Stephanie Pappas
@sipappas.bsky.social
Freelance science writer - Scientific American, Live Science, APA. I will be on my deathbed still looking up whether it's "Proceedings of the National Academies of Science" or "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences"
Reposted by Stephanie Pappas
Kennedy, obsessed with vaxxed/unvaxxed studies that would not be approved by US ethical review boards, planned to fund one in West Africa — one that would have caused unnecessary disease and death for extremely vulnerable children. After negative media attention, it was canceled. Coverage matters.
BREAKING: The controversial hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau has been *cancelled,* I can now report. A senior official with Africa CDC confirmed the cancellation and said GB officials are working to make sure any research is conducted ethically:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Controversial US study on hepatitis B vaccines in Africa is cancelled
$1.6m project drew outrage over ethical questions about withholding vaccines proven to prevent disease
www.theguardian.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:41 PM
Kennedy, obsessed with vaxxed/unvaxxed studies that would not be approved by US ethical review boards, planned to fund one in West Africa — one that would have caused unnecessary disease and death for extremely vulnerable children. After negative media attention, it was canceled. Coverage matters.
Reposted by Stephanie Pappas
#Breaking: SAMHSA canceled up to $1.9 billion in grants without staff consultation, accelerating the mental health agency's deterioration under President Trump. www.statnews.com/2026/01/14/s...
Trump administration cuts up to $1.9 billion from mental health and addiction treatment programs
SAMHSA canceled up to $1.9 billion in grants without staff consultation, accelerating the mental health agency's deterioration under President Trump.
www.statnews.com
January 14, 2026 at 4:15 PM
#Breaking: SAMHSA canceled up to $1.9 billion in grants without staff consultation, accelerating the mental health agency's deterioration under President Trump. www.statnews.com/2026/01/14/s...
Reposted by Stephanie Pappas
One agent literally moves to stand in front of the vehicle (she has no other way to move) and two
more agents, including the one who shot her, approach the vehicle. Those are not the actions of people who have a reasonable belief that they are in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury
more agents, including the one who shot her, approach the vehicle. Those are not the actions of people who have a reasonable belief that they are in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury
Using imagery online of the shooting by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, we’ve created an animated sequence which highlights the approximate positioning of officers and vehicles at the scene. The red dot represents the agent who fired the shots. Yellow dots are other agents who arrived at the scene.
January 7, 2026 at 11:14 PM
One agent literally moves to stand in front of the vehicle (she has no other way to move) and two
more agents, including the one who shot her, approach the vehicle. Those are not the actions of people who have a reasonable belief that they are in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury
more agents, including the one who shot her, approach the vehicle. Those are not the actions of people who have a reasonable belief that they are in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury
Honk if you love RSV, I guess.
Absolutely ill about this even though we knew it was coming. Zero expert input, no meetings, just a fiat and poof, done.
US revises childhood vaccine schedule to recommend fewer shots
The move advances one of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s long-term goals.
www.reuters.com
January 5, 2026 at 8:10 PM
Honk if you love RSV, I guess.
Reposted by Stephanie Pappas
Mystery as hundreds of Victorian shoes wash up on Ogmore beach
Mystery as hundreds of Victorian shoes wash up on Ogmore beach
More than 400 leather hobnailed boots, thought to date back to the 19th Century, have been found.
www.bbc.com
December 23, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Mystery as hundreds of Victorian shoes wash up on Ogmore beach
Reposted by Stephanie Pappas
RFK Jr. is expected to announce in the new year that American children should be immunized according to the schedule followed by Denmark — which is much smaller, mostly homogenous and has universal health care.
(Free link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/h...
(Free link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/h...
R.F.K. Jr. Likely to Swap U.S. Childhood Vaccine Schedule for Denmark’s
www.nytimes.com
December 19, 2025 at 9:22 PM
RFK Jr. is expected to announce in the new year that American children should be immunized according to the schedule followed by Denmark — which is much smaller, mostly homogenous and has universal health care.
(Free link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/h...
(Free link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/h...
Reposted by Stephanie Pappas
Fossil bee nests in fossil bones! News article by @sipappas.bsky.social in @sciam.bsky.social (with a few quotes by Yours Truly) about this very cool discovery from a Late Quaternary cave in the Dominican Republic. 🧪🐝🕳️🦴
December 17, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Fossil bee nests in fossil bones! News article by @sipappas.bsky.social in @sciam.bsky.social (with a few quotes by Yours Truly) about this very cool discovery from a Late Quaternary cave in the Dominican Republic. 🧪🐝🕳️🦴
Reposted by Stephanie Pappas
December 16, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Reposted by Stephanie Pappas
For #ArtAdventCalendar day 13, one from my 2018 Turbulent Skies Project.
I Can See It…With My Imagination
44x60 112×152cm
Oil on Canvas
2018
I Can See It…With My Imagination
44x60 112×152cm
Oil on Canvas
2018
December 14, 2025 at 9:49 PM
For #ArtAdventCalendar day 13, one from my 2018 Turbulent Skies Project.
I Can See It…With My Imagination
44x60 112×152cm
Oil on Canvas
2018
I Can See It…With My Imagination
44x60 112×152cm
Oil on Canvas
2018
It feels WEIRD
It’s 67° in Denver at 10a on December 11th. That’s the post.
3rd straight day at 60°+, with potentially 6-10 days to go.
#COwx
3rd straight day at 60°+, with potentially 6-10 days to go.
#COwx
December 11, 2025 at 5:42 PM
It feels WEIRD
Today is an upsetting day. <20 infants a year contracting a chronic, often ultimately fatal virus was too few for these people, I guess.
The decision by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to downgrade its recommendations to protect infants from hepatitis B is a dangerous move that will harm children.
Click here to read AAP's full statement: bit.ly/3Y9ZQJT
Click here to read AAP's full statement: bit.ly/3Y9ZQJT
December 5, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Today is an upsetting day. <20 infants a year contracting a chronic, often ultimately fatal virus was too few for these people, I guess.
Reposted by Stephanie Pappas
Day 2 of #ArtAdventCalendar: A frog that’s not mad, just disappointed.
#watercolour #watercolor #frog
#watercolour #watercolor #frog
December 2, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Day 2 of #ArtAdventCalendar: A frog that’s not mad, just disappointed.
#watercolour #watercolor #frog
#watercolour #watercolor #frog
My person was temporarily replaced by a being of pure light roaring "science journalists exist" when I got to this section
November 24, 2025 at 5:53 PM
My person was temporarily replaced by a being of pure light roaring "science journalists exist" when I got to this section
Neat neat neat
It's been 4.5 billion years since protoplanet Theia (probably) collided with Earth & created the Moon. But chemical traces make it possible to study the attacker.
It seems Theia was a neighbor from the inner solar system--possibly forming right alongside Earth. 🧪🔭
www.mps.mpg.de/theia-and-ea...
It seems Theia was a neighbor from the inner solar system--possibly forming right alongside Earth. 🧪🔭
www.mps.mpg.de/theia-and-ea...
November 24, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Neat neat neat
Reposted by Stephanie Pappas
CDC website edited to say that maggots spontaneously generate from spoiled meat, and all studies demonstrating this fact have been ignored by science authorities.
CDC website edited to say that the Sun revolves around the Earth, and the heliocentric model of the universe is not evidence-based.
November 21, 2025 at 5:07 PM
CDC website edited to say that maggots spontaneously generate from spoiled meat, and all studies demonstrating this fact have been ignored by science authorities.
Well, this is depressing.
A very good article about one fake freelancer and the grim state of journalism/the world: thelocal.to/investigatin...
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 20, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Well, this is depressing.
This is incredible work.
This is a must-read: www.propublica.org/article/bird...
What the U.S. Government Is Dismissing That Could Seed a Bird Flu Pandemic
Egg producers suspect bird flu is traveling through the air. After a disastrous Midwestern outbreak early this year, we tested that theory and found that where the wind blew, the virus followed. Vacci...
www.propublica.org
November 18, 2025 at 6:48 PM
This is incredible work.
Reposted by Stephanie Pappas
Measles could officially become endemic again in the U.S. The country (and Canada) risk losing their measles elimination status if they have a year of continuous transmission, which could have happened already. By @sipappas.bsky.social @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/meas...
North America May Soon No Longer Be Officially Measles-Free, Experts Say
A meeting of the Pan American Health Organization this week will address the resurgence of measles in the Americas
www.scientificamerican.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Measles could officially become endemic again in the U.S. The country (and Canada) risk losing their measles elimination status if they have a year of continuous transmission, which could have happened already. By @sipappas.bsky.social @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/meas...
Reposted by Stephanie Pappas
Good morning.
I don't know who did this, but I love you.
I don't know who did this, but I love you.
November 3, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Good morning.
I don't know who did this, but I love you.
I don't know who did this, but I love you.
Reposted by Stephanie Pappas
Baby KJ, in a tiny tuxedo, shows up at the #STATSummit. His parents Kyle and Nicole Muldoon give an update on how he’s doing after his life-saving CRISPR treatment for a rare liver disease earlier this year.
Read their story: www.statnews.com/2025/05/15/c...
Read their story: www.statnews.com/2025/05/15/c...
October 15, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Baby KJ, in a tiny tuxedo, shows up at the #STATSummit. His parents Kyle and Nicole Muldoon give an update on how he’s doing after his life-saving CRISPR treatment for a rare liver disease earlier this year.
Read their story: www.statnews.com/2025/05/15/c...
Read their story: www.statnews.com/2025/05/15/c...
Reposted by Stephanie Pappas
after the 10th radioactive shrimp recall in 7 weeks, i decided to do some digging
little did i know it would lead me to an underreported industrial accident that may have released an airborne plume of radioactive debris over swaths of indonesia
www.consumerreports.org/health/food-...
little did i know it would lead me to an underreported industrial accident that may have released an airborne plume of radioactive debris over swaths of indonesia
www.consumerreports.org/health/food-...
What Is Really Going on With All This Radioactive Shrimp? - Consumer Reports
Here’s the latest on how shrimp and spices got contaminated with cesium-137, how the FDA has responded, and why consumers should not panic.
www.consumerreports.org
October 9, 2025 at 7:05 PM
after the 10th radioactive shrimp recall in 7 weeks, i decided to do some digging
little did i know it would lead me to an underreported industrial accident that may have released an airborne plume of radioactive debris over swaths of indonesia
www.consumerreports.org/health/food-...
little did i know it would lead me to an underreported industrial accident that may have released an airborne plume of radioactive debris over swaths of indonesia
www.consumerreports.org/health/food-...
I'm just gonna leave this decade-old information here: www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-react...
October 9, 2025 at 6:36 PM
I'm just gonna leave this decade-old information here: www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-react...
I love her.
A literary Iguanodon at the Earth Sciences Library. Do any other libraries have dinosaurs or other antediluvian creatures carved into the furniture?
October 9, 2025 at 6:30 PM
I love her.
Reposted by Stephanie Pappas
“And that’s what makes this movement so smart. Grandparents have the lived experience. Grandchildren still have the capacity to listen. Together, they cut through the noise.”
open.substack.com/pub/theunbia...
open.substack.com/pub/theunbia...
Grandma Knows Best: The Generation That Survived Polio Has Something to Say About Vaccines
67 million grandparents remember what we’ve been lucky enough to forget
open.substack.com
October 8, 2025 at 5:55 PM
“And that’s what makes this movement so smart. Grandparents have the lived experience. Grandchildren still have the capacity to listen. Together, they cut through the noise.”
open.substack.com/pub/theunbia...
open.substack.com/pub/theunbia...