The Feminist Scientist
@feministscientist.bsky.social
Molecular Biologist | Industry researcher | Science communicator with a passion for making science digestible, advocating for women’s health equity, and supporting women in STEM 💚
Today, I have been reflecting on the incredible women who have transformed their fields despite systemic barriers. Their dedication and grit paved the way for the next generation of women scientists. Let’s come together to honor their accomplishments and commit to a more inclusive future.🧪👩🔬 #IWD2026
Researchers have published the BRCA breakome—a map of double-strand breaks in DNA that occur long before breast cancer is detected. Strikingly, healthy-looking cells in BRCA carriers were more molecularly similar to cancer cells than to healthy controls. 🧪 doi.org/10.1038/s414... My full breakdown—
The BRCA 'Breakome': A Molecular Blueprint for Breast Cancer Risk
Scientists can now look for signature DNA damage before cancer even begins.
open.substack.com
Scientists have developed Talineuren (TLN), a liposomal formulation of GM1 ganglioside that can cross the blood-brain barrier. In ALS mouse models, this nanoparticle delivery preserved mitochondrial function and synaptic integrity, significantly improving motor symptoms. 👩🔬🧪 doi.org/10.1002/advs...
Mizzou researcher applies novel delivery method to treat ALS symptoms
A researcher at the University of Missouri has made a promising breakthrough in the quest to help people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the neurodegenerative disorder commonly known as Lou ...
eurekalert.org
A reminder that it’s never too late to really start living. 💛
Independent journalists make our democracy great. The arrests of Georgia Fort and Don Lemon are an egregious attack on the First Amendment. The Trump administration knows—independent voices can’t be bought or managed like corporate media. Keep writing. Keep filming. Keep standing up.
Alert: Former CNN anchor Don Lemon taken into custody.
Engineer & astronaut Christina Koch was born #OTD in 1979 + December 28, 2019: she broke the record for longest continuous time in space by a woman, ultimately returning from space on Feb. 6, 2020, after 328 days. + October 18, 2019: Participant, all-female spacewalk #WomenInSTEM #AstronautEnvy 🚀
Biochemist/molecular biologist Joan Steitz was born #OTD in 1941. She (& team) figured out how our cells read/use genetic instructions to make proteins. A key person who helped crack the code on RNA—the molecule that acts like a messenger between DNA & and the proteins our bodies need. #WomenInSTEM
Marjory Stephenson was born #OTD in 1885 + Helped establish modern microbial biochemistry + Wrote foundational textbook 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 (1930), shaping the discipline for decades + Co-founded, Society for General Microbiology + 1 of the first 2 women Fellows, Royal Society, 1945 #WomenInSTEM
Me after a long week in the lab when someone asks me to put together a slide deck for Monday. 🤦♀️🧫🥼🧬
🏆 We're pleased to share Katie Paul Friedman, Ph.D., has been awarded the 2026 @sotoxicology.bsky.social Achievement Award. Katie is the Director of the Center for Chemical Informatics and Screening UL Research Institutes' Chemical Insights and will be recognized at the #ToxExpo in March. 🧪
Great @nature.com story from @nicolakimjones.bsky.social 🧪 "How central 'being a man' was to someone’s sense of self wasn’t particularly predictive of which group they landed in. "'Manly' men are not necessarily toxic," says Hill Cone. "There is positive masculinity." www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Can ‘toxic masculinity’ be measured? Scientists try to quantify controversial term
A study has outlined eight indicators of toxic masculinity in heterosexual men — and finds that ‘manliness’ is not necessarily a problematic aspect of masculinity.
nature.com
A new meta-research study examined the time spent in review for millions of biomedical and life science articles indexed in PubMed. The conclusion is clear, female-authored articles spend longer under review compared to male-authored articles. 🧪
Biomedical and life science articles by female researchers spend longer under review
Women are underrepresented in academia, especially in STEMM fields, at top institutions, and in senior positions. This study analyzes millions of biomedical and life science articles, revealing that f...
dx.plos.org
Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She was 95.
Dr. Gladys West, Mathematician Whose Work Made GPS Possible, Dies at 95
ALEXANDRIA, VA — Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She passed away
thezebra.org
Not surprising news flash: A new review/meta-analysis out of Europe that included a total of 60 studies show that there is no link between Tylenol use during pregnancy & autism. This supports a previous Swedish study of 2.5 million births. Another debunk of Kennedy et al. 🧪 archive.today/dShVN
Tylenol use during pregnancy not linked to autism, new study says
Acetaminophen use during pregnancy is not likely to raise the risk of having a child with autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability, according to a new study published Friday.
statnews.com
The FBI Tried to Blackmail MLK Into Committing Suicide. Every Year, They Pretend Like Nothing Happened. • While politicians who gut voting rights quote King every January, the institution that hunted him has never faced a public reckoning for its campaign of psychological terror.
The FBI Tried to Blackmail MLK Into Committing Suicide. Every Year, They Pretend Like Nothing Happened.
While politicians who gut voting rights quote King every January, the institution that hunted him has never faced a public reckoning for its campaign of psychological terror.
historycanthide.substack.com
Happy birthday to Katalin Karikó! She won the 2021 #LaskerAward for modified mRNA technology, enabling rapid development of highly effective #COVID19 vaccines. 🧪 #RNAbiology #WomenInSTEM Read: https://ow.ly/IVHY50XYOfG Watch: https://ow.ly/6TVG50XYOfI
Apparently 2016 is trending 👀 Here’s a few from my camera roll. 💚 Can anyone’s guess what the bottom right image is? Hint: it’s a lab fail 🤣🧪
In 2025, women’s health research finally became ‘mainstream’, securing funding and regulatory successes while weathering the attack on US science.🧪🧬💚
The Feminist Science Fix: 2025 Year in Review
Another year has come and gone. Let’s reflect on some of the most impactful stories of 2025 from the world of women’s health research.
open.substack.com
This is a step in the right direction. News of this unethical study elicited outrage from scientists. Guinea-Bissau has one of the highest burdens of hepatitis B in the world. 90% of babies exposed at birth develop chronic infection. 🧪 www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...
Controversial CDC hep B vaccine study in Guinea-Bissau may be canceled
cidrap.umn.edu
"He said he saw guards choking Lunas Campos and heard Lunas Campos repeatedly saying, 'No puedo respirar' — Spanish for 'I can’t breathe'..." www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Medical examiner believes death of man in ICE custody was homicide, recording says
A fellow detainee says he witnessed Geraldo Lunas Campos being choked to death by guards at the ICE detention center in Texas on Jan. 3.
washingtonpost.com
Claudette Colvin was More Than Just the Precursor to Rosa Parks. • She was a plaintiff in the lawsuit that actually ended bus segregation—but civil rights leaders decided a dark-skinned, pregnant teenager wasn't "respectable" enough to be remembered.
Claudette Colvin was More Than Just the Precursor to Rosa Parks.
She was a plaintiff in the lawsuit that actually ended bus segregation—but civil rights leaders decided a dark-skinned, pregnant teenager wasn't "respectable" enough to be remembered.
historycanthide.substack.com
At a press conference announcing the impeachment of Kristi Noem, Rep. Nydia Velázquez drew the line: Americans want fairness — not brutality, especially toward women and children. We’re watching.
My latest blog post covers the highs and lows from 2025– “…women and underrepresented groups in STEM will be seriously impacted. According to an analysis by the UltraViolet, an estimated $20.4 million in STEM education grants for women and girls have been cut by the National Science Foundation.”
The Feminist Science Fix: 2025 Year in Review
Another year has come and gone. Let’s reflect on some of the most impactful stories of 2025 from the world of women’s health research.
open.substack.com
🧪A reminder of how measles made headlines over a century ago. Headline From The Bridgeport Evening Farmer November 22, 1913 We have forgotten. History rhymes. #ImpeachRFKJr #SackTheQuack
🧪We joined the party and provided a detailed response to RFK and Trump's latest statement on Tylenol use during pregnancy and Autism: www.lbscience.org/en/2025/09/2... @lbscience.org
Tylenol and Autism – Setting the Record Straight - Little, Big Science
Autism is an umbrella term for neurodevelopmental conditions that manifest, among other things, as difficulties in communication and social interaction. The diagnostic criteria for autism and other fo...
lbscience.org
