Jane Qiu, PhD

I think it's clear from pieces like this that companies like Orchid are selling false promises, at a high price. Consumers need protecting too. "It does allow parents to choose their 'best baby'", the article says. No it doesn't FFS. What does that awful phrase even mean? 4/4

Hoping for a ‘perfect’ baby? Genetic testing startups lur... Fertility experts say strict UK laws are no bar to accessing a booming industry that has led to concerns about eugenics

Pretty good overview of the non-medical uses of polygenic screening in IVF - good to see comments from Peter Thompson and Sarah Norcross. The legal position is indeed now hard to enforce in the UK, as the article explains. One thing I'd like to see emphasized more...
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

Farming animals for fur is not only cruel but also provides an ideal environment for viruses to mix and cross over into humans.

@janeqiu.bsky.social's recent report “Why disease outbreaks on Chinese fur farms are a serious risk to public health” is now available in Spanish 👇

Brotes de enfermedades en granjas peleteras chinas suponen un grave riesgo para la salud pública La cría de animales para obtener pieles no solo es cruel, sino que también proporciona un entorno ideal para que los virus se mezclen y se transmitan a los seres humanos.

La cría de animales para obtener pieles no solo es cruel, sino que también proporciona un entorno ideal para que los virus se mezclen y se transmitan a los seres humanos.

✍️ La periodista @janeqiu.bsky.social lo explica en este reportaje.

knowmag.org/4aFhzQH

Squirrels could be a reservoir for the virus that causes mpox The species in which monkeypox virus naturally circulates is uncertain, but wildlife surveillance data suggest that the fire-footed rope squirrel is a likely candidate.

I really enjoyed working on this piece on Riutord-Fe et al, a fantastic piece of work that highlights both the power of comprehensive, longitudinal wildlife surveillance and the challenges of disentangling the roles different hosts play in pathogen maintenance ecology. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Jeffrey Epstein’s Intellectual Enabler How did Epstein meet so many luminaries in the worlds of science and technology? It all might trace back to literary agent John Brockman.

"I am ready to pull the plug on my association with Brockman’s agency—and would encourage other authors to consider doing the same—until and unless he clarifies the relationship between him, the Edge Foundation, and Epstein." Well, quite.
newrepublic.com/article/1548...

A very good, and sobering, story by @janeqiu.bsky.social about the infectious disease risks posed by fur farming. 🧪 Thank you Jane!

There we have it, US media. He has revoked the ruling. He has not revoked the scientific finding that led to the ruling. Those are not the sort of thing one can revoke. This is not hard. If you're keen not to be actively complicit, use words properly.

Here's a story I'd definitely by covering if Science in Action was still on air - the likely cause of the rare but dangerous bloodclots from some COVID vaccines. The question is how easy it would be to tweak the adenovirus carrier to avoid the issue.

First evidence in Europe of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 infection in a dairy cow. Antibodies against H5N1 detected in a cow with mastitis and respiratory signs on a Dutch dairy farm at the end of December. A cat on that farm had died from H5N1. www.tweedekamer.nl/downloads/do...

So many regrets here for post-2008 contacts. 🤔

Why disease outbreaks on Chinese fur farms are a serious risk to public health Farming animals for fur is not only cruel but also provides an ideal environment for viruses to mix and cross over into humans

Farming animals for fur is not only cruel but also provides an ideal environment for viruses to mix and cross over into humans.

✍️ Jane Qiu

knowmag.org/4r8vPY0

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Profile of some interesting Super Agers
@theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

Column | I let ChatGPT analyze a decade of my Apple Watch data. Then I called my doctor. I gave the new ChatGPT Health access to 29 million steps and 6 million heartbeat measurements. It drew questionable conclusions that changed each time I asked.

The performance of the newly released ChatGPT Health, via a thorough assessment by @geoffreyfowler.bsky.social
with his health data, is very disappointing
gift link wapo.st/49GEASP

Opinion | The real reason Trump and MAGA are so quick to blame Minneapolis shooting victims Philip Bump: Alex Pretti and Renee Good were immediately vilified — and their killings at the hands of the state justified — by the Trump administration and its supporters.

“Perhaps there are flutters of recognition that this is not how human beings should behave, much less how political leaders in a democracy should act. But if those flames flicker into existence, they are quickly snuffed.”

By @pbump.com @ms.now

www.ms.now/opinion/minn...

Opinion | The real reason Trump and MAGA are so quick to blame Minneapolis shooting victims Philip Bump: Alex Pretti and Renee Good were immediately vilified — and their killings at the hands of the state justified — by the Trump administration and its supporters.

“It is stunning, though not surprising, to see the president of the United States and sworn federal officials impugn dead citizens so callously. It’s utterly immoral, if not deranged.”

By @pbump.com @ms.now

www.ms.now/opinion/minn...

“What’s the right ratio here, Mr. President? How many citizens being shot to death is worth this campaign of fear and its sporadic deportations?”

So a cow can use a stick to scratch its backside. When will we learn that humans are really not that special? | Helen Pilcher Veronika’s improvised grooming device has caused great surprise – but that tells us more about humans than cows, says science writer Helen Pilcher

So a cow can use a stick to scratch its backside. When will we learn that humans are really not that special? | Helen Pilcher

Three centuries of Roman limescale reveals a dirty secret about Pompeii’s public baths Carbon isotope ratios suggest that pre-aqueduct, the water was often contaminated with human waste

My latest Crucible column for @chemistryworld.com is about a new study that reconstructs the history of the Roman baths at Pompeii from the limescale deposits in the water network. The older baths were none too sanitary, it seems.
www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/thre...

What Is Life? Revisited Cambridge Core - Philosophy of Science - What Is Life? Revisited

This short book by @djnicholson.bsky.social is extraordinarily good for understanding not just the genesis, message and myths of Schrödinger's book but also why molecular biology developed in the way it did (and what's problematic about that).
www.cambridge.org/core/element...

China’s ‘Dr. Frankenstein’ Thinks Time Is on His Side

The reckless human embryo genome editor, He Jiankui, known as China's Dr. Frankenstein, is back at it.
"People were not yet ready to accept what I was doing."
We're still not.
nytimes.com/2026/01/13/w...

Absolutely damning details on the disturbing proposed hepatitis trial that is already (apparently) being rolled out in Guinea-Bissau.
It beggars belief that the people funding this unethical experiment on African children claim to be the guardians of "gold standard science".

As per usual @nytimes.com there is no “standoff” - there’s American aggression, imperialism, threats of invasion, or whatever you want to call it along those lines.

But a “standoff” it’s not. If someone is robbed, you don’t call it a “standoff” between the robber and victim. You call it “robbery”.

Bats might be the next bird flu wild card Finding that vampire bats along Peru’s coast carried H5N1 antibodies raises concerns that multiple bat species could become reservoirs for the virus.

Vampire bats aren’t just drinking blood. They’re sampling viruses too

New evidence shows they were infected with H5N1 after feeding on marine animals with bird flu

Bats in Egypt are also susceptible to a related strain of another bird flu virus, H9N2

@sciencenews.bsky.social

tinyurl.com/9navnxuw

Such misinformation can have grave consequences.

Hence I’d like to ask again: Could you please delete the three posts that contain the misinformation?👇

I trust in your decency and integrity.

Thanks you, @angierasmussen.bsky.social !

14/

Please bear that power imbalance in mind next time you accuse another award-winning woman journalist of colour—or anybody, for that matter—of lying for attention (the kind of attention you routinely receive) and other personal gains, simply because you disagree with her perspective.

13/

In contrast, as a Chinese writer based in China and working in a second language, I face considerable barriers to being heard in the Western media

I’ve had to put in twice the effort to reach where I am today, at considerable personal costs

12/

You are in a powerful and privileged position, and hold an enormous advantage over me.

You have a huge number of followers.

You are a media darling whose perspective receives lots of attention.

You regularly publish op-eds in leading media outlets.

11/

I’ve received texts and emails from individuals requesting that I make my stance on this debate public

This info is irrelevant to my op-ed.

One doesn’t have to subscribe to lab-leak theories to be curious about why an increasing in number of people are drawn to them.

bsky.app/profile/jane...

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