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Liz Highleyman

@lizhighleyman.bsky.social
9.6K followers 2K following 4.5K posts

Freelance medical journalist. Science editor for @pozmagazine.bsky.social, Hep & CancerHealth. Words for aidsmap, Slate, Bay Area Reporter. Research beagle adopter.

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Reposted by Liz Highleyman
Sarah Taber @sarahtaber.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Hot take: I don't think social media made people dumber. We've been dumb this whole time. It's just that you used to have to have a job that people sent their dumb letters to, to notice. This made "Engaging with fools" an occupational hazard rather than the 24/7 experience it is presently.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I haven’t seen any coverage yet in the big mainstream newspapers that usually do health & science reporting… www.newsweek.com/suspected-pl...
newsweek.com
Suspected Plague Death at Russian Lab Sparks ‘Anti-Epidemic’ Lockdown
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Many lifetime survivors, who were born with HIV, are now young adults. Perinatal transmission is rare in the US today (<100 cases/year) thanks to maternal treatment. I’m still sore about some AIDS activists opposing studies of AZT to prevent mother-to-child transmission in the early ‘90s.
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William Gillis 🏴 @rechelon.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I believe with near perfect credence that teddy bears are not morally relevant agents, *nevertheless* I think it's good that we frown on and recoil viscerally from those who attempt to torture teddy bears, because of what such behavior signals and habituates.
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Dhruv Mehrotra @dmehro.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
NEW: DHS agents tracked people observing ICE arrests, photographed them, ran their plates, pulled personal information, and added them to a Palantir database, according to newly unsealed court filings. w/ @regret.bsky.social
wired.com
ICE Has Been Dumping Protester Photos Into a Palantir Database
DHS agents not only tracked and intimidated people observing ICE activity in Maine, but stored information about them in a Palantir-built database, newly unsealed court filings say.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
It’s depressing that people think we need to mandate tedious make-work jobs to keep workers from becoming destitute. I’d rather people were paid to do nothing vs making daily life more difficult.😡 www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/g...
sfchronicle.com
New S.F. plan could limit self-checkout. Grocers warn of longer lines, higher prices
Grocery stores are pushing back against the proposed restrictions, which they say could turn shoppers away, limit their ability to use self checkout lanes or even raise food prices.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Good sense from Paul Sax. I also don’t think most healthy seniors need two COVID vaccines every year. voices.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The Oct-Nov issue of @pozmagazine.bsky.social is out this week. Featuring my interview with Jose M. Zuniga about his new book, Aftershocks & how to fight threats to public health & the HIV response both domestically and globally. www.poz.com/article/bett...
poz.com
Our Better Angels
José M. Zuniga’s new book looks at threats to public health and the HIV response domestically and globally.
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Reposted by Liz Highleyman
PBS News @pbsnews.org · 02/10/2026
Hurricane Rachel has been upgraded to a Category 3 storm off Mexico's Pacific coast. On Wednesday night, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico warned U.S. citizens in Cabos San Lucas, a popular vacation destination for Americans, of beach and port closures and deadly rip currents. to.pbs.org/4zfKjJg
pbs.org
LIVE MAP: Track the path of Hurricane Rachel
Hurricane Rachel has been upgraded to a Category 3 storm off Mexico's Pacific coast as northern Mexico and parts of the U.S. Southwest were reeling from flooding and damage from the remnants of Hurricane Polo earlier this week.
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Reposted by Liz Highleyman
The Intercept @theintercept.com · 30/09/2026
The Intercept is suing for critical records in the Prairieland “antifa” terrorism case that has seen anti-ICE activists hit with prison sentences totaling over 560 years. Can you chip in $5 by midnight to help us uncover the truth? buff.ly/0yHib2h
buff.ly
Become a Member of The Intercept
Protecting freedom of the press has never been more important. Support The Intercept’s independent journalism by becoming a member today.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
An estimated 2.3 cancer cases worldwide—or 1 in 8—are attributable to infections, according to study results published in The Lancet Oncology. Fortunately, infection-related malignancies are largely preventable through vaccination and treatment of underlying diseases.
cancerhealth.com
1 in 8 Cancer Cases Worldwide Are Due to Infections
Most of the more than 2 million cases were attributable to Helicobacter pylori, human papillomavirus, HBV and hepatitis B and C.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Once again, “because you’re 12.”
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Reposted by Liz Highleyman
Brian Goldstone @brian-goldstone.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
There is something so unbelievably bleak about an article that calmly walks readers through how to navigate being laid off after 50, losing your health insurance, and somehow surviving the years until Medicare. What a broken country.
nytimes.com
Laid Off After 50, and No Health Insurance? Here’s What to Consider. (Gift Article)
At best, older workers will struggle to find health insurance that bridges the years before they qualify for Medicare at age 65.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
This is barbaric.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
People were upset when the government tried to position AIDS as an equal-opportunity disease in the 1980s. They’re at it again with an HIV plan that doesn’t mention the key populations at higher risk, incl gay men, trans women, Black & Latino people, sex workers, PWID, homeless. What’s the point?
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Never mind artificial intelligence -- let's recognize the intelligence of fellow living creatures. "Accounts described elephants selecting particular plants when they seemed unwell, and mothers reportedly giving medicinal plant material to their calves." www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Elephants treat themselves with medicinal plants, witnesses say
African elephants use dozens of different medicinal plants to treat themselves and their families when they are sick, research reveals.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Artificial intelligence as it exists now & potential super intelligence are different things. We might not want laws & policies written for one to apply to the other. I suppose the tech moguls’ plan is to humor Trump in public & ignore his dictates in their everyday work.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Wow, that's quite an impressive line up of hurricanes & tropical storms in the Pacific, coupled with a rare lull in the Atlantic. zoom.earth
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Reposted by Liz Highleyman
IAC - the International AIDS Conference @aidsconference.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
📣 #AIDS2026 content is now freely available on #IASPlus! Explore over 1,700 resources from the 26th International AIDS Conference, including conference sessions & e-posters. 📲 Dive into the research, insights & discussions from AIDS2026: plus.iasociety.org/search/resources…
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 27/09/2026
Researchers at Stanford loaded GPT-6 Astra into a humanoid robot. It explored its environment and built spatial context to navigate it to accomplish tasks. These aren't just hallucinating chatbots anymore.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The lesbian bar COVID mask controversy has gone the way of the Jason Arday discourse, morphing into a prolonged, out-of-proportion pile-on that’s now little more than engagement bait & a culture war battle. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/09/22/m...
bostonglobe.com
A Western Mass. lesbian bar required KN-95 masks. When it changed the rules, all hell broke loose. - The Boston Globe
Last Ditch Bar in Greenfield wanted to build community. They got a firestorm instead.
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MyRadar @myradar.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Hurricane Polo is back to 180 mph Category 5 strength. It’s likely going to hit the Baja Peninsula on Monday as a Category 1-2. Senior meteorologist @matthewcappucci.bsky.social has an update. myradar.com/videos/6798
myradar.com
Polo to Hit Baja Peninsula
Hurricane Polo is back to 180 mph Category 5 strength. It’s likely going to hit the Baja Peninsula on Monday as a Category 1-2. Senior meteorologist Matthew Cappucci has an update.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
My rescued beagles -- & the many others still in laboratories & breeding facilities like Marshall BioResources -- definitely feel, want & understand. As do animals in factory farms. This kind of attitude is what justifies animal cruelty. Human slavery, too.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
We're in trouble...
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
New HIV diagnoses in SF fell by 8% last year, from 148 to 136 cases, reversing a small uptick seen in 2024, according to the latest HIV epidemiology annual report from SF DPH. @bayareareporter.bsky.social www.ebar.com/story/170572/
ebar.com
HIV cases in SF fall 8%, resume their downward trend
New HIV diagnoses in San Francisco fell by 8% last year, from 148 to 136 cases, reversing a small uptick seen in 2024, according to the latest HIV epidemiology annual report from the city’s Department...
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Algorithms, man…AI safety sex cult has overtaken lesbian bar COVID masking discourse in my feed. (Original blog post taken down by author, but easy enough to find. Once something goes out on the open internet, there’s no calling it back.)
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Not being in the official FDA indication based on clinical trials done to date =/= no medical reason. Stopping relentless food noise is a reason, just like drugs that suppression opioid cravings to treat addiction.
nytimes.com
Many Americans Use GLP-1 Drugs Without a Medical Reason, Study Shows
A new study identified more than 1 million people taking weight-loss drugs without any apparent medical reason to do so.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
LLMs are language models, but what machine learning really excels at is crunching huge amounts of data to find patterns.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This attempt at political control of NIH funding got a lot of pushback. Keep it up. www.semafor.com/article/09/2...
semafor.com
Exclusive: Trump administration backing off NIH grant order amid pushback
The proposal, which would have given President Donald Trump greater influence over health grant decisionmaking, could still advance in a new form.
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Reposted by Liz Highleyman
Brian Stelter @brianstelter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
In NYT v. United States, the landmark 1971 fight over the Pentagon Papers, Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black wrote that “the word ‘security’ is a broad, vague generality whose contours should not be invoked to abrogate the fundamental law embodied in the First Amendment.”
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
As an independent contractor in my early 60s, my ACA premium went up to $1500/month. My “health plan” is generic HRT, a compounded GLP-1, workouts & 🤞until Medicare eligibility. I live in dread of losing my home to medical bankruptcy.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
BREAKING WaPo: JD Vance and admin officials are set to announce that they're removing hundreds of thousands of people from Affordable Care Act coverage — claiming that they were fraudulently enrolled in the program, according to three people with knowledge of the forthcoming announcement.
washingtonpost.com
Trump officials plan to cut hundreds of thousands from ACA, claiming fraud
Vance targeted ACA enrollment as part of a broader administration crackdown on suspected fraud.
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Reposted by Liz Highleyman
Dennis Mersereau 🛰️ @wxdam.com · 22/09/2026
Hurricane Polo rapidly intensified from a 65 mph tropical storm to a 160 mph Category 5 hurricane in just 21 hours.
An infrared satellite image of Hurricane Polo on Tuesday morning
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
🤦‍♀️ This goes beyond his performative obsession with place names & has real ramifications. If laws & EOs refer to “super intelligence” (whatever he thinks that is), they won’t apply to the garden-variety AI we have today.
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Reposted by Liz Highleyman
Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 22/09/2026
Normal, non-big-tech affiliated, non-effective altruist funded organizations working on ethical tech have been absolutely financially *devastated* in the last few years, thanks to both Trump and Big Tech deciding it no longer needs to pretend to care about ethics.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Meanwhile, the Atlantic hasn't had any hurricanes yet this year in late September. I don't think that's happened in my lifetime.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The benefits of universal health coverage outweigh the drawbacks, but Americans need to understand that doesn't mean everyone will get everything they want all the time. Given the availability of cheap generic PrEP, the UK has decided twice-yearly lenacapavir at $14K per shot is not cost-effective.
i-base.info
NICE fails to approve lenacapavir for HIV PrEP: will feedback lead to the right outcome in November? | HIV i-Base
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Chronic hepatitis B specifically. Chronic hepatitis C can now be much more easily cured with a short course of well-tolerated antiviral drugs.
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Ars Technica @arstechnica.com · 21/09/2026
arstechnica.com
Trump planning to hand veto power over NIH grants to political appointee
Pending move comes over the objections of the NIH director.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I would have loved this as a kid.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The only thing that gets to Trump is not getting the attention he craves.
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Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
NIH
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I think it’s more about steering research funding away from his perceived enemies.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Sounds like Jay Bhattacharya maybe got more than he bargained for throwing in with the right…
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The Washington Sun @washingtonsun.com · 19/09/2026
In a departure from the norm, RFK Jr. has picked specialists to serve on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which helps decide screenings people should get from their primary care doctor.
washingtonsun.com
RFK Jr. Reshapes Another Crucial Public Health Task Force
In a departure from the norm, Kennedy has picked specialists to serve on the preventative services panel, which helps decide screenings people should get from their primary care doctor.
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Peter Maybarduk @maybarduk.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
We obtained Trump’s confidential drug pricing deals with Pfizer & Lilly via FOIA litigation. The texts are heavily redacted, making it impossible to verify some of Trump's claims. But unredacted text shows Trump exaggerated his drug pricing achievements, which expire anyway at the end of his term.
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William Gillis 🏴 @rechelon.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
I generally focus my attention on intra-anarchist theoretical disputes, but posting on Bluesky will send hordes of liberal sealions into your mentions. So I wrote a thing for them on the unique speech constraints anarchists face in political "debate": humaniterations.net/2026/09/19/a...
humaniterations.net
Asymmetric Speech Constraints Around Anarchism
Any minority position faces an uphill battle at persuasion.
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Dan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
New: Officials battled over NIH in the Oval Office today, per people familiar. RUSS VOUGHT criticized NIH "woke" spending and floated executive order to review its grants. JAY BHATTACHARYA defended NIH's alignment with Trump. TRUMP appeared to side with Vought. with @rbeggin.bsky.social
washingtonpost.com
Vought pushes for scrutiny of NIH grants in Oval Office clash
A heated debate took place in the Oval Office on Friday, with some Trump officials accusing the National Institutes of Health of funding grants that conflict with the president’s agenda.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
25 years ago today, George W. Bush signed the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force into law. Barbara Lee was the only member of Congress to vote against it, warning it would be a blank check for forever wars. History has proven her lonely and courageous vote right.
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Follow @shayan86.bsky.social for good tips on detecting AI-generated images.
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