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John Chodera

@jchodera.bsky.social
5.3K followers 6.3K following 148 posts

Achira | achira.ai Research laboratory | choderalab.org Antiviral drug discovery for pandemics | asapdiscovery.org OpenADMET | openadmet.org Employer-mandated disclaimer: choderalab.org/disclaimer Pronouns: he/him

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Reposted by John Chodera
Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I remember when polio put my friends into iron lungs. We lined up at school to get vaccinated. We eradicated the disease. We protected the common good and saved lives. Now, two MORE unvaccinated people have died from measles. What RFK Jr. is doing to public health in America is a disgrace.
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Chise @sailorrooscout.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
GOOD NEWS! A personalized mRNA vaccine has SUCCEEDED in keeping melanoma, a deadly skin cancer, from returning. Phase III trial results in MORE THAN 1,100 patients shows the vaccine SIGNIFICANTLY extended the time patients lived without their melanoma returning AND reduced the risk of metastasis.
statnews.com
Moderna and Merck say mRNA cancer vaccine succeeded in late-stage melanoma trial
A personalized mRNA cancer vaccine succeeded in a late-stage melanoma study, results that could herald a new, powerful approach in oncology.
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Simon W Davis @woodforbrains.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Ho-LEE fuck democrats-appropriations.house.gov/news/press-r...
democrats-appropriations.house.gov
Defense Officials Attempt to Raid NIH Funds to Cover Department of Defense Activities
House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) has learned that officials at the Department of Defense (DoD) are working to divert billions of dollars from the National Institute...
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papaesoco.bsky.social @papaesoco.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Trump Admin Is Secretly Working to Divert Billions From NIH Budget to Fund Iran War truthout.org/articles/tru...
truthout.org
Trump Admin Is Secretly Working to Divert Billions From NIH Budget to Fund Iran War
An interagency agreement would give the Pentagon access to the health agency’s coffers on top of its own massive budget.
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Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Do this…
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Thelonevirologist @thelonevirologist.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Overcrowded Ebola treatment centers are fueling transmission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Overcrowded Ebola treatment centers are fueling transmission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Nature Medicine
Nature Medicine - Overcrowded Ebola treatment centers are fueling transmission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Dolly Parton... -Gifted millions of free books to kids -Ensured musicians she worked with got union benefits -Helped fund medical research, including the COVID vaccine -Donated millions to communities hit by natural disasters -Quietly funded high school band programs We lost an incredible person.
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Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 16/08/2026
"Perhaps no journalist has endured such a sustained sequence of violence, prosecution, and imprisonment at the hands of the U.S. government." Read more from FPF's @adamrose.bsky.social about the alarming abuse endured by Carlitos Ricardo Parias.
theintercept.com
ICE Shot a Journalist and Threw Him in Detention. He’s Approaching 300 Days Behind Bars With a Festering Wound.
With the case of Carlitos Ricardo Parias, the U.S. has broken its own record for holding a journalist in custody.
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RoseMarie @rosesbloom24.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
The gloves, manufactured by a company called Compliant Technologies, have been used by police, sheriffs, jail wardens, and even school resource officers for years. They’ve been described by groups like Amnesty International as “readily misused for torture.” (cont) www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
The Orwellian Company Behind ICE’s New Electric Shock Gloves
“With a glove, there are no burn marks or scars.” That makes it hard for victims to sue.
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Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Huge faculty recruitment effort at the University of Chicago -- a division-wide, open-rank search looking to hire about 20 faculty across 5 research areas in biology. Come be our colleague! Full announcement: uchicago.app.box.com/s/ckih9zv3rj...
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Sky Marchini @sky.skymarchini.net · 31/07/2026
i really don't think that we're gonna pull out of this one guys. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
wsj.com
Exclusive | U.S. Weighs $100,000 Fee for Foreign Students Wanting to Work After Graduation
The proposed policy would particularly affect Silicon Valley, Wall Street and universities.
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 31/07/2026
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed more than 1,500 people in just over two months, and it is spreading much faster than previous outbreaks, the nation’s health ministry reported on Thursday.
nyti.ms
Ebola Outbreak Is Now the Second-Deadliest Ever, and in Record Time
The disease has killed more than 1,500 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in just over two months, causing deaths faster than officials have ever recorded.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
I'm old enough to remember when polio put my friends into iron lungs. We dutifully lined up at school to get vaccinated. We eradicated the disease. We protected the common good and saved lives. What RFK Jr. is doing to public health in America is a disgrace.
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 23/07/2026
2. Remarkably, given how universally unpopular this would be, the intent seems accept the ruination of US health and medical research as collateral damage.
Mr. Kratsios’ proposal to reduce the role of universities would upend that system, which has been in place since the end of World War II. His call for the administration to de-prioritize “life sciences,” which encompass molecular biology, genetics and other fields in biomedicine, as well as clinical trials aimed at testing new therapies, raised alarms among biomedical researchers and academic medical centers. They fear it will mean less funding for the National Institutes of Health.
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 23/07/2026
1. The new Trump / Kratsios plan for US science appears explicitly designed to destroy US universities. Diverting money to tech donors is probably just a bonus. Gift link.
nytimes.com
Trump’s Plan for Science: More Money for A.I., Less for Universities (Gift Article)
Michael Kratsios, President Trump’s science adviser, proposed overhauling how the government funds research. Democrats said Mr. Trump’s actions had weakened science.
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rprobbins.bsky.social @rprobbins.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Facts, plain and straightforward 💯🎯
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 14/07/2026
stuff like this is why one important avenue for court reform is just nixing the shadow docket altogether and forcing these people to explain themselves to the public when they issue orders. also, making their records property of the united states and subject to publication when they leave the bench.
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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
The reason why ICE agents continue to shoot people is because nothing ever happens to them when they do. They essentially have been granted full immunity for whatever they choose to do to people by a lawless regime of thugs.
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Rep. Emanuel Cleaver @cleaver.house.gov · 13/07/2026
We should have learned that you can’t manage a public health crisis by ignoring it. Politicizing science and weakening disease surveillance doesn’t make threats disappear, it only makes us less prepared to respond.
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 14/07/2026
This morning in Biddeford, Maine, a 26-year-old man said goodbye to his wife and daughter and left for work. Moments later he was dead, shot in the head by ICE agents, the second man ICE has killed in six days. ICE is killing our neighbors. ICE cannot be reformed. Abolish ICE.
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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
CDC stopped monitoring parasite now causing explosive diarrhea across the country
huffpost.com
CDC Stopped Monitoring Parasite Now Causing Explosive Diarrhea Across The Country
MAHA.
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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
History can often give us glimpses into our potential future. The Soviet Union’s history with politicizing science under Stalin and Trofim Lysenko shows what our future might be like under Vought’s proposed OMB rule. www.sciencenews.org/article/omb-...
sciencenews.org
Here’s what happens when you put politicians in charge of science
Proposed federal rules would rely on political appointees to decide how a lot of U.S. science gets done. History shows the consequences of such actions.
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The Economist @economist.com · 12/07/2026
When the Congolese government declared an outbreak in May, the disease had been spreading for at least six weeks. Health authorities are still failing to contain the epidemic
bit.ly
The Ebola epidemic is getting out of control
It has spread to five provinces in Congo and may soon reach South Sudan
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Behrens Science Museum @bsmuseum.org · 05/07/2026
"Together, the accumulated evidence affirms mRNA vaccines as a safe, effective, and adaptable platform with enduring relevance for future infectious disease prevention and public health preparedness, and for the treatment of cancer and autoimmunity."
thelancet.com
Safety and efficacy of mRNA vaccines: a mechanistic and public health perspective
mRNA vaccines represent a transformative advance in vaccinology, combining rapid development timelines, scalable manufacturing, and strong immunogenicity with a favourable safety profile. Global deplo...
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Paul Guinnessy @paulguinnessy.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
I assumed everyone knew this was predicted to occur when they sacked 50% of the NOAA staff and started canceling weather balloons that collect data last year; but if not. 👇
gizmodo.com
Here's Why Weather Forecasts Have Seemed So Inaccurate Lately
Meteorologists simply aren't able to gather as much data as they used to, and you're suffering for it.
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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
#Ebola update: As of 6/30, DRC had confirmed 1,406 cases & 438 deaths. The case count was up 73 from the previous day. It had identified 11,646 case contacts, and was following 8.2% of them. insp.cd/sitrep-n047-...
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Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley @pressley.house.gov · 03/07/2026
For America's 250th, I read Frederick Douglass’ speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” on the House floor—for the first time in history. His speech endures as a mirror & mandate for us all—to confront our inequities while fighting for an America as good as its promise.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 03/07/2026
Mamdani: "Therein lies the work of America -- a striving, a bettering, the reaching toward perfection. What a privilege each of us has to live in a nation that every one of its inhabitants can shape. What a responsibility each of us possesses to prove ourselves worthy of all those who came before."
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 03/07/2026
Mamdani: "As we mark 250 years ... we see the wealthiest country -- one where children go to sleep hungry while the world's first trillionaire hungers for more ... we see masked agents terrorizing our streets, eating food cooked by undocumented neighbors before spiriting them away in unmarked vans"
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Lisa Jarvis @lisamjarvis.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
An extraordinary cancer stat recently just dropped: zero. That’s how many UK women in their early 20s died from cervical cancer between 2020-24. My latest @opinion.bloomberg.com is on 20 years of HPV vaccines--& how the US could better maximize the potential of this critical public health tool (🎁):
bloomberg.com
The US Could Eliminate Cervical Cancer. What’s the Holdup?
An extraordinary cancer statistic recently dropped in a major medical journal: zero.
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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
NIH grants have been under political scrutiny since early 2025. But what does the screening process actually look like? What is being flagged? I spent a month digging into leaked docs and emails. We've published the 235-word list that are being flagged by an internal AI tool. And so much more. 🧵
nature.com
Inside the new political screening that’s stalling NIH grants
Mandatory reviews by top health officials and checks for 235 disfavoured terms have left hundreds of vetted grant applications in administrative limbo.
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 23/06/2026
More terrible news for science in the US: NSF slashing physical sciences funding by 30% and halting all pending awards — www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪 🔭 ⚛️
science.org
Exclusive: NSF slashes research programs to support new tech initiative, insiders say
Unexpected shift in funds has meant sharp drop in grants this fiscal year
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Chise @sailorrooscout.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Vaccines save lives. This is the FIRST time that ZERO cervical-cancer deaths have been recorded for this age group, and it’s thanks to the introduction of a vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV). Yes, you read that correctly. ZERO.
ctvnews.ca
Cervical cancer deaths for vaccinated young women fall to zero in England: study
The HPV vaccine for cervical cancer has reduced the risk of dying from the disease before the age of 30 in England to almost zero, the first study of its kind showed Thursday.
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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
“A single Tomahawk cruise missile runs about $3.6 million, roughly what it takes to fund one scientist’s multiyear grant. The entire National Science Foundation budget is less than what we spent in the first week of the war with Iran.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/20/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Science That Turned Lizard Venom Into GLP-1s Is Under Attack
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American Physical Society @apsphysics.aps.org · 17/06/2026
What would the proposed OMB rule on federal grant funding mean for the future of science? @lindsayinthehouse.bsky.social explains. Share your thoughts by submitting a public comment through our action center: go.aps.org/4vUO0ST
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
What goes unsaid in these heinous stories about denying essential aid is that a 28-year-old DOGE lackey with zero experience named Jeremy Lewin was named Acting Director of the State Department’s Office of Foreign Assistance in April 2025 and still hasn’t had a confirmation hearing.
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Kit Yates @kityates.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
What an amazing story.❤️
bbc.co.uk
Cervical cancer deaths fall to zero in young women given HPV vaccine
A new study finds that hundreds of lives have been saved since school-age girls were offered the HPV jab in 2008.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 15/06/2026
Reporter David Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer and learned that one of his drugs sold for almost $1,000 per pill — despite the fact it cost just pennies to make. What he found out helps explain why our healthcare system is the most expensive in the world. Listen now: propub.li/4xsQGsg
"Cancer's hard enough ... And then you have to kind of grapple with how you're gonna pay for care that you need to keep you alive. And to me, that's just a system that's not humane." -David Armstrong, ProPublica healthcare reporter. Listen at propublica dot org slash podcast.
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emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Read @jillfilipovic.bsky.social on how DOGE made the Ebola outbreak much worse. slate.com/news-and-pol...
slate.com
I Got Off the Plane and Walked Into a Scene From Another Era. You’ll Know Exactly What I’m Talking About, and It Should Scare You.
This Ebola outbreak is different.
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Prof. Stefan Rahmstorf @rahmstorf.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Insane self-blinding of the US. They are throwing away their investment in the ocean observation system and the benefits it provides. The only explanation I can think of: they don’t want the people to know what their fossil emissions are doing to our oceans. easternherald.com/2026/06/13/u...
easternherald.com
The US Is Pulling Up a $386 Million Climate Ocean Sensor Network
NSF dismantling Ocean Observatories Initiative as very strong El Niño forms. Edson, Robbins, McLean: an irreparable blind spot in U.S. climate observation.
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 13/06/2026
New York City: Early voting starts today, June 13th,  for the June 23rd primary election. Go to vote.nyc to find your poll site and what’s on your ballot. As our City proved one year ago — elections can transform our world. Let’s get out and vote.
youtu.be
It's Time to (Early) Vote, New York
YouTube video by NYC Mayor's Office
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Scott D @srdegroff.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
So, the fucking genius in the white house truly wants to destroy America. www.livescience.com/planet-earth...
livescience.com
Trump administration to remove 900 deep sea monitoring instruments that would have studied the collapsing Atlantic current
The Ocean Observatories Initiative has been collecting data on physical, chemical, geological and biological conditions in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for the past decade
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Olga Nesterova @onestpress.onestnetwork.com · 07/06/2026
MUST READ: The U.S. Is Pulling 900 Sensors Out of the Ocean. The Consequences Will Last Decades. www.onestnetwork.com/the-u-s-is-p...
onestnetwork.com
The U.S. Is Pulling 900 Sensors Out of the Ocean. The Consequences Will Last Decades.
Built to operate for 25 years, one of the world’s most advanced ocean monitoring systems is being dismantled after just a decade, ending a scientific record that researchers hoped would last generatio...
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W.E.D.em Boyz @leftistwonk.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
The US is now spending more on data center construction than on public transportation infrastructure
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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Cole Donovan argues the next US administration can't just rebuild science and technology policy on 2021's blueprint. Trump 2.0 will leave agencies in collapse, he says. Recovery hinges on mastering interagency process, not just listing fixes. People and processes drive policy.
techpolicy.press
How to Rebuild US Science and Technology Policy From the Rubble of Trump 2.0
Policymakers are going to need tools to clear the rubble and build a better foundation for policy upon which the future can be built, writes Cole Donovan.
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
"One thing that actually propelled actual US greatness after World War II was tying large scientific investments to a non-partisan, merit-based process. But that is not the way of Trump, who wants to extend tools of control and retribution over science." Trump is wrecking everything. Illuminating:
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Reminder that banning elected officials from trading stock is a total no brainer. They can use privileged information to make money on the stock market, while they’re supposed to be working for you. Make no mistake — it’s legalized corruption.
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Krutika Kuppalli, MD FIDSA @krutikakuppalli.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Glad to see @drtedros.who.int & @who.int taking decisive action to declare the #Ebola outbreak in #DRC a #PHEIC. Per the IHR, the criteria are 1. Serious event 2. Risk of international spread 3. Requires a coordinated international response 4. The event is unusual www.who.int/news/item/17...
who.int
Epidemic of Ebola Disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda determined a public health emergency of international concern
Pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 12 - Determination of a public health emergency of international concern, including a pandemic emergency of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR), the Di...
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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
“The U.S. National Science Foundation X-Labs (NSF X-Labs) initiative is designed to launch and scale a new generation of organizations focused on independent research, development and innovation.” We have those, thanks, they’re called universities and national laboratories.
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