Delthia Ricks
@dricks.bsky.social
Science writer, author, essayist & avid gardener.
Skyhorse Publishing is a rightwing mouthpiece👇
Rima I Anabtawi@rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 2d agoFollow the $$$ What do Bobby Kennedy Jr., his son Bobby Kennedy III, and Rand Paul have in common? They each wrote a book criticizing Tony Fauci, and they share the same publisher, Skyhorse, founded by a close RFK Jr. adviser who also runs the MAHA PAC. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/u...
Yikes! Please read👇
Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH@gavinyamey.bsky.social · 22h ago🤯🤯🤯 “Steven Quay, a pharma executive known for his books making the case Covid came from a Chinese lab, is on the verge of getting Anthony Fauci’s old job” A Big Pharma executive & lab leaker, what could possibly go wrong? www.politico.com/news/2026/08...
Cancer vaccine: A peptide vaccine targeting specific mutations in pancreatic cancer showed evidence of activity in a small preliminary study of high-risk patients www.medpagetoday.com/hematologyon...
Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine Shows Interception Promise in High-Risk Patients
Durable immune response seen in patients with cancer precursor lesions
medpagetoday.com
At a recent Senate hearing, Dr Anthony Fauci revealed deep ideological divisions over #Covid. The bizarre Republican-led questioning veered into Covid's origins but shed no new light on how it began. Right wing conspiracy theorists cling to junk science notions that the virus was concocted in a lab👇
The Covid Origins Saga Is More Complicated Than Either Side Wants to Admit
The Covid-19 origins controversy is more complicated than Rand Paul and Republicans or Anthony Fauci have been willing to admit.
rollingstone.com
Metabolomics of single-strain & co-cultures of 7 Fusarium strains causing Fusarium head blight reveals metabolic modifications induced by strain co-occurrence. FHB metabolomics reveals species‑specific biomarkers & interaction‑driven shifts in co‑cultures www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
controlling measles outbreaks is extremely resource-intensive for health departments. the public health system is under a lot of stress in a lot of different places right now. that drives up costs too
Amy Maxmen, PhD@amymaxmen.bsky.social · 6h agoAn analysis finds that New Mexico's measles outbreak cost $5.4 million last year. NM had 100 cases. AZ outbreak is more than 3x larger; Utah's is more than 7x larger. TX and SC are each 10x larger. Welcoming back measles is going to be very expensive. www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/...
Cancer vaccine: A peptide vaccine targeting specific mutations in pancreatic cancer showed evidence of activity in a small preliminary study of high-risk patients www.medpagetoday.com/hematologyon...
Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine Shows Interception Promise in High-Risk Patients
Durable immune response seen in patients with cancer precursor lesions
medpagetoday.com
At a recent Senate hearing, Dr Anthony Fauci revealed deep ideological divisions over #Covid. The bizarre Republican-led questioning veered into Covid's origins but shed no new light on how it began. Right wing conspiracy theorists cling to junk science notions that the virus was concocted in a lab👇
The Covid Origins Saga Is More Complicated Than Either Side Wants to Admit
The Covid-19 origins controversy is more complicated than Rand Paul and Republicans or Anthony Fauci have been willing to admit.
rollingstone.com
Virginia health officials have confirmed the state’s first known case of locally acquired dengue fever
Virginia resident has state’s 1st locally acquired case of dengue fever - WTOP News
Virginia health officials have confirmed the state’s first known case of locally acquired dengue, a viral disease usually associated with international travel.
wtop.com
Democrats have legislation that will make Social Security solvent for as far as the actuarial eye can see without cutting benefits. Where's the Republican proposal? It doesn't exist. - @whitehouse.senate.gov
If you thrive on conspiracy theories & lies, then you'll love RFKjr's twisted world: His rewrite of the U.S. #Covid response, his casting blame for pandemic lockdowns on Dr. Anthony Fauci & his crackpot assertions about vaccines, RSV & measles www.cnn.com/2026/08/02/p...
RFK Jr. targets Fauci and pushes medical misinformation in fiery CNN interview | CNN Politics
In attempting to rewrite the history of the US Covid-19 response, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Sunday pinned the blame for pandemic lockdowns on Dr. Anthony Fauci, while simultaneously re...
cnn.com
With 2 deaths reported by Michigan health officials in the nationwide cyclospora outbreak, the question of the hour: Will RFKjr return to tighter food surveillance? Both victims had underlying health problems. The deaths are a lesson: foodborne illnesses can have devastating consequences👇
Michigan reports first cyclosporiasis deaths, cases pass 11,000
Michigan reported the first two deaths connected with cyclosporiasis Monday, Aug. 3, according to the state's daily update of cases in the outbreak.
freep.com
Some of the oldest smallpox virus genomes in the Americas, those found in Chile, suggest European colonization is the source of the virus www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The genomic identity of early smallpox in South America
Smallpox was a major driver of population collapse in the Americas after European contact, yet the genetic identity of the causal strains remains unknown. Here, we report the first ancient smallpox ge...
science.org
Trump would never have become King without the "poorly educated."
The New Republic@newrepublic.com · 2d agoPresident Trump is banning students majoring in degrees that don’t make enough money from taking out college loans. Degrees for social work, art, religious studies, teaching aides, and music will be hit the hardest. trib.al/aaAEu6v
President Trump is banning students majoring in degrees that don’t make enough money from taking out college loans. Degrees for social work, art, religious studies, teaching aides, and music will be hit the hardest. trib.al/aaAEu6v
Trump Moves to Cut Off Student Loans for Tons of Degrees
Under a new rule, if your degree doesn’t make enough money, you won’t be able to get a student loan.
trib.al
“The Trump administration's federal work requirements exempt certain groups of people… But the administration decided that being homeless isn't a medical condition and can't count as an automatic out from having to meet the new requirements.”
Medicaid work rule leaves homeless people in the cold
Conservatives who have long pushed for Medicaid work requirements often said vulnerable people would get a pass. But the federal government's list of exemptions left off homeless people.
npr.org
"The new tool makes it easier for parents & community members to view annual vaccination rates at individual schools — not just at the state or county-level like before — boosting transparency & giving families a clearer picture of how well protected their children’s classrooms are"
New online tool lets parents see vaccination rates at individual schools
The goal is to boost transparency and give families a clearer picture of how well protected their children’s classrooms are.
wfmz.com
This is where the individualization of health leads. But "individual choice" obscures the network underpinning our abilities to make those choices. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
MS: One of your criticisms of Fauci is that he said one thing publicly, where he sort of downplayed the virus, & one thing privately, where he acknowledge its seriousness. President Trump did exact the same thing. Does Trump deserve the same level of scrutiny? RAND PAUL: *immediately changes topic*
We investigated and identified several skin-derived bacteria that antagonize common pathogenic species: www.nature.com/articles/s41... A cool highlight was that bacteria from feet, where fungi are particularly diverse, tended to be more broadly antifungal than those from other body sites! #microevo
Large-scale investigation for antimicrobial activity reveals newly-identified defensive species across the healthy skin microbiome - Nature Communications
Authors present the EPithelial Isolate Collection (EPIC), a large skin microbiome culture collection, uncovering new species, widespread antifungal activity, and hidden biosynthetic diversity, reveali...
nature.com
With 2 deaths reported by Michigan health officials in the nationwide cyclospora outbreak, the question of the hour: Will RFKjr return to tighter food surveillance? Both victims had underlying health problems. The deaths are a lesson: foodborne illnesses can have devastating consequences👇
Michigan reports first cyclosporiasis deaths, cases pass 11,000
Michigan reported the first two deaths connected with cyclosporiasis Monday, Aug. 3, according to the state's daily update of cases in the outbreak.
freep.com
Some of the oldest smallpox virus genomes in the Americas, those found in Chile, suggest European colonization is the source of the virus www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The genomic identity of early smallpox in South America
Smallpox was a major driver of population collapse in the Americas after European contact, yet the genetic identity of the causal strains remains unknown. Here, we report the first ancient smallpox ge...
science.org
A 67-year-old Long Island man has been diagnosed w/ an extremely rare, potentially fatal tick-borne infection. The resident of Brookhaven Town was bitten by ticks that transmitted the Bourbon virus, the 1st such case in New York. Patient said he was bitten in his backyard & found 2 ticks on his leg👇
First Case of Bourbon Virus, Which Is Untreatable and Potentially Fatal, Confirmed in New York
The first confirmed case of the tick-borne Bourbon virus, which is extremely rare and potentially fatal, has been identified in New York.
people.com
Infections w/ the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus is intensifying w/ sustained transmission & continued increases in reported cases & deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The outbreak is the largest ever reported in the country w/ 3605 confirmed cases, including nearly 1600 deaths👇
Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus - Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is intensifying, with sustained transmission and continued increases in reported cases and deaths. Initially confine...
who.int
Unveiling active microbial processes in Earth’s deepest seawater. Hadal microbes show distinct in situ activity, using refractory substrates & diverse electron acceptors to drive unique deep‑ocean biogeochemistry. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #OpenAccess #microbiome #ecosystem #MicroSky
Important history lesson: Fascism rose partly as a result of the 1918 pandemic.
