Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Heads up: I'll be away the weeks of 9/21 and 9/28. I trust that my sharp C&EN colleagues will capably handle anything that comes up in my absence. I return 10/5, so if you need something from me specifically, I'd reach out or re-up then! 001
Reposted by Rowan WalrathBri Barbu @bribarbu.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Very very cool interactive data story from some of C&EN's finest! 121
Reposted by Rowan WalrathLaurel Oldach @laureloldach.bsky.social · 01/09/2026At the end of this comprehensive story by @rowanwalrath.bsky.social and Shea Murphy, you can play with several data dimensions to see which US city ranks highest in factors that matter to you. (You also have to scroll to find the global cities - they're there!) cen.acs.org/business/inv...cen.acs.orgCities of chemistryC&EN explores which cities have the ingredients for chemical innovation 011
Reposted by Rowan WalrathRowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 01/09/2026The coolest part, IMO, is this "build your own city ranking" tool. You can use sliders to adjust how much weight you'd give to one dimension, like VC funding or lab space, and see what cities come out on top. 102
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Special thanks to Shea, whose data chops made this feature possible, and to the folks at Tevard Biosciences, @elilillyandcompany.bsky.social, @greentownlabs.bsky.social, and Michelle Arkin at UCSF for showing why geography is important for building a career and/or a chemistry ecosystem. 000
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Try it out. Let us know what you think. cen.acs.org/business/inv...cen.acs.orgCities of chemistryC&EN explores which cities have the ingredients for chemical innovation 100
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 01/09/2026The coolest part, IMO, is this "build your own city ranking" tool. You can use sliders to adjust how much weight you'd give to one dimension, like VC funding or lab space, and see what cities come out on top. 102
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 01/09/2026These tools are interactive, allowing you to play with data yourself to see what regions are dominant as research centers, chemical industry hubs, and start-up havens—ultimately, whatever matters most to you. 100
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Boston & Massachusetts may not house the headquarters of top US pharmaceutical companies, but they commands the most chemistry-related VC investment and the third-highest chemistry article output, reflecting their status as a life sciences hub spanning start-ups, academia, and research hospitals. 100
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Houston, long the stronghold of the petrochemical industry, is now establishing itself as the geographic cornerstone of the US energy transition. 100
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Different cities and regions play host to different kinds of chemistry ecosystems. 100
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 01/09/2026And you need institutions. Depending on how you’d like your career to unfold, those institutions can include academic centers, big industrial companies, start-up accelerators and incubators, and venture capital firms. 110
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 01/09/2026For any career, a network is everything. For chemists, that network is highly specialized. You need laboratory space. You need coworkers and mentors with certain skill sets. 100
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 01/09/2026What are the most important ingredients for chemical innovation? For @cenmag.bsky.social, my colleague Shea Murphy and I sought to find out. 🧵 116
Reposted by Rowan WalrathCarl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 26/08/2026Nature honors Dolly Parton's scientific legacy. www.nature.com/articles/d41...nature.comDolly Parton dies aged 80 – researchers celebrate her contributions to scienceThe country singer was an advocate for vaccines, public health, literacy and marginalized communities. 3736272
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 19/08/2026Biopharmaceutical executives and investors are cautiously hopeful that President Donald J. Trump’s nominee to head the US Food and Drug Administration will bring some much-needed stability to the agency. @cenmag.bsky.social cen.acs.org/policy/regul...cen.acs.orgDrug industry leaders size up Trump’s FDA commissioner nomineeWhite House aide Heidi Overton has been tapped to lead the agency after a tumultuous period 101
Reposted by Rowan WalrathEric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · 05/08/2026Severe Covid leads to persistent viral reactivation, with >10 different viruses noted in the first 40 days after hospital admission. Long Covid was specifically associated with reactivation of latent Anelloviridae virus @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comVirus reactivation in acute and long COVID-19 - NatureChronic reactivation of distinct herpesviruses and anelloviruses occur during acute and long COVID-19, and track with disease severity, inflammation and outcomes, revealing immune signatures with prog... 9445210
Reposted by Rowan WalrathMiles W. Griffis @mileswgriffis.bsky.social · 20/07/2026""We’re interested in FcRn inhibitors as a treatment option for a subset of folks with Long COVID...” Putrino [said]." A great story on Vyvgart and Ampligen, and the challenges of study design for Long COVID, POTS, and ME by @rowanwalrath.bsky.social cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...cen.acs.orgAccess to potential long COVID drugs dwindles as trials falterTwo sets of studies for COVID-driven conditions show the struggles of drug development 1136
Reposted by Rowan WalrathChemjobber @chemjobber.bsky.social · 20/07/2026#chemsky thread on long COVID therapies 163
Reposted by Rowan WalrathLaura Howes @laurahowes.bsky.social · 20/07/2026A complicated disease, competing corporate and scientific priorities, and regulatory catch-22s. Please read the results of @rowanwalrath.bsky.social 's reporting as she's tried to better understand the state of drug development for long COVID and related conditions 033
Reposted by Rowan WalrathJulia Métraux @juliametraux.bsky.social · 20/07/2026Really good story from @rowanwalrath.bsky.social on the desperation of patients with debilitating chronic illness symptoms for drugs that may give them relief and the lack of transparency to patients of why some trials stop. cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...cen.acs.orgAccess to potential long COVID drugs dwindles as trials falterTwo sets of studies for COVID-driven conditions show the struggles of drug development 1248
Reposted by Rowan WalrathGreg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 20/07/2026 C&EN: Access to potential long COVID drugs dwindles as trials falter by Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social @cenmag.bsky.social bit.ly/4psZxH7 011
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 20/07/2026ALSO: big ups as always to @thesicktimes.org for covering long COVID so robustly and piquing my interest in Vyvgart for long COVID POTS. 1143
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 20/07/2026#chemsky #biosky #longcovid #pots #mecfs #pwME #pwLC 120
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 20/07/2026I can't possibly do the story justice in a Twitter thread, so please read it on @cenmag.bsky.social: cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic... 13/13cen.acs.orgAccess to potential long COVID drugs dwindles as trials falterTwo sets of studies for COVID-driven conditions show the struggles of drug development 11912
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 20/07/2026Two sets of studies for COVID-driven conditions--one for Vyvgart in long COVID POTS, another for Ampligen in long COVID and ME/CFS--show the struggles of drug development in postinfectious diseases. 12/ 150
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 20/07/2026Precision-medicine approaches show promise, but researchers need buy-in from drugmakers. And that buy-in is not really happening. 11/ 150
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 20/07/2026Some patients have advocated for expanded-access studies that allow them to keep taking experimental medications. But such studies can imperil a drug’s long-term approval prospects. 10/ 130
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 20/07/2026Over the last six months, I've spoken with patients, patient advocates, physicians, researchers, and drug manufacturers to better understand the state of drug development for long COVID and related conditions. 9/ 130
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 20/07/2026The GoFundMe, which Delli Gatti set up in November, is part of a last-ditch effort to move development of efgartigimod forward after Delli Gatti and other trial participants were left by the wayside. But nothing is a sure bet in long COVID research. 8/ 151
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 20/07/2026The US Food and Drug Administration has not approved any drug for long COVID, and treatments for related disorders are lacking, if they exist at all. 7/ 140
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 20/07/2026Long COVID affects more than 400 million people globally, and it’s a complicated, heterogeneous disease that often overlaps with other illnesses, including POTS and myalgic encephalomyelitis. 6/ 181
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 20/07/2026The trial would ultimately throw Delli Gatti into the unstable world of long COVID research and development, showing how a tangle of competing corporate and scientific priorities—and regulatory catch-22s—have hamstrung experimental treatments for postinfectious conditions. 5/ 161
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 20/07/2026In 2023, Delli Gatti joined a clinical trial testing a drug called efgartigimod in POTS driven by long COVID, like hers. 4/ 130
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 20/07/2026Better known as POTS, it developed after she got COVID-19 in 2022 as a student at Brigham Young University. 3/ 140
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 20/07/2026In real life, Delli Gatti isn’t always able to muster this kind of energy. Don’t get her wrong—she recently graduated college, and she works part time and makes cupcakes during some of her off hours—but she also lives with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. 2/ 160
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 20/07/2026In the picture on her GoFundMe page, Mia Delli Gatti looks bright and cheerful. She sticks out her tongue and curls her left hand into a “rock on” symbol. The sun shines through the short, dark curls that halo her face. 1/ 1134
Reposted by Rowan WalrathC&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 30/06/2026C&EN's 10 Start-Ups to Watch program is seeking nominations for promising chemistry #StartUps. Nominate a company today and help us uncover the future of innovation in chemistry. The deadline is tomorrow, July 1! Nominate here: cen.acs.org/surveys/star... #10StartUpsToWatch #chemsky 🧪 001
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 30/06/2026Me the other night: “here, let me take a photo of the can since we liked this beer” The photo in the cold light of day: 130
Rowan Walrath @rowanwalrath.bsky.social · 25/06/2026Across conversations at #BIO2026, pharma leaders made it apparent that they do not care where, geographically, a drug candidate originates, so long as it has clinical and commercial potential. Here's what Boehringer Ingelheim, Sanofi, J&J, Bayer, and more are looking for cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...cen.acs.orgHere’s what pharmas and investors are looking for at BIOAnd yes, China is at the forefront 000
Reposted by Rowan WalrathDan Vergano @danvergano.bsky.social · 23/06/2026Scientific American is being sold to LabX Media, publisher of Discover: group.springernature.com/gp/group/med... They've fired me and other union staff, ahead of June 26 vote ratification. My rates are suddenly more reasonable, if you need editing or reporting - Argonaut2026@gmail.comgroup.springernature.comSpringer Nature to divest its consumer media businesses | Springer Nature Group | Springer NatureStrategic divestment of consumer media portfolio enables Springer Nature to focus on its core business Transaction supports the long-term development 93961574
Reposted by Rowan WalrathLaura Howes @laurahowes.bsky.social · 23/06/2026For all the agency chaos, some bits of the FDA are just getting on with things. Speaking to @rowanwalrath.bsky.social at this year's BIO conference, Vaxart's CEO says they've worked consistently with the same set of reviewers at the agency @cenmag.bsky.social cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...cen.acs.org‘We’re prepared for whatever the FDA wants’: A vaccine developer gets back on trackVaxart is weeks away from a key readout from its COVID-19 vaccine-pill trial 022
Reposted by Rowan WalrathC&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 13/05/2026They’re here! Introducing the Talented 12 Class for 2026. These early-career scientists are taking on big global #chemistry challenges. Meet the 2026 Class: cen.acs.org/people/profi... #CENT12 #chemsky 🧪 01810
Reposted by Rowan WalrathLaura Howes @laurahowes.bsky.social · 13/05/2026Marty Makary resigned on Tuesday after a tumultuous year as FDA commissioner. He leaves behind a mixed legacy, as @rowanwalrath.bsky.social reports for @cenmag.bsky.social cen.acs.org/policy/regul... 154
Reposted by Rowan WalrathLaurel Oldach @laureloldach.bsky.social · 23/04/2026Really interesting to see the role the Berkeley grad student union has played in this case: cen.acs.org/research-int...cen.acs.orgUC Berkeley professor accused of sexual harassmentGraduate student union files grievance on behalf of PhD student 274
Reposted by Rowan WalrathUniversal Hub @universalhub.com · 17/04/2026BU issues Marathon advice to students: No Animal Housing in the GAP and for God's sake, stay away from parties at BC if you can't handle your liquor www.universalhub.com/2026/bu-issu... #Boston #PatriotsDay 0143