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John Skylar, PhD
John Skylar, PhD

639 Followers

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Dec 23, 2021

Why the Pandemic Won’t End
3.8K
115

umair haque

This article contains dangerous, ridiculous misinformation about virus genetics (no, Omicron is NOT…

This article contains dangerous, ridiculous misinformation about virus genetics (no, Omicron is NOT a recombination event with a rhinovirus! No, it won't recombine with viruses from other wildly different families). This is false information about COVID-19 and the article should be taken down IMMEDIATELY.

1 min read

1 min read


Dec 30, 2020

Disease intelligence in a Twitter world

The following is a guest blog post that I wrote for a friend’s blog (now defunct) in 2009. At the time, I was one year into my PhD and the swine-origin H1N1 influenza virus pandemic was just beginning. I was cleaning through some old files and found it today, and…

Virology

6 min read

Disease intelligence in a Twitter world
Disease intelligence in a Twitter world
Virology

6 min read


Jul 29, 2020

Vaccine futures

Have we reached the point where we can speculate about vaccine timelines? — “When will we have a vaccine?” is a question that I get asked on the regular. I think when the pandemic started, this was anybody’s guess, but with several vaccines entering Phase 3 trials, we are nearing the point where we can begin to speculate about the answer. The first…

Health

5 min read

Vaccine futures
Vaccine futures
Health

5 min read


Jul 3, 2020

New York must stand with Texas and Florida

We have been where you are and we know what is coming; we would not wish it on anyone. — By the time New York began its “PAUSE” order, we now know that COVID-19 had been spreading in the city for at least a month. …

Covid-19

5 min read

New York must stand with Texas and Florida
New York must stand with Texas and Florida
Covid-19

5 min read


Apr 22, 2020

Use the right words to show the seriousness of COVID-19

The conversation about this disease is being hijacked and politicized to put less emphasis on immediate risk to human life. — COVID-19 is, of course, something everyone is talking about, but I am not sure that we are paying enough attention to the words that are being used to talk about it. The narrative right now in a lot of countries is being dominated by word choices that serve very specific…

Covid-19

3 min read

Use the right words to show the seriousness of COVID-19
Use the right words to show the seriousness of COVID-19
Covid-19

3 min read


Mar 27, 2020

The big thing I got wrong about COVID-19

As an emerging disease researcher, I learned that with new viruses you are never working with good information. The thing about emerging diseases is that you’ve never seen them before. You’re going to make mistakes. …

Health

5 min read

The big thing I got wrong about COVID-19
The big thing I got wrong about COVID-19
Health

5 min read


Mar 23, 2020

I have spent my whole life preparing for COVID-19. Here is what I have learned.

Between modern virology and the history of the Black Plague, I have some thoughts to offer from a life spent preparing for “the big” pandemic. — “Nothing in our lives has prepared us for this moment,” a leader at my job said yesterday on a staff call. For most people, that’s true. I used to get sick a lot when I was a kid, so I spent a lot of time in doctor’s offices. I guess…

Covid-19

8 min read

I have spent my whole life preparing for COVID-19. Here is what I have learned.
I have spent my whole life preparing for COVID-19. Here is what I have learned.
Covid-19

8 min read


Mar 2, 2020

SARS-CoV-2: A Deadly Serious Science Communications Project

If you are just joining us here on social media, there is a new virus in town. By “town,” I mean human-inhabited Earth. …

Science

3 min read

SARS-CoV-2: A Deadly Serious Science Communications Project
SARS-CoV-2: A Deadly Serious Science Communications Project
Science

3 min read


Sep 5, 2018

PhD Problems: You’re a Smartass Even When You Think You Aren’t

Living in a household with two academics is a strange experience. My wife right now is rounding the bases to complete her doctorate. I've had mine for just a few years now. It shows in how we approach life, and each other. We’re both trained against saying things that are…

Academia

5 min read

PhD Problems: You’re a Smartass Even When You Think You Aren’t
PhD Problems: You’re a Smartass Even When You Think You Aren’t
Academia

5 min read


Aug 30, 2018

PhD Problems: You Have a Compulsion About Getting Things Perfect

Business doesn’t have time for you to repeat the project until you’re satisfied. — Academia is far from perfect, but it is a place that attracts, and enables, a large number of perfectionists. In the academic world, real deadlines are rare and often come with a long lead time or significant flexibility. …

Education

6 min read

PhD Problems: You Have a Compulsion About Getting Things Perfect
PhD Problems: You Have a Compulsion About Getting Things Perfect
Education

6 min read

John Skylar, PhD

John Skylar, PhD

639 Followers

Virologist, author, damn fool. Also found at www.johnskylar.com and www.betterworlds.org. Opinions my own, impressions yours.

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