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Scientists and the general public have long dismissed the cognitive abilities of cows, pigs, and other livestock. But farm animals are capable of much more than we think.

#Science #Biology #AnimalBehaviour #Behaviour #Cognition #intelligence #Cattle #Cow #Pig #Livestock #Chicken

📄 Grimm D (2023) What are farm animals thinking? Science 382:1103–1107 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.adn3270

Science magazine's cover showing a cow and a goat looking at the photograph


“Following the #science” is not quite as simple or straightforward as it sounds.

https://sheril.substack.com/p/follow-the-science?r=1j872&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web #politics


"Majority......aren’t scientists"

That's ridiculous, considering.

However, the main focus of #COP28 is #money

And those with the money often lie about the science, if the #science doesn't align with their monetary agendas. And or only focus on a narrow bandwidth of scientific knowledge (confirmation bias)

Only the people who generally are honest are aware of just how many adults lie. They also lie to cover up their lies by calling honest people liars

That's why I value #science


Born in 1848, Caroline Still Anderson completed high school at 15. When she enrolled at Oberlin College, she was the only Black student in her class.

Anderson went on to become a physician, driven to improve the social & political conditions of Black people. She also served as a prominent a social reformer in Philadelphian society.

http://stillfamily.library.temple.edu/stillfamily/exhibits/show/william-still/historical-perspective/biography-of-caroline-still-an #HistoryRemix #history #science

Portrait of Caroline Still Anderson, from "Who's Who in Philadelphia" by Charles Frederick White. Anderson was one of the first black women physicians in the United States.


Welp, so. I guess I'm here now and it's #introduction / #introductions time? I'm a #science writer, #journalist, #podcast host & video maker with a special fondness for weird/gross biology. I'm also a #DnD GM and a huge nerd for #books (especially #scifi) and #comics.

This week, I wrote about a type of lemur that picks its nose with an incredibly spindly finger that's so long it can reach up through its nasal cavity and touch its pharynx.

Nice to meet you, too!

https://www.livescience.com/aye-ayes-primates-nosepickers

Computed X-ray tomography shows the interior of an aye-aye's skull as it picks its nose with a very long finger.


My research focuses on how senior congressional staffers in the U.S. make decisions on #science policy.

For over a year, I’ve been sifting through hours & hours & hours of transcripts from my interviews while analyzing the data & writing.

Now, it's time to begin sharing what I've learned... https://sheril.substack.com/p/lets-begin #politics


A few folks have asked for details on my last post & I realize many may not know I am finishing a Ph.D. related to how Congress makes science-related policy decisions. https://sheril.substack.com/p/a-dissertation-on-democracy

Nearly 20 years ago I worked in the Senate & now my research considers where staffers go for #science information & who they trust. The literature largely focuses on politicians, but staffers are responsible for policies w/o electoral accountability. I'll share more once it's published. #politics


"Most politicians are honest about not knowing enough science & rely on experts." [Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03706-y]

As someone writing a dissertation on where policymakers seek out information related to #science policy, I wholeheartedly disagree.

Scientists & other experts are not a top source for information. They're not even a 2nd or 3rd source. #politics


Born in 1917, Egyptian physicist Sameera Moussa studied radioactive isotopes used to create medical images. Her work “laid the groundwork for a revolution in the affordability & safety of nuclear medicine.”

Concerned about the potential use of nuclear weapons during WWII, Moussa organized the Atomic Energy for Peace conference.

She was likely assassinated at age 35 in a case that remains unsolved. https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/04/the-strange-tragic-story-of-egypts-foremost-female-nuclear-scientist/ #science #history

Sameera Moussa, Egyptian nuclear scientist (1917 - 1952)


About 250M years ago, 90% of species on Earth died during the Permian extinction. All of that loss created a lot of vacant niches to fill. And not long after, the first mammals, our ancestors, appeared.

Life on this pale blue dot will continue to be resilient - whether or not we’re part of it. #Thanksgiving #science #history

Earthrise re-created by NASA. “The surface of the Moon is based on LRO data. Earth’s cloud patterns are based on the Environmental Science Services Administration 7 satellite as it observed our planet on December 24, 1968. The land surface is based on the Earth Observatory’s Terra MODIS Blue Marble. This high-fidelity re-creation shows the rising Earth as it must have looked to Anders, Borman, and Lovell 45 years ago. The western coast of Africa is visible along the lower part of the globe, with Antarctica in the upper left and South America along the top.”


What motivates research fraud?

"There is pressure to publish as scientists [...] There are labs that are run by big egos who might say to a young researcher, 'Why did your experiment fail? I will hire someone else who will make it work' [...] The graduate students and the postdocs might be the ones photoshopping, but who is responsible for the atmosphere and the integrity of the lab? That’s the professor" - @ElisabethBik

https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/science-sleuth-looks-to-expose-research-fraud
@academicchatter #Science #ResearchIntegrity


Yup. Looks like you can atone for original antigenic sin. As with all learning, repetition is key 🥲 (The sky ain’t falling. Imprinting is real, but reports of the immune system’s demise were premature.) h/t @thelonevirologist.bsky.social #Virology #VaccinesWork #Omicron #Covid19 #science https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06753-7


Scientists paid large publishers over $1 billion in four years to have their studies published with open access.

Nature Comms and Sci Reports cornering the market.

Open access = good.
Extortionate APCs with little or no actual editorial service = bad.

#Science #Research

https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2023-11-21/scientists-paid-large-publishers-over-1-billion-in-four-years-to-have-their-studies-published-with-open-access.html?outputType=amp


Chance Favors the Prepared Genomes: Horizontal Transfer Shapes the Emergence of Antibiotic Resistance Mutations in Core Genes https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msad217 #science #evolution #biology #genome #evolgen_paper


Born in 1918, Gertrude Elion faced discrimination in #science, unable to get a job as a woman. So she volunteered as a lab dishwasher, earning enough $ for grad work at NYU, where she was the only woman in chemistry classes.

Eventually Elion helped revolutionize medicine w George Hitchings. They figured out how to interfere with cell growth, leading to effective drugs for treating leukemia, gout, malaria, herpes & more, earning a 1988 Nobel Prize. https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/women-scientists/gertrude-elion.html #HistoryRemix #history

Gertrude Elion


I thought I’d kick my feed off with an #introduction 😊

Hi! I’m Isabel, a next-gen #scicommer, #cyberneticist and #podcaster based at the #AustralianNationalUniversity ☀️

My research interests include #science in #popculture (particularly #solarpunk), the #cultural meanings of science, and the relationships between people, the natural #environment, and #technology 👩‍🔬🤖

I also co-host #Sci_Burst, a science in pop culture podcast, which you can learn more about here: https://linktr.ee/sci_burst


Biologist J. B. S. Haldane once quipped that if there's a God, the Creator seems to have “an inordinate fondness for beetles.”

Why? Well, 1/2 of species described in #science are insects (among eukaryotes). Of those, >1/3 are beetles, at ~400,000 known species.

I’m fond of these critters bc I began my career working with Plagiodera versicolora, a particularly cute beetle.

Now some entomologists suspect there may be just as many parasitic wasps but that’s a tale for another day.

A beautiful and diverse set of beetles.


“Man the Hunter has dominated the study of human evolution for nearly half a century & pervaded popular culture. [But] it was the arrival of agriculture that led to rigid gendered roles & economic inequality. Hunting belonged to everyone.”

The Theory That Men Evolved to Hunt & Women Evolved to Gather Is Wrong https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-theory-that-men-evolved-to-hunt-and-women-evolved-to-gather-is-wrong1/ #science #history


The new episode of Serving Up #Science tackles “expiration dates” & why so many of the “sell by” & “use by” dates on #food labels are meaningless while contributing to our enormous food waste problem + #ClimateChange.
https://youtu.be/O5XssdVk0hQ?si=Mg4AHUc0EAGdjZNd


How does #ClimateChange threaten where you live?

This region-by-region “guide” isn’t based on new #science, but it does a good job illustrating how climate change is truly local for all of us.
https://grist.org/climate/national-climate-assessment-2023-us-regional-impacts-summary/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=daily


Mary Anning was born in 1799 in Great Britain. Her family lived in poverty, selling fossils to make ends meet.

Scientists of Anning’s day could not believe that a poor young woman could posses her knowledge & talent. She has been described as 'the greatest fossilist the world ever knew' yet many people are still unaware of her incredible contributions.

The majority of Anning’s discoveries ended up in museums & collections without credit. https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/anning.html #science #history

Mary Anning, 1799-1847


Hundreds of Ancient Roman Forts Found in Old CIA Spy Surveillance


So Something Good From An Unexpected Source

#Science #CIA #Archaeology #RomanHistory #Syria #Iraq #Dartmouth #ScienceAlert


Just 600 years ago, nine species of enormous, flightless birds called moas wandered around New Zealand. Some of these magnificent big birds grew up to 12 feet tall, which would tower over Sesame Street’s most famous resident.

Moas had thrived for millions of years. And suddenly - shortly after humans arrived on the islands - they went extinct.

Coincidence? #Science says no. https://www.science.org/content/article/why-did-new-zealands-moas-go-extinct #history

Last of the moas. Humans killed off the giant birds by overhunting, a new study says, although the hunters did not use bows and arrows. HEINRICH HARDER (1858-1935)


Educator, scientist & writer Ana Roqué de Duprey was born in Puerto Rico in 1853.

Known as the “Flower of the Valley” for her work in botany, Roqué wrote the Botany of the Antilles, the most comprehensive study of flora in the Caribbean & was instrumental in the fight for the Puerto Rican woman’s right to vote.

Roqué founded several girls-only schools & the College of Mayagüez, later the Mayagüez Campus of the University of Puerto Rico. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/ana-roque-de-duprey #HistoryRemix #history #science

Educator, scientist & writer Ana Roqué de Duprey


My 1st cover story! For New Scientist about experiments that are close to telling us if spacetime is quantized. And a Q&A with a physicist who is simulating space-time from scratch!

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26034621-500-is-space-time-quantum-six-ways-to-unpick-the-fabric-of-the-universe

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2399292-the-physicist-trying-to-create-space-time-from-scratch

#physics #science #astronomy

A preview of an article about the quantization of space-time. The title: "Is space-time quantum? Six ways to unpick the fabric of the universe" and the image is of a hand pulling apart a thread from what looks like a black hole's warped space-time fabric.


🇺🇸 Providence, Rhode Island!

Check out Raspberry #Pi5 at Fabrication Fest, which offers a day of exploration, creativity, and curiosity focused on #design, #science, and #technology.

It's an outdoor event at 195 District Park and there'll be hands-on activities for all ages, crafts vendors, as well as local design-focused companies and schools exhibiting.

It's all happening Saturday 4th November.

https://events.raspberrypi.com/experience-raspberry-pi-5/0e2817ff-9b21-457b-ad70-5d846236d90e


A woman. An immigrant. A scientist.
A Nobel Prize winner. And thanks to her pioneering research, a #COVID19 vaccine.

Dr. Katalin Karikó. https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/10/the-story-of-mrna-how-a-once-dismissed-idea-became-a-leading-technology-in-the-covid-vaccine-race/ #HistoryRemix #science #history

Katalin Karikó, as a PhD student chemically synthesizing RNA in 1980 while working in the RNA laboratory of Biological Research Center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.


Persian mathematician Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī was born ~780. He not only revolutionized algebra, but his contributions in mathematics, astronomy & geography have been central to hundreds of years of scientific advances.

Known as the father of algebra, al-Khwārizmī became one of the most influential thinkers of all time. The terms algebra & algorithm are derived from his name & work. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666184/ #HistoryRemix #history #science #math

Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī Shutterstock / German Vizulis


Three articles published yesterday in #Science, Science Advances & Nature 🤔

Women remain underrepresented among faculty in nearly all academic fields https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adi2205

Toxic workplaces are the main reason women leave academic jobs https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03251-8

Women faculty feel ‘pushed’ from academia by poor workplace climate
https://www.science.org/content/article/women-faculty-feel-pushed-academia-poor-workplace-climate


For decades, astronomers have dreamed of setting up an observatory on the far side of the Moon. I read about it as a kid. Now it's happening!

The LuSEE-Night radio telescope is under construction, and is scheduled to land on the lunar farside in 2025. It's a pathfinder for a much bigger radio telescope that would follow. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2023/09/26/listening-to-the-radio-on-the-far-side-of-the-moon/ #space #nasa #science

This artist’s rendering shows LuSEE-Night atop the Blue Ghost spacecraft scheduled to deliver the experiment to the far side of the moon. Firefly Aerospace


Sugar causes all sorts of health problems, but hyperactivity isn’t one of them.

My own 6yo sugar expert made his PBS debut in this episode of Serving Up Science where I break down the #science behind a popular myth about the sweet stuff. https://youtu.be/TlHOLk-tV7g?si=bj7N6yI8D7T56ziS


Now it would be a good time for journalists, politicians and *scientists* to set up and use an account on #Mastodon

https://www.reuters.com/technology/musk-considers-removing-x-platform-europe-over-eu-law-insider-2023-10-18/

#twittermigration #xmigration #chemistry #glycotime #science

@Gargron


October's cover image accompanies the article Population Genomics of Two Closely Related Anhydrobiotic Midges Reveals Differences in Adaptation to Extreme Desiccation https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evad169 #science #evolution #biology #genome #evolgen_paper


For a new week: I dug into the history of a definition I’ve used my entire career, and discovered… we may not need it?

Don’t ask “When is it coevolution?” — ask “How is it coevolution?”

#evolution #ecology #science

https://www.molecularecologist.com/2023/10/13/when-coevolution-definition-history/


"One thing I have learned in a long life: that all our #science, measured against reality, is primitive & childlike - and yet it is the most precious thing we have."

- Albert Einstein

Source: Albert Einstein: Creator & Rebel by Banesh Hoffmann

Albert Einstein


Born in 1896, Ida Noddack was the first scientist to suggest the principle behind nuclear fission. But Otto Hahn demonstrated this (with Lise Meitner! & Fritz Strassmann) & he won the Nobel prize.

Noddack also discovered rhenium (atomic #75) & predicted #43, but couldn’t confirm it experimentally, so Segrè & Perrier were later credited.

She tried to speak up that the ideas for fission & #43 began with her, but it lost her credibility. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsnr.2014.0009 #HistoryRemix #history #science

Ida Noddack in her laboratory at the University of Freiburg, where she and Walter Noddack worked from 1935 to 1941. She is standing in front of her X-ray spectrograph. (Date and photographer unknown; courtesy of University Archives, KU Leuven, Archive Walter and Ida Noddack-Tacke, nr. 51.)


Virologist Jean-Michel Claverie has spent over a decade studying "giant” viruses, including those nearly 50,000 years old found deep within Siberian permafrost — layers of frozen soil that are starting to thaw amid climate change. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/10/10/world/science-health/scientist-50000-year-old-viruses/?utm_content=bufferd5eb9&utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=bffmstdn #worldnews #sciencehealth #science #viruses #paleontology #archaeology

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