Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 3h

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 · 3h

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 · 5h

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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Reposted by Ally Whelan

Jennifer Nuzzo, DrPH, SM @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social · 16h

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 · 19h

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 · 1d

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 · 16h

This is… concerning.

Claire Zagorski, MSc, EMT-P @clairezagorski.bsky.social · 1d

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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Reposted by Ally Whelan

Patti Zettler @pzettler.bsky.social · 1d

Terrible and terrifying news for all of us.

Lena Sun @lenasun.bsky.social · 1d

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 · 1d

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 · 1d

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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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 1d

The editors of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) were apparently fired today.

The precursor to MMWR began in 1878 to address emerging public health threats rapidly.

We are not “great” without it. We are vulnerable to threats from sporadic foodborne illness to bioterrorism.

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 1d

This is a public health tragedy

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 1d

This is beyond bad. All of our disease defenses are down now. We are sitting ducks. This is #RussellVought #DonaldTrump #RFKJr. They are endangering American lives with their insane crusade. These men are hazardous to your health and dangerous to the republic. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

Trump Administration Lays Off Dozens of C.D.C. Officials

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Ally Whelan

Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 1d

[disclaimer: i'm just talkin, these are normative statements, idk and am not commenting on what infrastructure exists irl]

there has to be a way to absorb some of these people into state health departments..or set up an interstate body to keep tryna do this work..we just cant lose all this capacity

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 1d

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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Reposted by Ally Whelan

Rick Weinmeyer @rickweinmeyer.bsky.social · 1d

I'm gonna be on repeat about this forever: What is especially dangerous about measles is that it can trigger immunity amnesia. From UCLA Health:

"Researchers have found that, after recovering from the measles, the immune system is suppressed for at least several months, and for up to two years."

Hundreds of U.S. students quarantined amid measles outbreaks

At least 270 unvaccinated kids are staying home from school as measles continues to spread nationwide. "Expect more," one expert said.

www.nbcnews.com

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 1d

Remy is not making it to the club tonight

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 1d

If we had a social safety net that gave pregnant people other paths to healthcare, housing, food stability, and living wages, then the deceptive, strings-attached support of [crisis pregnancy centers and maternity homes] would hold little appeal.”

Great piece by @gretchensisson.bsky.social

The Once and Future Maternity Home

An Abortion, Every Day guest column

open.substack.com

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 2d

Getting my flu shot today, so a reminder from your friendly public health advocate to go get yours! (and COVID if you can!).

We're quickly respiratory illness season; the flu shots takes ~2 wks to take full effect, so the next few weeks are the perfect time to get it before holiday travel begins!

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 2d

Gather up a kazoo band next

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 2d

www.wweek.com/culture/2025...

Can you put into words what that purpose is? You and the frog have really become icons of this protest.

There’s been a nice overall whimsy that has shown up. The frog is amazing. We had a bunch of other inflatable people here last night, too. I saw people playing Twister the other day.

What they rely on is fear. So by coming out in an absurdist manner, it speaks to them, to some extent, that we’re actually not that afraid.

It also dismantles their narrative a little bit. When they try to describe this situation as “war-torn,” it becomes much harder to take them seriously when they have to post a video saying [U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security] Kristi Noem is up on the balcony staring over the Antifa Army and it’s, like, eight journalists and five protesters and one of them is in a chicken suit.

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Jeffrey Vagle of the Carcosa Vagles @jvagle.me · 2d

This headline is hard to beat.

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 2d

Little nap before bedtime. A nappatizer, if you will.

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 2d

Abortion providers say Missouri's attorney general is trying to get patient records

Planned Parenthood officials say in court filings that Missouri's Republican attorney general is trying to get the medical records of patients who’ve had abortions.

apnews.com

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 3d

Mom knows how to make me homesick for beautiful upstate NY fall day

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William Adler @williamadler78.bsky.social · 3d

Is America great now

NPR @npr.org · 3d

A Cornell University researcher has been developing an artificial heart for children for more than 20 years. Now, his research is on hold and his lab is shut down. n.pr/3KIfcSn

This 4-year-old's heart is failing. A federal grant that might help him was canceled

A Cornell University researcher has been developing an artificial heart for children for more than 20 years. Now, his research is on hold and his lab is shut down.

n.pr

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 3d

Along with Noel the bipawd shorkie

Potty Time? Maybe.

YouTube video by Noel The Bipawd Shorkie

youtube.com

Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 3d

Please enjoy my new obsession, Henry Wee Wheels and his crew

Wheelchair Dog Lives Life in the Fast Lane || ViralHog

YouTube video by ViralHog

youtu.be

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 3d

(Spoiler: you can’t make it make sense)

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Ally Whelan @amwhelan.bsky.social · 3d

Baffles me that anti-vax rhetoric includes claims that (1) HCPs are motivated by profit to give vaccines and (2) kids get too many “jabs”…. yet by separating the MMR vaccine into separate shots they’ll be increasing visits (and reimbursable claims) & the number of “jabs”

Make it make sense.

Alarm as CDC calls for separate MMR vaccines despite measles outbreak — Guardian US

Concerns that three separate shots would be more costly and time-consuming, and keep kids from being vaccinated

apple.news

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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 3d

“In 1961, when I was just eight years old, I contracted measles. There was no vaccine available at the time. Like many of my classmates, I suffered through dangerously high fevers — mine reached 106 degrees — and nearly died. The disease left me almost totally deaf.” cc @jackiantonovich.bsky.social

Commentary: A plea to protect our children

Vaccination requirements kept our communities safe. Do not listen to anti-vaccine rhetoric. Do not gamble with your child’s health.

www.orlandosentinel.com

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