The Feminist Scientist

A collage of 14 inspirational women in science from various eras and backgrounds, including Marie Curie, Jane Goodall, and Katherine Johnson. The center text reads "Honoring Inspirational Women in Science" and "International Women’s Day 2026."

Today, I have been reflecting on the incredible women who have transformed their fields despite systemic barriers. Their dedication and grit paved the way for the next generation of women scientists. Let’s come together to honor their accomplishments and commit to a more inclusive future.🧪👩‍🔬
#IWD2026

The BRCA 'Breakome': A Molecular Blueprint for Breast Cancer Risk Scientists can now look for signature DNA damage before cancer even begins.

Researchers have published the BRCA breakome—a map of double-strand breaks in DNA that occur long before breast cancer is detected. Strikingly, healthy-looking cells in BRCA carriers were more molecularly similar to cancer cells than to healthy controls. 🧪
doi.org/10.1038/s414...
My full breakdown—

Mizzou researcher applies novel delivery method to treat ALS symptoms A researcher at the University of Missouri has made a promising breakthrough in the quest to help people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the neurodegenerative disorder commonly known as Lou ...

Scientists have developed Talineuren (TLN), a liposomal formulation of GM1 ganglioside that can cross the blood-brain barrier. In ALS mouse models, this nanoparticle delivery preserved mitochondrial function and synaptic integrity, significantly improving motor symptoms. 👩‍🔬🧪
doi.org/10.1002/advs...

A reminder that it’s never too late to really start living. 💛

America needs independent journalists.

Independent journalists make our democracy great. The arrests of Georgia Fort and Don Lemon are an egregious attack on the First Amendment. The Trump administration knows—independent voices can’t be bought or managed like corporate media.

Keep writing. Keep filming. Keep standing up.

Alert: Former CNN anchor Don Lemon taken into custody.

Official NASA portrait of astronaut Christina Koch, poised and resolute in her pristine white Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit, embodying the spirit of exploration beyond Earth. She stands tall with the American flag and NASA insignia banners framing her against a cosmic blue gradient backdrop, one gloved hand cradling her gleaming helmet—its reflective visor capturing a subtle glow—as if ready to step into the void once more. Her calm, determined gaze meets the viewer directly, framed by shoulder-length brown hair and a composed expression that speaks of quiet strength. Koch is renowned for her groundbreaking 328-day continuous mission aboard the International Space Station from 2019 to 2020, setting the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman at the time, while participating in historic firsts including the all-female spacewalk with Jessica Meir and advancing vital research on long-duration human spaceflight for future journeys to the Moon and Mars.

Engineer & astronaut Christina Koch was born #OTD in 1979

+ December 28, 2019: she broke the record for longest continuous time in space by a woman, ultimately returning from space on Feb. 6, 2020, after 328 days.
+ October 18, 2019: Participant, all-female spacewalk

#WomenInSTEM #AstronautEnvy 🚀

Color photograph of Joan Steitz (Joan Argetsinger Steitz), the distinguished American molecular biologist and biochemist renowned for her groundbreaking discoveries in RNA biology, including the identification of small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) essential to RNA splicing. She is pictured in a close-up portrait within a laboratory or research setting, smiling warmly and directly at the camera with an engaging, approachable expression that conveys enthusiasm and expertise. Steitz has gray hair pulled back, striking blue eyes, and is wearing large, elaborate dangling earrings adorned with purple gemstones and metallic accents. She is dressed in a rich purple blouse. The softly blurred background includes scientific elements such as lab benches, equipment, monitors, charts, and partial signage, evoking the environment of her long career at Yale University where she served as Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. #JoanSteitz #MolecularBiology #WomenInScience #Biochemistry #RNA

Biochemist/molecular biologist Joan Steitz was born #OTD in 1941.

She (& team) figured out how our cells read/use genetic instructions to make proteins. A key person who helped crack the code on RNA—the molecule that acts like a messenger between DNA & and the proteins our bodies need. #WomenInSTEM

Four small things you can do—even if you’re feeling overwhelmed by it all There is power in every action, no matter how small.

#ICEout

A formal, black-and-white portrait photograph of Marjory Stephenson, a British biochemist and one of the first two female Fellows of the Royal Society, taken in April 1945. The image shows Stephenson seated and turned slightly to the viewer's left, looking directly at the camera. She wears dark, round-rimmed glasses, a black dress, and a strand of pearls. Her hair is styled back off her face. The portrait uses soft lighting and a blurred background, common to the photographic style of the time. The photo was taken by Walter Stoneman for the National Portrait Gallery.

Marjory Stephenson was born #OTD in 1885

+ Helped establish modern microbial biochemistry
+ Wrote foundational textbook 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 (1930), shaping the discipline for decades
+ Co-founded, Society for General Microbiology
+ 1 of the first 2 women Fellows, Royal Society, 1945

#WomenInSTEM

Stephanie Tanner with messy hair.

Me after a long week in the lab when someone asks me to put together a slide deck for Monday. 🤦‍♀️🧫🥼🧬

Blue graphic with photo of Katie Paul Friedman, and text that reads "2026 Society of Toxicology Achievement Award recipient).

🏆 We're pleased to share Katie Paul Friedman, Ph.D., has been awarded the 2026 @sotoxicology.bsky.social Achievement Award. Katie is the Director of the Center for Chemical Informatics and Screening UL Research Institutes' Chemical Insights and will be recognized at the #ToxExpo in March. 🧪

Can ‘toxic masculinity’ be measured? Scientists try to quantify controversial term A study has outlined eight indicators of toxic masculinity in heterosexual men — and finds that ‘manliness’ is not necessarily a problematic aspect of masculinity.

Great @nature.com story from @nicolakimjones.bsky.social 🧪

"How central 'being a man' was to someone’s sense of self wasn’t particularly predictive of which group they landed in. "'Manly' men are not necessarily toxic," says Hill Cone. "There is positive masculinity."
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

The difference could not be attributed to specific factors such as publication length, readability, or number of authors.

Biomedical and life science articles by female researchers spend longer under review Women are underrepresented in academia, especially in STEMM fields, at top institutions, and in senior positions. This study analyzes millions of biomedical and life science articles, revealing that f...

A new meta-research study examined the time spent in review for millions of biomedical and life science articles indexed in PubMed. The conclusion is clear, female-authored articles spend longer under review compared to male-authored articles. 🧪

Dr. Gladys West, Mathematician Whose Work Made GPS Possible, Dies at 95 ALEXANDRIA, VA — Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She passed away

Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She was 95.

Tylenol use during pregnancy not linked to autism, new study says Acetaminophen use during pregnancy is not likely to raise the risk of having a child with autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability, according to a new study published Friday.

Not surprising news flash:

A new review/meta-analysis out of Europe that included a total of 60 studies show that there is no link between Tylenol use during pregnancy & autism. This supports a previous Swedish study of 2.5 million births.

Another debunk of Kennedy et al.

🧪 archive.today/dShVN

The FBI Tried to Blackmail MLK Into Committing Suicide. Every Year, They Pretend Like Nothing Happened. While politicians who gut voting rights quote King every January, the institution that hunted him has never faced a public reckoning for its campaign of psychological terror.

The FBI Tried to Blackmail MLK Into Committing Suicide. Every Year, They Pretend Like Nothing Happened. • While politicians who gut voting rights quote King every January, the institution that hunted him has never faced a public reckoning for its campaign of psychological terror.

Exhausting.

Happy birthday to Katalin Karikó! She won the 2021 #LaskerAward for modified mRNA technology, enabling rapid development of highly effective #COVID19 vaccines. 🧪
#RNAbiology #WomenInSTEM
Read: https://ow.ly/IVHY50XYOfG
Watch: https://ow.ly/6TVG50XYOfI

Not yet! I’ll wait until morning (central time) to post the answer. Let’s see if anyone can figure it out! 🕵️

I just posted a clue in the comments! 😊

Okay here’s a clue! It’s a picture of vessels that we use in the laboratory to determine the number of cells in a culture. They look odd because they have been melted…in the autoclave! Someone tried to sterilize them but they aren’t heat resistant 😅

Apparently 2016 is trending 👀 Here’s a few from my camera roll. 💚 Can anyone’s guess what the bottom right image is? Hint: it’s a lab fail 🤣🧪

The Feminist Science Fix: 2025 Year in Review Another year has come and gone. Let’s reflect on some of the most impactful stories of 2025 from the world of women’s health research.

In 2025, women’s health research finally became ‘mainstream’, securing funding and regulatory successes while weathering the attack on US science.🧪🧬💚

Controversial CDC hep B vaccine study in Guinea-Bissau may be canceled

This is a step in the right direction.
News of this unethical study elicited outrage from scientists.

Guinea-Bissau has one of the highest burdens of hepatitis B in the world. 90% of babies exposed at birth develop chronic infection.
🧪 www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...

Medical examiner believes death of man in ICE custody was homicide, recording says A fellow detainee says he witnessed Geraldo Lunas Campos being choked to death by guards at the ICE detention center in Texas on Jan. 3.

"He said he saw guards choking Lunas Campos and heard Lunas Campos repeatedly saying, 'No puedo respirar' — Spanish for 'I can’t breathe'..."

www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

Claudette Colvin was More Than Just the Precursor to Rosa Parks. She was a plaintiff in the lawsuit that actually ended bus segregation—but civil rights leaders decided a dark-skinned, pregnant teenager wasn't "respectable" enough to be remembered.

Claudette Colvin was More Than Just the Precursor to Rosa Parks. • She was a plaintiff in the lawsuit that actually ended bus segregation—but civil rights leaders decided a dark-skinned, pregnant teenager wasn't "respectable" enough to be remembered.

At a press conference announcing the impeachment of Kristi Noem, Rep. Nydia Velázquez drew the line: Americans want fairness — not brutality, especially toward women and children. We’re watching.