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Michael Pollard

@kmichaelpollard.bsky.social
486 followers 196 following 289 posts

Assoc. Prof Scripps Research working on how non-biological exposures lead to autoimmunity.

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Reposted by Michael Pollard
Dr Lindsey Fitzharris @drlindseyfitz.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Upon graduating medical school in 1881, Arthur Conan Doyle did a doodle of himself waving his diploma over his head. The caption reads: "Licensed to Kill." My new book SLEUTH-HOUND is about Conan Doyle's professor, Joseph Bell - the real-life Sherlock Holmes. Out Oct 20! linktr.ee/drlindseyfit...
A simple doodle showing a man, Conan Doyle, waving his diploma over his head. Underneath the doodle it says: Licensed to kill
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
If you are an old guy like me and you can't remember having measles or being vaccinated, get your doc to request a test for IgG Rubeola Antibody. If positive, like me, then you are immune from measles.
cnn.com
How common are measles deaths in the United States as vaccination rates fall? | CNN
A fourth person with measles has died in Pennsylvania, the state announced Tuesday — marking the first time in decades the United States has recorded so many deaths in a single year.
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Yep, its true. Reading is really important and writing (grants, papers) comes next because you can't do either well without knowledge. But networking is also essential. Not only do people need to know who you are but you need to know people. Rub elbows with the best and brightest. 🧪
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Peter Gleick @petergleick.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Given the outrageous, dangerous, and outright false statements made about how the polio (and other) vaccine was a "fraud" (at the Children's Health Defense conference), here's a reminder of what a massive success it was. RFK Jr. & his minions must be stopped from destroying the US healthcare system.
Graph of the number of cases and deaths from polio from 1910 to 2022, showing how polio completely disappeared after the introduction of the vaccine -- one of the most important health advances of the 20th century. Data from the US Public Health Services; the Center for Disease Control.
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
When you can, devote a little of your time to this. It will be worth it. 🧪
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Rosie Toes has realized that it's Monday and the weekend is days away.
Face of Rosie Toes , a female poodle.
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Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
This is such a wonderful summary of vaccination
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Admirable Women @admirablewomen.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Biochemist Dr. Ida Stephens Owens mapped how human genes control drug metabolism. The first Black woman to earn a PhD from Duke (1967), she spent ~50 years at NIH. She identified the UGT1A gene complex, decoding how enzymes detoxify drugs & harmful toxins. She was born #OTD in 1939.🧵 #WomenInSTEM
A charming photograph of American biochemist Dr. Ida Stephens Owens (1939–2020), renowned for her groundbreaking research on drug-detoxifying enzymes and human genetics, posing in a laboratory setting. Standing from the waist up, she is turned slightly to the right, looking forward with a warm, confident smile that lights up her face. She has short, curly black hair and wears a delicate gold chain necklace with a small round pendant, and a ring on her finger. She is dressed in a casual, short-sleeved beige knit top. Her forearms rest on a surface in the foreground, with one hand loosely holding a pink folder or pamphlet. Behind her, a brightly illuminated laboratory reveals her research environment, featuring a tall shelf tightly packed with colorful textbooks, alongside structured racks holding assorted glass beakers and scientific equipment. The overall composition balances her approachable, dignified expression with the busy backdrop of her historic, decades-long career at the National Institutes of Health.
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Hanson's ignorance is mind blowing.
abc.net.au
Hanson swiftly condemned for labelling Indigenous Australians 'primitive race'
Politicians from across the divide have condemned Pauline Hanson's remarks about Indigenous Australians, labelling them "vile", "divisive" and "derogatory".
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The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 10/09/2026
Born #OnThisDay in 1907 was geologist and palaeontologist Professor Dorothy Hill FRS. She was the first female professor at an Australian university, first female president of the Australian Academy of Science, and the first Australian woman to become Fellow of the Royal Society. #WomenInSTEM
A person in outdoor attire stands on a forest path, holding a horse by the reins. The person wears a wide-brimmed hat and has binoculars around their neck. Tall trees line the path in the background.
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Kristian G. Andersen @kgandersen.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Imagine that - a novel, highly divergent, betacoronavirus with a weird-looking* furin cleavage site popped right out of a bat butt 🦇. You gotta wonder 🤔. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Scripps Research @scripps.edu · 12/08/2026
What brings you to Scripps Research? 👀 Maybe you’re here to explore the latest science, meet our researchers, take your next step, attend an event, partner with us or support discovery. Whatever brings you here, the new scripps.edu makes it easier to find your way. 🧵⬇️
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
A guy who did a reality TV show and his buddy who is a lawyer are not experts on vaccines. Best to look elsewhere for info on the MMR vaccine....like below.
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Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Brilliant piece by @amymaxmen.bsky.social & Jeff Tollefson from 4th August 2020 in @nature.com Decades of pandemic planning scenarios had foreseen "leaky travel bans, a scramble for vaccines & disputes between state & federal leaders," but none anticipated the dysfunction in the US under Trump
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Scripps Research @scripps.edu · 11/08/2026
Congrats to Scripps Research EVP Eric Topol for surpassing the milestone of 400,000 citations and an h-index of 259. Topol ranks among the world’s most highly cited researchers, with broad influence in cardiology, genomics, AI, digital health and individualized medicine. 🔗 ow.ly/eRra50ZxM4u
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
An article absolutely worth reading. Many forget (or conveniently dismiss) Fauci's history of service to not just the NIH but to human health especially fighting severe viral infections.
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Reposted by Michael Pollard
Dr Rasu Shrestha @rasushrestha.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
I stand with Dr. Anthony Fauci …because I value EVIDENCE over conspiracy, DATA over rumors, and SCIENCE over politics. No public official is beyond criticism, but there’s a difference between honest scientific guidance and misinformation. I’ll choose evidence EVERY time. #medsky #publichealth
I stand with Dr. Anthony Fauci because I value evidence over conspiracy, data over rumors, and science over politics. No public official is beyond criticism, but there’s a difference between honest scientific guidance and misinformation. I’ll choose evidence every time.
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
The first author, Michael Worobey, was skeptical of a market origin. So he did what scientists do, he tried to prove the hypothesis wrong....rigorous studies in landmark paper after landmark paper kept showing the market as the origin of COVID-19.
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Peace @dogsmile.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
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Flo Débarre @flodebarre.eurosky.social · 04/08/2026
Today is the first Tuesday of the month, my (self-imposed) blog posting day -- I wrote about accusations of coverup and conspiracies, thrown without any evidence, in the context of the recent release of private documents by Rand Paul #covidorigin
pandemonium.hypotheses.org
Conspiracies and coverups
There is no evidence for a lab origin of SARS-CoV-2, so commenters default to meta-discourse and accuse scientists of coverups, for which there is no evidence either. So far, available data and scient...
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
In a somewhat concerning twist of fate, before seeing the Odyssey, we booked passage on a small ship visiting Southern Italy, Malta & Sicily. Some of the places we will visit are supposedly linked to Homer's Odyssey! Hopefully a modern day Odysseus won't be captain!
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Marc Veldhoen @marcveld.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
I'm a full Professor of Immunology and fully vaccinated. I didn't get vaccinated out of obedience, but after decades of studying the immune system and evaluating all evidence. Calling that "lack of critical thinking" is not an argument. It's ideology masked as pretend intellect.
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Philipp Markolin @philippmarkolin.eurosky.social · 31/07/2026
"Scientists discovered and developed the COVID vaccines that brought the pandemic to an end. It’s the anti-vaxxers, not the scientific community, who should stand indicted in the light of 2026." This should be the conservative stance btw, from former Bush speech writer @davidfrum.bsky.social
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George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
The same is true about the “stolen” election
Ben Rhodes: The strangest thing about the MAGA freakout over Fauci is that Trump was his boss - and ran the government - during the entire period they are so mad about.
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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
One of the worst things about the Senate’s attempted Fauci show trial is how the supposed evidence against him is early in COVID he considered multiple hypotheses, then increasingly ruled some unlikely as evidence came in. The objection is he did science. Fundamentally that is what’s under attack.
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Ah, this is sad news. If you've walked Grafton St in Dublin, you know where he began. A mighty talent. Vale Glen Hansard.
rollingstone.com
Glen Hansard, Oscar-Winning 'Once' Musician, Dead at 56
Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, who achieved international fame in the 2007 drama 'Once,' has died in a motorcycle crash at the age of 56.
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
It's not a theory. It's barely an hypothesis. Is it BS? Yes.
Comments on Fauci hearing from NBC Nwes.....
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Admirable Women @admirablewomen.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
British chemist Dr. Dorothy Hodgkin won the 1964 #Nobel Prize in #Chemistry for using X-ray crystallography to "see" the 3D structures of complex molecules. After 35 years of work, she solved the incredibly complex structure of insulin, 1969. She died #OTD in 1994. #WomenInSTEM
This grainy, high-contrast black-and-white portrait captures British chemist Dorothy Hodgkin (1910–1994). The composition is a medium close-up, focusing on her head and shoulders against a dark, underexposed background that suggests a quiet interior or office setting. She is positioned slightly off-center, turned toward the left of the frame.

Hodgkin wears a dark, heavy coat with a prominent collar and a subtly patterned blouse or scarf underneath. Her gray hair is pulled back, softening her features and highlighting her thoughtful, serene expression. She gazes off-camera with a faint, knowing smile and clear, intelligent eyes, projecting a mood of gentle wisdom and quiet persistence.

The lighting is soft, illuminating one side of her face while the other recedes into shadow, emphasizing the texture of her skin and the gravity of her experience. This image carries deep historical weight, representing the only British woman scientist to receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1964). It celebrates the pioneer who used X-ray crystallography to map the 3D structures of penicillin, vitamin B12, and insulin, revolutionizing modern medicine.
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Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Oh yes, if only we’d all have listened to the MAGA/MAHA dudes—Jay Bhattacharya saying doctors should be allowed to give ivermectin (ivermectin!) for COVID, Navarro peddling hydroxychloroquine—then 1.2 million Americans would not have died from COVID! Mismanaging the pandemic had nil to do with it 🤪
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
.....people CHANGED THEIR MINDS in the light of NEW DATA regarding the role of the market."
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Matthew Cobb @matthewcobb.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
22 years ago today, Francis Crick died. You can read about his life, his brilliance and his failures in my biography, available in hardback in the UK and USA (and as an audiobook and ebook) and soon in a chonky UK paperback.
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Flo Débarre @flodebarre.eurosky.social · 28/07/2026
"Neither HHS nor Paul’s committee alerted Fauci ahead of time that they had obtained his diary and that they planned to publish it in full, according to a person familiar with the matter." This is so vile
edition.cnn.com
Diary entries, a subpoena and an anticipated clash: Dr. Anthony Fauci and Rand Paul’s long-running battle returns to the Hill | CNN Politics
Even before the US enacted a national shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci pondered whether he might have testified before Congress more than any other official.
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Scripps Research @scripps.edu · 28/07/2026
The Hazen Campus at Scripps Research has been an architectural landmark since 1995. The campus exemplifies a fusion of functional design and brilliance. Not just a structure but a ‘monastery for scientists,’ it is a testament to enduring architectural standards and a cradle for scientific discovery.
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Admirable Women @admirablewomen.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Chemist & X-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin's meticulous research was instrumental in uncovering DNA's molecular structure. Most famous for her role in the DNA double helix discovery, her work also revolutionized our understanding of viruses & coal. She was born #OTD in 1920. #WomenInSTEM 🧵
A classic, black-and-white studio portrait of a young Dr. Rosalind Franklin (1920–1958), the pioneering British chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose data was foundational to uncovering the double-helix structure of DNA. Captured from the chest up, Franklin sits in a three-quarter pose, her body angled slightly toward the left while her gaze directly meets the viewer. She possesses a calm, intelligent, and subtly enigmatic expression, with her dark hair neatly parted on the side and styled back away from her face. She wears a dark, long-sleeved button-down blouse with structured shoulders, a sharp collar, and fabric buttons down the front placket. The background is a soft, minimalist studio gradient of neutral grays that creates a gentle vignette effect, casting a soft light on the right side of her face. The composition is clean, formal, and balanced, evoking a mood of quiet determination, dignity, and brilliant intellectual poise characteristic of the early 20th-century scientific vanguard.
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Admirable Women @admirablewomen.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey single-handedly blocked the "wonder drug" thalidomide (US, FDA, 1960) & saved American children from severe birth defects. The first woman to earn a PhD in pharmacology, she used her expertise & immense courage to defy intense industry pressure. #WomenInSTEM (1/2)
A classic black-and-white portrait photograph of Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey (1914–2015), the pioneering Canadian-American pharmacologist and FDA medical officer renowned for blocking thalidomide's approval in the United States. She is shown in a formal head-and-shoulders pose against a plain studio background, gazing directly at the camera with a calm, intelligent, and resolute expression. Her dark hair is neatly styled in soft waves, parted on the side, and she wears a simple dark blazer or jacket over a white collared blouse, embodying professionalism, quiet determination, and the courage that defined her career as a trailblazer in drug safety regulation and women's contributions to science and public health.
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Admirable Women @admirablewomen.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Dr. Nanna Svartz invented Salazopyrin (1941), a global blockbuster treatment for rheumatoid arthritis & more that is still used today. She became #Sweden's first female professor of medicine at a public university in 1937 (Karolinska Institutet). Born #OTD in 1890. #WomenInSTEM #MedSky #HigherEd
Black-and-white photograph of Swedish physician and researcher Nanna Svartz as an older woman. She is seated in a laboratory, wearing a white lab coat with a dark bow at the neck, and smiling directly at the camera. Her left hand rests on a large vintage microscope in front of her, with books, papers, and lab equipment visible in the background.
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
"Last month, almost a quarter of all cars sold in Australia were fully electric. A year ago, it was just 7 per cent. Add in hybrids, and EVs are now neck and neck with petrol- and diesel-fuelled automobiles."
abc.net.au
How China won the car wars
In June, a bulk carrier made an unprecedented delivery of EVs to Australia, sounding an ominous warning to the world's automakers.
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Very proud of my lab. This is our 2nd, and more definitive, paper this year describing experimental studies identifying pulmonary exposure to silica alone as an essential step in the development of occupationally relevant inflammatory arthritis; 70 years after Caplan syndrome was first described. 🧪
sciencedirect.com
Crystalline silica exposure of genetically diverse mice exacerbates subclinical autoimmunity into systemic autoimmune disease phenotypes including inflammatory arthritis in female mice
Inhalation of respirable crystalline silica (c-silica), an occupational hazard, has been associated with the development of systemic autoimmune diseas…
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Some call cricket a boring, complex, and, for the 5 days of test cricket, a ridiculously long game. But Garry Sobers could turn it into a glorious display of uncanny skills. He was pure magic. Vale Sir Garfield Sobers.
theguardian.com
Sir Garry Sobers obituary
Peerless West Indies cricketer who excelled at all aspects of the game
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
He was a great actor but his own character was impeccable. Vale Sam Neill.
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Some deaths really hurt. 😢
abc.net.au
Remembering our 'honorary Aussie' Sam Neill
Actor Sam Neill might have officially been a Kiwi but he did some of his best work in Australian film and television. At home on either side of the ditch, this is Sam Neill's story.
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Science Magazine @science.org · 11/07/2026
Hundreds of scientists who study cancer and aging have made an easily avoidable but significant mistake, deploying the wrong antibody to test for a key protein, according to a researcher who exposes errors in the biomedical literature. Learn more: scim.ag/4wbc18V
Protein name confusion created antibody mix-up affecting hundreds of papers
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Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
My critics ran out of arguments. Latest attack: I’m bald. Guilty. Rather than hair transplant to hide my age (46), I spend the money on gym. 3 years ago I could barely pull 40kg. Here’s 180kg. Hair never helped anyone deadlift or do research. I’ll continue focusing on things that matter to me.
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Why am I not surprised. 🧪
arstechnica.com
Scientists find no link between Tylenol and autism, again, after Trump warning
After Trump's claims, Tylenol usage dropped during pregnancies.
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Kristian G. Andersen @kgandersen.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Thanks to the Gates Foundation for their continued support of our environmental surveillance programs ⭐🙏. I can't tell you have critically important this is, given that federal support for this type of research has all but collapsed. www.scripps.edu/news-and-eve...
scripps.edu
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance
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John C. Baez @johncarlosbaez.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
The publisher Springer claims it can only discuss why it retracted Planck's paper with... Planck! But until they hold a seance, they are happy to sell you a completely redacted version: a blank page for $39.95.
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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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Scripps Research @scripps.edu · 23/06/2026
Scripps Research, in collaboration with UC San Diego and the Lowy Medical Research Institute, found in a new Nature Neuroscience study that while erucamide levels drop as photoreceptors begin to die, restoring the molecule activates cellular responses that support retinal stability.
ow.ly
Newly identified molecule strengthens the eye’s response to damage in retinal disease
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
2-0 Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oi, Oi, Oi. 🎉🎉🎊💪
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Michael Pollard @kmichaelpollard.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
This is such a sad but incredibly uplifting story. Richard Scolyer, a truly remarkable individual.
abc.net.au
'What a legacy': Pioneering researcher Richard Scolyer dies aged 59
The 2024 Australian of the Year Professor Richard Scolyer has died. In his final message he urged all Australians to "pursue their dreams and passion with humility, love and compassion".
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