Fox Baudelaire
@baudelairefox.bsky.social
Knowledge junkie interested in the intersection of biochemistry and statistical physics, as well as philosophy, education, humanism, and more. Bread for all, and roses too. Fighting the good fight. He/they. Opinions my own.
Pinned
Never in recent history has it been so important to be a principled and socially conscious scientist in the United States.
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
New federal data show the immediate aftermath of banning race-conscious admissions on enrollments. https://chroni.cl/4rxCx9D
How a Supreme Court Decision Changed the Racial Mix at Colleges
A new analysis of federal enrollment data shows the immediate impact of ending race-conscious admissions.
chroni.cl
February 4, 2026 at 6:08 PM
New federal data show the immediate aftermath of banning race-conscious admissions on enrollments. https://chroni.cl/4rxCx9D
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
This is what we mean when we say there's no science-as-usual in this moment.
Science is a common good. If we reverse cuts only to have our taxpayer dollars funding quackery under RFK Jr, that's not science for the common good. This is the "science" we see under authoritarianism.
Science is a common good. If we reverse cuts only to have our taxpayer dollars funding quackery under RFK Jr, that's not science for the common good. This is the "science" we see under authoritarianism.
Democrats just handed RFK Jr. billions more than he asked for. It was a big risk.
Lawmakers rejected huge health cuts President Donald Trump requested. Kennedy’s diverting the funds to pet projects and red states.
www.politico.com
February 4, 2026 at 6:34 PM
This is what we mean when we say there's no science-as-usual in this moment.
Science is a common good. If we reverse cuts only to have our taxpayer dollars funding quackery under RFK Jr, that's not science for the common good. This is the "science" we see under authoritarianism.
Science is a common good. If we reverse cuts only to have our taxpayer dollars funding quackery under RFK Jr, that's not science for the common good. This is the "science" we see under authoritarianism.
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
Axiom says its AI found solutions to several long-standing math problems, a sign of the technology’s steadily advancing reasoning capabilities. www.wired.com/story/a-new-...
A New AI Math Startup Just Cracked 4 Previously Unsolved Problems
Axiom says its AI found solutions to several long-standing math problems, a sign of the technology’s steadily advancing reasoning capabilities.
www.wired.com
February 4, 2026 at 7:02 PM
Axiom says its AI found solutions to several long-standing math problems, a sign of the technology’s steadily advancing reasoning capabilities. www.wired.com/story/a-new-...
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
New DOJ documents add detail to Jeffrey Epstein’s long-standing ties with elite universities, reinforcing how deeply embedded he remained in academic circles even after his criminal record was public. https://chroni.cl/45LSL6A
Here’s What the Latest Epstein Files Say About His Ties to Higher Ed
New documents released by the Department of Justice on Friday reinforce that long after his criminal convictions, many prominent professors continued to communicate with him.
chroni.cl
February 4, 2026 at 7:12 PM
New DOJ documents add detail to Jeffrey Epstein’s long-standing ties with elite universities, reinforcing how deeply embedded he remained in academic circles even after his criminal record was public. https://chroni.cl/45LSL6A
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
On “productive struggle” and the AI expertise paradox: “The tools that enable novices to perform more like experts simultaneously make them less likely to become experts.”
Christopher Cotton & Lydia Scholle-Cotton respond to our podcast with labor economist David Autor: issues.org/ai-expertise...
Christopher Cotton & Lydia Scholle-Cotton respond to our podcast with labor economist David Autor: issues.org/ai-expertise...
The AI Expertise Paradox
Are early-career professionals—whose output benefits most from AI today—going to be prepared to lead their fields in an AI-driven future?
issues.org
February 4, 2026 at 8:07 PM
On “productive struggle” and the AI expertise paradox: “The tools that enable novices to perform more like experts simultaneously make them less likely to become experts.”
Christopher Cotton & Lydia Scholle-Cotton respond to our podcast with labor economist David Autor: issues.org/ai-expertise...
Christopher Cotton & Lydia Scholle-Cotton respond to our podcast with labor economist David Autor: issues.org/ai-expertise...
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
"Trump, with his authoritarian tendencies, has been making visible what so many communities already know to be true: the Department of Homeland Security is a threat to our collective safety." —Rep. Delia C. Ramirez
#abolishICE
#abolishICE
House Democrat Says Abolishing ICE Isn’t Enough — DHS Must Go, Too
“The problem isn’t ‘training.’ DHS was built to violate our rights,” said Rep. Delia C. Ramirez.
inthesetimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:42 PM
"Trump, with his authoritarian tendencies, has been making visible what so many communities already know to be true: the Department of Homeland Security is a threat to our collective safety." —Rep. Delia C. Ramirez
#abolishICE
#abolishICE
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
“This is not legitimate. This is Donald Trump’s obsession with losing the 2020 election,” a Democratic Fulton County commissioner said. “We’ve assembled a team to fight back against this.”
FBI’s Search of Georgia Election Center Is “Dangerous,” Experts Warn
The search warrant, which sought 2020 election ballots, tabulator tapes, digital data and voter rolls from Fulton County, marked what experts described as a significant escalation in President Donald ...
www.propublica.org
February 4, 2026 at 10:15 PM
“This is not legitimate. This is Donald Trump’s obsession with losing the 2020 election,” a Democratic Fulton County commissioner said. “We’ve assembled a team to fight back against this.”
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
Today I'm releasing probably the most important scholarly thing I've ever worked on - a report based on talking with 144 people about why they don't vote or only vote regularly, and on what needs to be done to build a democracy that can include everyone.
www.swarthmore.edu/u...
please share!
www.swarthmore.edu/u...
please share!
February 4, 2026 at 7:51 PM
Today I'm releasing probably the most important scholarly thing I've ever worked on - a report based on talking with 144 people about why they don't vote or only vote regularly, and on what needs to be done to build a democracy that can include everyone.
www.swarthmore.edu/u...
please share!
www.swarthmore.edu/u...
please share!
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
The tension between big team science and colonial power dynamics
The tension between big team science and colonial power dynamics
Nature Human Behaviour, Published online: 02 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41562-026-02404-9Big team science promises to globalize the social behavioural sciences. However, without structural reform, it will reproduce a research model in which data are gathered globally but intellectual power stays centralized. Justice, rather than symbolic inclusion, must define the future of collaboration.
dlvr.it
February 2, 2026 at 11:43 AM
The tension between big team science and colonial power dynamics
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
Political action is now crucial for US scientists
Political action is now crucial for US scientists
Nature Human Behaviour, Published online: 02 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41562-026-02406-7Political action is now crucial for US scientists
dlvr.it
February 2, 2026 at 11:43 AM
Political action is now crucial for US scientists
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
Nasa's definition of life states that it is '...a self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution’ – but there's a lot to ponder when you're talking about the beginning of everything.
How RNA reveals clues to life’s origins on Earth
The discovery of catalytic RNA transformed our understanding of life's beginnings. Clare Sansom explores how the RNA world hypothesis bridges the gap between non-living chemistry and the first cells
www.chemistryworld.com
February 2, 2026 at 11:45 AM
Nasa's definition of life states that it is '...a self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution’ – but there's a lot to ponder when you're talking about the beginning of everything.
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
Fifty years after Apple began marketing computers to schools, classrooms are awash with technology. Concerns about fractured attention and data security are mounting
Ed tech is profitable. It is also mostly useless
Independent research identifies few learning gains
econ.st
January 31, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Fifty years after Apple began marketing computers to schools, classrooms are awash with technology. Concerns about fractured attention and data security are mounting
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
Activism in America is changing. A new style of protest is spreading through liberal cities preparing for sieges by immigration agents
Inside the movement challenging—and disrupting—ICE
A non-violent network of activists is forming across America
econ.st
February 1, 2026 at 5:40 AM
Activism in America is changing. A new style of protest is spreading through liberal cities preparing for sieges by immigration agents
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
“Infinite Jest,” which turns 30 today, “proposed that the compulsive, addictive character of America, not least its addiction to entertainment, could best be resisted through the engaged reading of fiction,” Hermione Hoby writes. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/tqkrZb
“Infinite Jest” Has Turned Thirty. Have We Forgotten How to Read It?
David Foster Wallace’s novel, in all its immensity, became the subject of sanctification and then scorn. But the work rewards the attention it demands.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
February 1, 2026 at 2:00 PM
“Infinite Jest,” which turns 30 today, “proposed that the compulsive, addictive character of America, not least its addiction to entertainment, could best be resisted through the engaged reading of fiction,” Hermione Hoby writes. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/tqkrZb
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
Wikipedia’s web traffic has plummeted in recent years, thanks in part to the AI chatbots and search engines that scrape its pages for information—while straining server bandwidth. Private companies profit from a public act of collective knowledge.
Half the Battle | Thom Sliwowski
Wikipedia is one of a few bazaars of open-source internet idealism left, and LLMs mean it might not be left standing for long.
thebaffler.com
February 1, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Wikipedia’s web traffic has plummeted in recent years, thanks in part to the AI chatbots and search engines that scrape its pages for information—while straining server bandwidth. Private companies profit from a public act of collective knowledge.
Here's my contribution to the "Five Classes I took in College" trend:
Philosophy of Mind
Knowledge and Power (also a philosophy course)
Close Reading: Theory and Practice (English literature)
Project Laboratory in Protein Biochemistry
Quantum Theory I
Philosophy of Mind
Knowledge and Power (also a philosophy course)
Close Reading: Theory and Practice (English literature)
Project Laboratory in Protein Biochemistry
Quantum Theory I
Advanced Organic Chemistry
History of the Soviet Union
Modern American Poetry
Bacteria and Viruses
China Through the Ming Dynasty
History of the Soviet Union
Modern American Poetry
Bacteria and Viruses
China Through the Ming Dynasty
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college.
Physics 2 (whoa, FIELDS?!?)
Astronomy 2 (whoa, order of magnitude thinking/proportional reasoning?!?)
Origins of Life
History of WWII
Relativity & Cosmology
Physics 2 (whoa, FIELDS?!?)
Astronomy 2 (whoa, order of magnitude thinking/proportional reasoning?!?)
Origins of Life
History of WWII
Relativity & Cosmology
January 31, 2026 at 1:01 PM
Here's my contribution to the "Five Classes I took in College" trend:
Philosophy of Mind
Knowledge and Power (also a philosophy course)
Close Reading: Theory and Practice (English literature)
Project Laboratory in Protein Biochemistry
Quantum Theory I
Philosophy of Mind
Knowledge and Power (also a philosophy course)
Close Reading: Theory and Practice (English literature)
Project Laboratory in Protein Biochemistry
Quantum Theory I
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
The current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual is known as the DSM-5. What will the next version be called? That's one of several open questions as the "Bible of psychiatry" goes online.
It's the foundation of psychiatric diagnosis. And it's about to get a makeover
The current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual is known as the DSM-5. What will the next version be called? That's one of several open questions as the "Bible of psychiatry" goes online.
n.pr
January 31, 2026 at 11:27 AM
The current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual is known as the DSM-5. What will the next version be called? That's one of several open questions as the "Bible of psychiatry" goes online.
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
The delicate balances of drug candidate binding energies:
Add Up Those Energies
www.science.org
January 28, 2026 at 8:46 PM
The delicate balances of drug candidate binding energies:
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
The US is leaving some of the world’s oldest and most influential scientific networks involved in biodiversity research, climate science and conservation
go.nature.com/4a48Ney
go.nature.com/4a48Ney
The US is quitting 66 global agencies: what does it mean for science?
The United States is leaving some of the world’s oldest and most influential scientific networks involved in biodiversity research, climate science and conservation. Affected organizations tell Nature that their work continues.
go.nature.com
January 21, 2026 at 11:18 AM
The US is leaving some of the world’s oldest and most influential scientific networks involved in biodiversity research, climate science and conservation
go.nature.com/4a48Ney
go.nature.com/4a48Ney
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
Exclusive: chemistry's international governing body is moving from its home of 25 years in the US to two cities in Europe.
Iupac announces it is moving from the US to a joint home in Spain and Italy
Dual headquarters decision a result of strong bids from both cities
www.chemistryworld.com
January 21, 2026 at 9:53 AM
Exclusive: chemistry's international governing body is moving from its home of 25 years in the US to two cities in Europe.
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
January 20, 2026 at 10:53 PM
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
Analyses of hundreds of thousands of papers in the natural sciences reveal a paradox: scientists who use AI tools produce more research but on a more confined set of topics
go.nature.com/458k7Ub
go.nature.com/458k7Ub
AI tools boost individual scientists but could limit research as a whole
Analyses of hundreds of thousands of papers in the natural sciences reveal a paradox: scientists who use AI tools produce more research but on a more confined set of topics.
go.nature.com
January 15, 2026 at 9:13 AM
Analyses of hundreds of thousands of papers in the natural sciences reveal a paradox: scientists who use AI tools produce more research but on a more confined set of topics
go.nature.com/458k7Ub
go.nature.com/458k7Ub
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
Illumina unveils dataset to speed up AI-powered drug discovery reut.rs/4qnCtcm
Illumina unveils dataset to speed up AI-powered drug discovery
Gene sequencing company Illumina on Tuesday introduced a dataset that maps genetic changes to help accelerate drug discovery through artificial intelligence.
reut.rs
January 13, 2026 at 2:40 PM
Illumina unveils dataset to speed up AI-powered drug discovery reut.rs/4qnCtcm
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
According to a recent study, reading for pleasure has fallen by 40% in the last 20 years, continuing a long-running downward trend. https://to.pbs.org/3NfW4fX
Literary Arts Fund created to rekindle a love for reading
According to a recent study, reading for pleasure has fallen by 40% in the last 20 years, continuing a long-running downward trend. By many measures, reading skills for both students and adults contin...
to.pbs.org
January 13, 2026 at 3:10 PM
According to a recent study, reading for pleasure has fallen by 40% in the last 20 years, continuing a long-running downward trend. https://to.pbs.org/3NfW4fX
Reposted by Fox Baudelaire
A new AI tool reduces the computing power required to virtually screen for small molecule–protein interactions.
AI tool dramatically reduces computing power needed to find protein-binding molecules
New protocol is up to 10 million times faster than current docking-based methods
www.chemistryworld.com
January 13, 2026 at 4:29 PM
A new AI tool reduces the computing power required to virtually screen for small molecule–protein interactions.