Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Niema Moshiri

Katie Drummond @katie-drummond.bsky.social · 8h

This is a jaw-dropping, terrifying number. The CDC's workforce has decreased by 3,000 people since January.

Another round of terminations, combined with previous layoffs and departures, has reduced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention workforce by about 3,000 people since January.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Niema Moshiri

Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · 8h

Almost like we founded the entire country on opposing this exact sentence.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 9h

Bessent: "No kings equals no paychecks"

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404 Media @404media.co · 9h

Senators worry that EA, which just released Battlefield 6 last week and also publishes The Sims, Madden, and EA Sports FC, “would cease exercising editorial and operational independence under the control of Saudi Arabia’s private majority ownership.”

🔗 www.404media.co/senators-war...

Senators Warn Saudi Arabia’s Acquisition of EA Will Be Used for ‘Foreign Influence’

‘The proposed transaction poses a number of significant foreign influence and national security risks.’

www.404media.co

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Adam Phillippy @aphillippy.bsky.social · 10h

The T2T zebra finch genome has hatched! 🐣 🧬 @vertebrategenomes.bsky.social

bioRxiv Genomics @biorxiv-genomic.bsky.social · 16h

The complete genome of a songbird https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.14.682431v1

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Reposted by Niema Moshiri

Mike Schatz @mikeschatz.bsky.social · 1d

Read the preprint here with all the details, plus lots of other long-read powered analysis! www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

Population-scale Long-read Sequencing in the All of Us Research Program

The All of Us Research Program (AoU) is a national biobank seeking to enroll one million individuals in the United States to link genomic and biomedical data, including short- and long-read whole-geno...

www.medrxiv.org

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Reposted by Niema Moshiri

Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 1d

I don't think people realize what an immediate impact this is going to have on outbreak response and containment.

Ferric Fang, MD @fangferric.bsky.social · 1d

According to a state epidemiologist, "CDC personnel who normally share information with state officials during outbreaks have been eliminated."

Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 1d

“One veteran researcher who still has his job (and, like other public-health workers I spoke with for this story, requested anonymity for fear of losing it) told me he believes that Kennedy’s ultimate goal is to “silence the scientific voice of career CDC scientists.””

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Reposted by Niema Moshiri

Ben Langmead @benlangmead.bsky.social · 1d

New tool "bwt-svg" for making illustrations of the BWT and the many auxiliary arrays and other structures related to it. Pyodide-based no-installation-necessary interface here: benlangmead.github.io/bwt-svg/. (H/t to @robert.bio for pointing me to pyodide!) Full repo: github.com/benlangmead/....

Illustration of Burrows-Wheeler Transform and many auxiliary structures from the input string how$now$brown$cow$#

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Reposted by Niema Moshiri

Rick Steves @ricksteves.bsky.social · 21h

🧵:

Last June, more than 5 million Americans joined #NoKings rallies across the country, protesting President Trump's authoritarianism. And this Saturday, with your help, it's going to be even bigger and better.

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Congresswoman Sara Jacobs @sarajacobs.house.gov · 21h

This isn’t business-as-usual military action – it’s murder. There was no public evidence, no due process, and no legal justification. Thoughtless action like this is how we wind up in endless wars and how our service members become targets. This is beyond shameful.

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Niema Moshiri @niema.net · 1d

Holy fuck 😬

Andrew Couts @couts.bsky.social · 1d

🫥 www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

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Niema Moshiri @niema.net · 1d

😂

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Reposted by Niema Moshiri

Emma Kidwell | Looking for work ✨ @emmakidwell.bsky.social · 1d

Hi #Portfolioday l! I'm Emma Kidwell, an award nominated writer and designer experienced in indie and AAA. I've worked in all stages of game development from polish to pitching. I'm adaptable, quick to learn, and available for full time and contact work ✍️

✨ emmkid.info

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Reposted by Niema Moshiri

HELLody SchreiBOO @melodyschreiber.com · 1d

CDC HR employees were brought back from furlough to process these RIFs and then end their own department

HELLody SchreiBOO @melodyschreiber.com · 1d

The entire HR department at the CDC is gone. Everyone at the IRB, which makes sure studies are conducted ethically and rigorously, and the ethics office, which oversee conflicts of interest for CDC leaders and advisory committee members, were also let go.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

‘Instability and confusion’ as CDC slashes 1,300 jobs before reinstating half

Trump administration says 700 notices were sent in error, while top CDC officer says ‘they didn’t think through what they were doing’

www.theguardian.com

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Senate Judiciary Democrats 🇺🇸 @judiciarydems.senate.gov · 1d

Sen. SCHIFF: Senator Durbin asked a very appropriate oversight question, and Pam Bondi’s response was to attack his character and insult him. Senator Whitehouse did the same with a perfectly legitimate oversight question, and Pam Bondi attacked him personally. Others, too.

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Niema Moshiri @niema.net · 1d

Found it! gdcvault.com/play/1035057...

Game Career Seminar: The Japanese Game Industry: Getting Your Foot in the Door

Japan is a content powerhouse for anime, manga, and other popular media! The country has countless game publishers and developers, with numerous game titles boasting passionate fans across the globe.n...

gdcvault.com

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Niema Moshiri @niema.net · 1d

I *think* there was a panel/talk about it at the most recent GDC or something; I'll try to find the link to the recording

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Reposted by Niema Moshiri

Emma Kidwell | Looking for work ✨ @emmakidwell.bsky.social · 1d

if i wanted to learn more about the game dev scene in japan where would i start? i've been wanting to explore my options there if i can't find a job in america since i dont need a work visa as a dual citizen 🫠

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Reposted by Niema Moshiri

🕊 Sharon ~ NHDogLover ⚖️ 🗽 @nhdoglover.bsky.social · 1d

Pete Buttigieg on Rebuilding America After Trump

The former transportation secretary argues Americans need a new sense of belonging.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/o...

Opinion | Pete Buttigieg on Rebuilding America After Trump

www.nytimes.com

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Deb Houry @drdebhoury.bsky.social · 1d

Whiplash and trauma- that's what the CDC staff are currently experiencing. CDC can't protect us if they don't have the resources and the boots on the ground. My conversation with @jaketapper.bsky.social @cnn.com last night. @firedbutfighting.bsky.social

The Lead With Jake Tapper - Dr. Deb Houry

Powered by SnapStream Cloud Sharing

video.snapstream.net

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Niema Moshiri @niema.net · 1d

a close up of a man 's face with blonde hair and blue eyes

Alt: GIF of Willem Dafoe's face super-imposed on Cloud Strife, giving an approving nod

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Niema Moshiri

Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 1d

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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Reposted by Niema Moshiri

Design Room @designroom.bsky.social · 1d

🚨🚨🚨

We are live! Welcome to Design Room, a new independent games media site.

• We specialize in oral histories like the Final Fantasy 7 and Street Fighter 2 ones I (@mattleone.bsky.social) did at Polygon
• Our first big story is on Shadow of the Colossus: bit.ly/4hjwz8n
• See more: designroom.site

Design Room

Video game oral histories

designroom.site

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Reposted by Niema Moshiri

17-BIT @17-bit.bsky.social · 1d

The folks over at @videogameschronicle.com dropped a huge interview with Hip Tanaka, going over some of his legendary music that helped shape the industry.

We cannot overstate what a honor it is to work with such a legend on #AWAYSIS. We can't wait for you to hear the soundtrack.

‘The original Game Boy sounds the best’: A very nerdy conversation with legendary Nintendo composer Hip Tanaka | VGC

The father of chiptune music discusses the past, and his long-awaited return to games…

www.videogameschronicle.com

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Niema Moshiri @niema.net · 1d

All of my papers build on my previous ones (by design: I'm not pulling new projects out of thin air), so of course I cite my own prior papers that are relevant

I don't cite my own papers that are *irrelevant* to the new one, but I think it's perfectly reasonable to cite relevant ones

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Reposted by Niema Moshiri

Liz Ryerson @ellaguro.bsky.social · 2d

if any of you ever want to search your wishlist on Steam for games with demos available btw this website has been really useful for me. a lot of them straight up just won't show up for Next Fest for various reasons so this search has been necessary for me www.lorenzostanco.com/lab/steam/wi...

Steam wishlist filters

Filter your Steam wishlist by tags and features, sort by current price, discount and more.

www.lorenzostanco.com

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