Caroline Seydel
@carolineseydel.bsky.social
Independent science writer covering genetic technology. Always hopeful yet discontent.
Pinned
Pest control gets the CRISPR treatment - Nature Biotechnology
Precision genetic methods are enabling more efficient, environmentally friendly pest control methods for agricultural use as well as stopping the spread of disease.
www.nature.com
Hello Blue Sky! Might as well start things off here by sharing my latest piece for @naturebiotech.bsky.social about how genetically modified insects are central to emerging pest control strategies:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Vision: slightly fewer child pedestrians unnecessarily mowed down by speeding vehicles
American drivers: HOW DARE YOU
American drivers: HOW DARE YOU
We have something called Vision Zero in Sweden, which aims for zero traffic related deaths some day. I feel like we take it pretty seriously.
I feel like the US would have difficulty implementing even Vision Not Quite So Many.
My beliefs were reinforced by that hatred of speed cameras discourse.
I feel like the US would have difficulty implementing even Vision Not Quite So Many.
My beliefs were reinforced by that hatred of speed cameras discourse.
November 22, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Vision: slightly fewer child pedestrians unnecessarily mowed down by speeding vehicles
American drivers: HOW DARE YOU
American drivers: HOW DARE YOU
In the US we get bogged down in debates about whether speed cameras are more racist than traffic cops. My proposal: cars must have a sensor that beeps at you, like the ‘fasten seat belt’ alarm, when you’re exceeding the speed limit by more than 5 mph for more than a minute.
Australia does two things:
- mandatory seat belt wearing came in during the 1970s and the death rate fell off a cliff
- very stringent enforcement of speed limits through fixed speed cameras and roadside police stakeouts
[Seriously, US visitors can’t believe how fast they get a speeding fine in Aus]
- mandatory seat belt wearing came in during the 1970s and the death rate fell off a cliff
- very stringent enforcement of speed limits through fixed speed cameras and roadside police stakeouts
[Seriously, US visitors can’t believe how fast they get a speeding fine in Aus]
November 22, 2025 at 12:06 AM
In the US we get bogged down in debates about whether speed cameras are more racist than traffic cops. My proposal: cars must have a sensor that beeps at you, like the ‘fasten seat belt’ alarm, when you’re exceeding the speed limit by more than 5 mph for more than a minute.
“Call my baby lollipop, tell you why
His kiss is sweeter than an apple pie”
Me at 10: omg music back then was so cute and wholesome
Me at 50: wait a minute, that is NOT why she calls him that
His kiss is sweeter than an apple pie”
Me at 10: omg music back then was so cute and wholesome
Me at 50: wait a minute, that is NOT why she calls him that
November 21, 2025 at 6:26 PM
“Call my baby lollipop, tell you why
His kiss is sweeter than an apple pie”
Me at 10: omg music back then was so cute and wholesome
Me at 50: wait a minute, that is NOT why she calls him that
His kiss is sweeter than an apple pie”
Me at 10: omg music back then was so cute and wholesome
Me at 50: wait a minute, that is NOT why she calls him that
Reposted by Caroline Seydel
60 attorneys describe a year of chaos and suspicion inside Trump's Justice Department.
“If we’re indicting people because the president hates them, that’s counter to the whole point of doing my job.”
- Mike Romano, former prosecutor in the Public Integrity Section
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
“If we’re indicting people because the president hates them, that’s counter to the whole point of doing my job.”
- Mike Romano, former prosecutor in the Public Integrity Section
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
60 Attorneys on the Year of Chaos Inside Trump’s Justice Department (Gift Article)
Sixty former staffers describe an environment of suspicion and intimidation within the nation’s most powerful law enforcement agency.
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:22 PM
60 attorneys describe a year of chaos and suspicion inside Trump's Justice Department.
“If we’re indicting people because the president hates them, that’s counter to the whole point of doing my job.”
- Mike Romano, former prosecutor in the Public Integrity Section
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
“If we’re indicting people because the president hates them, that’s counter to the whole point of doing my job.”
- Mike Romano, former prosecutor in the Public Integrity Section
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Caroline Seydel
It's gotta be frustrating for journalists scraping by and doing great work to go to NY Times dot com and read a puff piece written by a nepo baby that whitewashes a journalist who had sex with a source and has now parlayed that into a new book and a job at Vanity Fair
November 14, 2025 at 6:07 PM
It's gotta be frustrating for journalists scraping by and doing great work to go to NY Times dot com and read a puff piece written by a nepo baby that whitewashes a journalist who had sex with a source and has now parlayed that into a new book and a job at Vanity Fair
I feel like we the taxpayers have bigger problems than punishing the tiny fraction of people desperate enough to steal a dead relative’s SNAP benefits
Brooke Rollins: "SNAP is a broken program. SNAP is full of corruption. We found 186,000 dead people."
November 13, 2025 at 4:19 PM
I feel like we the taxpayers have bigger problems than punishing the tiny fraction of people desperate enough to steal a dead relative’s SNAP benefits
Reposted by Caroline Seydel
Can we circle back to the part where the NY Times never disclosed that they have incriminating information on Donald Trump from sent by Epstein that's been sitting on their email servers for nearly a decade?
Stuff like this makes me wonder why there hasn't been any reporting about Trump having affairs during his presidencies
November 12, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Can we circle back to the part where the NY Times never disclosed that they have incriminating information on Donald Trump from sent by Epstein that's been sitting on their email servers for nearly a decade?
Reposted by Caroline Seydel
William Gibson called it 40 years ago: “And, for an instant, she stared directly into those soft blue eyes and knew, with an instinctive mammalian certainty, that the exceedingly rich were no longer even remotely human.”
November 10, 2025 at 8:33 PM
William Gibson called it 40 years ago: “And, for an instant, she stared directly into those soft blue eyes and knew, with an instinctive mammalian certainty, that the exceedingly rich were no longer even remotely human.”
Reposted by Caroline Seydel
James Watson, Co-Discoverer of the Structure of DNA, Is Dead at 97 www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/s...
James Watson, Co-Discoverer of the Structure of DNA, Is Dead at 97
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:29 PM
James Watson, Co-Discoverer of the Structure of DNA, Is Dead at 97 www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/s...
Reposted by Caroline Seydel
For every minute I sit in my car alone I get +1 stamina regen
November 2, 2025 at 3:35 PM
For every minute I sit in my car alone I get +1 stamina regen
Reposted by Caroline Seydel
My annual plea to leave the damn clocks alone, and why morning people are the worst:
www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
Overthrow the Tyranny of Morning People
Leave the clocks alone.
www.theatlantic.com
November 2, 2025 at 3:53 PM
My annual plea to leave the damn clocks alone, and why morning people are the worst:
www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
Reposted by Caroline Seydel
Reposted by Caroline Seydel
I’m gonna be angry at you for wanting higher wages
I’m gonna be angry at you for being on food stamps
I’m gonna be angry at you for working full time and being on food stamps
I’m gonna be angry at you for trying to get me to connect the dots to the actual problem
I’m gonna be angry at you for being on food stamps
I’m gonna be angry at you for working full time and being on food stamps
I’m gonna be angry at you for trying to get me to connect the dots to the actual problem
October 27, 2025 at 3:38 AM
I’m gonna be angry at you for wanting higher wages
I’m gonna be angry at you for being on food stamps
I’m gonna be angry at you for working full time and being on food stamps
I’m gonna be angry at you for trying to get me to connect the dots to the actual problem
I’m gonna be angry at you for being on food stamps
I’m gonna be angry at you for working full time and being on food stamps
I’m gonna be angry at you for trying to get me to connect the dots to the actual problem
Reposted by Caroline Seydel
The instinct on this site to respond to anyone who expresses surprise or uncertainty with a smug “how can you be surprised” is really unpleasant and obnoxious and says a lot about the kind of person who has gathered here
September 30, 2025 at 4:21 AM
The instinct on this site to respond to anyone who expresses surprise or uncertainty with a smug “how can you be surprised” is really unpleasant and obnoxious and says a lot about the kind of person who has gathered here
Reposted by Caroline Seydel
Experts warn loss of USAID endangers the fight against deadly TB
In high-burden countries around the world, the loss of USAID funding has had a devastating impact on critical TB intervention and treatment efforts.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/t...
In high-burden countries around the world, the loss of USAID funding has had a devastating impact on critical TB intervention and treatment efforts.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/t...
September 11, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Experts warn loss of USAID endangers the fight against deadly TB
In high-burden countries around the world, the loss of USAID funding has had a devastating impact on critical TB intervention and treatment efforts.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/t...
In high-burden countries around the world, the loss of USAID funding has had a devastating impact on critical TB intervention and treatment efforts.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/t...
Reposted by Caroline Seydel
By combining the information storage capabilities of DNA with a design inspired by a cassette tape, researchers have created a storage medium that can hold 36 petabytes of data
DNA cassette tape can store every song ever recorded
By combining the information storage capabilities of DNA with a design inspired by a cassette tape, researchers have created a storage medium that can hold 36 petabytes of data
www.newscientist.com
September 11, 2025 at 10:23 PM
By combining the information storage capabilities of DNA with a design inspired by a cassette tape, researchers have created a storage medium that can hold 36 petabytes of data
Reposted by Caroline Seydel
One noteworthy fact about local control of land use in Los Angeles is that it's why City Councilmembers keep going to prison.
As it turns out, land use rules that are so complex that you need special permission from the Councilmember to build ~anything create irresistible incentives for corruption!
As it turns out, land use rules that are so complex that you need special permission from the Councilmember to build ~anything create irresistible incentives for corruption!
August 21, 2025 at 7:13 PM
One noteworthy fact about local control of land use in Los Angeles is that it's why City Councilmembers keep going to prison.
As it turns out, land use rules that are so complex that you need special permission from the Councilmember to build ~anything create irresistible incentives for corruption!
As it turns out, land use rules that are so complex that you need special permission from the Councilmember to build ~anything create irresistible incentives for corruption!
✨bookish checkpoint✨💙📚
✧ last book read: TILT by Emma Pattee
✧ current read: MICKEY7 by Edward Ashton
✧ last book added to the tbr: LAST RITUALS by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
✧ next anticipated read: EVERYTHING IS TUBERCULOSIS by John Green
✧ last book read: TILT by Emma Pattee
✧ current read: MICKEY7 by Edward Ashton
✧ last book added to the tbr: LAST RITUALS by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
✧ next anticipated read: EVERYTHING IS TUBERCULOSIS by John Green
✨bookish checkpoint✨💙📚
✧ last book read: ALL FOURS by Miranda July
✧ current read: THE GHOST MAP by Steven Johnson
✧ last book added to the tbr: THE MEMORY COLLECTORS by Dete Meserve
✧ next anticipated read: FREE: MY SEARCH FOR MEANING by Amanda Knox
✧ last book read: ALL FOURS by Miranda July
✧ current read: THE GHOST MAP by Steven Johnson
✧ last book added to the tbr: THE MEMORY COLLECTORS by Dete Meserve
✧ next anticipated read: FREE: MY SEARCH FOR MEANING by Amanda Knox
✨bookish checkpoint✨💙📚
✧ last book read: CHALLENGER by Adam Higginbotham
✧ current read: MY FAMILY AND OTHER ANIMALS by Gerald Durrell
✧ last book added to the tbr: ISLAND AT THE CENTER OF THE WORLD by Russell Shorto
✧ next anticipated read: LAST BUS TO WISDOM by Ivan Doig
✧ last book read: CHALLENGER by Adam Higginbotham
✧ current read: MY FAMILY AND OTHER ANIMALS by Gerald Durrell
✧ last book added to the tbr: ISLAND AT THE CENTER OF THE WORLD by Russell Shorto
✧ next anticipated read: LAST BUS TO WISDOM by Ivan Doig
August 7, 2025 at 5:28 AM
✨bookish checkpoint✨💙📚
✧ last book read: TILT by Emma Pattee
✧ current read: MICKEY7 by Edward Ashton
✧ last book added to the tbr: LAST RITUALS by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
✧ next anticipated read: EVERYTHING IS TUBERCULOSIS by John Green
✧ last book read: TILT by Emma Pattee
✧ current read: MICKEY7 by Edward Ashton
✧ last book added to the tbr: LAST RITUALS by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
✧ next anticipated read: EVERYTHING IS TUBERCULOSIS by John Green
Reposted by Caroline Seydel
For decades, the only way to make custom DNA in bulk has been phosphoramidite synthesis, a chemical process that can construct nucleic acids up to 350 nucleotides or so in length. Advances in chemical & enzymatic methods has more than doubled that. 🧪 By @carolineseydel.bsky.social @nature.com
Made-to-order DNA goes big: new tech doubles size of custom genetic sequences
Enzyme-based techniques and refinements in organic chemistry ease the generation of extended DNA sequences.
www.nature.com
July 22, 2025 at 4:41 PM
For decades, the only way to make custom DNA in bulk has been phosphoramidite synthesis, a chemical process that can construct nucleic acids up to 350 nucleotides or so in length. Advances in chemical & enzymatic methods has more than doubled that. 🧪 By @carolineseydel.bsky.social @nature.com
This is going to be a hard read for many, but it's incredibly important to sit with these truths. We can't keep going the way we're going. "The only way science can succeed for generations is to win over the hearts and minds of the entire electorate, not just liberals."
undark.org/2025/06/19/o...
undark.org/2025/06/19/o...
What if MAGA Has a Point About Science?
Opinion | Conservative distrust of science helped set the stage for its dismantling. Can scientists bridge the partisan divide?
undark.org
June 23, 2025 at 6:01 PM
This is going to be a hard read for many, but it's incredibly important to sit with these truths. We can't keep going the way we're going. "The only way science can succeed for generations is to win over the hearts and minds of the entire electorate, not just liberals."
undark.org/2025/06/19/o...
undark.org/2025/06/19/o...
In my latest for Nature Biotechnology I look into how spatial transcriptomics is advancing clinical goals:
#biotech #RNA #cancer #inflammation #genomics #transcriptomics #proteomics #AI
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#biotech #RNA #cancer #inflammation #genomics #transcriptomics #proteomics #AI
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Beyond cell atlases: spatial biology reveals mechanisms behind disease - Nature Biotechnology
As the next generation of spatial transcriptomics tools hits the market, researchers are uncovering previously unknown interactions that could transform clinical research.
www.nature.com
June 17, 2025 at 7:10 PM
In my latest for Nature Biotechnology I look into how spatial transcriptomics is advancing clinical goals:
#biotech #RNA #cancer #inflammation #genomics #transcriptomics #proteomics #AI
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#biotech #RNA #cancer #inflammation #genomics #transcriptomics #proteomics #AI
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Tough days ahead, yes, but the jury is still out on which side it will be tough for
"About a half-dozen states have set their sights on mRNA-related legislation since the beginning of the year. Some ... seek to ban mRNA entirely or prohibit its use in children." www.pharmavoice.com/news/vaccine...
"About a half-dozen states have set their sights on mRNA-related legislation since the beginning of the year. Some ... seek to ban mRNA entirely or prohibit its use in children." www.pharmavoice.com/news/vaccine...
May 16, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Tough days ahead, yes, but the jury is still out on which side it will be tough for
"About a half-dozen states have set their sights on mRNA-related legislation since the beginning of the year. Some ... seek to ban mRNA entirely or prohibit its use in children." www.pharmavoice.com/news/vaccine...
"About a half-dozen states have set their sights on mRNA-related legislation since the beginning of the year. Some ... seek to ban mRNA entirely or prohibit its use in children." www.pharmavoice.com/news/vaccine...
✨bookish checkpoint✨💙📚
✧ last book read: ALL FOURS by Miranda July
✧ current read: THE GHOST MAP by Steven Johnson
✧ last book added to the tbr: THE MEMORY COLLECTORS by Dete Meserve
✧ next anticipated read: FREE: MY SEARCH FOR MEANING by Amanda Knox
✧ last book read: ALL FOURS by Miranda July
✧ current read: THE GHOST MAP by Steven Johnson
✧ last book added to the tbr: THE MEMORY COLLECTORS by Dete Meserve
✧ next anticipated read: FREE: MY SEARCH FOR MEANING by Amanda Knox
✨bookish checkpoint✨💙📚
✧ last book read: CHALLENGER by Adam Higginbotham
✧ current read: MY FAMILY AND OTHER ANIMALS by Gerald Durrell
✧ last book added to the tbr: ISLAND AT THE CENTER OF THE WORLD by Russell Shorto
✧ next anticipated read: LAST BUS TO WISDOM by Ivan Doig
✧ last book read: CHALLENGER by Adam Higginbotham
✧ current read: MY FAMILY AND OTHER ANIMALS by Gerald Durrell
✧ last book added to the tbr: ISLAND AT THE CENTER OF THE WORLD by Russell Shorto
✧ next anticipated read: LAST BUS TO WISDOM by Ivan Doig
✨bookish checkpoint✨💙📚
✧ last book read: WE SOLVE MURDERS, Richard Osman
✧ current read: 📖O CALEDONIA, Elspeth Barker; 🎧THE FRIDAY AFTERNOON CLUB, Griffin Dunne
✧ last book added to the tbr: AN ANONYMOUS GIRL, Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
✧ next anticipated read: THE FROZEN RIVER, Ariel Lawhon
✧ last book read: WE SOLVE MURDERS, Richard Osman
✧ current read: 📖O CALEDONIA, Elspeth Barker; 🎧THE FRIDAY AFTERNOON CLUB, Griffin Dunne
✧ last book added to the tbr: AN ANONYMOUS GIRL, Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
✧ next anticipated read: THE FROZEN RIVER, Ariel Lawhon
May 16, 2025 at 9:17 PM
✨bookish checkpoint✨💙📚
✧ last book read: ALL FOURS by Miranda July
✧ current read: THE GHOST MAP by Steven Johnson
✧ last book added to the tbr: THE MEMORY COLLECTORS by Dete Meserve
✧ next anticipated read: FREE: MY SEARCH FOR MEANING by Amanda Knox
✧ last book read: ALL FOURS by Miranda July
✧ current read: THE GHOST MAP by Steven Johnson
✧ last book added to the tbr: THE MEMORY COLLECTORS by Dete Meserve
✧ next anticipated read: FREE: MY SEARCH FOR MEANING by Amanda Knox
Reposted by Caroline Seydel
Made a cocktail for my wife and she put it in the freezer, inadvertently creating a new superorganism please hel—*glurk*
May 2, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Made a cocktail for my wife and she put it in the freezer, inadvertently creating a new superorganism please hel—*glurk*