Sarah Braner

update - ACIP is NOT meeting next week, as you may have seen, but we will be watching when it does!

my indefatigable cowriter @rowanwalrath.bsky.social and i will likely be covering the upcoming ACIP meeting so stay tuned for that! and thank you so much to our sources @enirenberg.bsky.social @pauloffit.bsky.social @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social!

MAHA’s next target: metals in vaccine ingredients Officials are going after metal-containing ingredients, including aluminum adjuvants. Here’s why vaccines need them

ACIP is likely to discuss metal-based vaccine ingredients at its upcoming meeting on february 25th. we took a deeper look at just what these ingredients are, why vaccines need them, and why they're likely not going anywhere:
cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...

muse-scripts for this month courtesy of yours truly! these protein names have fascinated me since high school so it was a total blast to investigate them : )

also i'm finally back (fully) from vacation, and if you missed this, it's definitely worth a read in my humble, biased (but correct) opinion. thank you evan for sharing your story with me!

happy new year and happy new union! i'm so excited to get to be part of a union for the first time in my career. thank you to everyone who made this happen!

if you're in line to vote for the skull, STAY IN LINE

one of my previous editors (she's not on bsky but hi amy!) worked on this project - it's a great resource! as it says on the page, anyone can use these.

oh that's *dangerous.* i feel the siren's call of scandinavian fish candies again...

i've had to be on a swedish fish hiatus for years now because the craving was getting really out of control, and i'm brave enough to admit that to you all. but swedish fish supremacy

I think I might've woken up in the middle of the night muttering "MOFs"

The 2025 chemistry Nobel goes to MOFs Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi win the prize for developing metal–organic frameworks

It's the holey grail of chemistry awards! The moment many chemists (including a good chunk of @cenmag.bsky.social staff) have been waiting for!

MOFs finally got a Nobel Prize!

Read more in this story by my amazing colleague Prachi Patel:
cen.acs.org/people/nobel...

Nobel week is basically the super bowl for science journalists, and @sarahbraner.bsky.social (with @laurahowes.bsky.social & @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social) gave us a strong opening play with their coverage of the med+physio prize!
(did i get the sports metaphor right?)

calling it now: i don't think glp-1 will win for chemistry but i DO think it'll win physiology or medicine. check c&en monday morning to see if some of laura's clairvoyance has passed down to me!

last time she totally called it so... you should probably see this one

i know i'm preaching to the choir, but people with autism or adhd are not tragedies to be cured. they're not heroes or martyrs - just people. you cannot prevent or cure autism or adhd. the only thing that comes from avoiding acetaminophen and vaccines because of autism or adhd is pain and sickness.

i didn't include this because i wanted to keep the story relatively focused, but if you didn't hear trump, and his sycophants also brought up vaccines causing autism. again, in my opinion, this is absolutely abhorrent.

you cannot prevent a child from developing autism or adhd, and in my opinion, the fervor around trying to reduce these conditions or even reverse (! good luck) them is misguided at best and malicious at worst. from what i saw last night, we're far from misguided.

RFK Jr.’s claim that Tylenol causes autism has no backing Genetic factors are far more likely to influence a child’s later diagnosis

i know there's already another bonkers speech to unpack (or ignore, which is always a viable option imo!) but i wrote about *last night's* bonkers press conference about acetaminophen during pregnancy: cen.acs.org/policy/RFK-J...

Trailblazers A yearly feature celebrating diversity in chemistry.

trailblazers is one of my favorite things we do at c&en! and if you want even more trailblazing, you can read past profiles here: cen.acs.org/explore/inte...

if you're looking for some weekend reads, we've published our annual trailblazers series! this year, we highlighted some amazing chemists with disabilities. a belated congratulations to @mannyfoxmorone.bsky.social and @kvasquez.bsky.social for getting this out!

And this was published only hours before the CDC chaos!

8 chemists with disabilities who left their mark on history Scientists with disabilities ascended to the forefronts of their fields long before labs were accessible and civil rights were codified

Did you know Dorothy Hodgkin had a disability? I did not! This is a little taster before @cenmag.bsky.social drops our big Trailblazers package featuring chemists with disabilities in Sept: cen.acs.org/careers/dive...

New Normal Living at wildfires' edge

As human habitation expands into undeveloped areas, homes and businesses creep closer to forests, grasslands, and scrub. In this series, we examine the unique chemistry of these fires and how it might affect air quality and human health: cen.acs.org/environment/... #forestfires #chemsky 🧪

oh my GOD i forgot i was going to make "it's frickin bats" my own post so thank you for being the one to say it!!

Could bats help us fight the very diseases they give us? Bats’ unique physiology provides ample opportunities—and research difficulties

na na na na na na na na na, bat labs
cen.acs.org/biological-c...

Measles cases are rising. Here’s a deep dive into 6 key questions Experts tell C&EN whether the measles virus can mutate, how durable the vaccine is, and more

also while you're on our NEWLY REDESIGNED WEBSITE, check out this measles q&a from @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social and (new editorial fellow!) elizabeth walsh! featuring some actually good news about how durable the existing vaccines are
cen.acs.org/biological-c...

so shiny, so chrome

go vote and stay cool!! tldr, if you registered between 6/9 - 6/14 it may not show up in the system. but your affidavit vote WILL count - i forgot to update my residential address (🤦‍♂️) and the poll workers were super kind and helpful! it just might take a bit longer but it's extremely worthwhile.

true to the account's purpose, i have no idea what the context is here but yeah uhh don't cross me i'm tall and i know how to fight. definitely. i'm sure someone will back me up on this