Matt Healy
@matthewdhealy.bsky.social
Techbio, Virology, Drug Discovery, Data, Midwest, Engineering, NLP, science, theology, history of science
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6439-5038
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6439-5038
Pinned
Matt Healy
@matthewdhealy.bsky.social
· Jun 27
The meaning of my new profile image:
“Not just a poetic metaphor but scientific fact: the carbon in our cells, the calcium in our bones, and even the gold in our rings were all forged in stars that exploded long before our solar system formed. We don’t just come from the stars. We ARE stardust.”
“Not just a poetic metaphor but scientific fact: the carbon in our cells, the calcium in our bones, and even the gold in our rings were all forged in stars that exploded long before our solar system formed. We don’t just come from the stars. We ARE stardust.”
Some future President should be working on a book titled Profiles In Cowardice right now.
It would include MANY GOP "leaders" who have had total laminectomy surgery.
It would include MANY GOP "leaders" who have had total laminectomy surgery.
January 22, 2026 at 10:34 PM
Some future President should be working on a book titled Profiles In Cowardice right now.
It would include MANY GOP "leaders" who have had total laminectomy surgery.
It would include MANY GOP "leaders" who have had total laminectomy surgery.
I had thought for years my Erdős number was 5, via a path from my collaborators at Yale to ES Lander. But about a year ago I found a shorter path, so now I know my Erdős number is at most 4.
And if you've been a coauthor with me, now you know your Erdős number is at most 5.
And if you've been a coauthor with me, now you know your Erdős number is at most 5.
January 22, 2026 at 7:42 PM
I had thought for years my Erdős number was 5, via a path from my collaborators at Yale to ES Lander. But about a year ago I found a shorter path, so now I know my Erdős number is at most 4.
And if you've been a coauthor with me, now you know your Erdős number is at most 5.
And if you've been a coauthor with me, now you know your Erdős number is at most 5.
Good summary of hand hygiene. Basically: alcohol-based sanitizers work against bacteria & SOME viruses but NOT against norovirus, ANY soap works if used correctly, & consistency matters:
theunbiasedscipod.substack.com/p/our-hands-...
theunbiasedscipod.substack.com/p/our-hands-...
Our Hands Are Gross. Here’s What to Do About It.
The science of soap, sanitizer, and staying well
theunbiasedscipod.substack.com
January 22, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Good summary of hand hygiene. Basically: alcohol-based sanitizers work against bacteria & SOME viruses but NOT against norovirus, ANY soap works if used correctly, & consistency matters:
theunbiasedscipod.substack.com/p/our-hands-...
theunbiasedscipod.substack.com/p/our-hands-...
Generations! I'm a Boomer, @scalzi.com is Gen X, Athena is of a much younger generation.
A big generation reminder for came about 20 years ago when my wife asked a church friend "where were you when Nixon resigned?" and the reply was "not yet born!"
A big generation reminder for came about 20 years ago when my wife asked a church friend "where were you when Nixon resigned?" and the reply was "not yet born!"
Actually it was Athena as a teen mentioning how many cultural references she got only through watching Family Guy, which seemed unnatural until I remembered that Looney Tunes served exactly that function for me for cultural references from the 30s, 40s and 50s.
which begs the question - what's your Moment?
I'm not sure yet what mine is, but hearing Greenday on the classic rock station is right up there with my daughter referring to my childhood as "the 1900s" as if it were the deep past of sainted memory.
I'm not sure yet what mine is, but hearing Greenday on the classic rock station is right up there with my daughter referring to my childhood as "the 1900s" as if it were the deep past of sainted memory.
January 21, 2026 at 6:05 PM
Generations! I'm a Boomer, @scalzi.com is Gen X, Athena is of a much younger generation.
A big generation reminder for came about 20 years ago when my wife asked a church friend "where were you when Nixon resigned?" and the reply was "not yet born!"
A big generation reminder for came about 20 years ago when my wife asked a church friend "where were you when Nixon resigned?" and the reply was "not yet born!"
On the recklessness of Trump’s obsession with capturing Greenland
January 21, 2026 at 1:14 PM
On the recklessness of Trump’s obsession with capturing Greenland
Hint to website designers: if you try to force me to give you my contact information before letting me see enough content to judge whether I want to give you my contact information, I will give you something that looks like a valid email address & phone number, but NOT my actual details.
January 21, 2026 at 4:29 AM
Hint to website designers: if you try to force me to give you my contact information before letting me see enough content to judge whether I want to give you my contact information, I will give you something that looks like a valid email address & phone number, but NOT my actual details.
Latest news from the Leopards Eating People's Faces Party: record numbers of Cubans have been deported. Historically they were treated very differently from most immigrants. And historically they have voted Republican. Will that change now?
January 21, 2026 at 12:57 AM
Latest news from the Leopards Eating People's Faces Party: record numbers of Cubans have been deported. Historically they were treated very differently from most immigrants. And historically they have voted Republican. Will that change now?
A group of Twin Cities law-enforcement leaders, including the Hennepin County Sheriff and several local Police Chiefs, held a press conference at the State Capitol today about the behavior of ICE agents in their community.
They believe ICE officers are committing serious civil rights violations.
They believe ICE officers are committing serious civil rights violations.
January 20, 2026 at 9:38 PM
A group of Twin Cities law-enforcement leaders, including the Hennepin County Sheriff and several local Police Chiefs, held a press conference at the State Capitol today about the behavior of ICE agents in their community.
They believe ICE officers are committing serious civil rights violations.
They believe ICE officers are committing serious civil rights violations.
Tool use by a cow: she has learned to scratch herself with a broom or stick:
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
Flexible use of a multi-purpose tool by a cow
Osuna-Mascaró and Auersperg report flexible, multipurpose tool use in a cow, expanding
the known range of mammalian tool users and underscoring overlooked cognitive capacities
in livestock.
www.cell.com
January 20, 2026 at 7:15 PM
Tool use by a cow: she has learned to scratch herself with a broom or stick:
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
This article is 25 years old, but remains one of the best discussions I've seen of what confidence intervals really say about the results of clinical trials, the conclusions that CAN be drawn, and the conclusions that CANNOT be drawn.
Points to consider on switching between superiority and non-inferiority
An official website of the United States government
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
January 20, 2026 at 7:03 PM
This article is 25 years old, but remains one of the best discussions I've seen of what confidence intervals really say about the results of clinical trials, the conclusions that CAN be drawn, and the conclusions that CANNOT be drawn.
US Measles vaccination rates at abcotvdata.github.io/us-vaccinati...
Lightest color is highest rate, darker colors are lower rates. You can type in your zip code to check your local data.
Bottom line: most of the US is below the herd immunity level now.
Lightest color is highest rate, darker colors are lower rates. You can type in your zip code to check your local data.
Bottom line: most of the US is below the herd immunity level now.
January 20, 2026 at 4:33 PM
US Measles vaccination rates at abcotvdata.github.io/us-vaccinati...
Lightest color is highest rate, darker colors are lower rates. You can type in your zip code to check your local data.
Bottom line: most of the US is below the herd immunity level now.
Lightest color is highest rate, darker colors are lower rates. You can type in your zip code to check your local data.
Bottom line: most of the US is below the herd immunity level now.
Reposted by Matt Healy
Happy MLK day, gang! Martin was a Democratic Socialist, anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, thought white moderates were the bane of Black existence, and died on a trip to support a sanitation workers' strike!
Beware his sanitized and sanded-down edit!
Beware his sanitized and sanded-down edit!
January 19, 2026 at 4:41 PM
Happy MLK day, gang! Martin was a Democratic Socialist, anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, thought white moderates were the bane of Black existence, and died on a trip to support a sanitation workers' strike!
Beware his sanitized and sanded-down edit!
Beware his sanitized and sanded-down edit!
Sometimes a big problem can be intelligently cut down to size for easier analysis.
I once had a big TX data set ~30K genes, ~3500 samples, too big for PCA on my box.
I once had a big TX data set ~30K genes, ~3500 samples, too big for PCA on my box.
January 18, 2026 at 9:36 PM
Sometimes a big problem can be intelligently cut down to size for easier analysis.
I once had a big TX data set ~30K genes, ~3500 samples, too big for PCA on my box.
I once had a big TX data set ~30K genes, ~3500 samples, too big for PCA on my box.
Pen on paper with mechanical device, then digital processing.
January 17, 2026 at 9:33 PM
Pen on paper with mechanical device, then digital processing.
The University of Austin was launched as a “free speech” alternative to allegedly censorious elite universities, and some founding faculty genuinely cared about that promise.
But it turns out freedom means agreeing with wealthy donors.
But it turns out freedom means agreeing with wealthy donors.
January 17, 2026 at 3:35 PM
The University of Austin was launched as a “free speech” alternative to allegedly censorious elite universities, and some founding faculty genuinely cared about that promise.
But it turns out freedom means agreeing with wealthy donors.
But it turns out freedom means agreeing with wealthy donors.
Being undocumented is a status offense, not a criminal conviction. Like being underage, it describes a legal condition, not an act of violence or theft. That’s why most cases are heard in immigration court, not criminal court.
And actual criminals are getting away with actual crimes now.
And actual criminals are getting away with actual crimes now.
January 17, 2026 at 1:08 PM
Being undocumented is a status offense, not a criminal conviction. Like being underage, it describes a legal condition, not an act of violence or theft. That’s why most cases are heard in immigration court, not criminal court.
And actual criminals are getting away with actual crimes now.
And actual criminals are getting away with actual crimes now.