Next was "Maladies of Empire" by Jim Downs. This book explores the beginnings of epidemiology and public health more broadly as fields, detailing their inextricable link with colonialism, slavery, and war across the 19th century. Interestingly but unsurprisingly the racist tint of these fields was promulgated not by European scientists but by those in the US. Highly recommend

Full review: https://bookwyrm.social/user/bwaber/review/7249097/s/a-challenging-examination-of-the-roots-of-epidemiology-and-public-health#anchor-7249097 (4/5) #history #medicine #bioethics

First was "Written in Bone" by Sue Black, who weaves together case details, personal anecdotes (don't miss the conclusion where she explains how she wants her body to be used after she dies), and scientific explanations to provide a truly unique text. Highly recommend

Full review: https://bookwyrm.social/user/bwaber/review/7242372/s/an-unexpected-mix-of-scientific-insight-harrowing-crimes-and-macabre-humor#anchor-7242372 (2/5) #medicine #forensics

"The [Division of #Viral #Hepatitis] Laboratory Branch had the highest degree of viral hepatitis expertise of any #PublicHealth laboratory in the world," wrote Scott Becker, the assn's CEO. "Their loss eliminated critical national testing services that do not exist anywhere else within the #HHS agencies."

As of April 16, the assn had not received a response from #RFKJr, Becker said.

2 days after the lab's scientists received their reduction in force emails, #HHS Secy #RFKJr acknowledged that ~⅕ of the cuts at HHS were made *unintentionally* & some people would be offered their jobs back.
On April 4, the Assn of #PublicHealth Laboratories sent a letter to RFKJr urging HHS to reinstate all personnel in the Division of #Viral #Hepatitis & at the Division of #STD Prevention, another lab at the #CDC that was shuttered.

But on April 1, the #outbreak investigation was brought to a halt. All 27 of the lab's scientists received an email from the #HHS informing them that they were losing their #jobs. Like thousands of other employees who received similar emails that day, the scientists were told they would be placed on administrative leave until June 2, after which they would no longer work for the #CDC.

The scientists at the lab knew what they were doing. Quickly, they analyzed the blood from #Florida using their custom software & found that 9 cases were genetically linked to the same pain clinic, where it was later discovered that a doctor was improperly reusing injection vials. By March, ofcls in FL had restricted the doctor's #medical license to limit the spread of the #virus & packaged new patient samples to send to the #CDC for testing…

The #hepatitis C #virus, which is spread through contact w/infected blood & can lead to #deadly liver #cancer, is notoriously hard to identify. But if anyone could understand what was #happening in FL, it would be the Division of #ViralHepatitis in the #CDC's HQ.
Using samples from the lab's collection of nearly 1M frozen specimens, scientists helped make the initial discovery of the #HepatitisC virus in the 1980s. In 2020, that #research was awarded the #NobelPrize in #Medicine.
#Trump #science

Update. "Trump’s #DOJ Sends Intimidating Letters to Medical #Journals for Supposedly Being ‘Partisan’ "
https://gizmodo.com/trumps-doj-sends-intimidating-letters-to-medical-journals-for-supposedly-being-partisan-2000591550

"The U.S. Department of Justice has sent letters to medical journals for supposedly being “partisan,” heavily suggesting that they’re spreading misinformation and are influenced by “funders” rather than medical science. Gizmodo has confirmed that the journal CHEST, a peer-reviewed publication on pulmonary care published by the American College of Chest Physicians, received a letter this week. And MedPage Today reports that at least two other journals have received similar intimidating letters."

PS: The letter to Harvard shows that the Trump admin wants to control what universities teach. These letters show that it also wants to control what scholarly journals publish.