Scientist (PhD; she/her), writer, cartoonist. 🦘 I blog about metascience, science history, epidemiology, grief, social media data, & evidence generally. Following and reporting on next generation Covid vaccines. And I write at The Atlantic sometimes. Newsletter: Living With Evidence https://hildabastian.wordpress.com/
#MetaScience #SystematicReviews #Epidemiology #ClinicalTrials #Grief #Vaccines #Wikipedia #History #HistSci #Science #OpenScience #OpenSocialWeb
...Ground-breaking class valedictorian to first African-American graduate of Macalester College, Minnesota, she was a lifelong activist and international humanitarian. She found her calling in medicine, graduating in Paris when was 38.
I created a Wikipedia page for her, too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catharine_Deaver_Lealtad
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For #BlackHistoryMonth, I've written about a remarkable woman who blew me away. Meet Dr Catharine Deaver Lealtad (1895-1989) in my new post @PLOS 1/2
https://absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/02/20/dr-catharine-d-lealtad-1895-1989-an-outspoken-life-of-humanitarian-action/
#BHM
@warkolm Yeah, they sure do dart about a lot!
My best photo yet of a native Blue-Banded Bee! 😍 😍 😍 It doesn't do the brilliance of the blue justice, though.
They are buzz pollinators, so as usual, I heard it before I saw it. (Buzz pollinators shake the pollen off by vibrating — it's a loud buzz!)
More about them here: https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/creatura-with-bec-crew/2014/09/blue-banded-bee-a-native-beauty/
Cartoonists Keep Meeting the Moment
So many people in a position to do something are failing us, when it matters the most. The disappointments in cultural and political leadership just keep rolling in. Some parts of the culture keep meeting the moment, though—including many prominent political cartoonists. The assignment is to speak truth to power, and it takes an enormous amount of courage: Stepping on a…
https://hildabastian.wordpress.com/2026/02/09/cartoonists-keep-meeting-the-moment/
A lot to think about in my annual roundup of peer review research:
— AI, mostly bad, but some suggestions of ways it may help
— State of evidence on financial incentives for peer review
— Studies on the influence of editors' biases
& more on equity and diversity, & librarians & systematic reviews
https://absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2026/02/02/5-things-we-learned-about-journal-peer-review-in-2025/
Another vaccine approval and more in my latest next generation Covid vax update:
- Self-amplifying mRNA vax Kostaive approved in the UK
- New trial for a mucosal vax on the starting blocks in Finland
- Some results from AstraZeneca phase 1 trial for mRNA vax
- 11 preclinical reports, including 2 for mucosal pancoronavirus vaccines
Another vaccine approval and more in my latest next generation Covid vax update:
- Self-amplifying mRNA vax Kostaive approved in the UK
- New trial for a mucosal vax on the starting blocks in Finland
- Some results from AstraZeneca phase 1 trial for mRNA vax
- 11 preclinical reports, including 2 for mucosal pancoronavirus vaccines
Tuberose — such a cool, sweet-smelling customer in the summer heat! 😍
@artologica Wow- what poise!
1/ I'm seeking expressions of interest from nonprofit organizations to take over the Open Access Tracking Project (#OATP, @oatp) and the open-source software (#TagTeam) on which it runs.
Details in this Google doc:
https://bit.ly/TransferOATP
Contact me <peter.suber@gmail.com> if you have any questions or any level of interest.
#OpenAccess #OpenScience #OpenSource #ScholComm
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@dcnorris @lymphomation @hsduesseldorf Same as everywhere—advocates vary. "Vertretung" is the closer translation (representation). Eg in that BRCA website, you'll see they use the term "Interessensvertretung" on the left.
I'm too out of date on who's who, so I can't recommend anyone. (You could ask Nicole Skoetz for a recommendation in that part of Germany: https://haematology.cochrane.org/contact-us )
@hananc Thanks! 🤞
This photo is from camping a few years back—one of the major out-of-control fires in our area is burning there. 😢
We're into day 2 of >40 C (100 F), in catastrophic fire risk for another day at least.
Ready to evacuate if the wind turns in our direction. 😬
@elduvelle @MartinVuilleme @nyhan I just meant "Similar articles" — beneath the abstract in PubMed, and in the right-hand column of full text in PMC.
@MartinVuilleme @elduvelle @nyhan I haven't heard of any planned or announced changes, and other "related article" functions seem fine. Perhaps it's a temporary glitsch?