Sign in

Holden Thorp

@holdenthorp.bsky.social
19K followers 1.1K following 882 posts

Editor-in-Chief of Science and Professor of Chemistry and Medicine at George Washington University. Opinions not those of AAAS. holdenthorp.substack.com/about #ActuallyAutistic

PostsRepliesMedia
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Thanks for the input. It would only matter on commentary pieces since the research articles are done with real references and not hyperlinks.
231
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Yeah, I could have saved my self some drama taking the UTMs out, but it's one more layer of effort that we haven't put into the system.
561
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
I guess there are purists on here who think a link that actually works and goes where you want it to is somehow different depending on how you find it. Checking it is kind of the point of the whole piece.
12141
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
ChatGPT was never prompted to add references. I wrote the piece and then at the end, used ChatGPT to look up the refs that I wanted, clicked on them to make sure they went to the right place, and then put them in the document. Then the copyeditors clicked on them again to make sure they worked.
6161
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
And hey, while I'm here, check out my Substack with more stuff on this column: www.science-forever.com/p/right-now-...
science-forever.com
Right now, AI is making science publishing slower, worse, and more expensive
Not Faster, Better, Cheaper
44222
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Hi, this is Holden emerging from my Bluesky hiatus to tell everyone that when checking the links in the piece, I used ChatGPT as my search engine (does anyone use Google anymore?). The piece was written by me and edited by humans. So all the links were checked by me and again by our copyeditors.
37412013
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
That was the point. The squids don't deserve to get thanked.
150
Reposted by Holden Thorp
Charles Piller @charlespiller.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
Important perspective - America is ceding the lead in creating the future | Science via @holdenthorp.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
America is ceding the lead in creating the future
The renowned American management consultant and author Peter Drucker is often credited as saying that “the best way to predict the future is to create it”—a view that applies to science as much as to ...
2115
Reposted by Holden Thorp
Candice Odgers @candiceodgers.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
“The global enterprise will adapt to the lack of American leadership, but the steep loss for the country itself is unambiguous. The United States will no longer have the same window into the technologies of the future that will allow it to shape and anticipate commercial and societal advances.”
17117
Reposted by Holden Thorp
Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
“Scientific knowledge is, fortunately, a public good, and as such, its benefits transcend international boundaries. But relinquishing its prominence in creating the future is nothing short of devastating for the United States.”
06221
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
Thanks, Gregg! Backatcha.
010
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
Marcia McNutt has been saying that the US is doing a huge experiment with China as the control. The global scientific community will still produce knowledge. But not being in the lead has bad implications for US flourishing. My column: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
America is ceding the lead in creating the future
The renowned American management consultant and author Peter Drucker is often credited as saying that “the best way to predict the future is to create it”—a view that applies to science as much as to ...
212947
Reposted by Holden Thorp
Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
He's right. "Nothing short of devastating" By @holdenthorp.bsky.social @science.org www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
12695247
Reposted by Holden Thorp
Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
@holdenthorp.bsky.social has been willing to stand up for science again and again. Thank you.
17215
Reposted by Holden Thorp
Jake Yeston @jakeyeston.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
More from @holdenthorp.bsky.social in @science.org "A world where the United States is no longer leading the scientific enterprise will still benefit from science [...] The global enterprise will adapt to the lack of American leadership, but the steep loss for the country itself is unambiguous."
05019
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
Phone blowing up with concern but no info on what is specifically driving this. Has to be vulnerable to legal challenge based on other tenure cases in NC that I've been involved in. Can't just not do the process.
120
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
Thanks. Yes. Scary but we need more info.
110
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
Will be interesting to see how much national coverage this gets. Would be huge in an earlier time.
3130
Reposted by Holden Thorp
Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · 25/05/2025
Front page, NYT today Nothing has been proven to reverse Alzheimer’s disease, including this false claim gift link www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/w...
822950
Reposted by Holden Thorp
Leah @leah.myatproto.social · 25/05/2025
Autism is a spectrum and we are getting better at identifying it and helping people navigate life with it.
0257
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 25/05/2025
#actuallyautistic
050
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 25/05/2025
Strong story by @nidhisubs.bsky.social on adults learning we have autism. Thanks for the shoutout and for bringing awareness to our experiences. www.wsj.com/science/adul...
wsj.com
Why More Adults Than Ever Are Being Diagnosed With Autism
A surge in diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder reveals a shift in awareness and understanding of the condition.
1297
Reposted by Holden Thorp
Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 25/05/2025
I oscillate daily between wishing we still have Steve Silberman's voice to offer some moral clarity in the midst of RFK Jr.'s lies about autism and thinking "Thank God Steve isn't alive to see this." NeuroTribes was an essential book for me understanding myself. I miss my friend so much.
1220738
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
I went through RFK’s famous autism press conference and compared what he said to the actual paper he was (supposedly) talking about. There were a few inconsistencies. @ericmgarcia.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/holdenth...
open.substack.com
What the secretary's own data say about his autism comments
Comparing RFK's statements at the press conference to what is in the actual CDC paper
26325
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
My interview on @nbcnews.com about Harvard and other higher ed/science attacks. (4 min mark) www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-pre...
nbcnews.com
Trump’s tariff threats on EU and Apple raise ‘concern’ over market volatility
President Trump threatens new tariffs on the European Union and Apple products. Former Chancellor of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Holden Thorp discusses why Americans should be concern...
0156
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
Agreed. Follow the money.
000
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
US universities should welcome talent from all over the world, no doubt. But now might be a good time for law and business schools to stop running full pay masters programs to prop up their money losing JD and MBA programs. Just too fragile and rankings not worth it.
041
Reposted by Holden Thorp
Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 23/05/2025
NEW: Judge Burroughs GRANTS Harvard's requested TRO against the Trump administration, blocking it from revoking Harvard's ability to enroll international students during early court proceedings.
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S
MOTION FOR A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER
For purposes of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(b), the President and Fellows of
Harvard College ("Plaintiff") has made a sufficient showing that it has provided notice to
Defendants Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, Todd Lyons, Department of Justice, Pamela Bondi, Student and Exchange Visitor
Program, Jim Hicks, Department of State, and Marco Rubio (collectively, "Defendants") and that, unless its Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order ("TRO"), [ECF No. 4 (the "Motion")],
is granted, it will sustain immediate and irreparable injury before there is an opportunity to hear
from all parties. Thus, a TRO is justified to preserve the status quo pending a hearing and the Plaintiff's Motion is GRANTED.
Accordingly, Defendants, their agents, and anyone acting in concert or participation with
Defendants are hereby enjoined from:
A. Implementing,
instituting, maintaining, or giving effect to the revocation of
Plaintiff's SEVP certification;
B. Giving any force or effect to the Department of Homeland Security's May 22, 2025
Revocation Notice.

It is so ordered
May 23, 2025
/s/Allison D. Burroughs
ALLISON D. BURROUGHS
U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE
231414415
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
Harley Kilgore finally gets what he wanted after 80 years. I guess we should be surprised it lasted this long.
033
Reposted by Holden Thorp
Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
thehill.com/homenews/adm...
Detailing how autism occurs autism genes occurring in early fetal, with some input on environmental exposures in early pregnancy
926977
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
And proud of it.
000
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
Given the number of people digging, it's only a matter of time before some really ugly fact comes out. Wish I didn't know how this ends.
020
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
Proud to know Sally. Duke school mom FTW.
0302
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
Here's the system president's letter to the board as a reminder. alumni.unc.edu/wp-content/u...
alumni.unc.edu
010
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
I'm not aware of a problem in intercollegiate athletics that can't be traced to the over-involvement of the board. Now UNC has "the most talked-about relationship in America." Sending strength to my former colleagues having to deal with this. www.vanityfair.com/news/story/b...
vanityfair.com
Veteran Sportswriter Pablo Torre Says the Bill Belichick–Jordon Hudson Saga Is More Shakespeare Than TMZ
The tabloid drama ensnaring the NFL’s greatest coach, according to Torre, a popular podcaster and newly minted ‘Morning Joe’ regular, “is fundamentally a story about power.”
5144
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Listen to @ericmgarcia.bsky.social for real talk about autism. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...
podcasts.apple.com
What RFK Jr. Doesn’t Get About Autism
Podcast Episode · Radio Atlantic · 05/22/2025 · 26m
0189
Reposted by Holden Thorp
Chloë R McKenzie @chloermckenzie.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Success in academia often has more to do with luck, patronage and the job market than “hard work”. Good academics acknowledge this. I worked hard, but I was in the right place at the right time on occasion. Historians far more talented than I have fallen between the cracks.
Illustration showing a graduation ceremony, with speaker addressing graduates: “Let the example of my fluke success guide nearly all of you to crushing disappointment”.
22996187
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
I had fun. Special place.
020
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
Hey - I got one from Olin College of Engineering on Friday! Where's the love, GMA!?
170
Reposted by Holden Thorp
Brian Jay Jones @brianjayjones.com · 19/05/2025
This is good news. And no, poor families do NOT have to have Netflix to access Sesame Street. Netflix will release episodes to PBS the *same day* they drop on Netflix, which is significantly better than the prior deal with HBO, which delayed episodes for 9 MONTHS before porting them over to PBS.
4747191795
Reposted by Holden Thorp
Hank Green @hankgreen.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
The RFK Jr. version of health, where health creates health and healthy people don't get sick and the thing that keeps you healthy is /living the right way/ is very seductive to a lot of people. It also places the burden of illness back on the ill, which decreases the value of human life.
8665741156
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 18/05/2025
Was such a thrill to speak to the MD graduates at UAB medicine. holdenthorp.substack.com/p/doctors-ar...
holdenthorp.substack.com
Doctors are important science communicators
Speaking to the MD graduates at UAB Medical School Commencement
1201
Reposted by Holden Thorp
Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
People have said how important it was for Walz as a football coach to start a GSA alliance. It's also a pretty big deal to see a veteran, football coach and hunter to completely support his neurodivergent son showing emotion. I wrote this here. www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
This embrace of how Gus Walz expresses himself also has larger policy implications. If society chooses not to see neurodivergent behaviors negatively, then it can start from the point of asking what support systems neurodivergent people need in order to live their fullest selves. This reorients decades of policy that focused on “combating” developmental disabilities more toward serving them and changing the world around them.

Far too often, well-meaning people feel the need to defend neurodivergent or disabled people. But Tim and Gus Walz offer a challenge to those same people; not to consistently defend or excuse them, but to treat their types of love as valid as anything else.
225230
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
Heterodoxy is just another orthodoxy.
040
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
MSW is the one I need.
120
Reposted by Holden Thorp
Rep. Jamie Raskin @raskin.house.gov · 16/05/2025
“Poor man wanna be rich. Rich man wanna be king. The king ain’t satisfied ‘til he rules everything.”—Springsteen, Badlands
2339326197141
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
Double Beaver!
020
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
Had a blast at UAB medical school. They gave me an MD hood with Caltech colors so congratulations to Caltech on the launch of their medical school! (And no, I didn’t prescribe anything when I had it on.)
1341
Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
Step 4a. Wait for Dow to get back over 40k.
041