Jane Qiu, PhD
@janeqiu.bsky.social
Globe-trotting, award-winning independent science writer in China | Words in @nature.com, @sciam.bsky.social, National Geographic and more | Writing a book on emerging diseases for @scribnerbooks.bsky.social | Ex: @ksjatmit.bsky.social, @nature.com
Pinned
Jane Qiu, PhD
@janeqiu.bsky.social
· Jun 11
Exclusive: Inside the thriving wild-animal markets that could start the next pandemic
Live-animal markets are a natural laboratory for viruses to evolve and spark deadly outbreaks, yet scientists lack support to study the risks they pose.
www.nature.com
Wildlife trade acts as a vast global network of unregulated natural laboratories,with ample opportunities for viruses to circulate & evolve to become more dangerous
We can either turn a blind eye or try to understand & mitigate the risks
My latest in @nature.com
1/
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
We can either turn a blind eye or try to understand & mitigate the risks
My latest in @nature.com
1/
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
A very good, and sobering, story by @janeqiu.bsky.social about the infectious disease risks posed by fur farming. 🧪 Thank you Jane!
Farming animals for fur is not only cruel but also provides an ideal environment for viruses to mix and cross over into humans.
✍️ Jane Qiu
knowmag.org/4r8vPY0
✍️ Jane Qiu
knowmag.org/4r8vPY0
Why disease outbreaks on Chinese fur farms are a serious risk to public health
Farming animals for fur is not only cruel but also provides an ideal environment for viruses to mix and cross over into humans
knowmag.org
February 9, 2026 at 11:38 PM
A very good, and sobering, story by @janeqiu.bsky.social about the infectious disease risks posed by fur farming. 🧪 Thank you Jane!
Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
There we have it, US media. He has revoked the ruling. He has not revoked the scientific finding that led to the ruling. Those are not the sort of thing one can revoke. This is not hard. If you're keen not to be actively complicit, use words properly.
February 12, 2026 at 10:52 PM
There we have it, US media. He has revoked the ruling. He has not revoked the scientific finding that led to the ruling. Those are not the sort of thing one can revoke. This is not hard. If you're keen not to be actively complicit, use words properly.
Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
Here's a story I'd definitely by covering if Science in Action was still on air - the likely cause of the rare but dangerous bloodclots from some COVID vaccines. The question is how easy it would be to tweak the adenovirus carrier to avoid the issue.
Five years after the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines started, it seems the mystery of why the Astra-Zeneca and J&J vaccines led to a rare but deadly side effect of unusual blood clots and bleeding has finally been solved.
It's a fascinating case of molecular mimicry that may help make vaccine safer.🧪
It's a fascinating case of molecular mimicry that may help make vaccine safer.🧪
Rare, dangerous side effects of some COVID-19 vaccines explained
“Groundbreaking” study uncovers why adenovirus-based shots caused life-threatening blood clots and bleeding in some people
www.science.org
February 12, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Here's a story I'd definitely by covering if Science in Action was still on air - the likely cause of the rare but dangerous bloodclots from some COVID vaccines. The question is how easy it would be to tweak the adenovirus carrier to avoid the issue.
Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
First evidence in Europe of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 infection in a dairy cow. Antibodies against H5N1 detected in a cow with mastitis and respiratory signs on a Dutch dairy farm at the end of December. A cat on that farm had died from H5N1. www.tweedekamer.nl/downloads/do...
January 23, 2026 at 9:26 PM
First evidence in Europe of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 infection in a dairy cow. Antibodies against H5N1 detected in a cow with mastitis and respiratory signs on a Dutch dairy farm at the end of December. A cat on that farm had died from H5N1. www.tweedekamer.nl/downloads/do...
Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
So many regrets here for post-2008 contacts. 🤔
Sorry for the preview pic in your feed, but we've posted a thoughtful story by @dangaristo.bsky.social that delves into the tangled web of relationships between Jeffrey Epstein and various scientists: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Epstein files reveal deeper ties to scientists than previously known
Latest batch of documents show researchers consulting the financier and sex offender on publications, visas and more.
www.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 11:42 PM
So many regrets here for post-2008 contacts. 🤔
Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
Farming animals for fur is not only cruel but also provides an ideal environment for viruses to mix and cross over into humans.
✍️ Jane Qiu
knowmag.org/4r8vPY0
✍️ Jane Qiu
knowmag.org/4r8vPY0
Why disease outbreaks on Chinese fur farms are a serious risk to public health
Farming animals for fur is not only cruel but also provides an ideal environment for viruses to mix and cross over into humans
knowmag.org
February 5, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Farming animals for fur is not only cruel but also provides an ideal environment for viruses to mix and cross over into humans.
✍️ Jane Qiu
knowmag.org/4r8vPY0
✍️ Jane Qiu
knowmag.org/4r8vPY0
Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
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Federal agent secured gun from Minn. man before fatal shooting, videos show
A Washington Post analysis of videos sheds light on the encounter that left 37-year-old Alex Pretti dead.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 26, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Want to help? Renew your subscription -- and buy more for family and friends.
You may not agree with every op-ed The Post publishes, but our investigative journalism, breaking news reporting and other essential work cannot happen without subscribers.
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Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
January 26, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
The performance of the newly released ChatGPT Health, via a thorough assessment by @geoffreyfowler.bsky.social
with his health data, is very disappointing
gift link wapo.st/49GEASP
with his health data, is very disappointing
gift link wapo.st/49GEASP
Column | I let ChatGPT analyze a decade of my Apple Watch data. Then I called my doctor.
I gave the new ChatGPT Health access to 29 million steps and 6 million heartbeat measurements. It drew questionable conclusions that changed each time I asked.
wapo.st
January 26, 2026 at 3:43 PM
The performance of the newly released ChatGPT Health, via a thorough assessment by @geoffreyfowler.bsky.social
with his health data, is very disappointing
gift link wapo.st/49GEASP
with his health data, is very disappointing
gift link wapo.st/49GEASP
“Perhaps there are flutters of recognition that this is not how human beings should behave, much less how political leaders in a democracy should act. But if those flames flicker into existence, they are quickly snuffed.”
By @pbump.com @ms.now
www.ms.now/opinion/minn...
By @pbump.com @ms.now
www.ms.now/opinion/minn...
Opinion | The real reason Trump and MAGA are so quick to blame Minneapolis shooting victims
Philip Bump: Alex Pretti and Renee Good were immediately vilified — and their killings at the hands of the state justified — by the Trump administration and its supporters.
www.ms.now
January 27, 2026 at 9:46 AM
“Perhaps there are flutters of recognition that this is not how human beings should behave, much less how political leaders in a democracy should act. But if those flames flicker into existence, they are quickly snuffed.”
By @pbump.com @ms.now
www.ms.now/opinion/minn...
By @pbump.com @ms.now
www.ms.now/opinion/minn...
“It is stunning, though not surprising, to see the president of the United States and sworn federal officials impugn dead citizens so callously. It’s utterly immoral, if not deranged.”
By @pbump.com @ms.now
www.ms.now/opinion/minn...
By @pbump.com @ms.now
www.ms.now/opinion/minn...
Opinion | The real reason Trump and MAGA are so quick to blame Minneapolis shooting victims
Philip Bump: Alex Pretti and Renee Good were immediately vilified — and their killings at the hands of the state justified — by the Trump administration and its supporters.
www.ms.now
January 27, 2026 at 9:45 AM
“It is stunning, though not surprising, to see the president of the United States and sworn federal officials impugn dead citizens so callously. It’s utterly immoral, if not deranged.”
By @pbump.com @ms.now
www.ms.now/opinion/minn...
By @pbump.com @ms.now
www.ms.now/opinion/minn...
“What’s the right ratio here, Mr. President? How many citizens being shot to death is worth this campaign of fear and its sporadic deportations?”
I wrote about Alex Pretti's death, asking a specific question: What is the point?
Opinion | The real reason Trump and MAGA are so quick to blame Minneapolis shooting victims
Philip Bump: Alex Pretti and Renee Good were immediately vilified — and their killings at the hands of the state justified — by the Trump administration and its supporters.
www.ms.now
January 27, 2026 at 9:41 AM
“What’s the right ratio here, Mr. President? How many citizens being shot to death is worth this campaign of fear and its sporadic deportations?”
Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
So a cow can use a stick to scratch its backside. When will we learn that humans are really not that special? | Helen Pilcher
So a cow can use a stick to scratch its backside. When will we learn that humans are really not that special? | Helen Pilcher
Veronika’s improvised grooming device has caused great surprise – but that tells us more about humans than cows, says science writer Helen Pilcher
www.theguardian.com
January 21, 2026 at 10:37 AM
So a cow can use a stick to scratch its backside. When will we learn that humans are really not that special? | Helen Pilcher
Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
My latest Crucible column for @chemistryworld.com is about a new study that reconstructs the history of the Roman baths at Pompeii from the limescale deposits in the water network. The older baths were none too sanitary, it seems.
www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/thre...
www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/thre...
Three centuries of Roman limescale reveals a dirty secret about Pompeii’s public baths
Carbon isotope ratios suggest that pre-aqueduct, the water was often contaminated with human waste
www.chemistryworld.com
January 20, 2026 at 12:43 PM
My latest Crucible column for @chemistryworld.com is about a new study that reconstructs the history of the Roman baths at Pompeii from the limescale deposits in the water network. The older baths were none too sanitary, it seems.
www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/thre...
www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/thre...
Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
This short book by @djnicholson.bsky.social is extraordinarily good for understanding not just the genesis, message and myths of Schrödinger's book but also why molecular biology developed in the way it did (and what's problematic about that).
www.cambridge.org/core/element...
www.cambridge.org/core/element...
What Is Life? Revisited
Cambridge Core - Philosophy of Science - What Is Life? Revisited
www.cambridge.org
January 14, 2026 at 10:18 PM
This short book by @djnicholson.bsky.social is extraordinarily good for understanding not just the genesis, message and myths of Schrödinger's book but also why molecular biology developed in the way it did (and what's problematic about that).
www.cambridge.org/core/element...
www.cambridge.org/core/element...
Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
The reckless human embryo genome editor, He Jiankui, known as China's Dr. Frankenstein, is back at it.
"People were not yet ready to accept what I was doing."
We're still not.
nytimes.com/2026/01/13/w...
"People were not yet ready to accept what I was doing."
We're still not.
nytimes.com/2026/01/13/w...
China’s ‘Dr. Frankenstein’ Thinks Time Is on His Side
nytimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:14 PM
The reckless human embryo genome editor, He Jiankui, known as China's Dr. Frankenstein, is back at it.
"People were not yet ready to accept what I was doing."
We're still not.
nytimes.com/2026/01/13/w...
"People were not yet ready to accept what I was doing."
We're still not.
nytimes.com/2026/01/13/w...
Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
Absolutely damning details on the disturbing proposed hepatitis trial that is already (apparently) being rolled out in Guinea-Bissau.
It beggars belief that the people funding this unethical experiment on African children claim to be the guardians of "gold standard science".
It beggars belief that the people funding this unethical experiment on African children claim to be the guardians of "gold standard science".
We have the CDC-funded Hepatitis Vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau protocol.
It’s worse than you thought.
Check it out, first in Inside Medicine…
with @pauloffit.bsky.social David Boulware and others.
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/scoop-the-...
It’s worse than you thought.
Check it out, first in Inside Medicine…
with @pauloffit.bsky.social David Boulware and others.
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/scoop-the-...
Scoop: The leaked protocol of the CDC-funded Hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau. “This is another Tuskegee.”
The protocol reveals that the trial will withhold the Hepatitis B birth dose from thousands—without placebos, without universal maternal screening, and with endpoints critics call indefensible.
insidemedicine.substack.com
January 15, 2026 at 2:31 PM
Absolutely damning details on the disturbing proposed hepatitis trial that is already (apparently) being rolled out in Guinea-Bissau.
It beggars belief that the people funding this unethical experiment on African children claim to be the guardians of "gold standard science".
It beggars belief that the people funding this unethical experiment on African children claim to be the guardians of "gold standard science".
Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
As per usual @nytimes.com there is no “standoff” - there’s American aggression, imperialism, threats of invasion, or whatever you want to call it along those lines.
But a “standoff” it’s not. If someone is robbed, you don’t call it a “standoff” between the robber and victim. You call it “robbery”.
But a “standoff” it’s not. If someone is robbed, you don’t call it a “standoff” between the robber and victim. You call it “robbery”.
January 17, 2026 at 8:18 PM
As per usual @nytimes.com there is no “standoff” - there’s American aggression, imperialism, threats of invasion, or whatever you want to call it along those lines.
But a “standoff” it’s not. If someone is robbed, you don’t call it a “standoff” between the robber and victim. You call it “robbery”.
But a “standoff” it’s not. If someone is robbed, you don’t call it a “standoff” between the robber and victim. You call it “robbery”.
Vampire bats aren’t just drinking blood. They’re sampling viruses too
New evidence shows they were infected with H5N1 after feeding on marine animals with bird flu
Bats in Egypt are also susceptible to a related strain of another bird flu virus, H9N2
@sciencenews.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/9navnxuw
New evidence shows they were infected with H5N1 after feeding on marine animals with bird flu
Bats in Egypt are also susceptible to a related strain of another bird flu virus, H9N2
@sciencenews.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/9navnxuw
Bats might be the next bird flu wild card
Finding that vampire bats along Peru’s coast carried H5N1 antibodies raises concerns that multiple bat species could become reservoirs for the virus.
tinyurl.com
December 18, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Vampire bats aren’t just drinking blood. They’re sampling viruses too
New evidence shows they were infected with H5N1 after feeding on marine animals with bird flu
Bats in Egypt are also susceptible to a related strain of another bird flu virus, H9N2
@sciencenews.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/9navnxuw
New evidence shows they were infected with H5N1 after feeding on marine animals with bird flu
Bats in Egypt are also susceptible to a related strain of another bird flu virus, H9N2
@sciencenews.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/9navnxuw
Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
The Covid ‘lab leak’ theory isn’t just a rightwing conspiracy – pretending that’s the case is bad for science | Jane Qiu
The Covid ‘lab leak’ theory isn’t just a rightwing conspiracy – pretending that’s the case is bad for science | Jane Qiu
While figures like Steve Bannon have exploited the issue, scientists have done themselves no favours by shutting down legitimate inquiry, says award-winning science writer Jane Qiu
www.theguardian.com
June 25, 2025 at 8:22 AM
The Covid ‘lab leak’ theory isn’t just a rightwing conspiracy – pretending that’s the case is bad for science | Jane Qiu
Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
A Piping Plover chick tries to squeeze in. Moms are so patient and amazing.
June 26, 2025 at 2:51 AM
A Piping Plover chick tries to squeeze in. Moms are so patient and amazing.
Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
On the Pennine Way in Northumberland. Spectacular landscape underlain by Carboniferous rocks. A block by the path suddenly reveals a Stigmaria root from a giant Lepidodendron tree that grew in a coal swamp more than 300 million years ago. 🧵
June 26, 2025 at 8:16 PM
On the Pennine Way in Northumberland. Spectacular landscape underlain by Carboniferous rocks. A block by the path suddenly reveals a Stigmaria root from a giant Lepidodendron tree that grew in a coal swamp more than 300 million years ago. 🧵
Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
Ewen Callaway reports on biology's rush for AI-enabled 'virtual cells'.
So far it "has a lot of hype, but not a lot of concrete results or a clear path to success".
"I don’t think there is a clear definition of a virtual cell", says CZI's Jonah Cool.
@nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
So far it "has a lot of hype, but not a lot of concrete results or a clear path to success".
"I don’t think there is a clear definition of a virtual cell", says CZI's Jonah Cool.
@nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Can AI build a virtual cell? Scientists race to model life’s smallest unit
Several groups hope to develop artificial-intelligence models that can predict how cells behave.
www.nature.com
June 27, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Ewen Callaway reports on biology's rush for AI-enabled 'virtual cells'.
So far it "has a lot of hype, but not a lot of concrete results or a clear path to success".
"I don’t think there is a clear definition of a virtual cell", says CZI's Jonah Cool.
@nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
So far it "has a lot of hype, but not a lot of concrete results or a clear path to success".
"I don’t think there is a clear definition of a virtual cell", says CZI's Jonah Cool.
@nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Why does the covid origins debate remain so polarising & acrimonious?
What does this say about the state of science & the public discourse of science?
My @theguardian.com op-ed debut, from a sociological perspective
Include backstory behind the film Blame
1/
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
What does this say about the state of science & the public discourse of science?
My @theguardian.com op-ed debut, from a sociological perspective
Include backstory behind the film Blame
1/
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Covid ‘lab leak’ theory isn’t just a rightwing conspiracy – pretending that’s the case is bad for science | Jane Qiu
While figures like Steve Bannon have exploited the issue, scientists have done themselves no favours by shutting down legitimate inquiry, says award-winning science writer Jane Qiu
www.theguardian.com
June 26, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Why does the covid origins debate remain so polarising & acrimonious?
What does this say about the state of science & the public discourse of science?
My @theguardian.com op-ed debut, from a sociological perspective
Include backstory behind the film Blame
1/
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
What does this say about the state of science & the public discourse of science?
My @theguardian.com op-ed debut, from a sociological perspective
Include backstory behind the film Blame
1/
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Jane Qiu, PhD
How should researchers respond to allegations about their work? Lessons from three Nobel Prize winners who have retracted papers.
Retraction Reactions
Scientists’ responses to published errors provide case studies of practices to avoid or embrace when engaging with the research community.
www.americanscientist.org
June 19, 2025 at 6:21 PM
How should researchers respond to allegations about their work? Lessons from three Nobel Prize winners who have retracted papers.