Deborah Blum
@deborahb.bsky.social
10K followers 350 following 1.1K posts
Book author, toxicology journalist, fascinated by poison and murder (current book project), and, oh yeah, I'm the former director of the Knight Science Journalism program at MIT.
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deborahb.bsky.social
Yes, so deceptively lovely.
deborahb.bsky.social
This is the mushroom used by Erin Patterson, the Australian woman was convicted last month of murdering three people in 2023 by serving them a lethal lunch.
bathnature.bsky.social
Deathcap (Amanita phalloides) at the foot of an oak in Engine Wood, Combe Hay on the outskirts of #Bath #Somerset #UK Probably the most poisonous #mushroom in the world - although slugs seem to like eating them!
#nature #wildlife #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #ukwildlife #bathnature #fungi
A Deathcap mushroom
Reposted by Deborah Blum
brookespraxis.bsky.social
Between this and public heath RIFs people aren’t freaking out enough.
Reposted by Deborah Blum
davelevitan.bsky.social
“We can give $20 billion to Argentina but we can’t afford the CDC’s measles experts” is a hell of an argument
deborahb.bsky.social
Yet another FDA alert on lead in cinnamon was issued yesterday. This is the fifth update warning of risk in additional brands since the agency first flagged the problem in July 2024.
Safety Alert
The FDA is advising consumers to throw away and not to buy the ground cinnamon products because samples of products listed in the table were found to contain elevated levels of lead.
www.fda.gov
Reposted by Deborah Blum
apoorvanyt.bsky.social
The mass layoffs of federal workers on Friday night swept up the top two leaders of the federal measles response team, those working on Ebola and dozens of other infectious disease experts
(Gift article)

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/h...
C.D.C. Layoffs Included 2 Top Measles Experts Amid Rising Cases
www.nytimes.com
deborahb.bsky.social
I didn’t take it that way at all.
Reposted by Deborah Blum
sarapartridge.bsky.social
There are reports that the *entire* office of special education at the US Dept of Education has been cut. These hardworking folks ensure kids with disabilities get equal access to a quality education.

America’s children deserve better than this.
deborahb.bsky.social
Thread. Grr.
lenasun.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Deborah Blum
leahlitman.bsky.social
More judges speak to the press (the NYT) about what a disaster the Supreme Court (specifically the shadow docket) has been - “incredibly demoralizing & troubling”; a “judicial crisis”; a “slap in the face to district courts.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...
Excerpts Excerpts
Reposted by Deborah Blum
heartlandsignal.bsky.social
BREAKING: Masked Border Patrol agents aggressively arrested WGN video producer Debbie Brockman in Lincoln Square Friday morning, supposedly for "obstructing justice." (Video via Josh Thomas on Facebook)

Follow @heartlandsignal for more.
Reposted by Deborah Blum
kevinmkruse.bsky.social
The random people who called into this C-SPAN session had better questions for Mike Johnson than most corporate media outlets
atrupar.com
C-SPAN caller to Mike Johnson: "Hearing you say that 'everyone is smiling' in cities where troops have been rolled into feels dystopian and insane watching the response to it."
deborahb.bsky.social
It’s a food industry magazine. And very helpful.
Reposted by Deborah Blum
chrismurphyct.bsky.social
Just bone chilling. And when the imprisonment of critics is combined with his offer to enrich and immunize his loyalists, this is how democracies die fast.

But it's still our choice. Don't let him silence you.
Reposted by Deborah Blum
gerrishlisa.bsky.social
VT Governor, “We need stability right now in this country—we don’t need more unrest.… I don’t think our guard or the military should be used against our own people. It’s unconstitutional unless, of course, there’s an insurrection, like we saw Jan. 6 a few years ago.” 👏
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
“Unconstitutional”: Two GOP Governors Slam Trump’s Troop Deployments
Republican governors are finally calling out Donald Trump for using the National Guard to take over American cities.
www.yahoo.com
deborahb.bsky.social
“Fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.” (gift article) Go, MIT!
M.I.T. Rejects a White House Offer for Special Funding Treatment
www.nytimes.com