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Kristen V. Brown

@kristenvbrown.bsky.social
17K followers 43 following 158 posts

Health + science journalist. Writing a book about the science and history of fertility | fan of sparkles | say hi: kristen@kristenvbrown.com

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Reposted by Kristen V. Brown
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 7h
Company creates an AirTag silencer so that a bike thief doesn't realize a bike is being tracked. But of course, that means a person wouldn't know they were being tracked either: sixcolors.com/post/2026/10... via @glennf.com
sixcolors.com
Silencing AirTags enables stalkers and domestic violence
ElevationLab has released an AirTag product I find appalling, and I strongly urge they immediately withdraw it from sale and recall all inventory. The AirTag Silencer is a simple device: remove the…
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Biotech founder Cathy Tie calls editing human embryos a "moral imperative." Scientists say the work is nowhere near ready, and that even a perfect tool can't guarantee safety. That raises a bigger question: What would safe enough actually look like? My story @wired.com www.wired.com/story/biotec...
wired.com
A Biotech Founder Makes the Moral Case for Gene-Editing Human Embryos
The practice of editing the genes of embryos remains highly controversial and risky, but Origin Genomics founder Cathy Tie argues its a “moral imperative” to address hereditary diseases.
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Reposted by Kristen V. Brown
Hank Greely @hankgreely.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
New blog post from @stanfordclb.bsky.social from fellow Claire McGovern on an interesting paternal age limitation on publicly funded IVF in Denmark. Good discussion of pluses and minuses. law.stanford.edu/2026/09/23/d...
law.stanford.edu
Does Paternal Age Matter in Fertility Treatment? | Stanford Law School
Earlier this month, Denmark announced that it will introduce an upper age limit for men seeking access to publicly funded fertility treatment. From Ja
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Reposted by Kristen V. Brown
STAT @statnews.com · 23/09/2026
“The maternal mental health needs of women like me have been badly underprioritized in American society,” writes Meg LeDuc. www.statnews.com/2026/09/23/l...
statnews.com
Mentally ill women deserve more support to have children
“The maternal mental health needs of women like me have been badly underprioritized in American society,” writes Meg LeDuc.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The ovaries don't just shut down after menopause. They keep changing—and may take on new roles as they age. But are those changes protective, harmful, or both? Scientists are only beginning to find out. My latest for @wired.com www.wired.com/story/ovary-...
wired.com
The Ovary Is Surprisingly Active After Menopause. Scientists Are Trying to Figure Out Why
A growing body of research is putting the ovary in a new light, not as an egg factory with an expiration date, but as an organ that shapes women’s health long after the fertile years have passed.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
It was probably only a matter of time until this happened
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
AMH isn’t predictive of fertility, but it’s also not totally useless information so not sure I view this as a dangerous trend? www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
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Reposted by Kristen V. Brown
David Grimm @david-grimm.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
For years, scientists have argued that human births are difficult because of the way evolution shaped our pelvises for upright walking. But a new study argues that fetal sex may also play a role. Interesting story by @bridgetalex.bsky.social for @science.org
science.org
Why are human births so difficult? Male babies—not just upright walking—may be to blame
Analysis of 140 species suggests the risks of sons are offset by evolutionary advantages
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Reposted by Kristen V. Brown
Elizabeth Bennett @elizabethbennettjd.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I moved states 4 years ago and have a whole new slate of doctors for whom I’ve filled out a zillion medical histories. Now that you mention it, not a single one asked about my menopausal status.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Only 14% of women with menopause actually had it documented in their electronic health record. That seems like a pretty big ommission! www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
eurekalert.org
Menopause is missing from most electronic health records, study finds
Menopause is frequently missing from women’s electronic health records, according to a University of Colorado Anschutz study of nearly 396,000 women participating in the National Institutes of H...
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Ghosts in your genome www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Tracing ‘ghost’ ancestry in modern humans - Nature Genetics
Nature Genetics - Tracing ‘ghost’ ancestry in modern humans
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The Tl;DR from this dueling package: No one knows how AI will change health care, other than to say it will definitely change it www.statnews.com/2026/09/09/a... www.statnews.com/2026/09/09/a...
statnews.com
AMA CEO: AI won’t replace doctors — it will work alongside them
“The goal should not be to reproduce today’s health care system with fewer humans,” writes American Medical Association CEO John Whyte.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Whether or not humans can get pregnant in space, my question is what woman would WANT to be pregnant while also dealing with space travel www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
nationalgeographic.com
Can Humans Get Pregnant in Space?
From microgravity to intense radiation risks, the quirks of space travel raises some big questions about how they might affect a developing fetus.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I am pro anything that involves more bats www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
eurekalert.org
Bats as a form of biological pest control
Labour-intensive harvesting, complex processing: the macadamia is one of the most expensive nuts in the world. This makes it all the more important to protect the trees from pests. An international re...
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Really glad we’ve moved past this particular strategy
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Reposted by Kristen V. Brown
Christopher D. Brown @cdbrow1.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
This is all I know about the subject.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
For decades, old ideas about masculinity and femininity kept science from understanding how sperm actually works. I dug into why male fertility science stalled — and what's finally changing. For GQ: www.gq.com/story/male-i...
gq.com
No Sperm Left Behind: Modern Medicine’s Race to Solve Male Infertility
For decades our understanding of sperm could be summed up as: The strongest swimmer gets the girl. New research reveals that men’s fertility is not so simple.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Social media may lead you to believe that hormone therapy protects against a whole lot of things, but much of those claims haven't actually been proven. An interesting new study suggests women on estrogen-only hormone therapy have a reduced risk of Alzheimer's www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
eurekalert.org
Study ties estrogen-based menopausal hormone therapy to lower Alzheimer’s risk
Some studies have reported that menopausal hormone therapy raises dementia risk. A new study that analyzed Alzheimer’s-disease hallmarks in autopsied brains indicates the opposite.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
The AI slop PR pitches are outta control. Twice already this am I have written back to publicists saying I actually have no idea what they are pitching me
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Reposted by Kristen V. Brown
Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Have you started bypassing your doctor, instead using consumer blood tests, wearables, AI, or telehealth? If so, I want to hear from you! DM me or email kristenvbrown@gmail.com
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Dear editors: sorry my next story may be filed a bit late.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Have you started bypassing your doctor, instead using consumer blood tests, wearables, AI, or telehealth? If so, I want to hear from you! DM me or email kristenvbrown@gmail.com
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Honestly love the Hallmark Channel. Sometimes you just need a formulaic romcom www.nytimes.com/2026/08/10/s...
nytimes.com
What the Hallmark Channel Knows About Love
For 25 years, it’s helped big-city gals find love with hometown hunks — and distracted the rest of us when we need it most.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
My aunt was going through some old boxes of things and found this clipping she saved about endometriosis from my hometown paper, The OC Register, in 1982. It refers to endometriosis as “the career women’s disease.” And the cure? Pregnancy!
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Women were once told to suffer through menopause in silence. Now they’re navigating a cacophony of supplements, hormone subscriptions, influencers and dubious promises. My new story on the menopause boom—and why women still aren’t getting enough trustworthy care: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
bloomberg.com
The Menopause Gold Rush Is Failing Women
While startups and supplements are making billions, the healthcare mainstream hasn’t kept pace with women’s midlife needs.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
It's never made sense to me that donor eggs could fix every issue of aging and fertility — the uterus, after all, ages, too. Now a new study shows age-related changes in the womb impact pregnancy success even with donor eggs after 49. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Women hit fertility tipping point at 49 even with young donor eggs
Age-related changes in the womb lining may be the cause and could be treatable in the future, say experts.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
If you ever wondered how space travel might impact your fertility, well, here you go: www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...
pnas.org
Female reproductive dysfunction and transgenerational consequences following prolonged spaceflight exposure | PNAS
Spaceflight presents unique gravitational, radiation, and isolation hazards for human exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond, yet its impact on ...
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
This is the smartest thing I’ve read on the genome in a long time. The metaphor of DNA as ”code” I sometimes think has been more hurtful than helpful www.quantamagazine.org/why-the-huma...
quantamagazine.org
Why the Human Genome’s Tangled Physicality May Confound AI | Quanta Magazine
Our genetic heritage is not a blueprint or an algorithm, as many biologists have imagined, but something else entirely.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Study finds hormonal birth control could have a protective effect on the brain later in life. One thing this highlights that is definitely understudied is the long-term effects of taking BC news.ku.edu/news/article...
news.ku.edu
Study finds estrogen-based hormone therapies could protect brain health in older women
Click for more on research in NeuroImage
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
I have never once gotten a perfect sleep score. My cat on the other hand:
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Sometimes I wish I had been a reporter in this era of science
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Remember when you could call a post-menopausal woman a "castrate" in a medical journal? History is fun agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
THE FATE OF THE NONTREATED POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMAN: A PLEA FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF ADEQUATE ESTROGEN FROM PUBERTY TO THE GRAVE
Click on the article title to read more.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
My hack for work-life balance while writing a book:
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Kayla Barnes-Lentz owns a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. But her advice for the every woman looking to maximize her healthspan is much more basic: eat well, sleep well and move. New from me for Bloomberg Businessweek
bloomberg.com
The Woman Selling Longevity to Women Left Out of the Boys Club
Influencer Kayla Barnes-Lentz has built a loyal following arguing that wellness protocols based on male-dominated science don’t cut it for half the population.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
"He drove fast cars, drank red wine, and pissed people off." @matthewherper.bsky.social on Craig Venter www.statnews.com/2026/04/30/c...
statnews.com
Remembering J. Craig Venter: a relentless scientist who changed biotech — and was all too easily misunderstood
J. Craig Venter, the scientist whose relentless ambition helped turn genetics from an artisanal trade into an industrialized information machine, died at 79.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
really fascinated by emerging work on the gut microbiome and fertility www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
The gut–ovary axis - Lab Animal
Lab Animal - The gut–ovary axis
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
PSA: ChatGPT does not have to comply with HIPAA! www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/t...
nytimes.com
A.I. Chatbots Want Your Health Records. Tread Carefully.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
New study finds IVF doesn't increase overall risk of cancer, but uterine, ovarian and breast cancer rates were slightly higher. The study I would really like to see is health outcomes among IVF superusers who have done 4+ cycles www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
eurekalert.org
IVF not linked to higher overall cancer rates, but study shows differences in some cancers
A UNSW-led study found overall invasive cancer rates in Australian women were no higher after fertility treatments including IVF. Some specific cancers were slightly more common, while others were les...
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Today in whoa dude: researchers found part of a cat’s spine can twist 360 degrees, part of why they always land on their feet www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/s...
nytimes.com
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
You can now get your fertility drugs through Costco sesamecare.com/service/fert...
sesamecare.com
404 Page
Sesame is the #1 place to save on in-person and video doctor visits, dentistry, imaging, and more - without insurance mark-ups, surprise bills, or hidden fees.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Very glad we’ve moved past inserting electrodes into women’s vaginas
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
I keep seeing all this stuff about vibration plates but riding the subway hands free at rush hour basically does the same thing.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Would you like to go on a $7,000 retreat to "empower" your menopause journey? www.canyonranch.com/mpower
canyonranch.com
New England Menopause Retreat - Lenox, MA
Join us in the Berkshire Mountains and fully empower your menopause or perimenopause journey.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
When people talk about our lack of IVF access here in the US, the UK is often held up as an example of something to aspire to. A reality check on how accessible IVF really is for UK residents: www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
theguardian.com
Almost 70% of NHS areas in England offer only one cycle of IVF, data shows
Charity says situation breaks Nice guidelines and is having devastating impact on couples struggling with infertility
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Not only did I cry from laughing so hard reading this, it’s exactly how I felt when I had my first colonoscopy. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/m...
nytimes.com
Want to Reach Nirvana? Try a Colonoscopy.
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
totally gutted
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
Bought a smart plant monitor and now it feels like my plants are constantly texting me the equivalent of “you up?”
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
this insect is so beautiful it took me a long time to accept that it really wasn’t AI m.youtube.com/watch?v=FdfX...
m.youtube.com
Picasso Bug - Animal of the Week
YouTube video by Ben G Thomas
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Kristen V. Brown @kristenvbrown.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
A new survey out yesterday highlights just how popular these sorts of tests are: 17% of people said they have ordered a test they found on social media. www.siemens-healthineers.com/en-us/patien...
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