Emily Carter

It is 🤗

No DNA work has been reported yet—no ancient DNA extractions from Hualongdong remains, so we’re still waiting to know if there’s genetic data coming down the pipeline

So far, this looks like a collaboration between the Chinese Academy of Sciences team (led by Xiujie Wu, Liu Wu) and Spain’s CENIEH group (María Martinón‑Torres, José María Bermúdez de Castro)

❤️

yeah… i’ve been thinking the same. there’s so much rage and hopelessness, and stopping the flow of money might be the one language they still hear. just wish it didn’t have to hurt the rest of us too.

I appreciate the support 🙏

Made 3 threads today — took a good chunk of time to put together and (try my best to) make sense of everything. Not sure how long I can keep this up, but I’m enjoying the process so far!

Malaria vaccine progress ≠ same funding or tech that’s being cut.
But this funding decision indeed might reduce overall vaccine innovation momentum.
Thanks for sharing

Yeah, it’s a big step forward. Now it’s really about making sure it gets to the right places — and that’s not always easy. Hopefully something can get organized soon to make it happen.

🧵 6/6
This is science with purpose — combining cryo‑microscopy with mRNA tech to target a global crisis. We’re looking at humanity’s strength in labs, tools, and breakthrough thinking. Brilliant. #ScienceForGood #MalariaVaccine

🧵 5/6
Think global impact: Malaria kills over 600,000 people each year. A vaccine that stops transmission could break the chain—saving lives and economies. That’s pure hope in progress. 🌍❤️

🧵 4/6
Vaccines often focus on battling disease after infection. This one stops malaria before it’s transmitted — a smart preemptive strike. Game. Changer. Vaccines 2.0. 💥

🧵 3/6
These cryo‑EM images act like a molecular high-resolution map, pinpointing how the parasite fertilizes itself. Visuals guiding victory — science at its sharpest. 🧬🔬

🧵 2/6
Imagine stopping malaria not in humans, but in the mozzie before it ever infects us. That’s smart science in action — striking where the disease is weakest. 🦟❌

New malaria vaccine targets parasite's fertilization complex to block transmission WEHI researchers have visualized a key protein complex in malaria parasites for the first time, uncovering a new target for next-generation vaccines that could help stop the disease from spreading.

🧵 1/6
Hope on the horizon — researchers for the first time visualized a key protein complex in malaria parasites, unveiling a new mRNA vaccine that blocks transmission by up to 99.7% in mosquitoes 🦟 This could be a game-changer.

Well there’s a whole thread I wrote about this 🫣 maybe, read further? 👋

Bonus post

🧵 11/11
✅ What you can do:

🔋 Use less energy
📣 Support climate-focused policies
💸 Donate to reef conservation
🗣️ Talk about it.

The reef 🪸 doesn’t have a voice— but you do.

🧵 10/11
💔 We’re watching a wonder of the world disappear.

But it’s not too late.

Every bit of action matters:
🌱 Cut emissions
🐚 Protect marine life
🌊 Slow down ocean heating

We still have choices.

🧵 9/11
🚨 This is about more than coral 🪸
The reef is a canary in the coal mine.
If the largest reef system can’t survive rising temps, what can?
The climate crisis is moving faster than ecosystems can adapt.

🧵 8/11
🔥 Bleaching used to be rare.
Now it’s almost routine.
This was the 5th mass bleaching since 2016.
Corals aren’t getting time to recover. We’re watching them collapse.

🧵 7/11
A healthy reef = vibrant, noisy, colorful.
A bleached reef = ghost town
No fish 🐠 , no movement, no future.
Many reefs 🪸 never bounce back. And now it’s happening every few years.

🧵 6/11
🛠️ Didn’t the reef recover recently?
Yes, between 2020–2023 there was a rebound.
But this “recovery” was short-lived.
Scientists warn that the reef can’t survive this boom-and-bust pattern much longer.

🧵 5/11
🌊 The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on Earth.

Yes—living.

It’s visible from space.

But right now, huge areas are turning pale, silent, and lifeless.

🧵 4/11
🐠 Why should YOU care?

Coral reefs:
🌍 Protect coastlines from storms
🐟 Feed over a billion people
💊 Contain compounds for future medicine

They’re not just pretty scenery—they’re essential.

🧵 3/11
🌡️ The main culprit? Marine heatwaves from climate change.
Corals bleach when the ocean gets too hot.
Bleached coral = sick coral.
If stress continues, they die—and so does everything that depends on them.

Australia's Great Barrier Reef suffers record coral decline following mass bleaching The Great Barrier Reef is not currently on UNESCO's list of world heritage sites that are in danger, though the UN recommends it should be added.

🧵 2/11
📉 Coral cover dropped 25–30% in the northern and southern reef.
That’s the biggest single-year loss since tracking began in the 1980s.

Great Barrier Reef suffers biggest annual drop in live coral since 1980s after devastating coral bleaching Researchers warn reef may reach tipping point where coral cannot recover fast enough between major catastrophic events

🧵 1/11
😢 Australia’s Great Barrier Reef just suffered its largest coral loss in 39 years. Scientists are calling it “devastating.”
Bleaching wiped out huge swaths of coral in 2024.

🦷 From a few teeth, a thousand questions emerge.
Who were these people?
Where did they go?
And how many more forgotten branches are waiting to be found?
🧵 15/15

For now, the Hualongdong fossils remain a mystery.
But one thing’s certain: human evolution is far messier — and more fascinating — than we ever imagined.
🧵 14/15