Colin Carlson
@colincarlson.bsky.social
Climate change, global health security, science diplomacy, and good futures • Yale and elsewhere • carlsonlab.bio • viralemergence.org • he/they
Pinned
NEW‼️ For the forthcoming Pandemic Agreement travaux préparatoires edited by @alexandraphelan.bsky.social, we did a deep dive on how experts and evidence shaped the negotiations. What we found is a microcosm of global health: limited time, high stakes, and familiar shady actors like Big Pharma. (1/3)
extremely straight voice Man’s Best Friend is a no skips album
February 17, 2026 at 4:15 AM
extremely straight voice Man’s Best Friend is a no skips album
Reposted by Colin Carlson
I still think the best way to think of the ending of US AID is as the single worst genocide committed by any one US presidential administration.
even given all the horrific things the US has done, it's not really that close. 750k dead already; expected 14 million.
even given all the horrific things the US has done, it's not really that close. 750k dead already; expected 14 million.
this is exactly why I am absolutely not willing to overlook anyone who was once “advocating for ending USAID” as merely committing a little oopsie-daisy-booboo, by the way
The Project 2025 author is using millions of dollars in USAID money for his own security detail.
It is estimated that 762,000 people have *already died* as a result of Elon Musk and Russell Vought’s obscene murder of USAID, including more than 500,000 children.
Vought is a mass murderer.
It is estimated that 762,000 people have *already died* as a result of Elon Musk and Russell Vought’s obscene murder of USAID, including more than 500,000 children.
Vought is a mass murderer.
February 17, 2026 at 2:54 AM
I still think the best way to think of the ending of US AID is as the single worst genocide committed by any one US presidential administration.
even given all the horrific things the US has done, it's not really that close. 750k dead already; expected 14 million.
even given all the horrific things the US has done, it's not really that close. 750k dead already; expected 14 million.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (2026)
February 16, 2026 at 11:13 PM
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (2026)
I bet it would feel so good to diff-in-diff this
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." –Justice Louis Brandeis
Words spoken many years ago that are just as relevant today.
We must continue the fight to get big money out of politics.
Words spoken many years ago that are just as relevant today.
We must continue the fight to get big money out of politics.
February 16, 2026 at 11:07 PM
I bet it would feel so good to diff-in-diff this
Reposted by Colin Carlson
My god do we need UBI
“Researchers have found that when a new plasma center opens in a neighborhood, foot traffic at local grocery stores increases, interest in payday loans declines and crime goes down, an indication of the way money from plasma props up households’ finances for necessities.“
“Researchers have found that when a new plasma center opens in a neighborhood, foot traffic at local grocery stores increases, interest in payday loans declines and crime goes down, an indication of the way money from plasma props up households’ finances for necessities.“
Middle-class Americans are selling their plasma to make ends meet
Last year, people in the U.S. made an estimated $4.7 billion selling their plasma. Donation centers are popping up in middle-class neighborhoods, including suburban strip malls and college towns.
www.nbcnews.com
February 16, 2026 at 4:16 AM
My god do we need UBI
“Researchers have found that when a new plasma center opens in a neighborhood, foot traffic at local grocery stores increases, interest in payday loans declines and crime goes down, an indication of the way money from plasma props up households’ finances for necessities.“
“Researchers have found that when a new plasma center opens in a neighborhood, foot traffic at local grocery stores increases, interest in payday loans declines and crime goes down, an indication of the way money from plasma props up households’ finances for necessities.“
Do you guys ever think about declassified intelligence assessments nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/331...
February 16, 2026 at 10:32 PM
Do you guys ever think about declassified intelligence assessments nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/331...
If we wanted to do something more than dunk on her for this (which we should) now would be a great moment to talk about how the State Department and CIA basically architected our vision of climate migration our of pure political fear rather than any empirical evidence it was going to happen
February 16, 2026 at 10:17 PM
If we wanted to do something more than dunk on her for this (which we should) now would be a great moment to talk about how the State Department and CIA basically architected our vision of climate migration our of pure political fear rather than any empirical evidence it was going to happen
it's extremely important that the next administration invest in mrna influenza vaccines so that in the next pandemic we can have the luxury of getting mad at the administration for a vaccine-forward outbreak response send tweet delete tweet
February 16, 2026 at 9:56 PM
it's extremely important that the next administration invest in mrna influenza vaccines so that in the next pandemic we can have the luxury of getting mad at the administration for a vaccine-forward outbreak response send tweet delete tweet
scrubbing biodefense from websites is not going to hobble U.S. response to future outbreaks!!!! intentionally sabotaging outbreak response is what will hobble U.S. response to future outbreaks!!!! you guys are being annoying!!!!
February 16, 2026 at 9:49 PM
scrubbing biodefense from websites is not going to hobble U.S. response to future outbreaks!!!! intentionally sabotaging outbreak response is what will hobble U.S. response to future outbreaks!!!! you guys are being annoying!!!!
I have made the brave midday decision that, pending the receipt of the $2m the federal government owes me, it’s time for spam musubi and a little Hawaiian sun
February 16, 2026 at 8:55 PM
I have made the brave midday decision that, pending the receipt of the $2m the federal government owes me, it’s time for spam musubi and a little Hawaiian sun
Reposted by Colin Carlson
vaccines good, cancer bad, LFG
February 16, 2026 at 8:48 PM
vaccines good, cancer bad, LFG
Reposted by Colin Carlson
Genuinely cool tech that could make a difference in low-resource settings. Congrats @nathangrubaugh.bsky.social and team!
Something very different and cool for my lab. Sequencing a 4.4mb TB genome using the Artic-style PCR amplicon method with >5128 primers in two reactions 🤯
Enables culture-free WGS for TB!
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Enables culture-free WGS for TB!
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
February 16, 2026 at 3:40 PM
Genuinely cool tech that could make a difference in low-resource settings. Congrats @nathangrubaugh.bsky.social and team!
Reposted by Colin Carlson
This paper is a good example of how to carefully analyze tipping systems. (That many phenomena often lumped together as singular tipping systems are actually composites is probably a common characteristic.)
Track carefully the extent to which this precision gets flattened in mass and social media.
Track carefully the extent to which this precision gets flattened in mass and social media.
🔔🚨 New Publication Alert!
Research has shown that the Antarctic Ice Sheet is a climate tipping element.
We found: it’s not one — it’s many.
📄 Paper (open access): www.nature.com/articles/s41...
📢 Press release: www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/late...
Tread below 🧵👇
Research has shown that the Antarctic Ice Sheet is a climate tipping element.
We found: it’s not one — it’s many.
📄 Paper (open access): www.nature.com/articles/s41...
📢 Press release: www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/late...
Tread below 🧵👇
February 16, 2026 at 2:06 PM
This paper is a good example of how to carefully analyze tipping systems. (That many phenomena often lumped together as singular tipping systems are actually composites is probably a common characteristic.)
Track carefully the extent to which this precision gets flattened in mass and social media.
Track carefully the extent to which this precision gets flattened in mass and social media.
I’ve had enough of this guy
February 16, 2026 at 2:02 PM
I’ve had enough of this guy
Reposted by Colin Carlson
Was curious about the rules on this. NIH mentions some PI submitting 40 grants in one year. Imagine what they are doing to the peer review system for journals.
NOT-OD-25-132: Supporting Fairness and Originality in NIH Research Applications share.google/2OLzVsqEXcx1...
NOT-OD-25-132: Supporting Fairness and Originality in NIH Research Applications share.google/2OLzVsqEXcx1...
One thing that sucks very bad is that everyone, and I do mean everyone, people you like, are using Claude to write their NSF and NIH grants even when it's against the rules, and also, the process is no longer reliable or merit based, and like no I'm not going to do it, but fuck!! FUCK!!
February 16, 2026 at 2:46 AM
Was curious about the rules on this. NIH mentions some PI submitting 40 grants in one year. Imagine what they are doing to the peer review system for journals.
NOT-OD-25-132: Supporting Fairness and Originality in NIH Research Applications share.google/2OLzVsqEXcx1...
NOT-OD-25-132: Supporting Fairness and Originality in NIH Research Applications share.google/2OLzVsqEXcx1...
Reposted by Colin Carlson
mom they’re roasting the US economy on mastodon again
February 16, 2026 at 7:37 AM
mom they’re roasting the US economy on mastodon again
Unfortunately I think one of the defining questions of the decade will be how much of a PEPFAR we can get Mr. Beast to pay for
February 16, 2026 at 5:57 AM
Unfortunately I think one of the defining questions of the decade will be how much of a PEPFAR we can get Mr. Beast to pay for
Reposted by Colin Carlson
Reposted by Colin Carlson
Via Geneva Solutions: genevasolutions.news/global-healt...
Wide gaps on pandemic treaty annex cast doubt on May deadline, says health expert Suerie Moon - Geneva Solutions
As a deadline looms to complete the pandemic treaty, public health expert Suerie Moon says WHO negotiators need to battle out divides even if it means extending talks.
genevasolutions.news
February 16, 2026 at 4:53 AM
Via Geneva Solutions: genevasolutions.news/global-healt...
Reposted by Colin Carlson
ai will never be able to replicate a friend telling you that something sucks ass and that you should keep it to yourself
February 16, 2026 at 4:55 AM
ai will never be able to replicate a friend telling you that something sucks ass and that you should keep it to yourself
Reposted by Colin Carlson
One thing that sucks very bad is that everyone, and I do mean everyone, people you like, are using Claude to write their NSF and NIH grants even when it's against the rules, and also, the process is no longer reliable or merit based, and like no I'm not going to do it, but fuck!! FUCK!!
February 16, 2026 at 2:30 AM
One thing that sucks very bad is that everyone, and I do mean everyone, people you like, are using Claude to write their NSF and NIH grants even when it's against the rules, and also, the process is no longer reliable or merit based, and like no I'm not going to do it, but fuck!! FUCK!!
Reposted by Colin Carlson
NEW: The Trump administration's argument that masks "are for officer safety reasons" is actually an admission.
Tom Homan highlights how secrecy aims to block accountability, the immoral lawlessness at the core of the Trump administration.
Tonight, at Law Dork:
Tom Homan highlights how secrecy aims to block accountability, the immoral lawlessness at the core of the Trump administration.
Tonight, at Law Dork:
The Trump admin argument that masks "are for officer safety reasons" is actually an admission
Tom Homan highlights how secrecy aims to block accountability, the immoral lawlessness at the core of the Trump administration. And, for paid subscribers: Closing my tabs.
www.lawdork.com
February 16, 2026 at 2:00 AM
NEW: The Trump administration's argument that masks "are for officer safety reasons" is actually an admission.
Tom Homan highlights how secrecy aims to block accountability, the immoral lawlessness at the core of the Trump administration.
Tonight, at Law Dork:
Tom Homan highlights how secrecy aims to block accountability, the immoral lawlessness at the core of the Trump administration.
Tonight, at Law Dork: