judithmwhite.bsky.social

Opinion | No One Has Ever Defeated Autocracy From the Sidelines

„Americans are living under a new regime. The question now is whether we will allow it to take root.
So far, American society’s response to this authoritarian offensive has been underwhelming — alarmingly so.“

Written by political scientists who study how democracies come to an end

I’m 46 but I had my shingrix shot because I’m worried about what RFK jr is going to do with vaccines. Shingles is a preventable illness like measles. We are so lucky to have these vaccines! I for one will not forgo them because the guy who runs government health services has a 🐛 in his 🧠

Scientists question NIH project’s use of 20th century technology to make a universal flu vaccine $500 million NIH program to make vaccines against pathogens that can trigger pandemics uses approach pioneered in last century

People who design & study vaccines are wondering why the #NIH is sinking half a billion dollars into trying to develop a platform for universal flu & covid vaccines using a decades-old production approach. “There is incredible work going on. This is not it." www.statnews.com/2025/05/03/n...

My department (Biology) at Duke University is seeking applicants for the position of Instructor B for the Microbiology (212L) lab sections. This course introduces major concepts in biology through the lens of microbiology!

Share it with your network!

academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/29941

Trump's moves are already imposing immense costs on the United States and on the world via lost scientific progress on preventing Alzheimer's, curing cancer, etc.

Associate/ Full Professor of Virology in Molecular Biology & Biochemistry University of California, Irvine is hiring. Apply now!

Our department is looking to hire an Associate/Full Professor in the field of Virology. Please share and apply if you are intersted. Also happy to answer any questions
recruit.ap.uci.edu/JPF09552

One of the may ways the Republic is collapsing is an abandonment of the fundamental deal: instead of hitting each other with sticks, we’ll decide things by voting. It’s imperfect and often sucks but it used to be better than the sticks.

But it depends on a set of norms.

/1

this is insane. you can go and talk to the voters who had their votes thrown out. they're all real people who were fully eligible to vote. there's no mystery here.

Can’t say enough good things about @systemsvirology.bsky.social Great scientist, great mentor, great collaborator, world class guy all around. I’d take him up on this offer to find better ways👇🏻

RFK Jr. forces out Peter Marks, FDA’s top vaccine scientist Marks, an architect of Operation Warp Speed, warned that a recent measles outbreak shows how confidence in science and public health is being “undermined.”

Breaking: RFK Jr. has forced out PETER MARKS, the nation’s top vaccine regulator.

In his resignation letter, obtained by the Post, Marks said he was willing to work with RFK Jr on his vaccine concerns — but said Kennedy wishes “subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”

A reporter whom I had been talking with stopped communicating with me. I wanted to share some information about the antiviral drug development program being terminated because "the pandemic is over".

He finally responded. He had been out of action for almost two weeks...with COVID.

The stuff you actually agree with RFK Jr about probably starts and ends with "diet and exercise are good," which, I dunno, I don't think he deserves any special credit for that one.

Curation Bubbles, Verification, and the Splintering of Ideology - The Answer Is Transaction Costs What happens when we no longer consume scarce information through trusted, verified institutions, but instead through an abundance of unbundled content without context or curation? John Green, rising ...

Must-listen w political scientist @jongreen.bsky.social

Politically interested audiences seek messengers who validate their preferences, creating content bubbles in which trusted messengers "verify" news for audiences who want to feel their worldview is right

taitc.buzzsprout.com/2186249/epis...

While many of my American colleagues had their grants to make vaccines and antiviral drugs terminated yesterday, RFK Jr instead put those taxpayer funds toward hiring an anti-vaxxer to run a pointless study investigating the non-existent link between vaccines and autism.

From 2010 to 2016 (latest data I have ), NIH research contributed to EVERY drug approved by the FDA

Awful. Monstrous.

NIH Grants Fueled $95 Billion In FY 2024 Economic Activity, Finds New Report National Institutes of Health grants generated almost $95 billion in economic activity nationwide in FY 2024 according to a new report by United for Medical Research.

NIH is the best investment there is.

www.forbes.com/sites/michae...

This is seriously FUCKED UP. Are they saying that integrated spaces are inherently DEI? That’s shameful and ridiculous.

A journalist looking for someone who will back their claim will always find one, but they won't necessarily be representative (cf. climate change...).

Surveys shows that a majority of experts favor a natural origin of the COVID-19 pandemic.

gcrinstitute.org/covid-origin/

Photo from the Economist with quote “Public health is the mom of science - She does everything and no one noticea until she stops doing it”

This 😭
via @economist.com

White House pulls nomination of Dave Weldon as CDC director hours before hearing The White House has pulled the nomination of Dave Weldon as CDC director hours before heh was set to appear for his confirmation hearing.

Wowoowowowowowwowowwowowo @defendpublichealth.bsky.social THIS IS A WIN FOR PUBLIC HEALTH!!!!!

Another great job at my favorite university: UNC-Chapel, as new Director of the UNC Macromolecular Interactions Facility. Our outstanding Director is retiring. The Director is responsible for 1) core facility management, 2) training, & 3) graduate teaching 1/n
unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/297...

NIH Grants Fueled $95 Billion In FY 2024 Economic Activity, Finds New Report National Institutes of Health grants generated almost $95 billion in economic activity nationwide in FY 2024 according to a new report by United for Medical Research.

New report shows that NIH grants fueled $95 billion in economic activity and 407,782 jobs in 2024.

That's not to mention the countless lives that biomedical research has saved.

Show me a better investment than that.
www.forbes.com/sites/michae...

I think this is basically Vance's argument? "just vote yes to get the formality out of the way and let us figure out what will actually be spent" bsky.app/profile/jong...

I have confirmation from several sources now that all T32s, many F30s and F31s, and most or all Center awards (P30, P50) have been terminated at Columbia.

This is quite damaging to research and to individuals.

This is pure terrorism and cannot be legal. But litigation will take time...

Comparison of Research Spending on New Drug Approvals by the NIH vs the Pharmaceutical Industry This cross-sectional study examines National Institutes of Health and pharmaceutical industry investments in recent drug approvals.

99% of new medicines developed by the pharmaceutical industry depend on NIH research jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

I work in amazing place: UNC-Chapel Hill Biology. Our faculty of ~50 includes folks engaged in both basic science & pedagogical research. We have an opening for a new Teaching Assistant or Associate Professor to join us in July 2025-happy to answer questions RT
unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/297...

The Science of Your Social Media Sources - In the APSA Public Scholarship Program, graduate students in political science produce summaries of new research in the American Political Science Review. This piece, written by Sienna Nordquist, covers the new article by Jon Green, [...]

Nice summary of our recent paper in @apsrjournal.bsky.social on "curation bubbles" in Political Science Now politicalsciencenow.com/the-science-...

@jongreen.bsky.social @shugars.bsky.social @sdmccabe.com

USDA eliminates two food safety advisory committees The U.S. Department of Agriculture has eliminated two committees that advise it on food safety, the agency said on Friday, raising concerns about government oversight of the food supply as the Trump administration seeks to downsize the federal bureaucracy and slash costs.

USDA has eliminated two food safety advisory committees for microbiological contamination and meat inspection. Most recently, they had been reviewing regulatory approaches in response to the fatal Listeria outbreak from Boar’s Head meats and fatal Cronobacter contamination in powdered infant formula

So even though SUDV is unlikely to cause a pandemic, it can still kill a lot of people in Uganda. We shouldn’t only care about viruses that threaten North America & Europe. We have SUDV vaccines that work well in NHPs & will likely work in people too. Nobody should die from EVD.