Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
LightNews LightNews
khefferon.bsky.social
Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
@khefferon.bsky.social
59 followers 27 following 14 posts
Cornell Microbiologist, Teacher of many students, Defender of Vaccines and GMOs
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
coreyspowell.bsky.social
Clever composite photo lets you see a side of the universe normally hidden to human vision. A camera tuned to hydrogen-alpha light reveals glorious interstellar clouds swirling around the familiar stars of the constellation Orion.
(Photo: Włodzimierz Bubak) 🔭🧪

apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap24122...
This wintry scene was captured from southern Poland on the northern hemisphere's long solstice night. Otherwise unseen nebulae hang in the sky, revealed by the camera modified to record red hydrogen-alpha light. The nebulae lie near the edge of the Orion molecular cloud and join the Hunter's familiar belt stars and bright giants Betelgeuse and Rigel. Eye of Taurus the Bull, yellowish Aldebaran anchors the V-shaped Hyades star cluster near top center. Still, near opposition in planet Earth's sky, the Solar System's ruling gas giant Jupiter is the brightest celestial beacon above this horizon's snowy peaks.
January 6, 2025 at 4:31 PM
khefferon.bsky.social
Found myself in Forbes magazine this morning!
www.forbes.com/sites/marian...
Beyond Beyond Burger: Are Alt Proteins Healthy And Profitable?
Alt proteins are a critical part of the puzzle in reducing climate emissions and improving Americans' health.
www.forbes.com
January 5, 2025 at 11:10 PM
khefferon.bsky.social
www.bbc.com/travel/artic...
Is Santa Claus buried in Ireland?
Just a 20-minute drive south from the town of Kilkenny, Ireland, an abandoned medieval village is rumoured to harbour a mysterious Christmas legend.
www.bbc.com
December 24, 2024 at 4:17 PM
khefferon.bsky.social
ambrook.com/research/sus...
Can Gene Editing Save Christmas Trees From Climate Change? - Ambrook Research
And is there a downside?
ambrook.com
December 23, 2024 at 11:27 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
nywolforg.bsky.social
Sweet dreams, Red Wolf Jack 😴
December 21, 2024 at 3:20 AM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
mysecondchance.bsky.social
Firefox (Fire Fox)
One of the RAREST animals on the planet! 📸❤️‍🔥
December 21, 2024 at 8:56 AM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
jonathanslater.bsky.social
Whoever needs this.
December 21, 2024 at 9:45 AM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
jwstfeed.bsky.social
Full detailed image of a star factory.
Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex is the closest star-forming region to Earth, and producing several sun-like stars each year.
🔭 🧪
Red dual opposing jets coming from young stars fill the darker top half of the image, while a glowing pale-yellow, cave-like structure is bottom centre, tilted toward two o’clock, with a bright star at its centre. The dust of the cave structure becomes wispy toward eight o’clock. Above the arched top of the dust cave three groupings of stars with diffraction spikes are arranged. A dark cloud sits at the top of the arch of the glowing dust cave, with one streamer curling down the right-hand side. The dark shadow of the cloud appears pinched in the centre, with light emerging in a triangle shape above and below the pinch, revealing the presence of a star inside the dark cloud. The image’s largest jets of red material emanate from within this dark cloud, thick and displaying structure like the rough face of a cliff, glowing brighter at the edges. At the top centre of the image, a star displays another, larger pinched dark shadow, this time vertically.
December 20, 2024 at 8:09 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
"Stephan's Quintet is a visual grouping of five galaxies of which four form the first compact galaxy group ever discovered." 💫🔭
This is Stephan's Quintet, a captivating visual grouping of five galaxies, with four of them forming one of the first compact galaxy groups ever discovered. Located in the constellation Pegasus. #astrophotography #space
December 21, 2024 at 12:01 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
astrojaz.bsky.social
“we are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.”
- carl sagan
Butterfly Nebula. Two enormous, knotted lobes of pink, red, and white gas and dust extend out from a central point and diagonally to the top right and lower left. The lobes resemble the wings of a butterfly, and they glow against black space dotted with more distant stars and galaxies. image credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team
December 21, 2024 at 1:18 AM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
madhupai.bsky.social
Lots to learn from Rwanda

www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...
Rwanda’s Marburg response is a masterclass in how to prevent pandemics
Today marks the official end of the outbreak. Swift action saved many lives and helped protect the rest of the world from potential disaster
www.telegraph.co.uk
December 21, 2024 at 12:37 PM
khefferon.bsky.social
Something to definitely be proud of
mollyjongfast.bsky.social Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · Dec 21
I’m proud to report that another one of my dogs is terribly behaved
December 21, 2024 at 2:03 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
altyellonatpark.org
Good morning from @altyellonatpark.org
Fox upside down, nose diving into the snow after a rodent. A little bit of dried grass and a snowy background.
December 21, 2024 at 1:25 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
altyellonatpark.org
We were seeing a 98% drop in exposure over on Twitter. The censorship was so extreme we thought it best to start over somewhere else. We chose Bluesky.

Help us gain our following back
Follow
Retweet
Repeat

Join the park side
@altyellonatpark.org
Black wolf looking straight at the camera. Pine forest behind. Yellow eyes.
December 20, 2024 at 11:36 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
pauleric70.bsky.social
Beyond imagination!

A zoom out from the sharpest view of the Andromeda Galaxy ever, showing more than 100 million stars!

(Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Dalcanton, B. F. Williams, L. C. Johnson, the PHAT team, R. Gendler / video by Universal-Sci)
December 21, 2024 at 12:37 AM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
nature.com
Stem cell therapies creep toward the clinic 🔬 👩‍⚕️

More than 100 clinical trials put stem cells for regenerative medicine to the test. It’s a turning point for a field beset with ethical and political controversy.

www.nature.com/articles/d41... 🧪
Stem cells head to the clinic: treatments for cancer, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease could soon be here
More than 100 clinical trials put stem cells for regenerative medicine to the test. It’s a turning point for a field beset with ethical and political controversy.
www.nature.com
December 20, 2024 at 9:19 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
samillingworth.com
🎮 Games for good: escaping stress

A new study shows open-world games like Zelda: Breath of the Wild can reduce stress & boost mental wellbeing

These immersive worlds provide cognitive escapism, relaxation, & a mental health boost

🔗 doi.org/10.2196/63760

#MentalHealth #Gaming #SciComm 🧪
Open-World Games’ Affordance of Cognitive Escapism, Relaxation, and Mental Well-Being Among Postgraduate Students: Mixed Methods Study
Background: Open-world games, characterized by their expansive and interactive environments, may offer unique cognitive escapism opportunities, potentially leading to relaxation and enhanced well-bein...
doi.org
December 21, 2024 at 11:32 AM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
botany.one
📝 Antarctic Plants Show the Way to Life on the Moon 🧵
https://doi.org/nxmq

Earth's toughest plants reveal potential for transforming lunar deserts into gardens.
#Botany #PlantScience 🧪 #InBrief

What will be the first colonists of other worlds?
Colobanthus quitensis, Antarctic Pearlwort, a small green carpet with tiny white flowers poking through. Image: Patricio Novoa Quezada from Valparaíso, Chile / Wikimedia Commons.
December 21, 2024 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
bucbotany.bsky.social
🌾🌱🌿🧪🌏The intense colour of turmeric is mainly from the bright yellow polyphenol curcumin. It occurs naturally as isomeric forms. Hydrophobic, so best solubility in organic solvents, less so in water. First chemical synthesis reported in 1913. Approved as a food colouring or additive in EU & USA.
Write your reply Home Search Notifications Chat Feeds Lists Profile Settings New Post Search Following Science Moss 🟢 Discover Gardening SciArt 🐡 Mutuals Fungi Friends Ecology and Conservation More feeds Feedback • Privacy • Terms • Help Image of turmeric rhizome with cut slices, orange flesh, and pile of dried turmeric. Image by Simon A. Eugster from Wikimedia Commons recognised as a featured picture, so among the best among its 112 million media files. Was an Image of the Day in 2018. See for more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Curcuma_longa_roots.jpg Also structures of the isomers of curcumin. Image of turmeric rhizome with cut slices, orange flesh, and pile of dried turmeric. Image by Simon A. Eugster from Wikimedia Commons recognised as a featured picture, so among the best among its 112 million media files. Was an Image of the Day in 2018. See for more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Curcuma_longa_roots.jpg Also structures of the isomers of curcumin.
December 21, 2024 at 12:29 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
rubicon1313.bsky.social
@lindarothwell.bsky.social
@pappyparki.bsky.social @electroboyusa.bsky.social @carlygil.bsky.social
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@monique4kamala.bsky.social
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@turquoise-cat.bsky.social
@nikkibas.bsky.social
December 16, 2024 at 7:31 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social
Our parent has arrived on Bluesky! Do follow them.
rcsed.bsky.social The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh @rcsed.bsky.social · Dec 13
We're happy to be on Bluesky, and look forward to bringing you all the latest updates from the College!

As one of the world's leading surgical colleges, we have been championing the highest standards of surgical & dental practice worldwide since 1505.

Learn more at https://bit.ly/41wwKYc
December 13, 2024 at 9:26 AM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
rgleadow.bsky.social
We can’t ignore that we are interconnected with each other, the environment and the planet - reminds me of my blog from May 2020. Hello? Anyone there? #GlobalPlantCouncil #ClimateChange #FoodSecurity #Pandemic
#Agriculture #Biodiversity
🪴🧪⚕️🌾🌏
globalecoguy.bsky.social Dr. Jonathan Foley @globalecoguy.bsky.social · Dec 17
We can’t look at climate change, biodiversity loss, and human wellbeing in separate silos anymore.

Next — we need to look for effective, evidence-based solutions at the intersection of climate, nature, and people.

www.bbc.com/news/article...
IPBES report sees climate, nature and food challenges interlinked
A new approach is needed to tackle the interlinked crises afflicting the planet, scientists warn.
www.bbc.com
December 17, 2024 at 10:36 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
luispedrocoelho.bsky.social
#reading "Microbial species and intraspecies units exist and are maintained by ecological cohesiveness coupled to high homologous recombination" by Conrad et al.

Quoted text is from manuscript, non-quoted is from me

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Microbial species and intraspecies units exist and are maintained by ecological cohesiveness coupled to high homologous recombination - Nature Communications
Microbial communities are predominantly composed of species and intraspecies units, but the mechanisms behind the formation and persistence of these units are unclear. Here, the authors provide experi...
www.nature.com
December 18, 2024 at 8:06 AM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
liangrhea.bsky.social
This dilemma in #BreastCancer makes my heart ache. A drug approval can give priceless, precious, extra months of life to a patient who wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise. But on a systemic level, the cost *is* borne by some other group, because there are finite resources. 💔
December 17, 2024 at 6:38 AM
Reposted by Kathleen Hefferon, PhD
ctimmermann.bsky.social
Street life in Georgian Manchester. This is King Street, with the house of the Manchester surgeon Charles White, who persuaded the merchant Joseph Bancroft to donate the money for the Royal Infirmary.

wellcomecollection.org/works/uvb9s9yv
The house of Charles White on King Street, Manchester. Coloured lithograph by A. Aglio after J. Ralston, 1823.
<p>"Not the least interesting of the views in Ralston's work is that of Mr. White's house in King-street, a stately residence of brick, which occupied the site of the present Town-hall. Charles White,...
wellcomecollection.org
December 18, 2024 at 8:07 AM