Tara Chestnut, PhD
@tcastanea.bsky.social
Wildlife Ecology | Natural History | Disease | Invasive Species | Contaminants | Aquatic Science | Reintroductions | Science Communication | March Mammal Madness narrator | she/her
Pinned
Tara Chestnut, PhD
@tcastanea.bsky.social
· Jul 22
Need a moment of joy today? I recently gave a talk about what Indigenous inclusion in science looks like. Grab some tissues and get ready to ugly cry… 🐻🪶🐍🐸🐟🧪
Reposted by Tara Chestnut, PhD
The solicitation is finally up! Good luck to everybody applying this year (and those with mentees applying) - it's an extremely tight turnaround but very glad to see this. 🧪🌎
September 26, 2025 at 5:05 PM
The solicitation is finally up! Good luck to everybody applying this year (and those with mentees applying) - it's an extremely tight turnaround but very glad to see this. 🧪🌎
Today, I went to a CVS to get my COVID shot & was told that despite the WA Dept of Health’s Standing Order, they are following ACIP’s guidance to only vax folks 65+ or w/ underlying conditions. I filed a complaint w/ DOH. You can too! 💉⚕️😷🤷🏻♀️ HSQAComplaintIntake@doh.wa.gov
doh.wa.gov/newsroom/doh...
doh.wa.gov/newsroom/doh...
September 23, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Today, I went to a CVS to get my COVID shot & was told that despite the WA Dept of Health’s Standing Order, they are following ACIP’s guidance to only vax folks 65+ or w/ underlying conditions. I filed a complaint w/ DOH. You can too! 💉⚕️😷🤷🏻♀️ HSQAComplaintIntake@doh.wa.gov
doh.wa.gov/newsroom/doh...
doh.wa.gov/newsroom/doh...
Reposted by Tara Chestnut, PhD
The public has until September 19 to weigh in on the proposed rescission of the 2001 roadless rule on Forest Service land, a move that experts have said will harm the health and biodiversity of ecosystems.
buff.ly/oMa9f05
buff.ly/oMa9f05
How to comment on the planned roadless rule rollback - High Country News
The deadline to weigh in on the change is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Sept. 19.
www.hcn.org
September 9, 2025 at 2:31 PM
The public has until September 19 to weigh in on the proposed rescission of the 2001 roadless rule on Forest Service land, a move that experts have said will harm the health and biodiversity of ecosystems.
buff.ly/oMa9f05
buff.ly/oMa9f05
And just like that, I’ve started saving for an Icelandic vacation… 🇮🇸🐧 newatlas.com/biology/baby...
It's time to throw baby puffins off cliffs as annual event gets underway
Right now, groups of Icelanders are taking to the streets late at night, armed with cardboard boxes and torches, in search of the telltale white bellies of baby Atlantic puffins. Once caught, these bi...
newatlas.com
September 9, 2025 at 4:19 AM
And just like that, I’ve started saving for an Icelandic vacation… 🇮🇸🐧 newatlas.com/biology/baby...
I live in Washington State and this is the message I get when I try to schedule my COVID vaccine… I don’t want to start over! I just want my shot 😭💉😷🩻⚕️
September 7, 2025 at 7:13 PM
I live in Washington State and this is the message I get when I try to schedule my COVID vaccine… I don’t want to start over! I just want my shot 😭💉😷🩻⚕️
Reposted by Tara Chestnut, PhD
Dr. Judy Stone has written yet *another* great piece, this time about measles and what the public should know about it.
Measles continues to spread throughout the U.S., and we have the highest number of cases since it was declared eliminated in 2000.
Measles continues to spread throughout the U.S., and we have the highest number of cases since it was declared eliminated in 2000.
What Parents Need To Know About Measles As Kids Head Back To School
Measles is highly contagious. If an unvaccinated person is exposed, there is a long, expensive quarantine period parents should consider and serious health consequences.
www.forbes.com
September 6, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Dr. Judy Stone has written yet *another* great piece, this time about measles and what the public should know about it.
Measles continues to spread throughout the U.S., and we have the highest number of cases since it was declared eliminated in 2000.
Measles continues to spread throughout the U.S., and we have the highest number of cases since it was declared eliminated in 2000.
Reposted by Tara Chestnut, PhD
Yesterday the president demanded that evidence about Covid vaccines be shown to the public. Today @apoorvanyt.bsky.social & I run through some of the studies made public over the past 4+ years that show that the vaccines work. Gift link: nyti.ms/46k17Tq
nyti.ms
September 2, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Yesterday the president demanded that evidence about Covid vaccines be shown to the public. Today @apoorvanyt.bsky.social & I run through some of the studies made public over the past 4+ years that show that the vaccines work. Gift link: nyti.ms/46k17Tq
Reposted by Tara Chestnut, PhD
Much of the food you eat is absorbed by your digestive system.
But some of what you eat makes it all the way through those twists and turns and comes out the other end. How does that happen?
A doctor who treats digestive problems explains how 💩 is made:
But some of what you eat makes it all the way through those twists and turns and comes out the other end. How does that happen?
A doctor who treats digestive problems explains how 💩 is made:
How does your body make poop?
Your food goes on a complex journey as it travels from your mouth to your colon.
buff.ly
September 1, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Much of the food you eat is absorbed by your digestive system.
But some of what you eat makes it all the way through those twists and turns and comes out the other end. How does that happen?
A doctor who treats digestive problems explains how 💩 is made:
But some of what you eat makes it all the way through those twists and turns and comes out the other end. How does that happen?
A doctor who treats digestive problems explains how 💩 is made:
I came down to LA this weekend to visit fam… we saw our fav Lucha Libre & I taught my nephew (an avid angler) to can fish! Only those who get me know a 23L pressure canner is a normal carry-on The TSA machine didn’t think so 😭 It destroyed my canner & I’m now convinced octopuses screen our bags🥫🎣🇲🇽🤼♂️🐙
August 25, 2025 at 6:54 AM
I came down to LA this weekend to visit fam… we saw our fav Lucha Libre & I taught my nephew (an avid angler) to can fish! Only those who get me know a 23L pressure canner is a normal carry-on The TSA machine didn’t think so 😭 It destroyed my canner & I’m now convinced octopuses screen our bags🥫🎣🇲🇽🤼♂️🐙
Reposted by Tara Chestnut, PhD
If you need something hopeful and inspiring to listen to, I highly recommend this three-part @npr.org podcast series The Network about the women who transformed abortion support in South America - and how it changed the world.
www.npr.org/2026/01/01/1...
www.npr.org/2026/01/01/1...
The Network: Saint-o-tec : Embedded
Part 1: In the mid-1980s, an OBGYN in Brazil noticed that far fewer pregnant women at his hospital were dying from abortion complications. It wasn't a coincidence. Brazilian women had made a discovery...
www.npr.org
August 24, 2025 at 12:52 PM
If you need something hopeful and inspiring to listen to, I highly recommend this three-part @npr.org podcast series The Network about the women who transformed abortion support in South America - and how it changed the world.
www.npr.org/2026/01/01/1...
www.npr.org/2026/01/01/1...
Me, in a Lyft the other day, driver arguing w/ talk radio, host going off about the new logo.
Host: outrage! wokeness! they removed the white character from the logo!
Driver: hold up, you mad b/c they took the cracker out of Cracker Barrel?!
Me: hit tip so hard between crying snort laughs
Host: outrage! wokeness! they removed the white character from the logo!
Driver: hold up, you mad b/c they took the cracker out of Cracker Barrel?!
Me: hit tip so hard between crying snort laughs
August 24, 2025 at 4:28 AM
Me, in a Lyft the other day, driver arguing w/ talk radio, host going off about the new logo.
Host: outrage! wokeness! they removed the white character from the logo!
Driver: hold up, you mad b/c they took the cracker out of Cracker Barrel?!
Me: hit tip so hard between crying snort laughs
Host: outrage! wokeness! they removed the white character from the logo!
Driver: hold up, you mad b/c they took the cracker out of Cracker Barrel?!
Me: hit tip so hard between crying snort laughs
Hard to go wrong with a good cheese infographic! 🦠🧫🧀🪤🙌✋
A layered strategy for tackling antimicrobial resistance: the Swiss cheese model for policy, prevention, and engagement - The Lancet Microbe
-the Cheese rides again!
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
-the Cheese rides again!
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
A layered strategy for tackling antimicrobial resistance: the Swiss cheese model for policy, prevention, and engagement
Murphy’s Law, “anything that can go wrong will go wrong”,1 finds no more fitting application
in public health than in the case of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR will emerge
whenever conditions pe...
www.thelancet.com
August 19, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Hard to go wrong with a good cheese infographic! 🦠🧫🧀🪤🙌✋
Reposted by Tara Chestnut, PhD
Timeline cleanse. You know what to do. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPCJ...
Lip Sync Battle - Tom Holland
YouTube video by Comedy Central Latinoamérica
www.youtube.com
August 13, 2025 at 2:38 AM
Timeline cleanse. You know what to do. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPCJ...
Reposted by Tara Chestnut, PhD
Hey, as a librarian I need to tell you:
Our funding depends on usage.
So go ahead and check out that book even if you don't think you'll finish it. No one will know. Check out that DVD even though you might not like it. Get ambitious in your quest for knowledge.
Our funding depends on usage.
So go ahead and check out that book even if you don't think you'll finish it. No one will know. Check out that DVD even though you might not like it. Get ambitious in your quest for knowledge.
August 12, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Hey, as a librarian I need to tell you:
Our funding depends on usage.
So go ahead and check out that book even if you don't think you'll finish it. No one will know. Check out that DVD even though you might not like it. Get ambitious in your quest for knowledge.
Our funding depends on usage.
So go ahead and check out that book even if you don't think you'll finish it. No one will know. Check out that DVD even though you might not like it. Get ambitious in your quest for knowledge.
In 1990, as a high school student, I rode my bicycle across the US along w/ 75 other young people from 10 countries to bring attention to chronic hunger & urge the president to sign & ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. 35 years ago. Le sigh. archive.seattletimes.com/archive/1990...
August 12, 2025 at 4:57 PM
In 1990, as a high school student, I rode my bicycle across the US along w/ 75 other young people from 10 countries to bring attention to chronic hunger & urge the president to sign & ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. 35 years ago. Le sigh. archive.seattletimes.com/archive/1990...
My mom, a nurse, participated in the control group of a clinical trial testing the effectiveness of a vaccination to help boost immune function of HIV+ folks. She had an intense GI reaction & initially thought she was injured but what it revealed was an underlying immune deficiency… 💉⚕️
"Kennedy questioned the effectiveness of the vaccines…
'You can't control the amount of energy that everybody is getting," he said. "When you give a vaccine, you want to know exactly how much energy is because some people react very, very badly and can get very, very badly injured.'"
'You can't control the amount of energy that everybody is getting," he said. "When you give a vaccine, you want to know exactly how much energy is because some people react very, very badly and can get very, very badly injured.'"
RFK Jr. in interview with Scripps News: ‘Trusting the experts is not science’
HHS Secretary RFK Jr. sat down with Scripps News for a wide-ranging interview, discussing mRNA vaccine funding policy changes and a recent shooting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
www.scrippsnews.com
August 12, 2025 at 3:27 AM
My mom, a nurse, participated in the control group of a clinical trial testing the effectiveness of a vaccination to help boost immune function of HIV+ folks. She had an intense GI reaction & initially thought she was injured but what it revealed was an underlying immune deficiency… 💉⚕️
Reposted by Tara Chestnut, PhD
Paying attention to the USDA reorganization plan? Comment window is open. www.usda.gov/about-usda/n...
www.usda.gov
August 2, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Paying attention to the USDA reorganization plan? Comment window is open. www.usda.gov/about-usda/n...
Calling all people concerned w/ public lands, food safety, rural development & all other services provided by US Dept of Agriculture! You have 30 days to tell Brooke Rollins what you think about the reorganization plan! On the list of things, no ‘Hub offices’ in the Pacific time zone WHAT SAY YOU?!?
Paying attention to the USDA reorganization plan? Comment window is open. www.usda.gov/about-usda/n...
www.usda.gov
August 2, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Calling all people concerned w/ public lands, food safety, rural development & all other services provided by US Dept of Agriculture! You have 30 days to tell Brooke Rollins what you think about the reorganization plan! On the list of things, no ‘Hub offices’ in the Pacific time zone WHAT SAY YOU?!?
Reposted by Tara Chestnut, PhD
The language used to describe outbreaks, like “pandemic” or “epidemic” can be tied politics, funding, international agreements, and more. And disinformation intentionally causes confusion.
So how do epidemiologists use these terms in their day-to-day work? Here’s a simple guide to what they mean👇
So how do epidemiologists use these terms in their day-to-day work? Here’s a simple guide to what they mean👇
August 1, 2025 at 3:48 PM
The language used to describe outbreaks, like “pandemic” or “epidemic” can be tied politics, funding, international agreements, and more. And disinformation intentionally causes confusion.
So how do epidemiologists use these terms in their day-to-day work? Here’s a simple guide to what they mean👇
So how do epidemiologists use these terms in their day-to-day work? Here’s a simple guide to what they mean👇
Reposted by Tara Chestnut, PhD
Today’s the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act—but the fight for access, dignity, and justice didn’t start in 1990, and it sure as hell didn’t end there.
Anyone can become disabled at any time. So saving Medicaid is survival. For all of us.
#SaveMedicaidSaveFamilies
Anyone can become disabled at any time. So saving Medicaid is survival. For all of us.
#SaveMedicaidSaveFamilies
July 26, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Today’s the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act—but the fight for access, dignity, and justice didn’t start in 1990, and it sure as hell didn’t end there.
Anyone can become disabled at any time. So saving Medicaid is survival. For all of us.
#SaveMedicaidSaveFamilies
Anyone can become disabled at any time. So saving Medicaid is survival. For all of us.
#SaveMedicaidSaveFamilies
Reposted by Tara Chestnut, PhD
⭐️ ICYMI⭐️ High Country News is offering free digital subscriptions to all federal employees — including those recently laid off — so you can stay informed about the West, no matter what.
Independent. In-depth. Rooted in community.
buff.ly/670yKQA
Independent. In-depth. Rooted in community.
buff.ly/670yKQA
July 25, 2025 at 10:01 PM
⭐️ ICYMI⭐️ High Country News is offering free digital subscriptions to all federal employees — including those recently laid off — so you can stay informed about the West, no matter what.
Independent. In-depth. Rooted in community.
buff.ly/670yKQA
Independent. In-depth. Rooted in community.
buff.ly/670yKQA
Need a moment of joy today? I recently gave a talk about what Indigenous inclusion in science looks like. Grab some tissues and get ready to ugly cry… 🐻🪶🐍🐸🐟🧪
July 22, 2025 at 2:44 AM
Need a moment of joy today? I recently gave a talk about what Indigenous inclusion in science looks like. Grab some tissues and get ready to ugly cry… 🐻🪶🐍🐸🐟🧪
Reposted by Tara Chestnut, PhD
Ex-farm worker here.
We need to talk about this whole "But a living wage for farm workers would spike the cost of food!" thing.
Not true AT ALL.
Y'all don't understand how fast experienced farm workers are.
The average tomato picker pulls 650lbs per hour.
At $20/hr, that's $0.03/lb for labor.
We need to talk about this whole "But a living wage for farm workers would spike the cost of food!" thing.
Not true AT ALL.
Y'all don't understand how fast experienced farm workers are.
The average tomato picker pulls 650lbs per hour.
At $20/hr, that's $0.03/lb for labor.
July 13, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Ex-farm worker here.
We need to talk about this whole "But a living wage for farm workers would spike the cost of food!" thing.
Not true AT ALL.
Y'all don't understand how fast experienced farm workers are.
The average tomato picker pulls 650lbs per hour.
At $20/hr, that's $0.03/lb for labor.
We need to talk about this whole "But a living wage for farm workers would spike the cost of food!" thing.
Not true AT ALL.
Y'all don't understand how fast experienced farm workers are.
The average tomato picker pulls 650lbs per hour.
At $20/hr, that's $0.03/lb for labor.
Sometimes for me, seeing evidence of a fren brings me more joy than actually encountering the fren. Saw these fresh 🐻👣 today on an exploration around a local reservoir!
July 14, 2025 at 3:47 AM
Sometimes for me, seeing evidence of a fren brings me more joy than actually encountering the fren. Saw these fresh 🐻👣 today on an exploration around a local reservoir!