Rina Shaikh-Lesko
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rinawrites.bsky.social
Rina Shaikh-Lesko
@rinawrites.bsky.social
90 followers 140 following 9 posts
Science journalist, writer, former epidemiologist, connoisseur of bad puns
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Reposted by Rina Shaikh-Lesko
mjsdc.bsky.social
New: The Supreme Court DENIES Kim Davis' request to overturn Obergefell, the marriage equality decision. No noted dissents. www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...
DAVIS, KIM V. ERMOLD, DAVID, ET AL. The motion of Foundation for Moral Law for leave to file a brief as amicus curiae out of time is denied. The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied.
November 10, 2025 at 2:31 PM
rinawrites.bsky.social
This excellent post by @sifill.bsky.social made me go back and read Frederick Douglass's whole speech.

Screen caps of two passages - the first reads like an indictment of our current age, and the second is part of Douglass's hopeful conclusion. We need both.

www.blackpast.org/african-amer...
Screen capture of an excerpt of Frederick Douglass's speech, "What To The Slave is The Fourth of July" that reads: At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. O! had I the ability, and could I reach the nation’s ear, I would, to-day, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. The feeling of the nation must be quickened; the conscience of the nation must be roused; the propriety of the nation must be startled; the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed; and its crimes against God and man must be proclaimed and denounced. Screen capture of an excerpt of Frederick Douglass's speech, "What To The Slave is The Fourth of July." Highlighted section reads: Allow me to say, in conclusion, notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented of the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country. There are forces in operation, which must inevitably work the downfall of slavery. “The arm of the Lord is not shortened,” and the doom of slavery is certain. I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope. While drawing encouragement from the Declaration of Independence, the great principles it contains, and the genius of American Institutions, my spirit is also cheered by the obvious tendencies of the age.
July 4, 2025 at 8:29 PM
rinawrites.bsky.social
Truly amazing if these early results hold up in Phase 3 trials.
lizszabo.bsky.social Liz Szabo @lizszabo.bsky.social · Mar 13
That would be amazing! I remember when people with HIV/AIDS were taking 30 pills a day, setting alarms so they could take them in the middle of the night.

Gilead data suggest once-yearly shot of PrEP drug blocks HIV infection www.statnews.com/2025/03/11/h... via @statnews.com
Gilead data suggest once-yearly shot of PrEP drug blocks HIV infection
Last year, Gilead released data showing that an HIV drug, called lenacapavir, could provide virtually complete protection against infection with just a
www.statnews.com
March 13, 2025 at 5:26 AM
Reposted by Rina Shaikh-Lesko
jessefriedman.com
This guy wouldn't know survivor bias if it ate through his brain.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Mar 12
RFK Jr: "It used to be that everybody got measles. And the measles gave you lifetime protection against measles infection. The vaccine doesn't do that ... it used to be that very young kids were protected by breast milk. Women who get vaccinated do not provide that level of immunity."
March 12, 2025 at 4:50 AM
rinawrites.bsky.social
That ending 💔
nikitagill.bsky.social Nikita Gill @nikitagill.bsky.social · Feb 24
I love how tender this is.

By Ada Limón.
THE RAINCOAT When the doctor suggested surgery and a brace for all my youngest years, my parents scrambled to take me to massage therapy, deep tissue work, osteopathy, and soon my crooked spine unspooled a bit, I could breathe again, and move more in a body unclouded by pain. My mom would tell me to sing songs to her the whole forty-five-minute drive to Middle Two Rock Road and forty-five minutes back from physical therapy. Shed say that even my voice sounded unfettered by my spine afterward. So I sang and sang, because I thought she liked it. I never asked her what she gave up to drive me, or how her day was before this chore. Today, at her age, I was driving myself home from yet another spine appointment, singing along to some maudlin but solid song on the radio, and I saw a mom take her raincoat off and give it to her young daughter when a storm took over the afternoon. My god, I thought, my whole life I've been under her raincoat thinking it was somehow a marvel that I never got wet. Ada Limón
February 28, 2025 at 6:20 AM
rinawrites.bsky.social
I get the feeling this administration, and RFK Jr, don't understand what the f*!# they are dealing with. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases out there.

This is not going to end well if they continue this attitude
February 27, 2025 at 11:33 PM
rinawrites.bsky.social
An incisive thread rebutting claims about the SARS-CoV-2 lab leak theory.
flodebarre.bsky.social Flo Débarre @flodebarre.bsky.social · Feb 27
A Vanity Fair paper on the origin of the pandemic details some of the reasoning behind the FBI's "Moderate confidence" assessment for a lab leak, via a retired FBI senior scientist.

It seems they were not aware of key information that rebuts their story 🤯 ▫️1/8
www.vanityfair.com/news/story/i...
screenshot of the cover of the article: VANITY FAIR COVID ORIGINS Exclusive: Inside the FBI’s Lab Leak Investigation --- As bird flu spreads, and Team Trump begins dismantling America’s public health apparatus, a former FBI scientist and investigator speaks out about the evidence that led the bureau to suspect that COVID-19 was sparked by an incident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. BY KATHERINE EBAN FEBRUARY 27, 2025 [b&w image of people with masks]
February 27, 2025 at 9:47 PM