iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Me packing for a four day trip: Four pairs of pants, four shirts, eight pairs of socks, and four hundred pairs of underwear.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I hear a lot of doctors talking about the risk of a false positive in an otherwise healthy patient. Yes, that does happen, but I suspect the more likely scenario is a patient having symptoms, having some wonky test results, and having those results dismissed as a “false positive.”

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Hi, I’m an elderly driver who is about to drive onto the median and hit three pedestrians.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I’m headed to the science writers meeting later this week, where one of the evening activities is a SHARK DISSECTION. I mean, talk about knowing your audience. Plus…Fat Bear Week and a shark dissection, all in one week? Talk about an abundance of riches.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

My slightly spicy opinion is that every long-term migraine sufferer needs at least one unhinged migraine hack, that makes zero sense, and only works for them. The less scientific the better. It’s an important rite of passage.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

My dog is a year old now, which means she is transitioning from the brashness of youth to the fearfulness of early adulthood. I know how you feel, doggo. I know how you feel.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I was recently tested for binocular vision dysfunction, which is a disorder where your eyes are slightly misaligned, and can’t merge the two images into one. I just got the corrective glasses for them, and holy crap, it’s like getting 3D glasses for your life.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

“In addition to his narrow-set eyes, dark brown fur, large muzzle scar, and prominent brow ridge, Chunk also has misaligned the jaw. In 2025, he emerged from slumber and made an appearance at Brooks River with a noticeably broken jaw that rangers guessed was a result of a fight with another bear.”

share.google

Big boy Chunk returns ahead of Fat Bear Week 2026

Last year's champion is back, busted jaw and all.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Navigating chronic illness in a dysfunctional healthcare system really forces you to get creative and resourceful. For example, my migraines have gotten really bad lately, but I can't see a neurologist until October.

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Reposted by Rachel Fairbank

Billy Hanlon @bhanlon15.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

National Geographic: 'Why Do POTS and Long Covid Look So Much Like Autoimmune Disorders?' 'Researchers are studying the curious connection between autoimmune diseases and conditions like POTS and long COVID...' By Rachel Fairbank www.nationalgeographic.com/health/artic...

nationalgeographic.com

Why Do POTS and Long Covid Look So Much Like Autoimmune Disorders?

Researchers are studying the curious connection between autoimmune diseases and conditions like POTS and long COVID—in the hopes it might lead to more targeted treatments.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

This is an interesting article on some of the negative side effects of meditation, which reminds me of the way we talk about exercise. Generally speaking, it's good to be skeptical of anything that is claimed to be 100 percent beneficial, with zero side effects.

theatlantic.com

The Dark Side of Mindfulness

A prominent psychologist and meditation teacher set out to research the benefits of the practice. What she found alarmed her.

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Reposted by Rachel Fairbank

The Onion @theonion.com · 26/08/2026

Dolly Parton Troubled To Find God Illiterate theonion.com/dolly-parton-troubled-…

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Dolly Parton was a person who, when she made it big, chose to use her good fortune to help some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Children grew up reading books because of her. We need more Dolly's in our life.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Dog-walking etiquette states that asking a dog’s name is essential, but asking an owner’s name is just plain rude. Priorities, people.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Parents talk a lot about the loss of a village for raising their kids, but we really have to talk more about what that village looked like. The village that we lost? Most of it was dependent on the unpaid labor of women, many of whom were trapped in abusive situations.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

“The Boss Bear – also known as Bear 122 – is the most famous grizzly bear in Banff National Park. If you’ve spent any time here, you’ve already heard about him.” mountainsandtreasures.ca/the-big-boss...

mountainsandtreasures.ca

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Today’s impulse buy: 🍑 and 🍌 candy

Runts candy, in the shape of peaches and bananas. I am a very mature adult, who is going to refrain from the inevitable jokes.

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Reposted by Rachel Fairbank

betsy ladyzhets 😷 @betsyladyzhets.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Today @thesicktimes.org: @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social covers the recent Dysautonomia International conference! Featuring a new biobank initiative, presentations on autoimmunity, clinical trial results, discussions on the overlap of POTS and ME, and more. thesicktimes.org/2026/07/28/d...

thesicktimes.org

Dysautonomia conference centers biomarkers and post-exertional malaise - The Sick Times

The 14th annual Dysautonomia International conference outside Houston included presentations on the role of autoimmunity in dysautonomia and a biobank initiative for POTS research.

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Reposted by Rachel Fairbank

Miles W. Griffis @mileswgriffis.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

"The idea that exercise is the best medicine for all people with POTS still lingers. As Davenport noted, “We need to interrogate who has the fear here. We can’t be afraid of not exercising.” @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social's write up on the DI conference for TST 🫀 thesicktimes.org/2026/07/28/d...

thesicktimes.org

Dysautonomia conference centers biomarkers and post-exertional malaise - The Sick Times

The 14th annual Dysautonomia International conference outside Houston included presentations on the role of autoimmunity in dysautonomia and a biobank initiative for POTS research.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

I’ve been doing some research lately, including tracking down my old birth records. I looked up my childhood pediatrician, to see if she is still alive. She’d be in her late 80s by now. Not only is she still alive, she’s organizing anti-ICE protests at her retirement home. Legend.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

I was planning to get some work done today…but my body said ‘absolutely not.’ Looks like I’m having a rest day.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

It’s an awful day when Susan ‘Laments Roe’s Fall But Doesn’t Regret Confirming Kavanaugh’ Collins is the more moral candidate in the race. I honestly don’t know what I’d be doing, if I was a Maine voter. It’s an absolutely awful place to be in.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

The fact that Bryan Johnson, who spends two million a year and countless hours on his health, still developed an autoimmune disorder, is a reminder that a significant portion of our health is completely outside of our control.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

As a chronic over-explainer, the hardest part about writing is just how ruthless I have to be about omitting unnecessary details. But…but…but…these details are IMPORTANT. Sometimes they are. Sometimes they aren’t. And if they aren’t, they absolutely have to get cut.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

5-4, for an issue that should have never been under debate to begin with. Such narrow margins, for such a foundational human right.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Following up on a pitch, only to realize the editor was laid off, is a very 'journalism in 2026' experience.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

I finally got around to reading Yesteryear, the tradwife novel that everyone has been talking about, and boy, do I have some thoughts on it. I’m going to start this by saying that my upbringing was very tradwife-y. Think Ballerina Farm, without the money. A lot of this felt familiar.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

“For years, the rallying cry was autism awareness. Increasingly, it’s autism acceptance. […] acceptance is harder. It means your autistic kid doesn’t have to perform neurotypicality to be loved, included or taken seriously.”

sltrib.com

Voices: My daughter showed me a drawing. It changed how I see autism.

“For years, the rallying cry was autism awareness,” one Utah father writes in an op-ed. “Increasingly, it’s autism acceptance. That shift matters more than people realize.”

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

It turns out that carrying a book onto the plane called “The Culting of America: What Makes a Cult and Why We Love Them,” can be quite the conversation starter. (This wasn’t a bad thing. I just didn’t really think about it before grabbing this particular book.) It was a good read, btw.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

ADHD tax in action: $126 surcharge, because I completely forgot about stopping for gas before dropping off the rental car.

static.klipy.com

That Hurt's Office Crying Meme

Alt: That Hurt's Office Crying Meme

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

I’m in upstate NY for a workshop this week, which meant I had to explain to my son that I was going to attend class, and have homework. “But Mommy, I thought grownups didn’t have to go to school anymore!”

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

I’m in upstate NY for the week, where the same driving habits that get me labeled as an old-lady driver in Texas are the same driving habits that are getting me labeled as an asshole driver in upstate NY. Am I an old lady or am I an asshole?

static.klipy.com

Why Not Both? The Iconic Meme

ALT: Why Not Both? The Iconic Meme

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

My son, who is SEVEN, recently informed me that he googled me. “Mommy, there was a photo of you in your office!”

static.klipy.com

Box of Shame: Hiding Inside

Alt: Box of Shame: Hiding Inside

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

I'm seeing a lot of conversation about Belle Burden's Strangers that is starting to annoy me. Burden is an outlier in that she comes from a wealthy and connected family. Her story is common in the sense that her husband benefited from her unpaid labor, only to then claim that it had no value.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

I recently posted a cat video to Tiktok which is gaining some traction, which means I’m starting to get comments from corporate accounts. Anyway, here is the video, for your viewing pleasure. My little void cat, Sabrina, is fond of giving me tap-taps whenever I work too hard.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Taking your pet to the vet can be such a wild experience. “Here is my pet, who has a very random symptom, and who can’t talk. Please figure out which of the 100+ things it could be, all while they are growling at you.”

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

As a freelance journalist who wants to cover conditions such as Long COVID and ME/CFS, I find that I have to walk such a fine line, where I have to suss out whether or not an editor/publication will allow me to cover the topic in a way that is comprehensive, evidence-based and compassionate.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Our new puppy is basically the dog version of my son: She’s very smart, very high energy, very affectionate and has her own mind about things. It’s fun, but it’s also a little exhausting wrangling the two of them.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

I just got home from a conference, and although I enjoyed attending, my goodness, am I exhausted. I basically spent all of Sunday sleeping, and I’m still tired.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

I had a chance to watch Off Campus, which is being described as the ‘straight Heated Rivalry.’ It is not the straight Heated Rivalry, but it was a pretty good show in its own right.

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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

In my experience, when patients talk about finding a doctor who will find the “root cause,” what they mean is they want a doctor who won’t blame every single symptom on anxiety/depression/weight. That’s it. That’s what they want. For doctors to do their actual job.

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