Emily Costa, PhD

Screenshot of the first sentence of the "Editor's Summary" section of the paper, which reads: "Somewhat lacking in good looks, the naked mole rat gets attention because it is very long lived and highly resistant to cancer."

Though the editor's summary really didn't have to do them like that

A new banger in the "Why doesn't this random animal get cancer!?" genre of biological inquiry

Largest study of its kind shows AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time – regardless of language or territory An intensive international study was coordinated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and led by the BBC

Yet again, we can't afford to let LLMs become a source of epistemic grounding for society.

There seems to be a concerted, coordinated effort from the White House and various governmental agencies to join Bluesky en masse prior to the "No Kings" protest and flood the zone.

A reminder that the Trump admin is monitoring social media platforms to find excuses to revoke visas:

The Most Detailed Maps of H-1B Visa Holders Joining America's Top Research Institutions A new analysis by The Xylom shows for the first time just how much America’s top research institutions have grown to depend on the specialized knowledge of H-1B skilled workers — and how this…

EXCLUSIVE: A new analysis by The Xylom's @alexip718.com shows for the first time just how much America’s top research institutions have grown to depend on H-1B skilled workers — and how this delicate balance might be disrupted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s crackdown on legal immigration.

‘Sick to My Stomach’: Trump Distorts Facts on Autism, Tylenol, and Vaccines, Scientists Say - KFF Health News The White House’s autism announcement exaggerates links to Tylenol, misleads on vaccines, and sets back the field by ignoring decades of research, scientists say.

If you read one story about the autism announcement, make it @amymaxmen.bsky.social's.

One detail that others miss: "Fevers can harm the mother and the developing fetus, she said, adding that fevers are more strongly associated with autism than Tylenol." kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

There's a wrong way and a right way to report this

So many academics are on HB-1 visas. This is another attack by #RussellVought on universities and scientific research. Stop telling me anything this administration does is in good faith or with any sort of policy goal except destruction.

It's true, but also my favorite thing is talking to folks about what we know, what we don't, and why when it comes to cancer research so...hit a girl up! (P.S. one of the earliest targeted therapies ever is for the BCR-ABL1 fusion and we still study gene fusions as a way to target various cancers!)

But starting in the late 1980s, that investment in basic science began to pay off, driving a revolution in the molecular biology of cancer. Though it took decades, the cancer investment increase in the 1970s has led to a cornucopia of new cancer cures today. Immunotherapies, CAR-T cell treatments, checkpoint inhibitors, and precision drug targeting are all a product of that basic science work. And that progress has contributed to increased quality of life. Between 1991 and 2019, the risk of dying of cancer dropped by 31%. This is a common story for basic scientific research: it's a long-term investment, one that only governments have the time horizon to make, and it brings enormous payoffs. The payoffs are both economic, generating jobs, and in better health, generating cures. And the US scientific research system is complex, painstakingly constructed, and easy to

The VC model is the antithesis of good basic science.

Basic science is best when many labs are funded over the long-term, when many different scientists pursue their own ideas. Let a thousand flowers bloom —and support them.

VC investment is about relentless, exponential growth.

What to Do When You See ICE in Your Neighborhood How can you deter the Trump administration's immigrant deportation machine when it pops up in your community? Follow these steps.

Some important information for folks who want to help protect migrants and asylum seekers.

theintercept.com/2025/07/12/i...

This is not the time to step back from diversity, equity, and inclusion Recently, I exchanged views with a prominent Ivy League scientist who was complaining about the minority students and junior faculty applying to his program. He claimed that the university, through diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, was ...

This is not the time to step back from diversity, equity, and inclusion | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

World Central Kitchen | WCK Resumes Limited Hot Meal Service in Gaza After 5-Day Pause After a five day pause, limited cooking operations resumed today at World Central Kitchen's Deir al-Balah Field Kitchen in Gaza.  This marks the second time in 2025 our hot meal program has been force...

After a five-day halt due to a lack of supplies, our team at WCK’s Deir al-Balah Field Kitchen has resumed limited hot meal service in Gaza. #ChefsForGaza (1/3)

“a court order can’t reinstate months of lost treatment for a cancer patient… It’s hard to put a price on the value of research that might be years away from a new drug or treatment...It’s even harder for those who have been kicked out of clinical trials…where the stakes are clearly life or death”

Expired: patient-centeredness is efficient
Tired: patient-centeredness improves quality
Wired: patient-centeredness fights fascism

DCCC 2026 DISTRICTS IN PLAY NICK BEGICH AK-AL DAVID SCHWEIKERT AZ-OI ELI CRANE AZ-02 JUAN CISCOMANI AZ-06 DAVID VALADAO CA-22 YOUNG KIM CA-40 KEN CALVERT CA-41 GABE EVANS CO-08 CORY MILLS FL-07 ANNA PAULINA LUNA FL-13 MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR FL-27 MARIANNETTE MILLER-MEEKS IA-OI ASHLEY HINSON IA-02 ZACH NUNN 1A-03 ANDY BARR KY-06 BILL HUIZENGA MI-04 TOM BARRETT MI-07 MIKE LAWLER NY-17 MAX MILLER OH-07 MIKE TURNER OH-10 OPEN SEAT MI-IO MIKE CAREY 0H-15 ANN WAGNER MO-02 DON BACON NE-02 TOM KEAN JR. NJ-07 BRIAN FITZPATRICK PA-OI RYAN MACKENZIE PA-07 ROB BRESNAHAN PA-08 SCOTT PERRY PA-10 ANDY OGLES TN-05 MONICA DE LA CRUZ TX-15 ROB WITTMAN VA-O1 JEN KIGGANS VA-02 BRYAN STEIL WI-OI DERRICK VAN ORDEN WI-03

IF YOU ARE IN ONE OF THESE DISTRICTS PLEASE MAKE A CALL RIGHT NOW

DOES NOT MATTER IF YOUR VOICE SHAKES

CALL AND SAY YOU OPPOSE BBB

Scripts here: 5calls.org

“It’s a weird time. I’ve still got to get to work on time, pay my bills, manage chronic illness, all that stuff, while the world in general seems to be falling apart. It can be a challenge to juggle those two things while making sure one of them doesn't completely destroy my mental health. It’s just an odd thing to be like: ‘Oh, all of these atrocities are being committed in Gaza with my tax dollars, but what am I going to eat for dinner?’ Or: ‘Trump just dismantled another check on his power. We’re slowly sliding into fascism, nobody’s stopping him-- but what concert should we go to this weekend?’ The strangest part about the whole thing is that we’ve never been so connected. I could understand if this was eighty years ago; news travelled slowly. But now, in an instant, you get these facts, photos, videos. Verified by credible news, verified by aid organizations—and nobody cares. Well, a lot of people care. But the people who can actually fix things: they don’t care. Instead of standing up for the voiceless, they’d rather lay low, cling to their money or status. It’s hard to be a person who cares right now. Sometimes you just want to melt into your bed or couch and be with your feelings. But I won’t say that I feel hopeless. I’d never say that, because that’s what they want—those people who only care about winning, who don’t care about collateral damage. They want people to feel powerless. And I’m not going to give them that luxury. There are still reasons to be hopeful. Zohran just won the primary. And that’s a sign of change, in New York City at least. Even the people who don’t agree with his politics have to admit: his campaign was built on community. It wasn’t funded by billionaires. This was a campaign of fifty thousand people who volunteered, and canvassed, and made calls. Last week a lot of people who had been feeling powerless realized that they still have some power in this country. Let’s just hope a lot more people are learning from that.”

This was posted this morning by Humans of New York and I think this captures exactly what we are all experiencing right now

At a recent hearing, Sen. Hassan asked Bhattacharya whether he'd follow the president's directives even if it meant breaking the law.

Bhattacharya said, “I don't believe the president will ever ask me to break the law."

Here, NIH is defying a court order — which ruled the agency broke the law

We can have nice things Zohran Mamdani proved you can fully embrace progressive values—and win.

“It takes a lot to pull one over on New Yorkers, and when we looked around, the city described in Cuomo attack ads simply did not exist. We recognize that the city’s problems come mostly from the people above, and not the ones sitting next to us on the subway.”

A Muslim son of immigrants might become mayor of NYC in part because he cross endorsed and supported a Jewish candidate and Black candidate, and vice versa.

It's a beautiful American story for the rest of us. A nightmare for all the right people ;)

It's so New York.

$25 million in superpac money going to cuomo

43.5% of vote for zohran, 36.3% of vote for cuomo lol

just wanna put these two images next to each other for posterity's sake

To treat Zohran Mamdani as the kind of “dangerous” force that requires pulling out every dirty trick, agèd reprobate, and millions of dollars while handling Trump’s constitutional demolition derby with kid gloves is simply unforgivable.

Having spent a good chunk of yesterday participating in a crowdsourced effort to count these...this is wrong. I found many more local news outlets reporting on their town's protest just by Googling than those listed here. Phoning it in, NYT?

Polling data from Harris & Associates 1966. Q: Do you approve of what Freedom Riders are Doing? 22% approve 61%disapprove18%no opinion.

I just like to post these data from time to time to puncture the mythological aura of mid 20th c protests. They were less popular than pretty much any 21st c mass action & people criticizing them used the same lines. Protest is about people coming together, shaping narratives, & building power.

No Kings Day protests unofficial attendance crowdsourcing

Folks, @gelliottmorris.com and colleagues, including myself, have documented over a quarter million protesters across the nation, with many more cities and towns to verify.

This is officially a top-25 protest event in American history:

docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

If you're heading to a protest tomorrow, it's important to know your rights. Consult this information from the ACLU.

Be peaceful. Be safe. Be careful. Be strong.

Last chance to weigh in on Trump's plan to politicize the civil service Trump has already shown us how he would use Schedule F powers

Today is the last day to comment on schedule F, Russ Vought's plan to politicize the civil service, by making many positions political appointments. Please take the time to comment today. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/last-day-t...

One attorney, Lizbeth Mateo, said ICE officials slated several of her clients for check-ins at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in downtown L.A. but when they showed up on Tuesday, they were detained and immediately escorted to the basement. Mateo said a couple and their two children, one of whom is a U.S. citizen, spent the night in a room with no beds and limited access to food and water. Mateo said the father had previously been issued a stay of removal, barring him from deportation but he and his family were detained anyway. His wife was released Wednesday evening along with their children since she needed medical attention due to a high-risk pregnancy. He was still being detained early Friday, Mateo said.

🚨NEW: @cbsnews.com reports ICE is arresting people who can't even legally be deported and holding them without enough food or water in a federal building BASEMENT in Los Angeles.

Families dutifully attending check-ins with ICE are being arrested and held for days, forced to sleep on the floor.

3 recently bathed fluffy black and white kittens meme. they all look variably alarmed and confused. original caption was: "Something happened," which i think says it all

academics logging on to bluesky together on a friday afternoon

💫 Please share these resources widely - they are designed to track what we know and make sense of things in a well-sourced and fact-checked way. The page on medical research in particular covers a lot of ground and will be updated regularly. 🧪