Fredros Okumu

Public Health Scientist & Professor of Vector Biology, Ifakara Health Institute, TZ & University of Glasgow, UK; Former Director of Science @ifakarahealth

[Fredros Okumu @Fredros_Inc]

Why I study the most dangerous animal on earth — mosquitoes (Fredros Okumu | TEDGlobal 2017) https://t.co/gjRtr1hFOW via @TEDTalks

[Adam Grant @AdamMGrant]

Hybrid work doesn't just boost productivity. It leads us to reproduce more too.

Economists find that when remote work opportunities rise, fertility rates do too. For every 3 couples that work from home at least a day a week, an extra child is born.

Flexibility is pro-family.

[NEJM @NEJM]

Current HIV treatment guidelines worldwide recommend that persons with HIV infection start antiretroviral therapy (ART) regardless of symptoms, signs, clinical stage of disease, CD4 cell count, or HIV RNA level. Learn more about ART in a new review: https://t.co/VSY39nFkSE

[Sarahh @Sarahhuniverse]

The evolution of English Home 🇬🇧🏠

© vgraphsinsta

[Sarah Fields @SarahisCensored]

Meet the hero! 16-year-old lifeguard Ryder (reportedly Ryder Williams)

This high school student and seasonal Santa Cruz State Parks lifeguard pulled off one of the most incredible rescues of the summer at Seabright Beach on July 25.

A 10-year-old boy was being hammered by massive waves. Ryder dove in, locked on with an unbreakable grip, and fought through wave after wave for nearly two minutes - never letting go - while telling bystanders who tried to help to save themselves. A second lifeguard joined him to get the boy safely to shore. The child was checked by paramedics and reunited with his family, stable.

His mom confirmed his first name on social media and said he’s just doing the job he loves. Instead of a GoFundMe, she pointed people toward supporting the Santa Cruz County Parks Junior Guards program that trained him.

Absolute legend at 16. Real first-responder energy. 💪🛟

[Fredros Okumu @Fredros_Inc]

So at some point in the near future, we won’t be able to buy any physical copies of old books? They will have all been shredded or archived?

[Hedgie @HedgieMarkets]

🦔AI companies are bulk-buying rare books, scanning them through high-speed machines that cut the spines off, and shredding the originals. A service called ISBNdb facilitates orders of up to a million books and keeps buyers anonymous. Pre-2022 books are premium because they're free of AI-generated text. A federal judge ruled the practice is fair use because eliminating the original means only one copy exists at a time. Anthropic hired the former head of Google Books partnerships to obtain "all the books in the world."

My Take
This got to me. A bookseller told 404 Media that rare books with almost no surviving copies are being fed into this pipeline. Books that survived wars, fires, and centuries of handling are being shredded so an AI can learn to write a better marketing email.
ISBNdb's website literally says "'AI company destroys two million books' is not a headline that generates sympathy," and they still built an entire business around making it happen quietly. They offer NDAs as a feature. They coach clients to call it "digital preservation."

I've covered AI companies scraping the internet, torrenting libraries, and stealing music. This is worse because it's irreversible. You can re-upload a website. You can reprint a bestseller. You can't replace the last three copies of an 18th-century botanical text once someone shreds them for training data. And the judge said it's legal. So it's going to accelerate.
"We shred rare books and offer NDAs so nobody finds out" is a legitimate business model in 2026. What a timeline.

Hedgie🤗

[Hedgie @HedgieMarkets]

🦔AI companies are bulk-buying rare books, scanning them through high-speed machines that cut the spines off, and shredding the originals. A service called ISBNdb facilitates orders of up to a million books and keeps buyers anonymous. Pre-2022 books are premium because they're free of AI-generated text. A federal judge ruled the practice is fair use because eliminating the original means only one copy exists at a time. Anthropic hired the former head of Google Books partnerships to obtain "all the books in the world."

My Take
This got to me. A bookseller told 404 Media that rare books with almost no surviving copies are being fed into this pipeline. Books that survived wars, fires, and centuries of handling are being shredded so an AI can learn to write a better marketing email.
ISBNdb's website literally says "'AI company destroys two million books' is not a headline that generates sympathy," and they still built an entire business around making it happen quietly. They offer NDAs as a feature. They coach clients to call it "digital preservation."

I've covered AI companies scraping the internet, torrenting libraries, and stealing music. This is worse because it's irreversible. You can re-upload a website. You can reprint a bestseller. You can't replace the last three copies of an 18th-century botanical text once someone shreds them for training data. And the judge said it's legal. So it's going to accelerate.
"We shred rare books and offer NDAs so nobody finds out" is a legitimate business model in 2026. What a timeline.

Hedgie🤗

[African Academy of Sciences @AASciences]

Prof. Anyang’ Nyong’o #AASFellow is shaping Kenya’s vision beyond 2030

He led a team of scholars to present strategic proposals for national transformation to President Ruto, showing how African science drives progress.
Read more 👉 https://t.co/SvlzZAw1AK
#FAAS
@AnyangNyongo

[The Lancet @TheLancet]

Blood pressure and cholesterol levels in adults over 40 with obesity increasingly similar to adults with normal BMI, study suggests.

Explore the research 👉 https://t.co/hyEkKjbbch

[Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research @genedrivenet]

SAVE THE DATE

For #WorldMosquitoDay this year, join a panel of experts exploring innovative approaches that could help shape the future of vector control.

🗓️ August 18, 2026
🕙 2:00pm SGT
Register here➡️ https://t.co/iBzY1S8juQ

@APMEN @FightingMalaria

[@jason @Jason]

How cool is this?!?

[Fredros Okumu @Fredros_Inc]

Mmmm. ok!

[The Wall Street Journal @WSJ]

OpenAI and Anthropic executives are sounding the alarm about the rise of cheap AI, particularly powerful new models produced in China, suggesting they will lead to a “dystopian” AI future and present unacceptable security risks without regulation. https://t.co/9jKfO3DhDN

[The Wall Street Journal @WSJ]

OpenAI and Anthropic executives are sounding the alarm about the rise of cheap AI, particularly powerful new models produced in China, suggesting they will lead to a “dystopian” AI future and present unacceptable security risks without regulation. https://t.co/9jKfO3DhDN

[Ihtesham Ali @ihteshamali]

Here is the link for you:

https://t.co/xlNTelkiAz

[Fredros Okumu @Fredros_Inc]

CRISPR gets a power boost from AI-designed ‘molecular scissors’ https://t.co/mxrCVr0KrN

[KEMRI-Wellcome @KEMRI_Wellcome]

👥How do technical advisory committees turn evidence into policy?
In the simulated NITAG/Technical Advisory Committee meeting, participants stepped into the role of decision-makers, debating modelling evidence alongside other critical considerations to develop evidence-informed policy recommendations. The practical exercise strengthened participants' ability to weigh competing priorities, interpret modelling outputs, and balance multiple sources of evidence in real-world public health decision-making. #GSLEARN

[Jon Hernandez @JonhernandezIA]

“AI will force us to redesign school.”

Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, says AI should teach knowledge while classrooms develop human skills.

Education shifts from standardized instruction to personalized learning, creativity, judgment, and collaboration.

AI does not replace school. It changes what school is for.

[Fredros Okumu @Fredros_Inc]

Anthropic's new commercial opens with footage of a house engulfed in flames. The ad is deeply strange—and accidentally perfect, @lilashroff argues. https://t.co/g8bJacsSSx

[CNN @CNN]

A new species of monkey with distinctive orange lips and a deep roaring call has been identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Colobus congoensis, known to local people as Likweli, is just the fifth new monkey species scientists have identified in Africa in the last 75 years, according to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE. https://t.co/5Z3L6qHhCk

[The New York Times @nytimes]

Breaking News: The FDA approved a daily pill that can lower cholesterol levels far below what statins can, clinical trials have shown. https://t.co/dTUtOXn4Wk

[Reuters @Reuters]

World Cup fans in London watch England-Argentina semi-final https://t.co/jBj3cOwMIL