Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Ally Whelan

Jeffrey Vagle of the Carcosa Vagles @jvagle.me · 7h

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 12h

Happy Friday Eve from Remy!

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 16h

I don’t think this qualifies for “boys will be boys”

JD Vance brushes off racist texts by adults in Republican group chat as ‘what kids do’

Vice-president downplays messages such as ‘I love Hitler’ in chat by 24 to 35-year-olds to ‘stupid jokes’

www.theguardian.com

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 17h

Two puppers excited to play at daycare

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Jacqueline Antonovich @jackiantonovich.bsky.social · 1d

As a historian, I can certify that we are in the bad times. But bad times eventually end.
In the meantime:
• Figure out a small way to help someone
• Figure out a small way to fight back
• Figure out a small place to find joy
• Figure out a small way to grow and thrive

And do it often.

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 1d

a dog is standing next to a wall with its mouth open and says `` happy hump day see more '' .

ALT: a dog is standing next to a wall with its mouth open and says `` happy hump day see more '' .

media.tenor.com

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Jill Wieber Lens @jillwieberlens.bsky.social · 1d

Excited to share my latest, an article I've had in my head for years, Fetal Life Hypocrisies. A brief thread -- papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Fetal Life Hypocrisies

<p><span>Fifty years ago in </span><span>Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court proclaimed and validated the state interest in protecting fetal life. That validation ha

papers.ssrn.com

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 1d

The doctor turned Harmonie away, telling her she wouldn’t intervene b/c there was “a 1% chance” the ectopic pregnancy was viable.

@jessicavalenti.bsky.social with a stark reminder that living in what is considered to be a pro-choice state doesn’t mean you won’t be affected by anti-abortion views

Illinois Woman Denied Treatment for Ectopic Pregnancy

10.14.25

jessica.substack.com

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Kevin C Klatt, PhD, RD @kcklatt.bsky.social · 2d

MMWR stole the show in the first round of headlines about CDC cuts but in the chaos, many missed that the NHANES mobile team remains RIF'd. This is the backbone of this key survey that contains some of the only representative anthropometric, biochemical, clinical and dietary data on the country.

STAT @statnews.com · 2d

Protecting the nation’s public health demands data, whether it be new measles cases, a surge in ER visits, or shifting patterns in obesity. The most recent job cuts at the CDC threaten the mostly unseen foundation of that research enterprise.
www.statnews.com/2025/10/14/c...

CDC team running top survey on health and nutrition is laid off

NHANES has collected data on eating patterns, diabetes and other common diseases for decades. The CDC team that runs it has been fired.

www.statnews.com

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 2d

Wait, you’re telling me it’s only Tuesday?

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Anthony Michael Kreis @anthonymkreis.bsky.social · 3d

They Helped Topple Roe v. Wade. Now Their Sights Are Set on Britain. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/w...

They Helped Topple Roe v. Wade. Now Their Sights Are Set on Britain.

www.nytimes.com

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 2d

1 in 6 lab-confirmed bacterial infections causing common infections in people worldwide in 2023 were resistant to antibiotic treatments…B/t 2018 and 2023, antibiotic resistance rose in over 40% of the pathogen-antibiotic combinations monitored, w/ an avg annual increase of 5–15%.

Not great y’all!

WHO warns of widespread resistance to common antibiotics worldwide

One in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections causing common infections in people worldwide in 2023 were resistant to antibiotic treatments, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) r...

www.who.int

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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 2d

Reshma Ramachandran “said the sequence of events is the antithesis of how the FDA is supposed to function.

“What we’re seeing here is, ‘We believe this and we’re going to find the evidence to support that’ …That’s just inherently wrong in terms of how a scientific agency like the FDA operates.”

Inside FDA, career staffers describe how political pressure is influencing their work

Current and former FDA staff said the level of involvement of political officials in nitty-gritty regulatory matters is unprecedented.

www.statnews.com

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 3d

Florida just really doesn’t seem to want healthy kids.

GOP lawmaker demands “parental consent” be required for doctors to treat teens’ STIs — LGBTQ Nation

Under the bill, a minor could be diagnosed with syphilis but have no access to antibiotics unless their parents agree. Monday, October 13, 2025 Florida state Sen. Erin Grall (R) introduced a bill last...

apple.news

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 3d

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Dana Howard @thedanahoward.bsky.social · 3d

“So, the most important takeaway from this for states is that nothing has changed,” Zettler said. “Nothing’s going to change tomorrow and nothing’s changed today.” Great write up showcasing OSU expertise! @pzettler.bsky.social

Ohio Capital Journal @ohiocapitaljournal.com · 3d

Ohio reproductive rights providers and advocates are keeping an eye on federal discussions about a longtime FDA-approved drug used in medication abortion, while maintaining a resolute message in a state with constitutional protections for abortion ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/10/13/o...

Ohio experts trust decades of medical evidence on abortion drug safety as federal review requested • Ohio Capital Journal

Ohio reproductive rights providers and advocates are keeping an eye on federal discussions about a longtime FDA-approved drug used in medication abortion, while maintaining a resolute message in a…

ohiocapitaljournal.com

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 3d

Mom, I’m starving.

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 4d

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 4d

For more, see my article. Dobbs and the Destabilization of Clinical Trials scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/cgi/viewcont...

scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 4d

I spoke w/ Politico about how Dobbs further disrupted and destabilized clinical research with people who are pregnant or capable of becoming pregnant. The lack of data makes it easier to spread misinformation and instill unwarranted fears....

Alice Miranda Ollstein @alicemiranda.bsky.social · 4d

A decades-old problem (underrepresentation of all women, but especially pregnant women, in medical research) is getting worse.

Post-Dobbs, “fear of liability is a regularly cited obstacle” to enrolling pregnant women in medical studies, according to a 2024 @nationalacademies.org report.

RFK Jr.’s got advice for pregnant women. There’s limited data to support it.

Women of reproductive age have long been missing from clinical trials. It’s getting worse where abortion is banned.

www.politico.com

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Jennifer Nuzzo, DrPH, SM @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social · 5d

Some of these people have now been fired and rehired TWICE since January. The current state of dysfunction is mind boggling.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 5d

OOOPS! UPDATE: Two HHS officials tell me that disease detectives, measles response officers, global health officials and the MMWR staff were laid off by mistake and will be reinstated. But Washington office is still RIFed

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 6d

BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 5d

This is… concerning.

Claire Zagorski, MSc, EMT-P @clairezagorski.bsky.social · 5d

A student on TikTok has been documenting her journey with a professor who “wrote” the anatomy textbook and it’s all a bunch of AI hallucinations.

She’s saying that, understandably, the students are doing super poorly!

Behold what we’re teaching the healthcare professionals of tomorrow:

A diagram of the bones and (some) deep muscles of the hand and forearm. AI says that we only have four digits. It’s also identified a tendon as the median nerve, another tendon as the ulnar nerve, among other issues.

An AI generated diagram of the muscles of the neck. It hallucinated the “ennocleidomasid” muscle, and the “anterior scalpalin muscle”.

An AI generated diagram of the muscles of the lateral thigh. It says that the gluteus Maximus (the big juicy butt muscle) is on the anterior side. It also points to the quadriceps muscle and says “attattment”. It also says that the same structure is the tibia AND the deep fascia of the leg.

An AI generated diagram of the bones of the hand and forearm. This time AI says we have 6 digits. It also says that the radius is the ulnar artery. Among other many issues.

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Patti Zettler @pzettler.bsky.social · 5d

Terrible and terrifying news for all of us.

Lena Sun @lenasun.bsky.social · 5d

NEW: @CDCgov hit hard by massive firings that several staff describe to me as a “bloodbath.”
Among those RIFd:
—leadership of the center for immunization and respiratory diseases;
—leadership of global health center
—leadership of the measles outbreak response; 1/4

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 5d

Parents are taking a roadtrip today. Riley is clearly excited, Maisie just wants to keep snoozin

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 5d

When public health works well, it is largely invisible. The decimation of our public health infrastructure, dismissal of public health experts, and rampant health misinformation mean that the importance of public health work is going to become more visible....

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