Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Chris Gunter 🧬 @girlscientist.bsky.social · 1h

I started my scientific career in high school, processing samples for NHANES. Cuts to this program are yet another intense loss for US science, particularly in nutrition data 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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Chris Gunter 🧬 @girlscientist.bsky.social · 2h

If only @genetisaur.bsky.social could get royalties for each use of the violin picture in talks, she would be rolling in the 💵 (maybe even enough for a few genome sequence runs)…. #ashg25 🧬

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Chris Gunter 🧬 @girlscientist.bsky.social · 2h

Welcome to #ASHG25! As our President Sarah Tishkoff just noted, next year for the first time the ASHG exec cmte will be all women. Glad to have anyone and everyone participating in this society now and in the future.

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Chris Gunter 🧬 @girlscientist.bsky.social · 10h

Slight change: the program starts at 4:15pm today! (also a reminder while I’m here that tag is #ASHG25 and not #ASHG2025 bc more characters for science that way)

Chris Gunter 🧬 @girlscientist.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks to @geneticssociety.bsky.social, if you are coming early to #ASHG25 you can show your badge at the Boston Museum of Science and get in free! Stop by for your badge first and then head over if you are not going to any of the workshops, before Sarah Tishkoff’s presidential address at 4:30pm.

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Chris Gunter 🧬 @girlscientist.bsky.social · 1d

Yep

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Chris Gunter 🧬 @girlscientist.bsky.social · 1d

Another tip for international #ASHG25 attendees: prepare for long lines at Logan due to the government shutdown. Heard it was 2.5 hours over the weekend.

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Chris Gunter 🧬 @girlscientist.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks to @geneticssociety.bsky.social, if you are coming early to #ASHG25 you can show your badge at the Boston Museum of Science and get in free! Stop by for your badge first and then head over if you are not going to any of the workshops, before Sarah Tishkoff’s presidential address at 4:30pm.

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Reposted by Chris Gunter 🧬

Magdalena Skipper @magdalenaskipper.bsky.social · 5d

Less than 70% of science Nobel prize winners awarded this century hail from the country in which they were awarded their prize.
“Mobility benefits everyone. Each newcomer brings fresh ideas, new techniques & different ways of looking at old problems”
🧪 #academicSky
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

More than 30% of this century’s science Nobel prizewinners immigrated: see their journeys

The most common destination for eventual Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry and medicine since 2000 is the United States, Nature has found.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Chris Gunter 🧬

Wellcome Sanger Institute @sangerinstitute.bsky.social · 6d

Read ‘Sperm sequencing reveals extensive positive selection in the male germline’ from @sangerinstitute.bsky.social and collaborators in @nature.com below:

nature.com/articles/s41...

Sperm sequencing reveals extensive positive selection in the male germline - Nature

A combination of whole-genome NanoSeq with deep whole-exome and targeted NanoSeq is used to accurately characterize mutation rates and genes under positive selection in sperm cells.

nature.com

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Reposted by Chris Gunter 🧬

Tauras Vilgalys @taurvil.bsky.social · 8d

Labcorp is recruiting summer interns in bioinformatics! One of my colleagues did this internship last year and found it to be a wonderful introduction to working in industry careers.labcorp.com/yzXKMn1

Now Hiring: Bioinformatics Intern in Westborough, Massachusetts, United States of America @ Labcorp

Labcorp, a leading global life sciences company, is searching for a Bioinformatics Intern in Westborough, Massachusetts, United States of America. #JoinThePursuit and apply today!

careers.labcorp.com

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Reposted by Chris Gunter 🧬

Gen Wojcik @genandgenes.bsky.social · 8d

Whoops, wrong hashtag.

If you are going to #ASHG25, check out the line-up!

This is perfect if you are a trainee who needs to network but has no idea how to do it. Instead of trying to corner someone at the posters (which is stressful!), schedule a slot and sit down for 15 minutes to chat!

Gen Wojcik @genandgenes.bsky.social · 8d

Are you going to #ASHG2025 next week in Boston? Interested in getting some mentorship from leading figures in the field (and me)?

Check out our speed mentoring event on Thursday! Sign-ups are online so reserve a spot ASAP.

site.pheedloop.com/event/ASHG25...

PheedLoop

PheedLoop: Hybrid, In-Person & Virtual Event Software

site.pheedloop.com

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Reposted by Chris Gunter 🧬

Ward Q. Normal (he/him) @wardqnormal.bsky.social · 14d

Hey everyone! I'm extremely excited to announce that today marks the release of the 10th Anniversary Edition of Steve Silberman's ground-breaking NeuroTribes, with a new foreword by John Elder Robison.

Neurotribes by Steve Silberman: 9780399185618 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

This New York Times–bestselling book upends conventional thinking about autism and suggests a broader model for acceptance, understanding, and full participation in society for people who think differ...

www.penguinrandomhouse.com

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Reposted by Chris Gunter 🧬

Dr. Kiki @drkiki.bsky.social · 10d

4 more days to propose sessions for the annual SCIENCE TALK conference! Taking place in war-torn Portland, OR next Spring (March '26), Science Communicators convene to build the future of the craft for a more resilient Society. #wayfinding
www.associationofsciencecommunicators.org/conferences/...

Announcing SCIENCE TALK '26 call for proposals:
WAYFINDING: Charting a Decade of Dialog
SCIENCE TALK '26
10th Anniversary
Submit your ideas for SCIENCE Talk '26!
Submissions for talks, panels, and workshops will be accepted until 11:59 PM Pacific Time, October 7, 2025.

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Chris Gunter 🧬 @girlscientist.bsky.social · 13d

Me at 1130pm last night trying to turn around a same-day revise and resubmit before my workplace is shut down

kermit the frog is typing on a typewriter and saying `` hold on ... one more minute '' .

ALT: kermit the frog is typing on a typewriter and saying `` hold on ... one more minute '' .

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Chris Gunter 🧬

Anita Devineni @anitadevineni.bsky.social · 14d

My department at Emory is a hiring a tenure-track neuroscientist!

Anyone who's talked to me in the last 4 years knows I cannot say enough good things about my dept and the neuroscience community here. My colleagues are so wonderfully supportive. Postdocs, please apply!

apply.interfolio.com/174371

Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio

apply.interfolio.com

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Chris Gunter 🧬 @girlscientist.bsky.social · 19d

Seems prescient but in reality always important

Autism: The International Journal of Research & Practice. @journalautism.bsky.social · 21d

Autism ableism seen through research abstract contents: A mixed-methods analysis of language in NIH-funded genetic and genomic autism research

Autism ableism seen through research abstract contents: A mixed-methods analysis of language in NIH-funded genetic and genomic autism research - Nicola Sugden, Lily S Barna, Kaylee Foor, John Kee, Chris Gunter, 2025

In recent years, genetic and genomic autism research has come under increasing scrutiny, moving to the center of debates about ableism, neurodiversity, autism acceptance, and the future of research...

journals.sagepub.com

Reposted by Chris Gunter 🧬

Kinlika @kinlika.bsky.social · 22d

'Tylenol' is known in the civilised world as Paracetamol

2.4 million children born in Sweden between 1995 and 2019. Studied 186,000 children whose mothers were treated with paracetamol during pregnancy.

news.ki.se/no-link-betw...

No link between paracetamol use during pregnancy and autism or ADHD in children

In the largest epidemiologic study to date of the risk of giving birth to a child with autism, ADHD or intellectual disability following acetaminophen use during pregnancy, researchers found no associ...

news.ki.se

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Reposted by Chris Gunter 🧬

Facts Matter @ai7gu-wkh45.bsky.social · 21d

“Acetaminophen use during pregnancy was not associated with children’s risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability in sibling control analyses. This suggests that associations observed in other models may have been attributable to confounding.”
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children’s Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability

This nationwide cohort study with sibling control analysis examines the association of acetaminophen use during pregnancy with children’s risk of autism, ADHD, and intellectual disability.

jamanetwork.com

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Reposted by Chris Gunter 🧬

American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) @geneticssociety.bsky.social · 22d

🎥First time at #ASHG25? You’re not alone!
Join our upcoming webinar to hear from ASHG volunteers on how to navigate the ASHG 2025 like a pro—from badge pick-up to networking tips.
🎟️ Register now & get your questions answered live!
🔗 https://bit.ly/3VrkgNl #ASHG #HumanGenetics

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Chris Gunter 🧬 @girlscientist.bsky.social · 22d

Looking forward to reading this piece by a number of colleagues: Should a genomic diagnosis be a ticket or a roadmap? www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Should a Genomic Diagnosis be a Ticket or a Roadmap? Threats to Equity in the Pursuit of Developmental Services in Early Childhood

A genomic diagnosis for a young child could guide access to developmental care, school services, and social supports; yet these contexts remain understudied. Here we describe (at least) two ways a ...

www.tandfonline.com

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Reposted by Chris Gunter 🧬

Amy Maxmen, PhD @amymaxmen.bsky.social · 26d

MMR vaccines do not cause autism (see my 🧵 of studies)

At the same time, one potential cause of autism is rubella, which is *prevented* by MMR vaccines.

Which means...vaccines may actually help prevent autism.

🧵

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21592401/

Congenital rubella syndrome and autism spectrum disorder prevented by rubella vaccination--United States, 2001-2010 - PubMed

We estimate that rubella vaccination prevented substantial numbers of CRS and ASD cases in the United States from 2001 through 2010. These findings provide additional incentive to maintain high measle...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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Chris Gunter 🧬 @girlscientist.bsky.social · 28d

Looking forward to hearing thoughts from both researchers and the autistic community 🧬

Chris Gunter 🧬 @girlscientist.bsky.social · Sep 12

🎉 Lab paper alert: “Autism ableism seen through research abstract contents: A mixed-methods analysis of language in NIH-funded genetic and genomic autism research.” We found ableist/stigmatizing language ubiquitous throughout grant abstracts from 1980-2022.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....

journals.sagepub.com

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Chris Gunter 🧬 @girlscientist.bsky.social · 28d

PSA: To find grants from a specific institute/center in the new grants.gov format, you can search by the “Assistance Listing” number for the specific IC. NHGRI’s number is 93.172.

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Reposted by Chris Gunter 🧬

Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · Sep 12

On Dec. 18, Olivia Li turned 4. Barely five weeks later, she slipped into unconsciousness, a rare and unexpected consequence of a flu infection.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/12/h...

Rare but Serious Complication Shows Flu’s Potential Harm

www.nytimes.com

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Chris Gunter 🧬 @girlscientist.bsky.social · Sep 12

The Spectrum10K project is an important example of why community preferences must be honored in autism genetics/genomics, and this work suggests alternative language for scientists. We also hope to provoke individual reflection and furnishing discussions about policy and practice.