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Delthia Ricks

@dricks.bsky.social
5K followers 2.3K following 3.4K posts

Science writer, author, essayist & avid gardener.

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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Among the pathogens named in the study were many of the usual suspects: Human papillomavirus, hepatitis B & C viruses & Epstein-Barr virus. Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium, was linked to gastric cancers. The named pathogens accounted for nearly all cancers caused by infections, researchers reported
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record in eastern Congo is rapidly spreading beyond its epicenter — a 7th province is now involved. A total of 6,942 cases have been confirmed, including 3,349 deaths apnews.com/article/cong...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Suspected measles infections have killed nearly 1000 as Bangladesh struggles to contain an outbreak. Doctors have been racing to halt the outbreak since March when more than 100 children died in less than a month. Now the death toll has reached 999 since the start of 2026 apnews.com/article/bang...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
An infant in Pennsylvania is one of 2 people reported to have died of measles in a major outbreak in the state. The fatalities are the 1st measles deaths in the state in 35 yrs. The state's health department had not previously specified ages for either person who died www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
New data suggest mpox Clade IIb is moving toward endemic circulation in the U.S. The number of reported cases during September–October 2025 was double that during the same period in 2024 www.cidrap.umn.edu/mpox/mpox-he...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Scientists urge politicians: Stop 'Harassment' of Dr. Fauci! Open letter signed by 155 physicians www.medpagetoday.com/washington-w...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
The US is heading into the 2026-2027 respiratory virus season without a functioning Advisory Cmte on Immunization Practices—ACIP. That's no small disruption. ACIP has guided nat'l flu shot policy since 1964. No season-specific flu vax guidance has yet been issued www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
The lack of a U.S. Ebola response is a harbinger of worse things to come. Global health aid brings mutual benefits, but withdrawing it brings mutual harm www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
Happy Pi Day!
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Dr. Kristin Roman, the physician who performed the autopsy on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, says she was hesitant to declare his death a suicide www.msn.com/en-us/news/c...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
This Saturday. Time to Stand Up For Science👇
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Currently, the surge in measles outbreaks is costing the U.S. millions of dollars. Worse, If measles vaccination rates continue to fall by just 1% annually for the next 5 years, the cost could reach $1.5 billion a year, according to Yale School of Public Health www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Jayanta Bhattacharya, now acting CDC director, is urging measles vaccination in the midst of the largest measles outbreaks seen in the US in decades. Bhattacharya, who also oversees the Nat'l Institutes of Health, says the CDC is "surging" resources to affected states thehill.com/policy/healt...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
The Pan American Health Org, a ​regional division of the World Health Org, has a panel that determines the measles elimination status of countries in the Americas. The Regional Monitoring & Re-Verification Commission for Measles, Rubella & Congenital Rubella Syndrome votes on nations' measles status
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Black History Month—Charles Drew, physician & "Father of Blood Banking." He discovered a method for long-term storage of blood plasma & organized America's 1st large-scale blood bank. His research in the use & preservation of plasma during WW II saved countless lives www.acs.org/education/wh...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Black History Month—Dr. Gladys West was a Navy mathematician in the 1950s & beyond. She played an unsung role in making GPS possible. In the 1960s she led a team of mathematicians using a supercomputer to calculate Earth's precise shape. She also tracked Pluto's orbit www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/s...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Black History Month—Walter Massey, theoretical physicist & former director of Argonne Nat'l Lab. Dr. Massey currently chairs the board overseeing construction of the Giant Magellan Telescope. Argonne is a science & engineering research center funded by US Dept of Energy www.anl.gov/article/argo...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Both #Covid & the #flu can have an impact after infection subsides. And while both viruses can leave lasting lung damage, only #SARSCoV2 causes persistent brain inflammation & small blood vessel injury, even after the virus is no longer detectable. New research medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
More contaminated foods: Salmon products sold at BJ's Wholesale Club have been recalled due to potential Listeria contamination www.fda.gov/safety/recal... And nearly 23,000 pounds of ground beef were recalled across 3 states due to potential E. coli contamination www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls-aler...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Black History Month: Percy Julian, a pioneering chemist who should have won a Nobel Prize, was the 1st to achieve total synthesis of physostigmine, isolating it from the calabar bean, 1935. It was sold as eserine, the 1st effective drug to treat glaucoma. He also developed an arthritis drug & more.
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
The Trump regime has destabilized the U.S. healthcare system, slashing $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act while hospitals, clinics & other essential services were closing their doors, according to a U.S. Senate Finance Committee report www.finance.senate.gov/ranking-memb...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Evil knows no depth: The Trump regime is rescinding ~$1.5 billion in transportation & CDC public health funds earmarked for 'blue states.' The transportation funds were mostly for electric vehicle chargers & CDC funds were for health grants the regime felt were too “woke” thehill.com/policy/energ...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Black History Month: Ernest Everett Just, 20th century biologist, earned a zoology PhD from U. of Chicago (1916) & was a pioneering biologist at Howard Univ; the Marine Biological Lab at Woods Hole & Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Biology, Berlin. He's renowned for fertilization & cell surface studies
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
New research suggests some tap water can raise blood pressure & that as a risk factor it's comparable to low physical activity. Apparently, people exposed to greater salinity in drinking water tended to have higher blood pressure & a greater risk of hypertension www.medpagetoday.com/cardiology/g...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
The maternal syphilis rate rose 28% from 2022 to 2024, according to new data which highlights a disturbing—and continuing—surge www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/he... In a second study, scientists suggest that syphilis may have originated in the Americas archaeology.org/news/2026/01...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
The new guidelines also abandon advice on alcohol, which previously recommended ~2 drinks a day for men & 1 for women. Alcohol is linked to cancer. Now, guidelines advise consuming “less” alcohol but w/out specific limits. Says Mehmet Oz: “Alcohol is a social lubricant that brings people together"
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
The American Academy of Pediatrics & several other medical groups can move forward w/ a lawsuit challenging RFKjr's vaccine policies. A federal judge rejected arguments from Trump regime lawyers who say the medical organizations can't show the policies cause harm www.msn.com/en-us/health...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
lol!
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
A rightwing cure-all: Doctors are concerned about an increasing use of ivermectin among certain people. The drug is a de-wormer for livestock but gained undue notoriety as a Covid treatment. In rightwing circles, its reputation is growing as a cure-all, even for cancer www.npr.org/2025/12/30/n...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Happy 2026 Everyone!
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
A new flu variant is raising concerns about another bad influenza season. New York has already declared its worst flu season since 2004. The leading variant is H3N2 subclade K. H3N2 is a common strain, but subclade K is what’s new—and highly contagious www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/w...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 25/12/2025
Merry Christmas1
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 25/12/2025
Happy Holidays!
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
Trump says he has no plans to replace Obamacare, but that it would "repeal itself." This means that he has no healthcare plan outside of his effort to lower prescription drug costs w/ 9 pharmaceutical companies www.reuters.com/business/hea...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
American Academy of Pediatrics issued its policy on #Covid vaccination for kids & the recommendations, which are sensible & sane, are unlike Trump regime lunacy. AAP says babies&toddlers 6-23 months are at higher severe Covid risk so the vax is recommended www.clinicaladvisor.com/news/aap-upd...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
FDA intends to put its most serious warning on Covid vaccines. The agency's “black box” warning is the latest move by RFK & the Trump regime to undermine a vaccine that saved millions of lives. The plan shocked outside experts, who say there's no basis for the warning www.cnn.com/2025/12/12/h...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
The multi-state infant botulism outbreak tied to ByHeart Whole Nutrition infant formula has reached 51 cases. The outbreak continues to quietly grow. Just a few weeks ago there were only 13 cases www.fda.gov/food/outbrea...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
A phase I vaccine trial is signaling potential promise that the vax can prevent triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive & devastating forms of the disease. If successful, it's possible the vaccine design can be applied to other types of cancer www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcover...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Scientists have found a new human blood type. So far, only 3 people are known to have it. Blood type A(B) is caused by 4 gene mutations & was discovered when blood types of patients & donors were being studied in a Thai hospital www.popularmechanics.com/science/heal...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
Restriction enzymes are molecular scissors that cut the genetic code at specific points & that’s why they’re such important laboratory tools. They're derived from bacteria, which use these enzymes to destroy foreign DNA, mainly from phages. This is how restriction enzymes work👇
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Twice the number of Americans say they're more likely to take the AMA's vaccine advice versus the CDC's, a new Annenberg survey found. For years, health advice from key associations agreed w/ CDC. Not now, and the public is aware of the CDC's slide www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/americans-mo...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
New thrust of public health in the US: Measles and Weasels. (Cartoon from the New Yorker)
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
Happy Thanksgiving!
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Whooping cough outbreaks are surging. They're fueled by waning immunity & falling vaccination rates. Whooping cough—pertussis—is surging in Texas, Florida, California, Oregon & other states. Delays in public health tracking & reporting to the public add to the problem www.cbsnews.com/news/whoopin...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
23 infants in 13 states hospitalized in a growing botulism outbreak tied to ByHeart baby formula. Affected babies initially had poor feeding, loss of head control & difficulty swallowing but it can lead to breathing difficulty & respiratory arrest. Parents now suing www.usatoday.com/story/news/h...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
#Birdflu: Washington state health officials have identified the nation's 1st human case of bird flu in 9 months, pending confirmatory testing. Patient is an older adult w/ underlying health conditions. Source of the potential infection is still under investigation apnews.com/article/bird...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Silent pandemic: The World health Organization's new tuberculosis report is out. TB is currently on the rise, both globally and in the US. Global case counts & deaths have increased www.who.int/publications...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Biotech leaders, social media influencers & Trump regime officials including JD Vance & RFKjr are scheduled to speak at an all-day "Make America Healthy Again" summit that is CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC AND MEDIA. Sounds fishy thehill.com/homenews/adm...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
Outbreak investigation of infant botulism: Now 15 babies have been hospitalized because of botulism after consuming ByHeart Whole Nutrition Formula. Botulism triggers severe illness in babies & can be deadly. It's caused by a toxin from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum www.fda.gov/food/outbrea...
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
A common antibiotic may reduce schizophrenia risk, a new study has found. Patients in teen mental health programs treated w/ the antibiotic doxycycline were significantly less likely to go on to develop schizophrenia in adulthood, highlighting the possibility of repurposing doxy as a preventive👇
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