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Max Barnhart

@maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social
293 followers 219 following 9 posts

Social media averse science writer. I like plants and things with two wheels. maxhenrybarnhart.com

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Reposted by Max Barnhart
Laurel Oldach @laureloldach.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Oh my GOSH, you guys. From @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social's obituary of crystallographer/ribosome-ologist/activist Ada Yonath cen.acs.org/people/obitu...
"In addition to the Nobel Prize, Yonath received many awards in her lifetime, including the Wolf Prize in Chemistry, and was elected as a foreign member of the UK’s Royal Society, among other achievements. “She had many, many prizes in her office, hanging on the wall,” Krupkin says. “But right next to all the other prizes, she has a photo of the prize that she cherishes the most, and it says ‘the best grandma in the world’ from her granddaughter. That prize she says is the hardest because she has to renew it every year.”"
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Reposted by Max Barnhart
Vincent J Lynch 🐘🦣🦥 🦇🐋🐢🐍 @devoevomed.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
A new story about me, @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social, and H. Wolinsky, on the NPR @outsideinradio.bsky.social podcast about the #ColossalBio (@itiscolossal.bsky.social?) deëxtinction #Disinformation campaign against its critics #ExtinctionIsForever outsideinradio.org/shows/scient...
outsideinradio.org
Scientists spoke up against a de-extinction company. Then the smears began. — Outside/In
What happens when academics spar with a multibillion dollar corporation?
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Bri Barbu @bribarbu.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Travel nightmares and 🧊 in Atlanta affected many folks at last week's ACS meeting. Massive thanks to @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social for tag-teaming reporting and writing this around our other stories (and travel) and @laurahowes.bsky.social for editing! cen.acs.org/policy/chemi...
cen.acs.org
Chemists caught up in travel anxiety at ACS Spring 2026
Long security wait times and the presence of ICE agents at the Atlanta airport were the talk of the meeting between sessions
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Reposted by Max Barnhart
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
With @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social in @cenmag.bsky.social cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...
cen.acs.org
Relief and unease as court overturns RFK vaccine policies
Recent changes to US childhood vaccine schedule will not stand
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Reposted by Max Barnhart
C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
This is what skating on plastic looks like! Read more on our website: cen.acs.org/environment/... #chemsky 🧪
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Max Barnhart @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
I started my education in biology just as CRSIPR's gene editing potential was discovered. Now, 14 years later, sitting down with Jennifer Doudna 1-on-1 to write this profile is a highlight of my career.
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Reposted by Max Barnhart
C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
The icy sweet spot for curling is at −4.5 °C. Just half a degree warmer or colder, and play deteriorates: cen.acs.org/articles/92/... #Olympics #MilanoCortina2026 #chemsky 🧪
A man throws a curling stone down the ice.
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Max Barnhart @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
As much as it pains me to see the patriots in the Super Bowl, it did get me to step out of my comfort zone and try out some physical chemistry reporting. Now I know way more about silicone than I ever did before! cen.acs.org/materials/po...
cen.acs.org
The chemistry behind the NFL’s highlight-reel catches
Football players in the NFL use gloves coated with tacky silicone to help them grip the ball
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Reposted by Max Barnhart
Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
I'll admit it. I don't follow football. But @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social's story about the gloves football players wear for @cenmag.bsky.social is positively gripping. #chemsky cen.acs.org/materials/po...
cen.acs.org
The chemistry behind the NFL’s highlight-reel catches
Football players in the NFL use gloves coated with tacky silicone to help them grip the ball
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Max Barnhart @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
In the past, the US Advisory Committee on Immunization practices used a detailed, scientific methodology to assess vaccine data before making a recommendation. Now that process “has completely been circumvented,” under RFK Jr. @rowanwalrath.bsky.social and I have the details for @cenmag.bsky.social.
cen.acs.org
US vaccine recommendations used to be based in science. Now it’s all vibes
The Evidence to Recommendations framework ensured that the US vaccine schedule was scientifically sound. Then RFK Jr. abandoned it
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Reposted by Max Barnhart
Vincent J Lynch 🐘🦣🦥 🦇🐋🐢🐍 @devoevomed.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
What does the #DeExtinction of “dire wolves” and Hitler’s DNA have in common? #Pseudoscience, scientific #Misinformation, #Clickbate headlines, and #Hype Great article by @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social on media-first science 🧪 #BlueSkyScience #AcademicBluesky #BioSky #HumanGenetics
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Max Barnhart @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
I spent the last week in Abu Dhabi, talking to scientists, conservationists, and public health researchers about what it means to release genetically modified organisms into the wild. And I’ve never seen a scientific debate this contentious before. Read my latest @cenmag.bsky.social to learn more.
cen.acs.org
Conservationists clash over the use of synthetic biology
But at global conservation forum, a vote to ban genetically modified wildlife fails
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Reposted by Max Barnhart
Bri Barbu @bribarbu.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
My coworker @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social got infected with dengue *on purpose* for science! Read his brilliant blend of reporting and first-person narrative about what he learned from his experience as a clinical trial participant:
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Max Barnhart @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
Once you get dengue fever, you're at a much greater risk of severe disease if you ever get it again due to something called antibody dependent enhancement. So why did I choose to purposely be infected with dengue? Read my latest for @cenmag.bsky.social to find out. I'm quite proud of this one.
cen.acs.org
I was injected with dengue virus to learn about clinical trials
I became a test subject in a clinical trial for a new dengue treatment. Here’s what I discovered
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Reposted by Max Barnhart
C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Critics of scientific publishing suggest reform is needed to resolve the #PeerReviewCrisis. We want to know—What do you think could improve peer review? Are the comments you receive useful? Have you been retaliated against? Share your experience here: cen.acs.org/policy/publi... #chemsky 🧪
cen.acs.org
Editorial: It’s about time for transparency in peer review
<i>Nature</i> will begin publishing all peer review comments. Other journals should follow suit
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Reposted by Max Barnhart
Frank Noe @franknoe.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
@maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social has written a really nice piece on BioEmu for Chemical & Engineering news. cen.acs.org/biological-c...
cen.acs.org
Microsoft AI predicts protein conformations
The open-source tool goes beyond AlphaFold by finding proteins’ multiple equilibrium states and free energies
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Max Barnhart @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
Colossal has now released a scientific preprint originally meant to accompany their dire wolf announcement. It features George R. R. Martin as a co-author, but doesn't use the term de-extinction. Does Colossal know their claims don't hold up to scientific scrutiny? Check out my story to learn more.
cen.acs.org
Dire wolf debate raises concerns on scientific overhype
Even de-extinction advocates say that Colossal Biosciences’ claims are misleading
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Reposted by Max Barnhart
Vincent J Lynch 🐘🦣🦥 🦇🐋🐢🐍 @devoevomed.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
This is the best-sourced reporting on what we should all call the Colossal Dire Wolf Debacle™️ from now on. Chapeau to @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social over at @cenmag.bsky.social for shedding some light on what went down... #ExtinctionIsForever cen.acs.org/biological-c...
cen.acs.org
Dire wolf debate raises concerns on scientific overhype
Even de-extinction advocates say that Colossal Biosciences’ claims are misleading
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Max Barnhart @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
"Scientists estimate that COVID-19 vaccines saved 14 million–20 million lives in their first year of use. But the vaccines were, and still are, far from perfect." In my latest for C&EN, I take a look at the next-generation of COVID-19 vaccines, and how they might improve upon vaccines of the past.
cen.acs.org
Building a better COVID-19 vaccine
The next generation of COVID-19 vaccines promises to be safer and more effective
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