Some of you have forgotten that only three years ago you were perfectly capable of writing a text, writing an email, telling a bedtime story to a child, and it should worry you that powerful companies have convinced us we can’t do things we’ve been doing since the dawn of time.
We are excited to invite abstract submissions for talks and posters for the 2026 Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases meeting at Virginia Tech (June 2-4). Abstract submissions should be made by February 3, 2026 for consideration, using the google form here: cpe.vt.edu/eeid2026/abs...
Hand drawn panels of a scientific poster
Professionally printed poster
How the poster session started vs how it finished 🤣 #Epidemics10
GA is a solid purple state with lots of places for democratic gains, but I’d be wary to extrapolate the PSC results to any future races here.
Some great nationwide results last night and obviously I’m happy about the PSC race in GA but I’m worried people not from here are making too much of it. GA would have voted for a potted plant over the incumbents given how much our electricity has gone up the past few years.
Bright red, blue, green, and grey color smears in vary proportions across a figure . No context given for the data/result
I love my retro-Patagonia color scheme so much for this figure but can never use it for publication so please all admire how cute it is ☺️
"This AI does literature search for me, and finds new experiments! But, then go and check just in case! But it's good! It saves me so much time!"
Seriously some of you should listen to yourselves 🧪
I found In the Shadow of Man in the library + read it when I was 8. Through it I fell in love with primatology and the natural world. Jane Goodall has always been an inspiration to me to follow my scientific passions and make the world a better place. Her memory will continue to be a blessing to me
This is really cool and brings some good data to things that we often just hand wave about!
NEW WRITING:
"What will you stay curious about, even when authoritarians try to shape your reality by telling you not to think, not to read, not to ask questions, not to dare consider the possibility that there’s more to life than this?" 🧪
‘Let me tell you who “CDC staff” actually are’: they are scientists and public servants. They are my neighbors and my friends.
My daughter went to this daycare her first 18 months of life. My husband stops at that cvs frequently on his way home from work. I held both my girls and cried last night, like I have every time a mass shooting felt just a bit too close to becoming part of our story. We have to make this stop.
All the NPR news reporters this morning just sound so tired. I can’t blame them 😞
The dismantling of the science-driven #ACIP continues, with members of professional groups (pediatricians, family docs, obgyns, etc) that have liaison status on the panel that shapes #CDC's vaccination policy told they are biased, can't serve on ACIP work groups. www.statnews.com/2025/08/01/c...
Got a $7.44 prepaid mastercard for the equifaxx data breach…whatever shall I do with this windfall 😒
Important story: "If you are a Principal Investigator with a well-scored grant, just waiting for council review, and you think you are sure to receive an award, you should think again." NIH paylines for FY25 are about to fall dramatically unless there is immediate pushback against this policy.
Vaccination schedules on the CDC website have already started changing under RFK Jr. So we published a guide to the evidence-based vaccine recommendations in place *before* all 17 members of the advisory panel were abruptly dismissed by the new admin. www.scientificamerican.com/article/see-... 🧪
😭
Well, submitted my ACIP comment FWIW. Feels like shouting into the wind but it is my moral duty to shout 🗣️
RFK Jr.‘s extreme anti-vax views — and his related conflicts of interest — were a huge problem during his confirmation process.
So he promised not to change the vaccine advisory panel.
Today, he fired every single expert on that panel. It's a public health disaster.
UPDATE: David Huerta was just released from custody!
The AAUP calls for the immediate release of David Huerta & the immediate cessation of these violent & reckless ICE raids that are terrorizing hard-working families from coast to coast.
An injury to one is an injury to all. #FreeDavidEndRaids
www.aaup.org/media-releas...
Seeing some reactions to this calling it a strongly worded letter.
While true in a literal sense that this is a letter, it’s unprecedented—and an escalation of a growing trend of unrest inside NIH.
This took bravery. Each of the signers put their career on the line.
We should acknowledge that.
Four members of the ACIP, which advises the CDC on vaccination policy, have had their status as special government employees terminated
www.statnews.com/2025/06/08/c...
Let’s be clear: ICE injured and detained the president of SEIU California for peacefully observing.
ICE picked the wrong side. The wrong state. The wrong person. and the wrong union. David Huerta stood up. And now 750,000 SEIU workers are standing up behind him.
seiuca.org/press-releas...
Every one of us should be demanding our institutions answer: when does it stop? What if we are told to stop providing financial aid to LGBTQIA+ students? To revoke tenure from Black faculty? To fire trans faculty? We know from history that compliance doesn't save what authoritarians want to destroy.
Get the word out far and wide. New opportunity from the Simons Foundation in the Eco-Evo space.
2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026.
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
I know my time will come when I get some shithead reviewer #2, but so far on every paper I’ve authored I’ve ended up astounded at how thoughtful/constructive the comments from reviewers were…even if it meant I had to do more work 😅. Keeps my faith in the scientific process alive
When Americans raised concerns about RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine views, he said he was "not gonna take away vaccines from anybody."
But now he's taking them away from millions of mommas and babies.
Vaccine recommendations should be based on science, not RFK Jr.'s political agenda.
