It’s incredibly sad that we had to write this piece, but it’s critical for those of us who live in the reality-based world—a world where facts, evidence, & data matter—keep countering dangerous or even deadly conspiracy theories & extreme anti-science & anti-vaccine rhetoric

The BMJ@bmj.com · 9h ago

Republican members of the Senate committee have voted to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress. When politics replaces science as the arbiter of truth, the ultimate casualty is not Fauci: it is the health of the American public, say @gavinyamey.bsky.social and @boghuma.bsky.social

Over 1 million people a year die from diarrheal disease. Nearly half are kids under age 5. A new vaccine in trials offers great hope. n.pr/45hgR8C

A new vaccine could vanquish a major cause of deadly diarrheal disease

Over 1 million people a year die from diarrheal disease. Nearly half are kids under age 5. A new vaccine in trials offers great hope.

n.pr

📰 CIDRAP News reporter Chris Dall recaps 3 news stories: -CMV & universal screening of newborns: https://bit.ly/4wJIB1W -Study on air purifiers: https://bit.ly/4wxCqO2 -Costs associated w/ a 2025 measles outbreak: https://bit.ly/4hNSPte 🔔Subscribe: https://bit.ly/4ygphdu

Good afternoon. Here is Mets pitcher Jefry Yan's leaping strikeout celebration featuring Howard Dean's ill-fated 2004 election trail scream, because sometimes you can't rest until you've scratched that brain itch.

As a Mets fan, I hope he's successful. And I think players should have fun. But boy, I don't think this is going to go over well with anyone.

MLB Daily News@insidemlbnews.bsky.social · 2d ago

Jefry Yan celebrates his first MLB strikeout

Since this has been coming up again, just a reminder of what I actually said (in public, no less) back in early 2020. Here's just one example from: www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/sci....

COMMENTARY: It's time to fix vaccine injury compensation The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program needs fixing, and a new bipartisan bill offers an opportunity that shouldn't be passed up. Read full commentary by @doritreiss.bsky.social: https://bit.ly/4pTkqLE

Salty Kai Ryssdal is my favorite Kai Ryssdal.

Kai Ryssdal@kairyssdal.bsky.social · 4d ago

Oh is that so?

1/ Over the weekend, RFK Jr. was interviewed on CNN, and as I'm sure many of you have seen, he made a number of inaccurate statements. The conversation covered Covid-19, RSV, measles, vaccines, and autism. Let's fact-check some of the biggest claims.

Viruses do not care about politics. The next pandemic will arrive whether we are ready or not. History will judge us by whether we learned enough from it to protect the next generation. Read my full commentary below ⬇️

CIDRAP@cidrap.bsky.social · 4d ago

COMMENTARY by @mtosterholm.bsky.social: The pandemic debate the US isn't having When the Senate hearing featuring Dr. Fauci ended, one vital question remained not only unanswered but largely absent from the discussion: How will the US be better prepared for the next pandemic? https://bit.ly/4yTKSsD

MedPage Today: The Emails Show Why We Sued Robert F. Kennedy Jr. by Richard Hughes IV, JD, MPH, and Will Walters, JD bit.ly/3S6Espy @medpagetoday.com

Can air purifiers prevent flu & COVID-19 in nursing homes? Only if they're used properly A trial found that air purifiers didn't prevent respiratory infections in nursing homes. Experts say the machines were too small & not used consistently. Read more: https://bit.ly/4wxCqO2

Learn about smallpox and Latin American history in this terrific new piece by my CIDRAP News colleague @sarahboden.bsky.social

CIDRAP@cidrap.bsky.social · last wk.

Telltale DNA: First direct evidence found that the Spanish brought smallpox to the Inca The findings provide definitive proof that the disease was present during early colonization. Read more: https://bit.ly/4fFgJVe 📷: Draceane / Wikipedia

The latest on the state of US vaccine policy covers: - Over 400 state vaccine bills, -9 new laws, -2 fed charters, and 1 step closer to a CDC director More on the current landscape of US vaccine policy: https://bit.ly/4vXYGj2 @unbiasedscipod.bsky.social

📰 CIDRAP News reporter Stephanie Soucheray recaps these 3 news stories: -Fauci's congressional hearing https://bit.ly/4fDF7GK -Cyclospora https://bit.ly/4fDRbrk -1 immunization may protect against 2 serious diseases https://bit.ly/4yTZY1s Subscribe: https://bit.ly/4ygphdu

What defines a pandemic? What gives a pathogen pandemic potential? CIDRAP Director @mtosterholm.bsky.social answers these questions and more. Read the full conversation: https://bit.ly/44VI54y

No professional accomplishment has ever made me happier than this. theonion.com/translator-o...

Translator Of Original ‘Minions’ Epic Poem Slams ‘Sexless, Bloodless’ Film Adaptation

PHILADELPHIA—In a 4,500-word essay published in Harper’s Magazine, Emily Wilson, known for her popular translation of the Minions epic poem, blasted the latest film Thursday as a “sexless, bloodless” ...

theonion.com

Anthropic’s Claude models also escaped containment and hacked into real-world systems. I’m going to talk really quickly about my favorite (???) incident they detailed. (story from @lmatsakis.bsky.social and @lhn.bsky.social

Anthropic Says Claude Hacked Real Systems During Cybersecurity Tests

In a review triggered by OpenAI's Hugging Face incident, Anthropic discovered three of its AI models had breached real organizations during third-party evaluations.

wired.com

I feel this. Bought a used EV last year, and while I mostly love it, I've disabled a lot of the driver-assist features and really wish it had more physical buttons. www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ca...

These Drivers Are Taking Extreme Measures to Avoid New Car Technology

They scour dealerships for models with the fewest bells and whistles. Then they disable alarms and reconfigure dashboards in search of low-tech bliss.

wsj.com

Chris Dall, co-host of the Osterholm Update podcast, shares a sneak peek 👀 of this week's episode. Chris & @mtosterholm.bsky.social will focus on Cyclospora-then and now. The episode will also provide updates on COVID-19, Ebola, & more! 🎧 Episode 214 posts 7/30. http://bit.ly/3ThfmV5

Not the news I needed to hear today.

The Guardian@theguardian.com · last wk.

Glen Hansard, Oscar-winning Irish singer-songwriter, dies aged 56 in motorcycle crash

Susan Blass is one of thousands of Minnesotans whose lives could be affected by Minnesota’s massive review and disenrollment of social service providers in response to immense federal pressure to root out fraud.

Care left in limbo as Minnesota reviews appeals from Medicaid providers

Under federal pressure to prevent fraud, the state’s race to revalidate social service organizations has had some damaging side effects.

startribune.com

You know what's really useful in these conversations? Data. www.kff.org/public-opini...

The Atlantic@theatlantic.com · 2w ago

A lot of people in public health believe that MAHA is “nothing more than a subversive anti-vaccine, anti-science syndicate,” but the movement is an opportunity that the public-health sector “cannot afford to squander,” Craig Spencer argues:

📰 CIDRAP News reporter Chris Dall recaps these top 3 news stories: -Cyclospora outbreak: https://bit.ly/3T0ZyWF -Ebola outbreak in the DRC: https://bit.ly/4pto2DU -Increases in ‘nightmare' bacterial infections: https://bit.ly/4vFuOIk 🔔Subscribe: https://bit.ly/4ygphdu

Does the existence of Tom Holland and Tom Hollander imply the existence of a Tom Hollandest? Discuss…

Study: Antibiotic resistance in children is rising and likely to get worse. Data from 82 countries show resistance rates in pediatric bacterial infections have risen significantly over the past two decades and will worsen over the next decade. Read more: https://bit.ly/4ftPsVL

‘Women don’t have to live in pain’: Vaginal estrogen in menopause could reduce UTIs, hospitalization More widespread prescribing of the hormone could also reduce antibiotic use. Read more: https://bit.ly/4vETaSx

CDC survey data show decline ⬇️ in healthcare-associated infections at US hospitals. One in 38 patients at US hospitals had at least one such infection on any given day in 2023, compared with 1 in 31 patients in 2015. Read more: https://bit.ly/4gQzirS

@nathanraabe.bsky.social & I talked to @cidrap.bsky.social on NDM transmission in healthcare - lots of infection prevention implications Unless you are using genomics, you may miss the between-species transmission Thanks @cvdall.bsky.social for the chat! www.cidrap.umn.edu/antimicrobia...

The resistance gene that’s causing ‘nightmares’ in US hospitals

cidrap.umn.edu

1/ Over the weekend, the FDA announced that a lettuce sample from Taylor Farms tested positive for Cyclospora. Within 24 hours, the FDA backtracked, calling the result a false positive. Taylor Farms quickly deleted its own posts about its bagged lettuce and boasted the FDA had apologized to them.