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Bryn Nelson

@seattlebryn.bsky.social
5.1K followers 2.8K following 1.6K posts

Freelance science, medical + environmental writer and author of “Flush: The Remarkable Science of an Unlikely Treasure.” PhD in microbiology; also post about misinfo, journalism, oddities, good dogs, bad puns, and Seattle. He/him ✍🏻 💩🧪🧫🦠🔬🌲🏳️‍🌈

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
Anna Clark @annaleighclark.bsky.social · 3h
Backstory: "The Trump administration’s slashing of budgets and staff have Great Lakes scientists concerned that they have lost the ability to protect the public from toxic algal blooms, which can kill animals and sicken people." [spring 2025 ProPublica report]
propublica.org
Millions of People Depend on the Great Lakes’ Water Supply. Trump Decimated the Lab Protecting It.
The Trump administration’s slashing of budgets and staff have Great Lakes scientists concerned that they have lost the ability to protect the public from toxic algal blooms, which can kill animals and...
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Bryn Nelson @seattlebryn.bsky.social · 1h
Yikes. Again, this is why we want an intact, functional, and competent FDA.
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Shola Hoon @sholahoon.bsky.social · 17h
the racism, fascism and violence at this rally should make those who have a conscience sick to their core
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John Schwartz @jswatz.bsky.social · 14h
I honestly thought I couldn't be shocked by any news about Ken Paxton's corruption. I stand corrected by the @wsj.com www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
wsj.com
Exclusive | Ken Paxton Partied in Dubai With Fugitives Ahead of High-Stakes Texas Senate Race
Trump backed the scandal-plagued Paxton in one of the riskiest bets of the midterms
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Bryn Nelson @seattlebryn.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
👀
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 11/10/2026
As best as I can tell, RFK Jr.'s latest antivax stunt runs counter to the WMA Declaration of Helsinki. Withholding HepB vaccination clearly does not meet any definition of clinical equipoise. Doing it anyway, overseas, is straight up colonialist medicine.
Use of Placebo

    The benefits, risks, burdens, and effectiveness of a new intervention must be tested against those of the best proven intervention(s), except in the following circumstances:

    If no proven intervention exists, the use of placebo, or no intervention, is acceptable; or
    If for compelling and scientifically sound methodological reasons the use of any intervention other than the best proven one(s), the use of placebo, or no intervention is necessary to determine the efficacy or safety of an intervention; and the participants who receive any intervention other than the best proven one(s), placebo, or no intervention will not be subject to additional risks of serious or irreversible harm as a result of not receiving the best proven intervention.

Extreme care must be taken to avoid abuse of this option.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 11/10/2026
Wow — listen to these new comments from Trump. Thanking Putin, trashing Zelenskyy, characterizing Russia as eager for peace and Ukraine as intransigent. The mask is totally off.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Ellison family consolidates dozens of media outlets: Cool, no problem, go ahead guys. Media coordinates to protest Trump's first amendment violations: Oh, that's antitrust! www.nytimes.com/2026/10/10/b...
nytimes.com
Justice Dept. Is Investigating TV Networks Over Trump Pool Coverage (Gift Article)
Major TV networks were notified on Friday that the department was examining whether they violated antitrust laws when they suspended pool coverage of President Trump.
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Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Holy shit FOUR members of the ethics committee in Denmark that gave the green light to allow the widely-condemned RFK Jr-funded trial to proceed in Guinea-Bissau have now resigned in protest This quote is 🔥 Great reporting by @melodyschreiber.com www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
Stig Børsen Hansen, a founding member who was one of two reviewers who presented the study to the Danish committee, resigned from the group in protest on Friday, citing major ethical issues with the study.

“You are now enrolling newborns in a lottery to test a hypothesis,” Hansen said. The children who are randomly selected not to receive the birth dose of the vaccine, those who “lost the lottery”, face in their earliest days the risk of contracting hepatitis B, which can cause irreversible lifelong damage. “They contract hepatitis B in the context of being part of a research project,” Hansen said, which made their infection happen, in effect, “by design”.

Three other members of the committee have also resigned in protest.
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Nicole Foy @nicolefoy.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
For almost 2 years now, DHS has repeatedly told me they're not detaining U.S. citizens It's simply not true So @propublica.org published the receipts: a searchable database of the 500+ citizens detained by immigration agents during this Trump administration projects.propublica.org/american-cit...
projects.propublica.org
More Than 500 U.S. Citizens Have Been Detained, Including Handcuffed or Held at Gunpoint, in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown — ProPublica
The government doesn’t track how often immigration officers detain U.S. citizens. So ProPublica did. We’ve found more than 500 Americans who were held against their will during this Trump administrati...
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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Not true in the least. But meanwhile Russia kidnapping 20,000 Ukrainian kids is very well documented, on top of all the murders by Russian bombing en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_a...
en.wikipedia.org
Child abductions in the Russo-Ukrainian war - Wikipedia
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Bryn Nelson @seattlebryn.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Not even pretending anymore.
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Bryn Nelson @seattlebryn.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Uh, weren’t they the same ones trumpeting their war on dyes, seed oils, and highly processed foods? 🤷🏼‍♂️
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Bryn Nelson @seattlebryn.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
🚨🚨🚨
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WIRED @wired.com · 10/10/2026
To follow Elon Musk’s America PAC money, WIRED created a live-updating tracker that highlights the trillionaire’s overall influence on November’s elections. buff.ly/ZDw8NA4
buff.ly
Elon Musk’s America PAC Is Spending Big on the Midterms. We’re Tracking It Daily
To follow Elon Musk’s America PAC money, WIRED created a live-updating tracker that highlights the trillionaire’s overall influence on November’s elections.
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Thomas [DARK MODE], DO @tom.medsky.social · 08/10/2026
This whole webinar that was run by @tarahaelle.bsky.social is great but the section on measles by Paul Offit is a must watch. Link starts with that segment: youtu.be/cQU790LT-4g?...
youtu.be
Fact and Fiction on Measles and Respiratory Virus Vaccines Webinar
YouTube video by Expert Vaccine Analysis Team
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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
If you read the Walmart's patents, it's pretty wild. For example US11687872B2, granted in 2023: "The price for other items the customer purchases may be varied based on what items are already in the cart, e.g. if a customer has tuna fish, they may be offered a different price for mayonnaise."
Illustration from a Walmart patent showing an aisle with products and a camera: https://patents.google.com/patent/US11687872B2/en
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🎃Darin S Pumpkins🎃 @darinself.com · 10/10/2026
static.klipy.com
That'S Racist Wow
ALT: That'S Racist Wow
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Charles Johnson @charles.littlegreenfootballs.com · 08/10/2026
I know everyone’s jaded and exhausted by the continual parade of madness, but this is the president of US openly inciting racist violence against an entire community of immigrants. (w/ alt text)
The once Great State of Minnesota is being taken over by Somali Immigrants. There is Violence, Murder, and Mayhem all over the State. The people of Minnesota must fight back. You have been robbed, and abandoned by your State Government. Your Governor is an incompetent thief who doesn't want to get involved. He just wants to get out of town with as much as he can steal, and then, lead a quiet life. The Somalians should not be allowed to get away with what they are doing.
They view you as weak and stupid people. Fight back Minnesota, fight back! If you need, the Federal Government will come to your rescue.
Governor Tim Walz, and Mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, must immediately ask for Federal help — and leave the rest to us! President DONALD J. TRUMP
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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
The National Association of Evangelicals has now aligned itself fully with the statement of Archbishop Coakley for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, condemning Hegseth's plans for a live-streamed execution at Ft Hood. religionnews.com/2026/10/09/h...
religionnews.com
Catholic, evangelical leaders condemn public execution plan of Fort Hood gunman
(RNS) — ‘The public execution even of one who has done grave harm will only further undermine the moral fabric of our nation and be a blight on the conscience of its people,’ Archbishop Paul S. Coakle...
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Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
The U.S. is routinely deporting human beings to Haiti, where it’s not safe to play a soccer match
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Liz Szabo @lizszabo.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
“This is a gross violation of human rights and the use of bad science against some of the most vulnerable people in the world.”
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Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Execution TV? Pete Hegseth has taken the once ‘greatest democracy’ to a horrific new low | Paul Daley www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Execution TV? Pete Hegseth has taken the once ‘greatest democracy’ to a horrific new low | Paul Daley
A proposal to livestream the killing of Nidal Hasan by firing squad opens a window ever wider to the Trump administration’s complete moral vacuity
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Laura Bassett @lebassett.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
“If you don’t like public executions just don’t watch it” says the crowd trying to ban drag shows and books
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Bryn Nelson @seattlebryn.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
This is also, unfortunately, an *excellent* example of stochastic terrorism, in which public officials use their platforms to vilify & dehumanize people or groups of people, making violent attacks against them much more likely. This should be denounced loudly before he gets more people killed.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 08/10/2026
this is honestly one of the worst and most irresponsible things he has ever posted, and that's really saying something
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Bryn Nelson @seattlebryn.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
This is vile, blatant racism and should be disqualifying for any politician, let alone POTUS.
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Bryn Nelson @seattlebryn.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
static.klipy.com
Princess Bride
Alt: Princess Bride: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
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Bryn Nelson @seattlebryn.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Great reporting here - this is an extremely disturbing tally.
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Meade Krosby @meadekrosby.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Forty percent of American Nobel laureates this century in chemistry, medicine and physics have been immigrants, many arriving as students.
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Bryn Nelson @seattlebryn.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
This is just bonkers. I think media outlets need to get very real, very quickly, about the depths of the derangement on display here. Also, this is a test to see what he can arbitrarily rename - if this becomes normalized, expect a flood of new “This is now that” commands.
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Matt Ortega @mattortega.com · 08/10/2026
Trump: Nuke L.A., San Diego, I don't care. Media: Well, what he *probably* meant was... Trump: No, seriously, nuke them. Small potatoes.
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Ken Klippenstein @kenklippenstein.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Diplomatic cable leaked to me shows Marco Rubio order embassies to bar people from the US for speech-related reasons. Hours later, Rubio gave a speech at the Acropolis celebrating "free debate and public discussion": www.kenklippenstein.com/p/the-speech...
kenklippenstein.com
The Speech That Gets You Banned From America
Leaked Rubio cable details “far-left” speech that bars people from entering the U.S.
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Liz Szabo @lizszabo.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
CDC moving forward with “wholly unethical trial” in African babies. www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
rollingstone.com
CDC Is Moving Forward With a Previously Shelved Controversial Hepatitis B Vaccine Study
“It’s a wholly unethical trial, and it shouldn’t be allowed,” says Dr. Paul Offit of Guinea-Bissau study
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Bryn Nelson @seattlebryn.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Uh, maybe the real question here is why the Trump admin is pushing back so hard on pretty solid evidence that it has become a major source of disinformation. 🤷🏼‍♂️
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Karen K. Ho @karenho.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
I have already said a lot about this proposal, but I am especially sad for current international students, many in multi-year programs, who will have professional opportunities rescinded, or made entirely out of reach, as a result.
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Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Fox is not journalism. It’s anti-journalism. The more you watch, the less you know.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
BREAKING: ICE over the past year investigated hundreds of nonprofits across the U.S. that help people register to vote. The internal documents, obtained by the Democracy Forward, showed that ICE's investigative arm also contemplated sending undercover agents to investigate the organizations.
democracydocket.com
ICE  probed hundreds of voter registration groups across the U.S.
The agency also contemplated deploying undercover agents to "initiate prosecutions" against the groups and "dismantle" them.
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Bryn Nelson @seattlebryn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Oh no! This is so incredibly sad. 😭
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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 07/10/2026
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed 74,245 Palestinians in three years, Gaza’s health ministry says. “There is a ceasefire in name only,” said a senior policy fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations.
washingtonpost.com
Three years after Oct. 7, Israeli strikes in Gaza grind on and deaths climb
Almost a year has passed since President Donald Trump declared the fighting over and “peace in the Middle East” achieved.
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Mun-Keat Looi @munkeatlooi.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
CDC offices in Angola and South Sudan closed Thursday, with the office in Zimbabwe set to shut its doors at the end of the year. buff.ly/PuQUfav
buff.ly
Trump is conditioning foreign aid on deals
The State Department’s new approach to foreign aid is changing the way the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention works abroad.
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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
The latest “rigged election” strategy from the Trump administration involves producing a series of strategically timed arrests of non-citizens for alleged voter fraud & promoting those events to feed the false narrative that non-citizen voter fraud is widespread. uwcip.substack.com/p/federal-fr...
uwcip.substack.com
Federal Fraud Charges Resonate With Debunked Non-Citizen Voting Narratives
A flurry of recent charges and press conferences amplifying alleged non-citizen voting make a small phenomena seem bigger
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Ryan Packer @typewriteralley.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Happy second birthday to the Overlook Walk, a piece of infrastructure that I can't imagine Seattle without at this point.
Overlook Walk looking toward the city on a sunny dayOverlook Walk from Boon BoonaOverlook Walk from the very top of the stairwellFolks watching the sunset from the Overlook Walk
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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
So what, exactly, was going on at the biological weapons laboratory outside of Irkutsk? Read this.
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AFP News Agency @en.afp.com · 06/10/2026
Armed Israeli settlers on Tuesday beat an AFP photographer, leaving him requiring hospital treatment, as he covered ongoing violence by settlers against West Bank olive farmers. u.afp.com/S9Fe
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Bryn Nelson @seattlebryn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
This seems like deliberate obfuscation. Again, they openly plotted to do this kind of deliberate destruction of US science in Project 2025. 🧪
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Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 06/10/2026
This should be considered a 5-alarm democracy fire.
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Bryn Nelson @seattlebryn.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Seconded. Again, I guess we’re just gonna ignore or laugh off the repeated threats to go full-on fascist here? 🤷🏼‍♂️
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Trump's latest instance of "He can't just do that, can he?" Well, unless someone or some entity has both the will & the ability to stop him, he can do whatever he wants.
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Bryn Nelson @seattlebryn.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
This tracks. Remember, Rufo got his start at the Discovery Institute: a staunchly anti-evolution organization that peddles “intelligent design.”
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