/2025/01/06/b...

How America Lost Control of the Bird Flu, Setting the Stage for Another Pandemic - KFF Health News Exclusive reporting reveals how the United States lost track of a virus that could cause the next pandemic. Problems like the sluggish pace of federal action, a deference to industry, and neglect for ...

@amymaxmen.bsky.social talked to me and a bunch of my colleagues for this depressing but excellent piece.

However I’d like to complain about the headline. You can’t lose control of something that was never under control in the first place 👇🏻

kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

A variety of brightly coloured flowers from my garden in May 2019, arranged on a chopped black enamel background

Unseasonal I know👇🏼🌿, but we recover from a source of stress 60% more quickly if we’ve looked at plant specimens beforehand. Take a 30 seconds to zoom in & look at the details my photo-it really will make your brain more resilient to the tricky stuff Monday may have in store:

‘Silly and pompous’: Official new names for viruses rile up researchers An overhaul of viruses’ scientific naming system has incensed some virologists, but others are more accepting

Goodbye SARS-CoV-2, hello 'Betacoronavirus pandemicum'?

@cofford.bsky.social reports on the controversial renaming of thousands of viruses. www.science.org/content/arti...

Sharing to the #SciArt Feed and #medsky

Mary’s long, luxurious baths have drawn so much attention that an envious elephant at the Berlin Zoo has figured out how to shut the water off on her supersoaking rival—a type of sabotage rarely seen among animals.

Learn more: scim.ag/49C1s3S

2-page spread of watercolor and ink sketches interspersed with handwritten notes. Left page: May 31, 2021, 70 degrees, cloudy and breezy, IL Beach St Park Nature Preserve (Dune trail), saw the trifecta of puccoons- hairy, hoary and fringed! Also visited the prairie at Hosah Park- saw the 8-spotted forester moth and sketched the coreopsis. Just as we left IL beach, we saw the Indian Paintbrush and ended the day with a bald eagle flyover! Sketch has overlapping ink drawings with painted flowers-prairie phlox (pink), coreopsis (deep yellow- orange), lupine (blue-purple), the three puccoons (yellow, lemon yellow, yellow orange) and a blue-eyed grass. A black and white spotted moth with orange pantaloons is near the bottom. Right page: flowers continue with scarlet Indian paintbrush, pale brown alum root with a damselfly on the stem, and 3 stalks of purple-blue spiderworts with leaves arching in many directions. A brown and yellow skipper is in the center. Notes: June 1, 2021, Schulenberg Prairie, 72, sunny and warm, saw black and tiger swallowtails, monarch, pearl crescents, Hobomark skipper, E.forktail damselflies ovipositing in Willowbrook creek, common green darner, and whitetails June 3, 2021 75 degrees and warm, Springbrook Prairie, bullfrogs are croaking, red-wing blackbirds singing, B.impatiens on spiderwort, ponds and streams are very low- almost dry.

Day 11 #ArtAdventCalendar -2 page spread of my Illinois prairie nature journal, covering May 25-June 3, 2021.

I tend to gravitate towards the colorful flowers, but I included the pale brown Alum root flower stalk amongst this rainbow of colors to remind myself that they're all important.
#SciArt

Sick animals suggest COVID pandemic started in Wuhan market A preliminary analysis takes a closer look at genomic data collected at the market.

Grateful to @smritimallapaty.bsky.social for covering our analysis of host transcriptional infection signatures at the Huanan market! Still not the “smoking raccoon dog” but getting closer…

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Scientists confront a mystery: Why have U.S. bird flu cases been so mild? The H5N1 bird flu outbreak in the U.S. has so far been shockingly mild. Researchers have some theories as to why.

There's no better guide to influenza-land than @helenbranswell.bsky.social. Here she asks why most of the recent human H5N1 cases in the US have been so mild. Many fascinating hypotheses, none of them entirely convincing. www.statnews.com/2024/12/02/b...

‘A place of joy’: why scientists are joining the rush to Bluesky Researchers say the social-media platform — an alternative to X — offers more control over the content they see and the people they engage with.: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03784-6

There are already many articles for which there is more attention on Bluesky than on other comparable micro-blogging sites, meaning the academic community and the general public have clearly adopted Bluesky as one of its core places to disseminate and discuss new research.

A Place of Joy.

European Federation of Journalists to stop posting content on X The EFJ represents over 295,000 journalists in 44 countries.

This is huge.

The EFJ represents over 295,000 journalists in 44 countries 👇
www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/media/e...

🚀 Big news coming to Altmetric!

We’re expanding our attention sources to include a platform that’s all about decentralized, user-driven conversations. Sound familiar? 🌐

Stay tuned for a more comprehensive way to track your research impact—launching soon! 👀

#AcademicSky #Altmetrics #HigherEd

I find these early indications of the role bluesky might play for news outlets fascinating.
It does feel very much like the place for science and journalism compared to other platforms.
Curious to see more (and more granular) data over time and from other outlets…

Gene behind orange fur in cats found at last After 60 years, scientists know why gingers, calicos, and tortoiseshells look the way they do

Sara Reardon's story on the genetics of coat color in cats was a delight to read (and not just because my sweet calico, Mona Lisa, got to make her Science debut). Now I'm just waiting for scientists to make a discovery about tabbies, so Mo's brother Vinny can get his moment in the spotlight!

.@capublichealth.bsky.social reports finding #H5N1 #birdflu virus in raw milk. The producer, Raw Farm LLC of Fresno County, has agreed to recall a batch of a whole milk product called "cream top."
Milk from infected cows contains staggering levels of virus. www.statnews.com/2024/04/29/b...