Carrie McDonough
@carrieamcdphd.bsky.social
Dogs' life. Rockstar. Environmental astronaut. Associate prof of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon (she/they; views my own).
I'm looking for a postdoc to start in January 2027! The position will focus on assessing bioaccumulation potential and biological transformation of novel per/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs)... If you're interested, posting is here: apply.interfolio.com/189814
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“Immigration camps in the United States today disappear people politically before, all too frequently, they disappear them physically. To combat the suffering we should use language that reveals the inhumanity rather than conceals it. The word camp does just that.”
Don’t call them ICE detention centers. Call them camps | John Washington
I’ve spent a decade reporting on immigration enforcement. The word ‘camp’ best captures the political function of these facilities
theguardian.com
Heard of Alexandra Fasulo? An influencer misleading millions of people Well worth a read heated.world/p/the-influe...
The influencer teaching millions to fear solar
Alexandra Fasulo says she’s protecting farms and wildlife. Her campaign is becoming a blueprint for the fossil fuel right.
heated.world
Starting a science policy group on campus? SNAP wants to help! 🙋 SNAPStart mini-grants offer up to $1,000 to help new or relaunched student #SciPol orgs get off the ground. Apply now through August 31st! Learn more: snapcoalition.org/initiatives/... (please apply and take our money 🫱💵🫲)
1. During an interview with Jon Stewart, Hizzoner Zohran Mamdani explained that the principles of democratic socialism are deeply embedded in American society. We just don't notice them, he said.
You don’t want hands free driving, you want trains. You want trains you want trains you want TRAINS
Whew, the editors of @science.org are getting real.
The Assault On Science Funding Continues
science.org
BREAKING NYT: Federal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states "based solely" on whether they backed Trump in the 2024 election.
Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him
Federal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states “based solely” on whether they backed President Trump in the 2024 election.
nytimes.com
Wildfire smoke isn't just dangerous for us—it threatens our pets, too. 🐾🌫️ The Washington Post just released 5 crucial tips to protect your animals when the AQI drops. We are fighting for clean air so every member of the family can breathe easy! #PetSafety www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026...
5 tips to keep your pets safe from wildfire smoke
The smoke will spread this weekend.
washingtonpost.com
Despite their protective gear, levels of some PFASs (aka “forever chemicals”) can increase in the blood of firefighters after being involved in a fire. These chemicals may be short-lived “markers” of a chemical exposure that happened during firefighting, but health impacts are not yet known. (1/n)
Known and Novel Per/Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in Serum of Tucson (AZ) Firefighters
Per/polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposure is a serious concern for firefighters, but the contribution of firefighting activities to overall PFAS body burden remains poorly understood. We hypothesized that overlooked novel PFASs may be elevated in firefighter serum after fire suppression activities. We analyzed paired “baseline” (annual checkup) and “postfire” (within 35 h of fire) serum from 33 members of the Tucson Fire Department using high-resolution mass spectrometry. We measured concentrations of 49 PFASs via targeted quantitation and detected 15 in >50% of samples. Concentrations of target analytes were not significantly different between baseline and postfire paired samples. However, branched PFOS isomers and linear PFHxS were significantly elevated compared to the general population. Suspect screening enabled the identification of 26 additional PFASs. Two tentatively identified phosphate-containing PFASs were significantly (p < 0.01) elevated postfire. These chemicals may be associated with exposure to fluorinated aryl phosphate flame retardants or their combustion transformation products during fire response. Several other novel PFASs were detected in baseline and postfire samples, including bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (bis-FMeSI). The presence of novel PFASs in serum from firefighters highlights the need for more research into their occurrence in occupationally exposed groups and the general population, exposure sources, and toxicokinetics.
pubs.acs.org
Duckworth: "Trump is the one who started this war without any actual plan for how he was going to execute the mission. So the blame for those 18 service members' deaths lays at the feet of the president. It sits on the resolute desk in front of him in that gilded Mary Antoinette of an Oval Office."
For most people, food is the most important source of exposure to several PFASs (a.k.a. "forever chemicals"). Crops take PFASs up from contaminated soil. Biosolids (sewage fertilizer) application is a MAJOR source of PFAS contamination to agricultural soils. This impacts everyone...
Trump officials kill proposed rules for Pfas-contaminated sewage fertilizer
EPA tosses out scientific research carried out under Biden and says toxic sludge not a significant threat to public
theguardian.com
If you have time this weekend, please check out the doc (~30 min.) my team & I released this week on Musk’s push into Greater Memphis with xAI and its noisy, methane gas burning turbines, data centers, broken promises & impacts on majority Black communities next door. www.cnbc.com/2026/07/16/e...
Elon Musk's Memphis AI empire is the epicenter of the data center backlash
Data center-related policy proposals, protests and litigation are underway across the country citing Colossus and Memphis as a cautionary tale.
cnbc.com
No one who applies to work in my lab as a PhD has said they are doing it to make more money. If they did I would worry about their commitment to completing a PhD.
Carrie McDonough@carrieamcdphd.bsky.social · 3w ago"The same goes for any graduate program whose graduates earn less than someone with only a bachelor's degree." This is not what a graduate degree is about. This is absolutely not what a graduate degree is about.
"The same goes for any graduate program whose graduates earn less than someone with only a bachelor's degree." This is not what a graduate degree is about. This is absolutely not what a graduate degree is about.
Miranda Yaver@mirandayaver.bsky.social · 3w agoGod forbid people be intellectually curious or go into fields that help marginalized communities but that aren’t lucrative.
God forbid people be intellectually curious or go into fields that help marginalized communities but that aren’t lucrative.
NPR@npr.org · 3w agoIf an undergraduate program's graduates don't earn more than workers who never went to college, that program could be cut off from federal student loans. But is a degree just about making more money?
READ THIS if you feel we need not to be compromising with the Right but instead “confronting antidemocratic actors, safeguarding targeted groups, and defending institutional integrity.” We need to stop accommodating radicalized people. The problem is not polarization but right-wing extremism.
Petter Törnberg@pettertornberg.com · 4w ago‘Polarization’ has become the master concept for diagnosing our current democratic crisis. But this is not polarization. It is the radicalization of the political right. By misdiagnosing it, we risk becoming complicit in the crisis. 🧵 Just out in Perspectives on Politics doi.org/10.1017/S153...
As with so many things, it is critical to realize this is not bumbling or ineptitude or not thinking through policy implications. On the contrary: making it impossible for foreign students to do the doctorate here is THE WHOLE POINT. It’s about starving higher ed under the guise of America first.
Ben Allen@evodynamics.bsky.social · 3w agoCongrats we just made it impossible to come here for a PhD www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/16/m...
I'm finally digging into the cross tabs underlying the @searchlightinst.bsky.social memo telling Dems not to talk about climate change. It surprised me, but may not surprise you, that the memo lies about what US swing voters actually said in the polling. Let's have a look, shall we? 🧵
PSA: If Trump isn’t threatening to pull your broadcast license you’re doing it wrong
People have become jaded to it, but a President who threatens to outlaw media in a free society should be immediately removed from office. Trump's words are completely antithetical to the core American commitments of free speech and free press.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3w agoTrump accuses NBC and ABC of being part of "a plot. They want to continue this fraud" and says "fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licenses"
This is nuts: "Trump Media has unveiled a paid-for, licensed data feed that will give banks & trading firms 'the fastest' access to posts from influential Truth Social accounts Trump’s posts on the platform regularly move markets. High speed access to these could be very valuable to traders"
Truth Social to sell Wall Street firms the ‘fastest’ access to Trump’s posts
President Donald Trump’s posts on the platform regularly move markets. High speed access to these could be very valuable to traders and investors.
nbcnews.com
The Trump administration recently proposed a new rule that threatens access to the vital funding that non-profits and local governments use to serve our communities. This could lead to millions of people losing essential life-saving services.
I think it might finally be time to share my list of dog-themed cocktail names, though my work will never be over.. In no specific order: Dobermanhattan Tom collies Pitt bullini Rex on the Beach Mango Lassie Bichon fizze Cosmopapillon French bulldog 75 Labradoodriver Akita sunrise I'm not done
