Carolyn Johnson
@carolynyjohnson.bsky.social
science reporter - Washington Post
Email: carolyn.johnson@washpost.com
Signal: carojo.55
Email: carolyn.johnson@washpost.com
Signal: carojo.55
Scientists grew tiny models of our nasal airways, complete with mucus-secreting cells and cilia that beat rhythmically to understand how our bodies fight the common cold wapo.st/4qzFZQY
Why the same cold virus makes some people more miserable than others
A new study shows the intricacies of the cold virus and how it interacts with nasal airway cells, revealing why some people are hit harder than others.
wapo.st
January 20, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Scientists grew tiny models of our nasal airways, complete with mucus-secreting cells and cilia that beat rhythmically to understand how our bodies fight the common cold wapo.st/4qzFZQY
Reposted by Carolyn Johnson
Rarity Public Benefit Corporation is trying to turn a UCLA cure for a rare disease into a medicine. The bottleneck now is not showing that it works, but another key part of the drug approval process — developing the commercial manufacturing. Great story by @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social 🧪
Scientists are inventing treatments for devastating diseases. There’s just one problem.
Gene therapy treatments for rare diseases are being developed, but getting them out of the lab has proved challenging.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 15, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Rarity Public Benefit Corporation is trying to turn a UCLA cure for a rare disease into a medicine. The bottleneck now is not showing that it works, but another key part of the drug approval process — developing the commercial manufacturing. Great story by @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social 🧪
Reposted by Carolyn Johnson
Investigators told the reporter that she is not the focus of the probe.
The warrant said law enforcement was investigating a system administrator in Maryland who has been accused of taking home classified intelligence reports. https://wapo.st/4qULbi9
The warrant said law enforcement was investigating a system administrator in Maryland who has been accused of taking home classified intelligence reports. https://wapo.st/4qULbi9
January 14, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Investigators told the reporter that she is not the focus of the probe.
The warrant said law enforcement was investigating a system administrator in Maryland who has been accused of taking home classified intelligence reports. https://wapo.st/4qULbi9
The warrant said law enforcement was investigating a system administrator in Maryland who has been accused of taking home classified intelligence reports. https://wapo.st/4qULbi9
Reposted by Carolyn Johnson
Scientists are inventing treatments for devastating diseases. There’s just one problem. Genetic therapies could be used to treat hundreds of diseases. The path to patients is tricky, by @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/... via @washingtonpost.com #RareDisorders
Scientists are inventing treatments for devastating diseases. There’s just one problem.
Gene therapy treatments for rare diseases are being developed, but getting them out of the lab has proved challenging.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 11, 2026 at 6:39 PM
Scientists are inventing treatments for devastating diseases. There’s just one problem. Genetic therapies could be used to treat hundreds of diseases. The path to patients is tricky, by @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/... via @washingtonpost.com #RareDisorders
Feuding physicists and the bitter battle over the swirls in ‘The Starry Night’
wapo.st/49sbpCF
wapo.st/49sbpCF
Feuding physicists and the bitter battle over the swirls in ‘The Starry Night’
A team of scientists sparked a heated debate over whether Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” depicts turbulence, a complex physical phenomenon.
wapo.st
December 29, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Feuding physicists and the bitter battle over the swirls in ‘The Starry Night’
wapo.st/49sbpCF
wapo.st/49sbpCF
Reposted by Carolyn Johnson
“One day, a woman wrote to me on Signal, asking me not to respond. She lived alone, she messaged, and planned to die that weekend. Before she did, she wanted at least one person to understand: Trump had unraveled the government, and with it, her life.” @hannahnatanson.bsky.social essay:
I am The Post’s ‘federal government whisperer.’ It’s been brutal.
One reporter’s effort to show how Trump was transforming government brought her 1,168 new sources — and nearly broke her.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 24, 2025 at 2:22 PM
“One day, a woman wrote to me on Signal, asking me not to respond. She lived alone, she messaged, and planned to die that weekend. Before she did, she wanted at least one person to understand: Trump had unraveled the government, and with it, her life.” @hannahnatanson.bsky.social essay:
Reposted by Carolyn Johnson
BREAKING: US. plans to stop recommending most childhood vaccines, defer to doctors, per sources familiar. HHS consulted w chief science officer and top FDA official. Me and @rachel_roubein
1/4
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
1/4
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
U.S. plans to stop recommending most childhood vaccines, defer to doctors
The plan, which is not finalized, suggests children get fewer shots and shifts to a model telling parents to consult doctors to make their own vaccine choices.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 19, 2025 at 10:59 PM
BREAKING: US. plans to stop recommending most childhood vaccines, defer to doctors, per sources familiar. HHS consulted w chief science officer and top FDA official. Me and @rachel_roubein
1/4
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
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www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Trump administration to dismantle key climate research center - “Maybe if Colorado had a governor who actually wanted to work with President Trump, his constituents would be better served,” said a senior White House official. wapo.st/4p3YwDx
Trump administration to dismantle key climate research center
Russell Vought, who directs the White House Office of Management and Budget, announced plans to split up the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, citing concerns about “clima...
wapo.st
December 17, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Trump administration to dismantle key climate research center - “Maybe if Colorado had a governor who actually wanted to work with President Trump, his constituents would be better served,” said a senior White House official. wapo.st/4p3YwDx
🔥Scientists discover oldest evidence of human-made fire — a 400,000-year-old English hearth wapo.st/4aaP3GM
Scientists discover oldest evidence of human-made fire in a 400,000-year-old hearth
A new archaeological find pushes back the timeline on when humans mastered the ability to make fires, a transformative technology.
wapo.st
December 10, 2025 at 5:22 PM
🔥Scientists discover oldest evidence of human-made fire — a 400,000-year-old English hearth wapo.st/4aaP3GM
Reposted by Carolyn Johnson
EXCLUSIVE:
Mom of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew rejects White House narrative of her ICE arrest
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Mom of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew rejects White House narrative of her ICE arrest
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Mom of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew rejects White House narrative of her ICE arrest
In an interview, Bruna Ferreira, who chose the White House press secretary as her son’s godmother, contested the portrayal of her as a criminal, absentee mom.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 7, 2025 at 1:02 PM
EXCLUSIVE:
Mom of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew rejects White House narrative of her ICE arrest
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Mom of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew rejects White House narrative of her ICE arrest
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Reposted by Carolyn Johnson
Overview of the latest study by @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social in the @washingtonpost.com: wapo.st/48mtKkg [gift link] #HistSTM #MedievalSky
How volcanoes upend the story of what sparked the Black Death
Volcanic eruptions could have fueled the spread of the Black Death plague across medieval Europe, according to a new study that pieces together evidence from ice cores, rare blue tree rings from ancie...
wapo.st
December 4, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Overview of the latest study by @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social in the @washingtonpost.com: wapo.st/48mtKkg [gift link] #HistSTM #MedievalSky
Fascination of the day - the ongoing research into the Black Death and how it started, via a chain of interconnected environmental, societal, geopolitical events... How volcanoes upend the story of what sparked the medieval plague pandemic wapo.st/48mtKkg
How volcanoes upend the story of what sparked the Black Death
Volcanic eruptions could have fueled the spread of the Black Death plague across medieval Europe, according to a new study that pieces together evidence from ice cores, rare blue tree rings from ancie...
wapo.st
December 4, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Fascination of the day - the ongoing research into the Black Death and how it started, via a chain of interconnected environmental, societal, geopolitical events... How volcanoes upend the story of what sparked the medieval plague pandemic wapo.st/48mtKkg
Today is World AIDS day - Small study shows a promising path toward HIV cure wapo.st/3XrYzOc
Small study shows a promising path toward HIV cure
Antiretroviral drugs that prevent HIV and keep it in check have been transformative, but a cure has been a long sought goal.
wapo.st
December 1, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Today is World AIDS day - Small study shows a promising path toward HIV cure wapo.st/3XrYzOc
"A priority among local transportation agencies remains avoiding traffic jams rather than responding to concerns of pedestrians in the most danger, who are more likely to live in poor neighborhoods and wield less political influence." www.washingtonpost.com/business/int...
November 19, 2025 at 3:23 PM
"A priority among local transportation agencies remains avoiding traffic jams rather than responding to concerns of pedestrians in the most danger, who are more likely to live in poor neighborhoods and wield less political influence." www.washingtonpost.com/business/int...
In a first, scientists sequence the oldest RNA from a 39,000-year-old woolly mammoth wapo.st/4qXwTxU
How a frozen mammoth named Yuka is redefining the study of ancient RNA
Scientists sequence the oldest RNA from a 39,000-year-old woolly mammoth.
wapo.st
November 14, 2025 at 5:14 PM
In a first, scientists sequence the oldest RNA from a 39,000-year-old woolly mammoth wapo.st/4qXwTxU
A provocative preprint showed AI designing novel viruses. Some of them could kill E. coli!
Even scientists don't totally agree on "what it means" -- but they've been talking about it. A window into the debate
🎁link:
wapo.st/4hR6A8t
Even scientists don't totally agree on "what it means" -- but they've been talking about it. A window into the debate
🎁link:
wapo.st/4hR6A8t
Inside the debate over a tech breakthrough raising questions about life itself
A research team at Stanford University has harnessed the power of AI to design phages, raising questions about the future of biotechnology and its applications.
wapo.st
November 11, 2025 at 3:45 PM
A provocative preprint showed AI designing novel viruses. Some of them could kill E. coli!
Even scientists don't totally agree on "what it means" -- but they've been talking about it. A window into the debate
🎁link:
wapo.st/4hR6A8t
Even scientists don't totally agree on "what it means" -- but they've been talking about it. A window into the debate
🎁link:
wapo.st/4hR6A8t
It is a tender time for the nascent field of CRISPR gene editing...
A small trial shows the potential to use the tech to lower LDL cholesterol and trigylcerides, but a patient died this week in a different trial now on hold
🎁link: wapo.st/4oGpJfS
A small trial shows the potential to use the tech to lower LDL cholesterol and trigylcerides, but a patient died this week in a different trial now on hold
🎁link: wapo.st/4oGpJfS
How a ‘one and done’ gene-editing treatment could lower cholesterol
A cutting-edge medical experiment in a small trial has demonstrated the effectiveness of a one-time CRISPR gene editing treatment in lowering cholesterol levels
wapo.st
November 8, 2025 at 3:46 PM
It is a tender time for the nascent field of CRISPR gene editing...
A small trial shows the potential to use the tech to lower LDL cholesterol and trigylcerides, but a patient died this week in a different trial now on hold
🎁link: wapo.st/4oGpJfS
A small trial shows the potential to use the tech to lower LDL cholesterol and trigylcerides, but a patient died this week in a different trial now on hold
🎁link: wapo.st/4oGpJfS
A ferocious paleontology debate -- over teenage T. rex vs. Nanotyrannus -- may finally be settled. @arctomet.bsky.social @stevebrusatte.bsky.social @jgn-paleo.bsky.social
As an editor of mine used to say... ain't no fight like a science fight. 🎁link: wapo.st/47D18l5
As an editor of mine used to say... ain't no fight like a science fight. 🎁link: wapo.st/47D18l5
A ferocious debate over teenage T. rex fossils may finally be settled
For decades, paleontologists debated whether fossils were of a young T. rex or a species called nanotyrannus. A new study settles it: Nanotyrannus is real.
wapo.st
October 30, 2025 at 4:31 PM
A ferocious paleontology debate -- over teenage T. rex vs. Nanotyrannus -- may finally be settled. @arctomet.bsky.social @stevebrusatte.bsky.social @jgn-paleo.bsky.social
As an editor of mine used to say... ain't no fight like a science fight. 🎁link: wapo.st/47D18l5
As an editor of mine used to say... ain't no fight like a science fight. 🎁link: wapo.st/47D18l5
In the middle of a shutdown, NIH appointed a new head for its institute on environmental health sciences. The new NIEHS director, Kyle Walsh, is a Duke neurosurgeon who studies glial cells. He also calls VP JD Vance, who officiated his wedding, one of his closest friends.
October 17, 2025 at 9:17 PM
In the middle of a shutdown, NIH appointed a new head for its institute on environmental health sciences. The new NIEHS director, Kyle Walsh, is a Duke neurosurgeon who studies glial cells. He also calls VP JD Vance, who officiated his wedding, one of his closest friends.
Reposted by Carolyn Johnson
Drugs treating cancer, epilepsy, & HIV were developed thanks to millions in federal funding for universities.
What lifesaving drugs are future patients missing out on due to Trump’s attacks?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/interactive/2025/trump-university-research-medicine
What lifesaving drugs are future patients missing out on due to Trump’s attacks?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/interactive/2025/trump-university-research-medicine
www.washingtonpost.com
October 6, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Drugs treating cancer, epilepsy, & HIV were developed thanks to millions in federal funding for universities.
What lifesaving drugs are future patients missing out on due to Trump’s attacks?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/interactive/2025/trump-university-research-medicine
What lifesaving drugs are future patients missing out on due to Trump’s attacks?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/interactive/2025/trump-university-research-medicine
Just got the best, ever, response when trying to track down a Nobel winner: "Dr. Ramsdell is currently living his best life and is off the grid on a pre-planned hiking trip."
t.co/j5nCkpejnf
t.co/j5nCkpejnf
https://wapo.st/3WmtESD
t.co
October 6, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Just got the best, ever, response when trying to track down a Nobel winner: "Dr. Ramsdell is currently living his best life and is off the grid on a pre-planned hiking trip."
t.co/j5nCkpejnf
t.co/j5nCkpejnf
Reposted by Carolyn Johnson
Another excellent piece by @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social et al. that raises the question: what is the administration doing other than dismantling for dismantling's sake?
🎁
wapo.st/4q1M3ly
🎁
wapo.st/4q1M3ly
Trump slashed funding for universities that helped create these vital drugs
Medications that prevent HIV, shrink tumors and treat seizures were invented with government funding. At research universities, that money is now canceled or in jeopardy.
wapo.st
October 6, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Another excellent piece by @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social et al. that raises the question: what is the administration doing other than dismantling for dismantling's sake?
🎁
wapo.st/4q1M3ly
🎁
wapo.st/4q1M3ly
AI can design toxic proteins. They’re escaping through biosecurity cracks. wapo.st/4nxxeFv
AI can design toxic proteins. They’re escaping through biosecurity cracks.
Artificial intelligence can design toxic proteins that escape biosecurity cracks, sparking concerns over potential misuse.
wapo.st
October 3, 2025 at 2:46 PM
AI can design toxic proteins. They’re escaping through biosecurity cracks. wapo.st/4nxxeFv
Reposted by Carolyn Johnson
@carolynyjohnson.bsky.social completes my "mitomeiosis" trifecta for the day: www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025... “Even when they succeeded, it didn’t really succeed,” said Hank Greely... “It’s interesting, but not useful yet.”
Cool story & I'm happy to see good labs working on this stuff!
Cool story & I'm happy to see good labs working on this stuff!
Scientists keep trying to create human eggs in a dish. It’s not easy.
Scientists are working to create human eggs in a laboratory dish, but the process is proving to be more challenging than expected.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 30, 2025 at 9:34 PM
@carolynyjohnson.bsky.social completes my "mitomeiosis" trifecta for the day: www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025... “Even when they succeeded, it didn’t really succeed,” said Hank Greely... “It’s interesting, but not useful yet.”
Cool story & I'm happy to see good labs working on this stuff!
Cool story & I'm happy to see good labs working on this stuff!
How an obscure budgeting shift is leaving great science -- including a trial for a devastating children's brain tumor -- in limbo
wapo.st/4ngFN7u
wapo.st/4ngFN7u
NIH pulled off a ‘near miracle.’ Scientists say there’s still a problem.
The National Institutes of Health is on track to give away all of its grant money to labs, but research on cancer, aging and diabetes is still being left behind.
wapo.st
September 26, 2025 at 2:11 PM
How an obscure budgeting shift is leaving great science -- including a trial for a devastating children's brain tumor -- in limbo
wapo.st/4ngFN7u
wapo.st/4ngFN7u