Tara Fox 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦

Cryolectron Microscopist at the National Cryo-EM Facility, at the Frederick National Lab. My views are my own. She/her.

[Dr. Angela Rasmussen @angie_rasmussen]

It’s not H5N1, it’s H5N5, but that isn’t a relief to me. It’s a reassortant that put someone in the hospital. This is unpredictable. I hope epidemiologists are investigating to assess who else might have been exposed, so appropriate outbreak investigation & control can be applied

[Tara Fox 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦 @Donut_Geek]

@zebramaeuschen @carcinoidmama @florian_krammer And... Yeah, in my opinion, it absolutely feels like adhd, not "paying attention" (and/or not thinking abt it, not getting why it matters? 🤷‍♀️🤪🙃)

(And then, yeah, if you're short... if your hands are full/you don't have time... and probly a bunch of other options)

[Tara Fox 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦 @Donut_Geek]

@zebramaeuschen @carcinoidmama @florian_krammer Lol, this is *so* hillarious and relatable to me 😆🙃 I don't know that I *do* this, these days? (Tho I can absolutely see myself doing this when younger...)

But a) it does make some kind of "sense" to my brain, and b) I'm absolutely the wife that'll do the "guy" thing 😆🙃

[Yashar Ali 🐘 @yashar]

Michael Eisner, who served as CEO of Disney for 21 years and acquired ABC while he was in charge, slams his successor Bob Iger for bending the knee.

[Tara Fox 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦 @Donut_Geek]

@PrudyRay 🫂🫂🫂

[Tara Fox 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦 @Donut_Geek]

@Jubilee4CHANGE ❤️❤️❤️

[Tara Fox 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦 @Donut_Geek]

@Jubilee4CHANGE Love you 🫂🫂🫂

[Matthew Cappucci @MatthewCappucci]

***NOAA suspending critical hurricane-forecasting satellites***

This is not a political post – but rather a notice that a vitally-important satellite used to probe and track hurricanes will be discontinued within a week.

This will have noticeable negative impacts on hurricane forecasts and forecasting in general.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Wednesday that they will be cancelling the ingest, processing and distribution of data from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS).

"This service change and termination will be permanent," wrote NOAA.

SSIMS is flown on the United States Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F-16, F-17, F-18 and F-19 satellites; the latter stopped producing useful data in February of 2016, but the first three satellites are vital.

The agency did not elaborate on why the otherwise-usable satellites will be discontinued. There is no replacement scheduled.

The SSMIS satellite are extremely important; as a forecaster, I use the constantly. The microwave satellite imagery allows us to peer under the overcast of a storm, probing the inner structure of a tropical cyclone. It's especially important at night. Visible and infrared satellite imagery capture cloud top details, but not what's happening *inside* a named storm.

By resolving changes in a cyclone's inner structure, we're able to see how a storm is evolving – and potentially rapidly strengthening. The absence of this data creates an enormous hole in hurricane forecasting.

We may be less knowledgeable of changes in a storm's strength.

Early in a storm's life cycle, microwave satellite imagery also helps us pinpoint where a center of circulation is located. "Pinning the tail on the donkey" is extremely important, because getting the center point correct means better model output. If we're off a bit early on, then that error grows exponentially the farther out we forecast for.

Please be aware that this change can and will have a negative impact on the forecasts relied upon by Americans living in hurricane-prone areas.

[Jerome Adams @JeromeAdamsMD]

💰 Bonus: Several ACIP members failed to disclose serious conflicts of interest.
•Kulldorff & Malone were paid expert witnesses against Merck
•One member linked to anti-vaccine org NVIC
•Another resigned over stock holdings
📌 Transparency is essential- and was promised- but here, it was missing.

[Jerome Adams @JeromeAdamsMD]

1/
🚨 Over 28 falsehoods and common anti-vaccine talking points were shared during yesterday’s ACIP meeting. The zone is being flooded with misinformation, and it’s impossible to debunk it all in real time. But here are some key ones you should know. 🧵

[Anna Bower @AnnaBower]

I rarely post personal things.

But I need to talk about my 4-year-old niece, Hope. She has a rare disease. A drug called elamipretide helped her survive.

But the FDA recently denied its approval.

Now her access to the medication is at risk. We're urging @FDA to reconsider🧵

[Tara Fox 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦 @Donut_Geek]

@XianJaneway @FeedTheEngineer 😹😹😹

[Tara Fox 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦 @Donut_Geek]

@XianJaneway @FeedTheEngineer 🥹😍🥹😍🥹🥰

[Jerome Adams @JeromeAdamsMD]

As a physician and former U.S. Surgeon General, I am deeply concerned by the unprecedented decision to remove all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). For decades, ACIP’s independent, evidence-based recommendations have saved countless lives by guiding vaccine policy with transparency and scientific rigor. This move risks undermining public trust in vaccines at a time when declining immunization rates and outbreaks of preventable diseases, like measles, warrant steady leadership. While concerns about conflicts of interest deserve attention, ACIP members are already subject to strict disclosure requirements, and their expertise is critical to informed decision-making. I urge Secretary Kennedy to ensure that any new appointees are qualified scientists committed to public health and to prioritize collaboration with the scientific community to strengthen, not dismantle, this vital process. Our children and communities deserve policies grounded in science, not politics and populism.

[Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan]

This tweet aged well

[Jerome Adams @JeromeAdamsMD]

I’ve been getting questions from multiple reporters about historical, legal, and practical qualifications for the role of Surgeon General.

The U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps serves as America's "health army," comprising over 6,000 officers dedicated to safeguarding public health both nationally and globally. As one of the nation's eight uniformed services, the USPHS is integral to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and plays a pivotal role in responding to public health emergencies, advancing scientific research, and promoting health equity.
Historically, the Surgeon General has been required to be a licensed physician.

Current statutory qualifications for the position, as outlined in 42 U.S.C. § 205, specify that the Surgeon General must be:
1) A member of the Regular Corps of the USPHS (and to be a member of the physician category one needs to be a licensed physician)
2) Possess specialized training or significant experience in public health programs

(I can only speak for me, but I was a licensed and practicing physician with a masters degree in public health, and had previously run the Indiana State Department of Health for 4 years)

As the Senate is considering confirmation, it is important that historical precedent, the ability to effectively lead the USPHS, and the law, are all taken into consideration.

[Tara Fox 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦 @Donut_Geek]

@roomcguire @angie_rasmussen And. I don't know that I'd actually expect *those* freezers to fail.

I just. I expect they're not thinking thru those kinds of details, not necessarily as much as I am... and I'm just reading an article 🤦‍♀️🫠

[Tara Fox 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦 @Donut_Geek]

@roomcguire @angie_rasmussen There's a level of just... not listening to the people who are familiar with how and why things currently operate... it's very, very stupid, on top of horrific

I assume the padlocks, really, are part of their ongoing goal to demoralize government workers during all this.