Sarah Nowak, PhD
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snowaking.bsky.social
Sarah Nowak, PhD
@snowaking.bsky.social

complex/social/dynamical/health systems
Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont

https://sarahnowakphd.com/

#medsky #sciencesky

Economics 38%
Public Health 19%

Peak fall-o-meter #vermont #peakfall

Don't parents by definition... have children?

It's the 20th anniversary of Nature Physics and my first paper, which appeared in that first issue. I was asked to reflect on the past 2 decades and offer thoughts for todays' junior researchers. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
EXCLUSIVE: Sean Duffy will announce expedited plans to build a nuclear reactor on the moon, his first major action as interim NASA administrator.
Duffy to announce nuclear reactor on the moon
This is the first major agency effort by the interim NASA administrator, who is also the Transportation secretary and a former Fox News host.
www.politico.com

NIH released its Autism Data Science Initiative Funding Opportunities announcement. It doesn't use a normal NIH funding mechanism, so there's less transparency and standardization to the process than is typical. It also has a crazy fast timeline. dpcpsi.nih.gov/autism-data-... #medsky #sciencesky
Autism Data Science Initiative Funding Opportunities | DPCPSI
Research Opportunity Announcement (ROA): OTA-25-006 Autism Data Science initiativeNavigation #NavigationSection 1: Overview InformationSection 2: Objectives of this OpportunityBackgroundSources for Au...
dpcpsi.nih.gov

The hummingbirds are here! Yes, this is basically my profile picture, but that was last year and this is today. #vermont #birding

We get spring late in #vermont, but even more than bulbs, my bleeding hearts are my favorite sign.

"you call us... and that includes all of us, including our brother, SMART apprentice Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who we demand be returned to us and his family now."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=K31t...
Building Trades President responds to unlawful deportation of union worker
YouTube video by More Perfect Union
www.youtube.com

Like "censoring" the idea the vitamin A can be just as effective against measles as the vaccine? www.nytimes.com/2025/03/25/h...

It seems like this call could be interpreted to include pretty much any public health messaging, including things like smoking increases the risk of lung cancer. #medsky

Oh FFS

"In highly unvaccinated communities like Mennonites, it is something we recommend." - RFK Jr. He seems to be implying the reverse as well -- that it is ok, perhaps even recommended, to free ride on community immunity where vaccination rates are high. #medsky #sciencesky

This pairs well with my last post bsky.app/profile/snow...
This is what happens when you listen to (We're in the middle of a) Hostile Government Takeover on repeat on Spotify. This is a real mix I saw today in my app.

This is what happens when you listen to (We're in the middle of a) Hostile Government Takeover on repeat on Spotify. This is a real mix I saw today in my app.

Reposted by Sarah A. Nowak

Today, a reporter from the Russian state news agency TASS gained unauthorized access to the Oval Office. How does one gain unauthorized access to the Oval Office? Meanwhile, AP and Reuters were blocked.

Cancelled Amazon prime today

Reposted by Sarah A. Nowak

NEWS

The FDA, which operates under the authority of Robert Kennedy Jr., canceled the meeting to discuss next year’s flu vaccines.

This could interfere with or delay production of flu vaccines.

86 children and 19,000 adults have died from flu this season.

About 430,000 people were hospitalized.
F.D.A. Cancels Meeting of Vaccine Experts Scheduled to Advise on Flu Shots (Gift Article)
The cancellation plays into fears among scientists who worry that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will use his position as health secretary to sow doubts about vaccines.
bit.ly
The large clinical trial of a new Covid vaccine pill (not shot) was halted by RFK Jr www.aol.com/multimillion...
The Covid nasal vaccines may be next up to be axed.
Multimillion-dollar Biden-era COVID-19 vax project halted by Trump’s HHS
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. paused a $240 million contract to create a new coronavirus vaccine.
www.aol.com

Reposted by Sarah A. Nowak

I'm excited to share that @sanders.senate.gov and Senator Peter Welch will be joining our tele-townhall so Vermonters can hear from us together!

Join us on Wednesday, February 26, at 6:30PM. RSVP at balint.house.gov/live. Talk to you soon!

Reposted by Sarah A. Nowak

Gift link.

The actual story of the shackled people being deported without even being told where they were being taken — maybe to countries where they’d face torture or death — while their terrified children cried.😢

The White House posted that pic with “ASMR” tag.

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/w...

This kind of foreign policy gaslighting frightens me more than anything else.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02...
Trump Administration Live Updates: President Calls Zelensky a ‘Dictator’ Who Took U.S. Money to Go to War
www.nytimes.com

The intention is incredibly bad, and if this is a real list, the execution is incredibly stupid. Bias has a technical meaning important for evaluating the performance of statistical/machine learning/AI methods that has nothing to do with the specifics of the application, just one of many examples.

Reposted by Sarah A. Nowak

"Why Did the LA Times Edit This RFK Jr. Article to Be More Pro-Trump?"
newrepublic.com/post/191007/...
Why Did the LA Times Edit This RFK Jr. Article to Be More Pro-Trump?
The op-ed writer slammed both the paper and its owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong.
newrepublic.com

This is NOT the way to cover RFK Jr. Are there some areas where he might be reasonable? Sure. Someone doesn't have to be terrible on *every* aspect of policy to be a terrible choice to lead a gov't agency.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/inter...
Did RFK Jr. or Michelle Obama say it about food? Take our quiz
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has vowed to take on the food industry, echoing Michelle Obama’s efforts to improve nutrition in America. Test to see if you know who said what on U.S. nutrition.
www.washingtonpost.com

Interesting article about some of the *correlations* between raw milk consumption and reduced allergies that drive the raw milk movement. (Does *not* suggest that the benefits outweigh the risks, only that there's interesting science to be done.)
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/13/m...
Some Raw Truths About Raw Milk (Gift Article)
Despite the serious risks of drinking it, a growing movement — including the potential health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — claims it has benefits. Should we take them more seriously?
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Sarah A. Nowak

ICYMI: the NOAA says continuing permafrost thaws have flipped the Arctic from a carbon sink to a source of emissions
The state of the Arctic: High temperatures, melting ice, fires and unprecedented emissions
The Arctic tundra has switched from a carbon sink to a source of emissions, according to a NOAA report.
www.nbcnews.com

Small but interesting study. Anecdotally, I've definitely experienced low-level illness seemingly turning into full-blown illness following dumb decisions to not scale back on relatively intense planned exercise.
mmrjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Elucidating regulatory processes of intense physical activity by multi-omics analysis - Military Medical Research
Background Physiological and biochemical processes across tissues of the body are regulated in response to the high demands of intense physical activity in several occupations, such as firefighting, l...
mmrjournal.biomedcentral.com