Amanda Keener, PhD
@amandabkeener.bsky.social
Colorado-based freelance science journalist covering biomedical research in immunology, cancer, infectious diseases, neurobiology, genomic medicine, and more.
Amandabkeener.com
Amandabkeener.journoportfolio.com
Photo by Evaro Photography
Amandabkeener.com
Amandabkeener.journoportfolio.com
Photo by Evaro Photography
“In the NICU, a few hours could mean the difference between unnecessary procedures and targeted, life-saving treatment..." scitechdaily.com/scientists-s... Whole-genome sequencing takes one more step toward becoming standard-of-care for sick newborns.
Scientists Set New World Record for Fastest Human Whole Genome Sequencing
Boston researchers sequenced a full human genome in record time, under four hours. The advance could speed life-saving diagnoses for newborns in intensive care. Boston Children’s Hospital, in collabor...
scitechdaily.com
October 24, 2025 at 1:03 AM
“In the NICU, a few hours could mean the difference between unnecessary procedures and targeted, life-saving treatment..." scitechdaily.com/scientists-s... Whole-genome sequencing takes one more step toward becoming standard-of-care for sick newborns.
Reposted by Amanda Keener, PhD
Interesting study that looks at dynamics of B cell responses in the lymph nodes to vaccination against SarsCov2 (COVID). This shows that B cell responses are broadened in the node germinal centres enabling wider responses to variants 🧪 #ImmunoSky
Germinal center–mediated broadening of B cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 booster immunization
SARS-CoV-2 variant booster vaccination broadens human B cell responses through the germinal center reaction.
www.science.org
October 11, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Interesting study that looks at dynamics of B cell responses in the lymph nodes to vaccination against SarsCov2 (COVID). This shows that B cell responses are broadened in the node germinal centres enabling wider responses to variants 🧪 #ImmunoSky
Reposted by Amanda Keener, PhD
Does using generative AI, like ChatGPT, affect our critical thinking? Check out my new piece, where I sift through initial research and figure out what we know and don’t know. undark.org/2025/09/12/c...
Are We Offloading Critical Thinking to Chatbots?
Research, much if it by companies with deep investment in AI, suggests that chatbot interactions alter how users think.
undark.org
September 12, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Does using generative AI, like ChatGPT, affect our critical thinking? Check out my new piece, where I sift through initial research and figure out what we know and don’t know. undark.org/2025/09/12/c...
This is an excellent, point-by-point response to the claims being thrown around about mrna tech and covid #vaccines. I've heard some of these innacurate claims come from doctors and nurses! It's vital that
folks with actual understanding of these topics speak up. theconversation.com/how-rfk-jr-s...
folks with actual understanding of these topics speak up. theconversation.com/how-rfk-jr-s...
How RFK Jr.’s misguided science on mRNA vaccines is shaping policy − a vaccine expert examines the false claims
Chaos at the CDC and the sharp move away from mRNA vaccines has public health experts alarmed.
theconversation.com
September 11, 2025 at 1:00 PM
This is an excellent, point-by-point response to the claims being thrown around about mrna tech and covid #vaccines. I've heard some of these innacurate claims come from doctors and nurses! It's vital that
folks with actual understanding of these topics speak up. theconversation.com/how-rfk-jr-s...
folks with actual understanding of these topics speak up. theconversation.com/how-rfk-jr-s...
Someone needs to make the lab parody song, "While my pipette gently weeps." Seems like it would capture the current moment pretty well.
September 4, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Someone needs to make the lab parody song, "While my pipette gently weeps." Seems like it would capture the current moment pretty well.
Neat! Imagine if you could incorporate data on immune memory into such a model.
news.mit.edu/2025/vaxseer...
news.mit.edu/2025/vaxseer...
MIT researchers develop AI tool to improve flu vaccine strain selection
MIT's “VaxSeer” AI system predicts dominant flu strains months ahead and identifies the most protective vaccine candidates. It uses deep learning models that were trained on viral sequences and l...
news.mit.edu
September 3, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Neat! Imagine if you could incorporate data on immune memory into such a model.
news.mit.edu/2025/vaxseer...
news.mit.edu/2025/vaxseer...
I fell down a rabbit hole one day following my curiosity about a surprising (to me) link between mental health and #eczema. Then I got a chance to take a deep dive. What I found: It's complicated. But some undaunted researchers are slowly untangling these connections. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Explaining the mental-health burden of atopic dermatitis
People with the inflammatory skin disease are at greater risk of neuropsychiatric conditions. Researchers are trying to find out why.
www.nature.com
August 27, 2025 at 2:54 PM
I fell down a rabbit hole one day following my curiosity about a surprising (to me) link between mental health and #eczema. Then I got a chance to take a deep dive. What I found: It's complicated. But some undaunted researchers are slowly untangling these connections. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Amanda Keener, PhD
Unfortunately vaccine guidance from US health agencies is compromised for the foreseeable future. Expert led organizations are stepping up to fill the gap. ICYMI the vaccine integrity project presented reassuring data for the upcoming respiratory virus season.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSuv...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSuv...
www.youtube.com
August 20, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Unfortunately vaccine guidance from US health agencies is compromised for the foreseeable future. Expert led organizations are stepping up to fill the gap. ICYMI the vaccine integrity project presented reassuring data for the upcoming respiratory virus season.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSuv...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSuv...
“We don’t really talk about the hygiene hypothesis as much anymore because we now understand that it’s not really about how hygienic you’re living..." Love this focus on farm animal interaction. "Hygiene hypothesis" dose not = sharing drinks, getting sick a lot, etc. bit.ly/4mOSkyA
Allergies seem nearly impossible to avoid — unless you’re Amish
One Amish community living in northern Indiana is considered one of the least allergic populations ever measured in the developed world.
www.washingtonpost.com
August 16, 2025 at 2:20 AM
“We don’t really talk about the hygiene hypothesis as much anymore because we now understand that it’s not really about how hygienic you’re living..." Love this focus on farm animal interaction. "Hygiene hypothesis" dose not = sharing drinks, getting sick a lot, etc. bit.ly/4mOSkyA
"The papers themselves often contradict the compilation’s framing."
Truly! It's an at-best lazy, at-worst manipulative list.
I am so interested in how some of the authors on the studies in this list feel about their work being used this way.
Truly! It's an at-best lazy, at-worst manipulative list.
I am so interested in how some of the authors on the studies in this list feel about their work being used this way.
The "data" package Secretary Kennedy used to bolster his argument for discontinuing #BARDA funding for #mRNA research doesn't support his argument. @jakescottmd.bsky.social lays it out in a must read for @statnews.com. www.statnews.com/2025/08/13/r...
Kennedy's case against mRNA vaccines collapses under his own evidence
“This isn't scientific disagreement. It's either staggering incompetence or willful misrepresentation,” writes infectious disease physician Jake Scott.
www.statnews.com
August 13, 2025 at 8:12 PM
"The papers themselves often contradict the compilation’s framing."
Truly! It's an at-best lazy, at-worst manipulative list.
I am so interested in how some of the authors on the studies in this list feel about their work being used this way.
Truly! It's an at-best lazy, at-worst manipulative list.
I am so interested in how some of the authors on the studies in this list feel about their work being used this way.
Reposted by Amanda Keener, PhD
The "data" package Secretary Kennedy used to bolster his argument for discontinuing #BARDA funding for #mRNA research doesn't support his argument. @jakescottmd.bsky.social lays it out in a must read for @statnews.com. www.statnews.com/2025/08/13/r...
Kennedy's case against mRNA vaccines collapses under his own evidence
“This isn't scientific disagreement. It's either staggering incompetence or willful misrepresentation,” writes infectious disease physician Jake Scott.
www.statnews.com
August 13, 2025 at 4:25 PM
The "data" package Secretary Kennedy used to bolster his argument for discontinuing #BARDA funding for #mRNA research doesn't support his argument. @jakescottmd.bsky.social lays it out in a must read for @statnews.com. www.statnews.com/2025/08/13/r...