Gaythia Weis @Gaythia@social.cleverlibre.org

Next on the list of outstanding K-12 science books in 2022: Animal Allies! https://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/animal-allies-products-9781641606233.php

An important addition to the pile of evidence that suggests some #insects are in decline. And that may destabilize #ecosystems 😬🐛 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/02/03/insects-china-decline-east-asia/

Alaska has a very bad history with TB. Now case numbers are up dramatically, here and elsewhere. This believed to be, at least in part, because medical systems overburdened by COVID didn't do the normal TB screenings/treatment. TB can be latent, with infections lurking in a dormancy for even decades. That means some elders who were kids when TB ravaged Alaska in the past could wind up with active cases now. #Alaska #tuberculosis
https://alaskabeacon.com/2023/01/20/tuberculosis-a-disease-that-devastated-alaska-in-the-past-took-a-big-jump-in-2022/

The basic approach in every functioning college setting is: Question everything, never take anything as gospel – not from any of the readings, not from the professor, not from your peers. Reactionaries find this attitude both unfathomable and utterly terrifying. 3/

Anti-vaccine misinformation spreaders on the bird network and Instagram are sharing a faked screenshot of The Conversation.

There is no link to an article with the image, because the article does not exist.

We publish science-based articles, written by experts, edited by experienced journalists.

More in these factchecks from Reuters and The Associated Press:
https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-the-conversation-vaccine-idUSL1N3491WD https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-vaccine-TheConversation-553749242821
#misinformation #factcheck

#silentsunday

DID YOU KNOW it's good practice, when writing a thread on #Mastodon

...to set the Privacy of your first post as "Public" and then any follow-up replies as "Unlisted"

🧵 🌍 ➞ 🧵🔓 🧵🔓 🧵🔓

This means that only the first post gets listed in the timelines, and anyone who wants to read more can click on it to see the full thread.

Abraham Lincoln, 1858:
"I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races. I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races from living together"

Folks like to make a big deal of the fact that Frederick Douglass is the most photographed person of his century. We talk about his "friendship" with Lincoln, and their many "conversations." But we usually stop there. We don't like to go into what the topic of those conversations was...

Douglass was warning Lincoln that he should pay more attention to reducing racism, and preventing Southern forces from committing war crimes against Black prisoners. And Abe was largely ignoring him.

People worry a lot about losing knowledge — about "burned-down libraries".

Comparatively few people seem to worry about what happens if you take a billion books full of auto-generated, often-untrue junk text and *add* them all to the library.

In theory, nothing is lost. In reality, everything is lost, because nothing useful can now be found.

Morning! Florida Republicans are in gaslighting mode, denying the book-banning. In reality, at least one county already is forming a volunteer police force to round up books they deem "woke." One book they hate? Michelle Obama's memoir. https://www.salon.com/2023/02/03/call-the-woke-busters-ron-desantis-sends-volunteer-army-to-snatch-books-from-students-hands/

"DeSantis’s anti-education crusade is doubly authoritarian – most obviously in its use of state power to suppress ideas and information, but also in its more subtle assumption that teaching is ultimately about imposing doctrines of one sort or another."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/04/conservatives-ron-desantis-florida-education

I can't get over this New York Times headline saying Ron DeSantis is "building his brand" by wrecking public education in Florida. It reminds me of NYT’s first mention of Hitler in 1922, which claimed his anti-Semitism wasn’t “genuine” or “violent” but was just “bait” to attract followers. From 1922 to 2023, NYT is still covering fascists from a marketing perspective rather than a moral perspective.

🤔 🙄 ✊🏾 .🎂 #RosaParks.

oday we honor Rosa Parks' 110th birthday. Her contribution to the civil rights movement and role she played to end racial segregation will NEVER be forgotten. Her courage serves as an inspiration to everyone who fights for equality today. Happy heavenly Birthday, Rosa Parks!

#News
#Politics
#Mastodon
#BlackMastodon
#BlackTwitter
#BackLivesMatter
#BlackFediverse
#BlackFedi
#BIPOC
#BlackPolitics
#BlackLivesMatter

New #microfluidic device for detecting #SARSCoV2 --can be used for #POC testing, rapid (10") diagnostic https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-02-microfluidic-device-sars-cov-.html via
@medical_xpress

And the farthest I'm going in this unaided-eye-focused talk: our neighbour the Andromeda Galaxy (yes, the Magellanic Clouds are easier to see, but not from Saskatchewan). You can see the nucleus with your naked eye: it looks like an unimpressive fuzzy thing. https://www.space.com/7426-starhopping-101-find-andromeda-galaxy.html

But when you realize it's so far away you're seeing light that left it 200 million years ago, and it's flying toward us at 200 km/s, it's really humbling.

It is, in fact, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away

Is It Forensics or Is It Junk Science?
--
The public’s growing awareness of forensic techniques obscures a far more complex field that’s chock full of bogus science — and the people who champion it, often for profit.

For years, ProPublica has reported on these dubious techniques as they’ve wormed their way into every corner of our real-life criminal justice system.

So, what’s legitimate forensic science and what’s junk?

#Crime #Police #CriminalJustice #Science

https://www.propublica.org/article/understanding-junk-science-forensics-criminal-justice?utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

Ok, so now that I’ve had a moment to breathe, let me take a few minutes to dive into the study I just published about Russian involvement in the 2022 truck convoy in Canada. The study can be read in full here: https://journals.lib.sfu.ca/index.php/jicw/article/view/5101

This article was animated in large part by this experience. Realizing that I'd come from big tech into an institution that was increasingly, alarmingly dependent on big tech.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4135581

“Adding highway lanes to deal with traffic congestion is like loosening your belt to cure obesity." - Lewis Mumford, 1955. Arguably the most important quote in city-building ever. READ my past (but still totally relevant) #Planetizen post.

https://www.planetizen.com/node/53659

#cities #cars #traffic #urbanism #congestion #transportation #UrbanPlanning #mobility