iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Ben Pierce

c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

In 1519, the year Spaniards arrived in Mexico, the population there was between 15 - 30 million. By 1600, that dwindled to 2 million. For lots of reasons, but as much as 70% of those deaths were the result of an UNKNOWN hemorrhagic fever. Let's talk about the mystery of the COCOLIZTLI epidemics.

it's a population graph (filled area type) where year is the x axis and population in millions is the Y axis. It shows a steep decline from 1520 to 1545m and by 1576, the population has bottomed out.

"Collapse of population in Mexico during the 16th century, attributed in part to repeated cocoliztli epidemics"
"Figure 1. The 16th-century population collapse in Mexico, based on estimates of Cook and Simpson (1). The 1545 and 1576 cocoliztli epidemics appear to have been hemorrhagic fevers caused by an indigenous viral agent and aggravated by unusual climatic conditions. The Mexican population did not recover to pre-Hispanic levels until the 20th century."

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Zach Hensel @zachhensel.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

🧵Remember the preprint claiming SARS-CoV-2 has a "synthetic fingerprint"? It said a restriction map was "extremely unlikely to have arisen by random evolution.” I took its claims seriously. The "synthetic fingerprint" hypothesis collapses. My new preprint explains why. arxiv.org/abs/2510.23833

22-Oct 2022 headline from The Economist
A new paper claims SARS-CoV-2 bears signs of genetic engineering
But it has yet to be peer reviewed. And others strongly disagree

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Kosuke Takada @kosuke-takada.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

We’ve identified a highly divergent betacoronavirus from South American bat that encodes a functional furin cleavage site. Another fascinating reminder of how diverse coronavirus evolution is in wildlife reservoirs. #Virology #VirusEvolution #Bats #Coronavirus www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

biorxiv.org

A divergent betacoronavirus with a functional furin cleavage site in South American bats

Bats are natural reservoirs for a wide range of RNA viruses. Members of the genus Betacoronavirus, including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome...

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Ben Pierce @benfpiercephd.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Good science needs time. Finally, a functional furin cleavage site found in the S1/S2 junction of a bat coronavirus. 🧪 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

biorxiv.org

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Ben Pierce @benfpiercephd.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

Women in the US are now being forced to have babies and carry in the most painful way possible. The #autism announcement yesterday was not based at all on science. The correlations found in that 1 study are not sound: the follow up times were unbalanced, leading to bias and misleading associations.

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Peter Lewis @peterlewis55.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

Occultation! Venus is about to disappear behind the 5% lit Moon! #astronomy #astrophotography #Occultation #Moon #Venus @stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social 1/2

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Ben Pierce @benfpiercephd.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

My favorite thing: one of the CDC's COVID-19 risk factors is vaccination status, so one has an increased risk when discussing the COVID-19 vaccine prior to being vaccinated. So meta! And so meaningless from the ACIP. This #ACIP is not helping Americans.

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Ben Pierce @benfpiercephd.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

Listening to the ACIP meeting in the background.... When voting, there were several comments about postponing the Hep B vote until a future meeting, but the motion was actually that the Hep B vote be postponed indefinitely.

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Ben Pierce @benfpiercephd.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

Excellent news and hard work pays off - one of our studies, "Health outcomes of women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in North West London: a 10-year longitudinal study" accepted in BMJ Public Health 🥳🎉

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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

#Birdflu still circulating: Scientists are testing a #birdflu vaccine in seals. If results show promise, the shots could be given to endangered Hawaiian monk seals. #H5N1 birdflu virus has devastated marine mammals globally. It tore thru Argentina's Valdés Peninsula killing ~17,400 seal pups 👇

nytimes.com

Scientists Begin Testing Bird Flu Vaccine in Seals

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Rita Rubin @ritarubin.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

My latest for @jama.com:

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Flo Débarre @flodebarre.eurosky.social · 08/09/2025

@zachhensel.bsky.social and I have a new paper on the origin of SARS-CoV-2! 🧪 There are a lot of reviews on the topic already, so we tried to do something different: characterize "lab leak" scenarios, and directly address those on SARS-CoV-2's furin cleavage site.▫️1/9 doi.org/10.5802/crbi...

doi.org

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Ben Pierce @benfpiercephd.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

Our 2021 review on COVID #vaccines was open access and provides a full report of effectiveness. Thanks to @carlzimmer.com and @apoorvanyt.bsky.social for their terrific article in NYT 👍 www.nature.com/articles/s41... www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/h...

nytimes.com

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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

There was a slew of false statements made about COVID19 mRNA vaccines yesterday. I can’t recommend highly enough this article from May by Dr. Deborah Fuller to clear up a lot of the chaff.

theconversation.com

How RFK Jr.’s misguided science on mRNA vaccines is shaping policy − a vaccine expert examines the false claims

Chaos at the CDC and the sharp move away from mRNA vaccines has public health experts alarmed.

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Ben Pierce @benfpiercephd.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

Show me these data and I will find you at least 30 confounders. The language will be most important, particularly how strong (that is, poor) are the report's claims of causality. www.wsj.com/health/healt...

wsj.com

Exclusive | RFK Jr., HHS to Link Autism to Tylenol Use in Pregnancy and Folate Deficiencies

Kennedy’s autism report, touted by Trump, will suggest that using the pain reliever during pregnancy might be linked to the developmental disorder.

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Ben Pierce @benfpiercephd.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

Lots of disturbing takeaways from the RFK Jr hearing, most prominently that he's listening only to Bhattacharya and Makary - non-experts - about vaccines rather than others (or reading any papers). However, there's another major question:

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Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

He is a predator. He will prey upon the nation and the world if he is not stopped. Necessary reading from @gregggonsalves.bsky.social www.thenation.com/article/soci...

thenation.com

RFK Jr., American Psycho

He needs to go. Now.

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Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal @jayapal.house.gov · 04/09/2025

RFK Jr.’s tenure as HHS Secretary has been a disgrace. He’s destroying our public health system and putting millions of lives at risk. He is wholly unfit to serve in this role and should resign immediately.

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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

Florida plans to end school vaccination mandates, the first to do so. The state's controversial surgeon general compared the requirements to "slavery." Joseph Ladapo says "people have a right to make their own decisions, informed decisions"👇

medpagetoday.com

State Plans to End School Vax Mandates, First to Do So

Florida's controversial surgeon general compared the requirements to 'slavery'

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Trish Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

Your periodic reminder that mRNA vaccines are a scientific and public health game-changer. Those that have been approved have passed stringent efficacy and safety checks. They protect you and your child against potentially fatal diseases. You may, however, get a sore arm.

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Meg Tirrell @megtirrell.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

Dr. Paul Offit, a prominent voice on vaccines and frequent critic of RFK Jr, is blocked from participating in FDA’s vaccine advisory committee. HHS says his special government employee status expired. Offit says FDA had asked him to stay on 2 more years: www.cnn.com/2025/09/02/h...

cnn.com

Vaccine expert who is a frequent critic of RFK Jr. is blocked from participating in FDA advisory committee | CNN

Dr. Paul Offit, a frequent critic of US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been blocked from participating in a panel of independent experts who advise the US Food and Drug...

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Ben Pierce @benfpiercephd.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

nytimes.com

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Demetre Daskalakis @drdemetre.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

Bullies bully. It’s what they do. Leaders lead. It’s what they do. You tell me who is the leader and who is the bully. Don’t let anything distract from the fact that what is at risk is health not the fragile egos of men. Fight for health not for clout.

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Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 02/09/2025

Yesterday the president demanded that evidence about Covid vaccines be shown to the public. Today @apoorvanyt.bsky.social & I run through some of the studies made public over the past 4+ years that show that the vaccines work. Gift link: nyti.ms/46k17Tq

nyti.ms

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

Today is publication day for this beautiful thing. I hope that it will tell a broad audience what historians of science have now long recognized: that alchemy was not a superstitious aberration but rather, an important phase in the history of ideas and of manufacturing.

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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

This 🧵 is long so please bear with me. It is compiles evidence in a historical timeline on how effective #COVIDVaccines are. When a pandemic ends we quickly and easily forget the tools that got us out of it. So here is my labour day gift to you prompted by this headline.

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Saskia Popescu @saskiapopescu.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

US public health, global health sec, & science is facing unprecedented threats & intentional erosion. During COVID-19, I think so many of us felt that this horrific global event would bring us together - a pandemic requiring community partnership & trust in science. (1/5)

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Ben Pierce @benfpiercephd.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

Good article from Sen Sanders. However, why must he resign - why cannot he be removed? www.nytimes.com/2025/08/30/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | Bernie Sanders: Kennedy Must Resign

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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

I’m so grateful that I have tenure and the academic freedom to call it like I see it. “Dr. Kathleen Bachynski, a professor of public health at Muhlenberg College, described Kennedy’s comments as “absolute gibberish” and slammed the HHS secretary as a “dangerous buffoon” who is “threatening us all.”

msnbc.com

RFK Jr. targets CDC with a ridiculous complaint as chaos grips the agency

As Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. targets the CDC with nonsense, a growing number of Senate Democrats are demanding his resignation.

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

In a functional government, this would be a five alarm fire where Congress calls in Kennedy and asks him what the fuck is going on

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Demetre Daskalakis @drdemetre.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Enough is enough. The health of the country is in danger. Read our resignation letters: insidemedicine.substack.com/p/breaking-n...

insidemedicine.substack.com

Breaking News: Read three top CDC officials' resignation emails.

The end of an era.

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Ben Pierce @benfpiercephd.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

If there's any sign that the immunization schedule will be overhauled by RFK Jr and the crazies currently in the ACIP - it's this 👇. Look out for news on that in the coming weeks.

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John Skiles Skinner @skiles.blue · 27/08/2025

Re-reading the report of the Social Security whistleblower, it is striking how many times good people within SSA tried to keep DOGE from committing crimes. Here's my understanding of the timeline 🧵

whistleblower.org

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Derek Lowe @dereklowe.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

A closer look at lithium orotate, after that lithium-Alzheimer’s paper. It has a complex history!

science.org

Lithium Orotate Revisited

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Amy Maxmen, PhD @amymaxmen.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

🚨🧵My latest: As measles took off in Texas, the Trump administration took actions that prevented CDC scientists from responding. The outbreak became the biggest in 30 yrs. It’s far larger considering the outbreaks it sparked in other states & Mexico. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

kffhealthnews.org

As Measles Exploded, Officials in Texas Looked to CDC Scientists. Under Trump, No One Answered. - KFF Health News

Trump officials sowed fear and confusion among CDC scientists, slowing their response to the measles outbreak in West Texas. Cases surged and sparked new outbreaks across the U.S. and Mexico. Together...

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History of Vaccines @historyvaccines.bsky.social · 24/08/2025

Stanley Plotkin shares insights from his legendary career in vaccine development, discussing breakthroughs in polio, rubella, and rabies vaccines, and reflecting on today’s challenges in public health and vaccine confidence. www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH9G...

youtube.com

TWiV 1247: In the company of vaccines with Stanley Plotkin

Stanley Plotkin joins TWiV to recount his career as a vaccinologist, having participated in the development of vaccines for polio, rabies, and rubella, and his thoughts on the current anti-science,…

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Ben Pierce @benfpiercephd.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

The White House wants you to forget how many lives were saved by #publichealth leaders, particularly: Fauci. www.whitehouse.gov/articles/202...

Thr White House disapproves of the National Portrait Gallery having a portrait of Anthony Fauci.

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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

“Among those laid off in the CDC include employees who help other countries track violence against children as well as those who work to prevent child abuse and teen dating violence. “There are nationally and internationally recognized experts that will be impossible to replace”

forbes.com

CDC Sends Termination Notices To 600 Employees, Including 100 Working In Violence Prevention

The CDC sent termination notices to 600 employees, including 100 who prevent violence. This comes days after a fatal shooting at the CDC headquarters.

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Ben Pierce @benfpiercephd.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

This should drive American scientists - and Americans in general - crazy: a new study on a H5N8 #mRNA #vaccine (in mice), from a team in Russia. Good results, well done to the researchers - it's a shame that politics blocks this from being pursued in the States. www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13...

mdpi.com

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Nuffield Trust @nuffieldtrust.org.uk · 21/08/2025

Do you have a track record of producing top quality research and policy analysis? Do you have a detailed understanding of health policy and its political context? Take a look at our Senior Fellow vacancy and apply by 31 August. #researchjobs www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/job/senior-f...

nuffieldtrust.org.uk

Senior Fellow (SF05/25)

We are looking to recruit a Senior Fellow to lead on projects across a range of topics within health and care.

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