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Oct 10 • 4 tweets • 4 min read
It's already known that breathing wildfire smoke is bad for us. But new research shows smoke may be dangerous not just for ash and small particulates, but because it carries viable fungi that can cause grave infections. Me, cheery as always, in @WIRED: wired.com/story/wildfire…
@WIRED I should probably say that this story is an outgrowth (hah) of my obsession with fungi; past stories include Valley fever vaccine, coffee rust, aspergillosis (and tulips), mucormycosis, chytrid fungi, and this monster @sciam cover story last year: scientificamerican.com/article/deadly…
Also I should probably tag @JacquesMeis @GermHunterMD @ABsteward @ISHAM_Mycology @JohnRex_NewAbx
ALSO the researchers in the story, worth a follow (and sorry to take a while to add them) are: @GRThompsonMD, @zazoolka, @naomihasacamera (I think?), @StanfordAllergy; not #onhere, Stephen Van Den Eeden of Kaiser and Jason Smith of Univ of Florida

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More from @marynmck

Maryn McKenna Profile picture
Oct 13
Tonight, teaching my undergrads about writing opinion pieces about science and the genre constrictions of the op-ed form, I explained how this is not unlike the form demands of sonnets and recited "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day" from memory, and am not at all ashamed.
Was kind of funny actually how when I asked "Does anyone know what a sonnet is?" they all looked blank, but as soon as I started in on "Shall I compare thee" they smiled because they knew they knew it somehow.
The point being, every genre has its restrictions and its demands (as someone smart said, "Genre is a promise we make to the reader"), and exploring what is and is not possible in one genre lights up the possibilities of others.
Read 5 tweets
Maryn McKenna Profile picture
Sep 15
Good news: The rate at which new monkeypox cases are occurring in the US is slowing down.
Less good: It's not yet clear which actions have made this happen — and determining that will make a difference to the course of the outbreak from now. Me at @WIRED: wired.com/story/monkeypo…
A little more detail: The most likely explanation is ferocious activity and commitment by gay, bisexual and adjacent men organizing to combat this — but that observation contains a challenge, because behavior change regarding sex is difficult to sustain longterm.
A second explanation of course is vaccination — but that hasn't been going on long, is patchy in some locations, may be losing momentum as the impression of an emergency subsides, and (per work by @MarionKoopmans and group) may not confer that much immunity.
Read 6 tweets
Maryn McKenna Profile picture
Sep 13
Announcement by the CDC and the WHO that enough poliovirus has been found circulating in NY, with enough genetic changes, to cause the US to be added to the list of countries with active circulation of vaccine-derived virus. A remarkable, disturbing moment. Image
The other countries on the list are overwhelmingly developing economies; the only other rich nations on it are Israel and the UK. (At least one US isolate has genetic links to one found in Israel.) List is on this page: polioeradication.org/where-we-work/… ImageImageImage
I see people are asking about vaccine-derived poliovirus; here's a story I wrote last month that explains the situation. (I'll spare you the dozens of other stories I've written about polio over years... 🥺) wired.com/story/polio-is…
Read 4 tweets
Maryn McKenna Profile picture
Sep 12
Announcing! The fall season of the @EmoryCSHH @emorycollege Author Q&A Series:
- 27 Sept, 7 ET: @rachelegross, "Vagina Obscura"
- 27 Oct, 7 ET: @jimdowns1, "Maladies of Empire"
- 29 Nov, 7 ET: @thrasherxy, "The Viral Underclass"
RSVP for links here: humanhealth.emory.edu/events/living-…
This is the 3rd year of the Author Q&A Series, co-sponsored by the @GaCntr4TheBook (thank you!). We've hosted @ejwillingham, @jo44atWID, @EmilyAnthes @geoffmanaugh and @nicolatwilley, @debmackenzie1, @PerriKlass, @chelseawald, @liviecampbell, @daisyhernandez, @QuaveEthnobot.
This live interview series gives students (and faculty and community members) a glimpse into the process and products of distinguished writers in health and science. I try to make it a gift to fellow authors, to bring a bit more visibility to their excellent books.
Read 4 tweets
Maryn McKenna Profile picture
Jun 15
I have a story to share — my first in-print (but online now!) long feature for @WIRED — about an episode in the Covid pandemic just one year ago, which has been swamped by more recent events and yet is so important. Lo, a thread. 🧵 wired.com/story/province…
This time last year, we had had vaccines since December, and in May, the CDC said vaxxed people were safe to take off their masks, face to face and indoors. Provincetown, MA, summer capital of queer America, revved up to recover from the loss of tourism in 2020.
The July 4th week launches the summer, and 60,000 people poured into a town that houses 3,000 in the winter. Almost all were vaccinated, and many businesses checked vax cards. Still, on the way home, people started to feel mildly ill. They tested themselves. Uh-oh.
Read 12 tweets
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Oct 4, 2021
20 years ago today, a FL press conference revealed a man had died of inhaled anthrax, the first signal of a stunning bioterror attack. At @WIRED I talk to veterans of that investigation and uncover what gaps remain in our preparations for disasters.
wired.com/story/20-years…
A little thread: They have mostly faded behind the memory of 9/11, but the anthrax attacks 3 weeks later (of which photo editor Bob Stevens of Florida was the first recognized victim) profoundly destabilized the US, revealing how gaps in preparedness made us vulnerable.
The US government had been prepping for possible bioterror for several years in response to intelligence reports, yet it was the alertness of a single doctor (Larry Bush of FL, in the story) that rang the alarm. His patient, Stevens, was actually the 9th infected.
Read 6 tweets

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