Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 30/09/2026The 30-year quest to treat the ultrarare disease C3G: How science and its supporters banded together to save lives. I was blessed to work on this story for the last year. Thank you to The Atavist and editor Seyward Darby for bringing it into the world. magazine.atavist.commagazine.atavist.comHomepage - The Atavist MagazineThe Atavist Magazine publishes one incredible true story every month. We specialize in longform narratives, the kind you want to read to the very last word. 111
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 01/05/2026In February, I was one of 350 journalists The Washington Post laid off. Today the divorce is final. People say it's not personal. It just feels that way. I'm grateful for my time at The Post. I learned from the best. Still hunting for cool stories at: markjohnson6926@gmail.com. 011
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 29/04/2026OUT OF THE LAB AND INTO THE STREET. I have a freelance story in The Guardian US today profiling the woman at the helm of the Stand Up For Science organization, Colette Delawalla. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...theguardian.comShe set out to become a clinical psychologist. Now she’s leading a US movement to save scienceColette Delawalla launched Stand Up for Science to push back against Trump’s cuts to medical and scientific research 0123
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 20/02/2026A day or two after The Washington Post laid me off, I was contacted out of the blue with an offer to go on Peter Friedman's excellent Get the Tip podcast. Turned out to be a lot of fun. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXQY...youtube.comAfter the Washington Post Layoffs: A Pulitzer Prize Journalist Speaks OutYouTube video by I'll Get The Tip 010
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 09/02/2026Read this excellent article in EdSurge on the new book, "Miracle Children." It tells the story of how a small Louisiana school misled families and thwarted students’ college dreams. www.edsurge.com/news/2026-02...edsurge.comHow a Small Louisiana School Misled Families and Thwarted Students’ College Dreams - EdSurge News“Miracle Children” explores how tiny T.M. Landry College Prep sold big dreams of getting to the Ivy League to dozens of kids, only to be exposed as a ... 010
Reposted by Mark JohnsonFenit Nirappil @fenitn.bsky.social · 05/02/2026Our second most read story right now comes from @markjohnpost.bsky.social, a Pulitzer-winning science reporter on our team, who announced he was laid off. Just the latest example of how he found the most fascinating areas of science to unpack beautifully www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...washingtonpost.comThese patients saw what comes after death. Should we believe them?Researchers have developed a model to explain the science of near-death experiences. Others have challenged it. 1104
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 29/01/2026Doctors in Chicago saved a man with a rare infection that had liquefied his lungs, hooking him up to what they have called a total artificial lung. My story in on The Washington Post web site: www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...washingtonpost.comAn infection liquefied a man’s lungs. This invention kept him alive.Doctors at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago saved the life of young man using a total artificial lung that sustained him until he could receive a transplant. 010
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 29/01/2026Doctors in Chicago saved a man with a rare infection that had liquefied his lungs, hooking him up to what they have called a total artificial lung. My story is on The Washington Post web site: www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...washingtonpost.comAn infection liquefied a man’s lungs. This invention kept him alive.Doctors at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago saved the life of young man using a total artificial lung that sustained him until he could receive a transplant. 000
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 18/01/2026Story in today's Washington Post describes fascinating new study of same-sex relations among primates that suggests the behavior offers evolutionary benefits. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...washingtonpost.comThe evolutionary upside of same-sex sex among primatesNew science suggests why monkeys and other primates engage in same-sex relations 130
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 16/01/2026If you've been diagnosed with four psychiatric disorders and take four different pills, maybe you don't need to. What if they come down to the same problem? My story in today's Washington Post examines this question. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...washingtonpost.comScience shows very different psychiatric disorders might have the same causeA sweeping new study of psychiatric and genetic records has the potential to change treatment for millions of psychiatric patients. 240
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 06/01/2026The stimulants Ritalin and Adderall have been prescribed to treat ADHD for decades, but it turns out they don't work the way scientists previously thought. My story is in today's Washington Post. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...washingtonpost.comADHD drugs work, but not the way experts thoughtNew brain research could reshape our understanding of ADHD and the most common drugs that treat it. 020
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 12/12/2025Scientists build world's tiniest robot, smaller than a grain of salt, bringing medicine closer to Fantastic Voyage into the human body. My story is in today's Washington Post. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...washingtonpost.comRobot smaller than grain of salt can ‘sense, think and act’The device advances medicine toward a future that might see tiny robots sent into the body to rewire damaged nerves, deliver medicines and analyze a patient’s cells without surgery. 120
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 08/12/2025Beating back the effects of aging by "supercharging cells". Here's my story on the Washington Post home page: www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...washingtonpost.comThe quest to slow aging leads scientists into the powerhouse of cellsScientists have developed a new method to boost the energy of aging or damaged cells, an innovation that could improve treatment of a variety of conditions. 020
Reposted by Mark JohnsonDino Grandoni @dinograndoni.bsky.social · 01/12/2025And here's the 2nd story in the series! It's on the stunning & unexpected connection between the 📉 in vultures and the 📈 in rabies in India -by @markjohnpost.bsky.social & Saumya Khandelwal www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...washingtonpost.comHumans killed millions of vultures. Now people are paying the price.The near-extinction of vultures in India has had severe consequences. 051
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 30/11/2025The lightning decline of vultures in India, led to a surge in dogs, dog bites and rabies deaths. I was able to report the story in India, thanks to The Washington Post, the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting and my reporting partner Dino Grandoni. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...washingtonpost.comHumans killed millions of vultures. Now people are paying the price.The near-extinction of vultures in India has had severe consequences. 031
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 19/11/2025Swiss researchers have developed a microrobot guided by magnets that can deliver medications to precise locations, a possible solution to a major cause of drug side effects. Here's my story in The Post: www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...washingtonpost.comRobots in your bloodstream could deliver drugs with greater precisionScientists in Switzerland are pioneering a way to precisely target drugs in the body using tiny devices controlled by magnets, a technique that could one day reduce unintended side effects. 020
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 02/11/2025A new clinical trial at Children's National Hospital in D.C. is taking aim at children's solid tumors an area with little progress to show for the last 30 years. My article in The Washington Post ran today: www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...washingtonpost.comWhy this clinical trial is offering some young cancer patients hopeChildren’s National Hospital is poised to recruit patients for a new clinical trial that will take on an old, implacable foe: children’s solid tumors. Little progress has been made in 30 years. 020
Reposted by Mark JohnsonEileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 23/10/2025GIFT! Study Finds mRNA Covid Vaccines Prolonged Life of Cancer Patients By @markjohnpost.bsky.social "Covid-19 vaccines, credited with saving millions of lives during the pandemic, set off a powerful alarm that rallies the human immune system against cancer and nearly doubles the median survival."wapo.stStudy finds mRNA coronavirus vaccines prolonged life of cancer patientsA study found that covid-19 vaccines appeared to awaken the immune system in lung and skin cancer patients, helping them live longer than those not vaccinated. 0147
Reposted by Mark Johnsonallen institute @alleninstitute.org · 06/10/2025Why do optical illusions work? The culprit may be a group of neurons in the visual cortex that help us fill in missing information. @markjohnpost.bsky.social for @washingtonpost.com dives into the science and how it could help demystify visual hallucinations: www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...washingtonpost.comThe origins of hallucinations are traced in specialized brain cellsResearchers used lasers to record and stimulate the activity of neurons in mice to learn how the brain processes and interprets optical illusions. 0195
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 23/10/2025Two months after HHS eliminates almost $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine development, a new study finds evidence that the covid-19 vaccine almost doubled median survival length in some cancer patients. www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...washingtonpost.comStudy finds mRNA coronavirus vaccines prolonged life of cancer patientsA study found that covid-19 vaccines appeared to awaken the immune system in lung and skin cancer patients, helping them live longer than those not vaccinated. 072
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 05/09/2025Would Xi or Putin plonk down a $1 billion bet on someone living to the age of 150? Here's my story in today's Post: www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...washingtonpost.comThe $1 billion wager riding on whether a human will live to 150The leaders of China and Russia discussed medical advances and whether a human might reach the age of 150. Two experts in the longevity field have a “$1 billion” wager riding on the question. 010
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 15/08/2025New weapon in the fight against tooth decay may come from sheep's wool or human hair. I have a story in The Washington Post on research from King's College London. www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...washingtonpost.comThe potential key to upgrading toothpaste? Sheep’s wool and human hair.Scientists find keratin from hair can form a protective coating on teeth, potentially preventing tooth decay and promoting better dental care 000
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 14/08/2025Great reporting by my colleagues at The Washington Post on the administration's "war on data." www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...washingtonpost.comTrump’s answer to numbers he doesn’t like: Change them or throw them awayFrom D.C. crime rates to census collection to labor statistics, the administration has suppressed inconvenient data and conjured inaccurate statistics to bolster policy objectives. 000
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 12/08/2025I'm in awe of my colleagues' excellent work on the shooting at CDC headquarters in Atlanta. Read this terrific story by Lauren Webber and Lena Sun. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...washingtonpost.comAfter CDC shooting, its employees turn their anger to RFK Jr. and TrumpDocuments from the shooter’s home showed his discontent with coronavirus vaccines, authorities said. CDC workers want RFK Jr. to denounce vaccine misinformation. 000
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 06/08/2025Harvard Medical School researchers have discovered that the depletion of lithium in the brain leads to much of the deterioration in Alzheimer's disease. In a mouse model, they were actually able to reverse the damage. Here's my story in The Post: www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...washingtonpost.comResearch on reversing Alzheimer’s reveals lithium as potential keyYears of investigation by scientists at Harvard has revealed that lithium is deeply involved in Alzheimer’s disease, a finding that could lead to new treatments. 140
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 30/07/2025Is NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya "not a politician" as he says? Here's my story in The Post. Let me know what you think: www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...washingtonpost.comNIH director says cuts aim to reduce ‘ideological research,’ focus on healthScience and American politics have become intertwined as perhaps never before. 000
Reposted by Mark JohnsonElizabeth Warren @warren.senate.gov · 03/07/2025Protecting his stock portfolio while ripping away health care from 17 million Americans. This is Washington at its worst. We need to ban Congressional stock trading. 1067300239951
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 03/07/2025What happened to Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvadoran prison: "guards, who had determined that he wasn’t a hardened gang member, threatened to put him in with real gang members who would 'tear' him apart." Read story by Steve Thompson, of The Washington Post. www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...washingtonpost.comKilmar Abrego García’s lawyers describe ‘severe beatings’ in El Salvador prisonIn a rare account of conditions inside the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), Abrego’s attorneys say he and others deported there from the United States were beaten and forced to kneel fo... 010
Reposted by Mark JohnsonFerric Fang, MD @fangferric.bsky.social · 21/06/2025This is a terrible decision that threatens what has long been an indispensable resource for patients and their providers. The federal HIV guidelines have been a model for a living document that is constantly updated through a rigorous and collaborative process. 1104
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 21/06/2025What next at HHS? My story on the phasing out of NIH support for HIV clinical practice guidelines. www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...washingtonpost.comAdministration to phase out NIH support of HIV clinical guidelinesThe National Institutes of Health will phase out its support of the clinical practice guidelines that advise doctors how to diagnose and treat HIV. 030
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 11/06/2025One of the greatest composers of the modern era. R.I.P. www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2...washingtonpost.comBrian Wilson, singer-songwriter who created the Beach Boys, dies at 82His early hits — “Surfer Girl,” “I Get Around,” “All Summer Long,” “Help Me, Rhonda” and “California Girls” — evoked a fantasy world of fast cars, beautiful youth, eternal surf and sunshine on an imm... 020
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 03/06/2025Doing the right thing. Finally. www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...washingtonpost.comTulsa announces reparations for the 1921 ‘Black Wall Street’ massacreIt took decades of research by historians and journalists — and reports by state and federal commissions — to uncover the violence that claimed more than 300 Black lives. 010
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 03/06/2025A bleak future for the government's chemical safety agency. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...washingtonpost.comWhite House proposes shutting down chemical safety agencySince 1998, the Chemical Safety Board has played a key role in probing the causes of major chemical accidents. 010
Reposted by Mark Johnsonallen institute @alleninstitute.org · 28/05/2025You can't treat what you can't reach. A new fleet of 1,000 "gene delivery trucks" could help bring more targeted gene therapies to the brain and spinal cord. Dive deeper in this great article by @markjohnpost.bsky.social for @washingtonpost.com. 🧠📈 www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025... 0288
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 29/05/2025Yet another batch of pardons. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...washingtonpost.comTrump’s clemency spree extends to ex-gangster, artist, former congressmenTrump said he also is considering pardons for men convicted in the kidnapping plot against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. 000
Reposted by Mark JohnsonQuinn Sievers @quinnsievers.bsky.social · 27/05/2025We discussed this incredible article in lab meeting today from @markjohnpost.bsky.social in @washingtonpost.com wapo.st/3ZDCj5dwapo.stA grim prognosis, a gamble and one patient’s fight to defy cancerAfter a Stage 4 cancer diagnosis and a prognosis of 16 months to live, Katie Doble didn’t know whether she should plan her wedding or her funeral. 001
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 28/05/2025The Washington Post has published a story I wrote on important new discoveries made through the NIH Brain initiative. www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...washingtonpost.comScientists develop gene delivery ‘trucks’ that could treat brain diseasesGene delivery systems can target specific brain cells, a breakthrough that could lead to treatments for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. 010
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 28/05/2025More pardoning. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...washingtonpost.comTrump to pardon reality stars Todd and Julie ChrisleyThe former stars of USA Network’s “Chrisley Knows Best” were sentenced to 12 and seven years, respectively, in 2022 for fraud and tax evasion. 000
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 28/05/2025Historians purged. www.washingtonpost.com/history/2025...washingtonpost.comThese historians oversee unbiased accounts of U.S. foreign policy. Trump fired them all.An advisory committee of historians helps ensure the record of America’s history remains unbiased, transparent and thorough. Trump just fired the entire panel. 000
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 28/05/2025RFK Jr. continues his push to dictate what constitutes good science. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...washingtonpost.comRFK Jr. says he may bar scientists from publishing in top medical journalsHealth Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took aim at reputed journals such as the Lancet and said the agency will create “in-house” publications instead. 000
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 28/05/2025Great reporting by my Post colleagues raising questions about the President's picks to provide oversight. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...washingtonpost.comTrump oversight picks include scandal-hit ex-lawmaker, antiabortion lawyerSeveral nominees have clearly partisan backgrounds, including two with controversial histories and two with ties to the agency they would be investigating. 000
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 27/05/2025Strong editorial: www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...washingtonpost.comOpinion | In defense of nationwide injunctionsThe Supreme Court has good reason to preserve this check on presidential power. 000
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 27/05/2025More pardoning by the Pardoner-in-Chief. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...washingtonpost.comTrump pardons former Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery, fraudFormer sheriff Scott Jenkins was found guilty of accepting more than $75,000 in bribes. 000
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 27/05/2025Justice Neil M. Gorsuch called the court’s refusal to review the case a “grievous mistake — one with consequences that threaten to reverberate for generations.” www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...washingtonpost.comSupreme Court declines to stop transfer of Native American site for miningThe justices left in place a lower-court decision that allows the transfer of land in central Arizona known as Oak Flat that is sacred to Western Apache Indians. 000
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 15/05/2025White House is planning a military parade that costs $25 million to $45 million. How many canceled research projects might that have paid for? How many RIFed government workers? www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...washingtonpost.comPrice tag for Trump’s military parade could reach $45 millionSoldiers will be housed in U.S. Department of Agriculture and General Services Administration buildings for days, an Army spokesman said. 000
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 15/05/2025The Washington Post's David Nakamura tells the powerful story of the man who's fight led to birthright citizenship. www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...washingtonpost.comHis great-grandfather enshrined birthright citizenship. Norman Wong is trying to save it.One hundred and twenty-seven years after Wong Kim Ark’s Supreme Court victory enshrined birthright citizenship, Norman Wong is fighting to protect that legacy. 000
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 15/05/2025Republicans go demure when asked about the $400 million plane from Qatar. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...washingtonpost.comAnalysis | The Republican squirm is in full swingAmid extraordinary Trump gambits in recent days, Republicans are straining — hard — to avoid passing judgment. 010
Mark Johnson @markjohnpost.bsky.social · 12/05/2025Scientists say a new AI device can tell your biological age from a photograph of your face. Not how old you are in years, but how old you are in health. Here's my story in The Washington Post: www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...washingtonpost.comNew AI tool predicts your biological age from a selfieScientists at Mass General Brigham in Boston have developed an AI tool called FaceAge, an algorithm designed to tell patients’ biological age from a photograph. 000