#germ-theory-skepticism

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OMG science
fromNature
1 day ago

Viruses allegedly stolen from high-security lab cause stir in Brazil

A researcher was arrested in Brazil for allegedly stealing virus samples from a high-security laboratory, raising concerns in the virology community.
History
fromWorld History Encyclopedia
4 days ago

From smallpox to COVID: Vaccines that changed history.

Vaccination transformed public health by providing immunity against infectious diseases, significantly reducing mortality rates and eradicating smallpox.
Science
fromNature
6 days ago

Daily briefing: AI spread information about an obviously made-up disease

Psychedelics show similar brain activity patterns, potentially aiding treatment for depression, anxiety, and addiction.
Medicine
fromNature
1 week ago

Scientists invented a fake disease. AI told people it was real

Bixonimania is a fabricated medical condition that highlights the dangers of misinformation in AI-generated health advice.
#science
Humor
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 week ago

It's official: scientists aren't funny. But it doesn't have to be this way | Helen Pilcher

Scientists use humor sparingly in presentations, averaging only 1.6 jokes, with most eliciting only polite chuckles.
OMG science
fromFast Company
2 weeks ago

Top 'I told you so' moments in the history of science

Science suppresses bold ideas due to ego and hierarchy, harming progress and requiring reform to protect integrity and encourage risk-taking.
Humor
fromTechCrunch
3 weeks ago

Why scientists can't get a laugh | TechCrunch

Most scientists struggle with humor in presentations, with only 9% successfully making audiences laugh.
Humor
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 week ago

It's official: scientists aren't funny. But it doesn't have to be this way | Helen Pilcher

Scientists use humor sparingly in presentations, averaging only 1.6 jokes, with most eliciting only polite chuckles.
OMG science
fromFast Company
2 weeks ago

Top 'I told you so' moments in the history of science

Science suppresses bold ideas due to ego and hierarchy, harming progress and requiring reform to protect integrity and encourage risk-taking.
Humor
fromTechCrunch
3 weeks ago

Why scientists can't get a laugh | TechCrunch

Most scientists struggle with humor in presentations, with only 9% successfully making audiences laugh.
fromFast Company
1 week ago

AI is coming for superbugs

Antibiotics are essential for modern medicine, but bacteria are evolving and developing resistance, turning routine infections into life-threatening conditions. A global analysis estimates that antibiotic-resistant infections could cause over 39 million deaths by 2050.
Medicine
Cooking
fromMail Online
2 weeks ago

How long can you keep leftovers? Surprising foods that are high risk

Certain leftovers like pizza, risotto, and fried rice pose a high risk of food poisoning if not stored properly.
#antibiotic-resistance
OMG science
fromwww.npr.org
2 weeks ago

Here's some new dirt on a source of antibiotic resistance

Bacteria are increasingly resistant to antibiotics, with drought contributing to this rise in resistance and impacting human health.
OMG science
fromwww.npr.org
2 weeks ago

Here's some new dirt on a source of antibiotic resistance

Bacteria are increasingly resistant to antibiotics, with drought contributing to this rise in resistance and impacting human health.
Coronavirus
fromFortune
2 weeks ago

How COVID turned America against science - and what it will take to win it back | Fortune

The rapid scientific response to COVID-19 became politicized due to mismanagement and communication failures.
Public health
fromEsquire
2 weeks ago

The CDC, Once the World's Most Important Public Health Organization, Is Now the Church of Medical Woo-Woo

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has significantly damaged the CDC since his confirmation, leading to mass resignations and a decline in public health effectiveness.
Philosophy
fromPsychology Today
4 weeks ago

Why Some Scientific Debates Never End

Complex questions involving values cannot be definitively settled by evidence alone, as different priorities lead experts to emphasize different findings from the same data.
fromThe Atlantic
3 weeks ago

I Remember a World Without Vaccines

I am open-minded; I believe in integrative practices, and I agree that the medical establishment can be arrogant and unduly influenced by the pharmaceutical industry, which now funds so much of medical research. But I fully understand Scherer's frustration with his interminable discussions with Kennedy about scientific articles.
Coronavirus
#vaccine-safety
Coronavirus
fromwww.npr.org
4 weeks ago

Vaccine critics keep the pressure on, even as RFK Jr. shifts focus

The MAHA Institute promotes the claim that vaccines cause a 'massive epidemic of vaccine injury' affecting 1.4 million children annually, despite overwhelming medical evidence confirming vaccine safety and effectiveness.
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

4 Mismatches Between Evolution and Education

Being thrown into a group of new strangers each and every year, as is typical in so many American public school systems, is deeply evolutionarily unnatural. Under ancestral conditions, humans did not encounter strangers with nearly the same frequency that we experience now. And guess what? Humans have an entirely different way of interacting with strangers (including appropriate levels of hesitation and skepticism) than we have when interacting with others whom we know well.
Education
Public health
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

What Should You Say to Anti-Vaxxers to Keep Us All Healthy?

Vaccine mandates appropriately prioritize public health over individual autonomy when disease transmission endangers others, similar to restricting dangerous individual freedoms.
Science
fromBig Think
1 month ago

The right way to be a scientific contrarian

Scientific advancement occurs through incremental improvements and revolutionary paradigm shifts that replace foundational understanding with entirely new conceptions of natural phenomena.
#measles-outbreak
Public health
fromwww.npr.org
1 month ago

As the risk of measles grows, why are parents so divided on vaccines?

Measles outbreak in Spartanburg County, South Carolina has reached nearly 1,000 cases due to vaccination rates falling below the 95% threshold needed for community protection, threatening the U.S. elimination status achieved in 2000.
#vaccine-policy
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
1 month ago
Public health

How RFK, Jr.'s controversial beliefs are shaping Americans' health

Secretary Kennedy has undermined public health practices by restricting vaccine recommendations, cutting mRNA vaccine funding, promoting unproven treatments, and amplifying fringe health theories contradicting scientific evidence.
fromThe Atlantic
1 month ago
Public health

Talk to Your Doctor About Your Distrust of Public Health

Trump administration officials undermine medical establishment trust while simultaneously proposing solutions requiring Americans to consult their doctors, creating a fundamental contradiction in public health policy.
Public health
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
1 month ago

How RFK, Jr.'s controversial beliefs are shaping Americans' health

Secretary Kennedy has undermined public health practices by restricting vaccine recommendations, cutting mRNA vaccine funding, promoting unproven treatments, and amplifying fringe health theories contradicting scientific evidence.
Science
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

The Unbearable Fear of Psi: When Skepticism Shifts to Denial

Scientific investigation of extraordinary human experiences encounters emotional resistance and dismissal that exceeds standard methodological critique, reflecting deeper discomfort with certain research topics rather than legitimate scientific skepticism.
Public health
fromNature
1 month ago

Capturing dynamic phage-pathogen coevolution by clinical surveillance - Nature

Phage-inducible chromosomal island-like elements (PLEs) in Vibrio cholerae provide defense against ICP1 phage predation, influencing pandemic strain evolution and disease severity through dynamic phage-bacteria interactions.
Psychology
fromMail Online
1 month ago

Conspiracy theorists are probably control freaks, study reveals

People with strong preferences for structured, rule-based thinking are more likely to believe conspiracy theories because these theories provide orderly explanations for chaotic events.
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
1 month ago

First-of-its-kind vaccine protects children from deadly intestinal infections

In children below the age of five, whose immune systems are still developing, the infections can lead to malnourishment; they cause up to 42,000 deaths annually. Soon there may be a vaccine to protect against these infections. In the Lancet Infectious Diseases last month, scientists shared the results of the first study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of an ETEC-controlling vaccine in a large pediatric population in Gambia.
Public health
UK news
fromwww.bbc.com
2 months ago

'We weren't perfect', says bogus Covid lab accused

Faisal Shoukat and co-defendants are accused of running a fraudulent COVID-19 testing company that sent fake negative results, mishandled samples, and laundered money.
US politics
fromwww.mercurynews.com
1 month ago

Jarvis: One year of RFK Jr. has left public health devastated

Kennedy's first year as health secretary undermined public health, eroded trust, disrupted vaccine guidance, and triggered mass departures of scientific staff.
#measles
fromFortune
2 months ago
Public health

Dr. Oz begs Americans to get inoculated against measles as outbreaks spiral. 'Take the vaccine, please' | Fortune

fromFortune
2 months ago
Public health

Dr. Oz pleads with America: 'take the vaccine, please' as measles soar on RFK-led revival | Fortune

fromFortune
2 months ago
Public health

Dr. Oz begs Americans to get inoculated against measles as outbreaks spiral. 'Take the vaccine, please' | Fortune

fromFortune
2 months ago
Public health

Dr. Oz pleads with America: 'take the vaccine, please' as measles soar on RFK-led revival | Fortune

fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Bari Weiss's new CBS hires include germ theory denialist' doctor

Among the new hires at CBS announced by Bari Weiss is a doctor who has claimed that he has reduced his biological age by 20 years with therapies including cold plunges; that cod liver oil can treat autism and that conditions like Alzheimer's and dementia can be reversed with the kind of nutritional supplements he also sells on his online store.
Media industry
Books
fromNature
2 months ago

Marvellous microbes, memory and the multiverse: Books in brief

Microscopy uncovered microbes and cellular anatomy; biosemiotics connects life and sign systems; memory constitutes both reader and read of personal identity.
Higher education
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

Why "Do Your Own Research" Is Bad Advice

Research requires at least a rigorous literature review; reading to inform oneself is educating, not full research, which demands specific review skills and evaluation.
Philosophy
fromApaonline
2 months ago

Science Denial: From Post-Truth to Post-Trust

Many citizens adopt dangerous, willfully irrational beliefs—science denial and misinformation erode evidence-based decision-making in liberal democracies.
Medicine
fromNature
2 months ago

The infection enigma: why some people die from typically harmless germs

Genetic mutations in immune-related genes cause inborn errors of immunity that make some people uniquely vulnerable to severe infections and immune disorders.
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

Defund Science, Distort Culture, Mock Education

I was actually at a breast-cancer retreat. And during the coffee break, I looked at my emails to see, you know, if there's anything that I had to deal with. And I got this email from the university, and it was a real gut punch. My knees basically buckled, and I had to sit down. I never imagined that it would be possible that funding for lifesaving research would be
US politics
Public health
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
1 month ago

Americans trust federal scientists more than RFK, Jr., poll suggests

Americans trust federal health agency scientists more than Trump administration-appointed leaders, with independent medical organizations like the AAP commanding significantly higher vaccine confidence than the CDC.
Science
from48 hills
2 months ago

HIV denialist Peter Duesberg is dead. Good. - 48 hills

Peter Duesberg promoted false AIDS denialism claiming HIV is harmless and blamed drugs, causing harm by undermining effective HIV treatment and prevention.
fromBig Think
2 months ago

Carl Sagan's 9 timeless lessons for detecting baloney

Making good decisions doesn't merely rely on how much information we take in; it also depends on the quality of that information. If what we've instead ingested and accepted is misinformation or disinformation - incorrect information that doesn't align with factual reality - then we not only become susceptible to grift and fraud ourselves, but we risk having our minds captured by charismatic charlatans. When that occurs, we can lose everything: money, trust, relationships, and even our mental independence.
Philosophy
US politics
fromFast Company
2 months ago

RFK Jr. disregards science and facts. These STEM experts are fighting back by running for Congress

Clinician-legislators can counter politicization of science and expand affordable healthcare access, including state-led insulin production and vaccine protections.
Public health
fromwww.mercurynews.com
1 month ago

Opinion: Anti-vaccine ideology doesn't just cost lives. It drains pocketbooks.

Reducing the national vaccine schedule from 17 to 10 diseases endangers children's health and exposes families to catastrophic medical costs that can devastate household finances.
fromNature
2 months ago

Daily briefing: Why 'harmless' germs can be deadly for some people

DNA variants near a gene called MSRB3 - which is important for hearing in humans - could determine whether a dog's ears are pendulous like a basset hound's or stubby like a rottweiler's. Researchers analysed the genomes of thousands of canines and found that small, single-letter changes to DNA in a region of the genome near MSRB3 could boost the gene's activity. The boost can increase the rate at which ear cells proliferate, resulting in longer ears.
Science
Science
fromAxios
1 month ago

The narrow slice of data that worries biosecurity experts

Certain biological datasets that materially increase misuse risk should be governed like sensitive health records while most biological data remains openly accessible.
Science
fromNature
1 month ago

Why we don't really know what the public thinks about science

Public understanding of science is limited because measures focus on factual literacy; researchers must broaden evaluation to include institutional knowledge and lived scientific experiences.
Public health
fromArs Technica
1 month ago

In puzzling outbreak, officials look to cold beer, gross ice, and ChatGPT

County health officials used ChatGPT to validate their hypothesis that a contaminated cooler caused a Salmonella outbreak at a beer tent, finding AI helpful for rapid situational awareness while acknowledging limitations requiring critical review.
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Viruses don't know borders': US anti-vaccine rhetoric could impact global measles crisis

The World Health Organization announced in late January that six European countries: the United Kingdom, Spain, Austria, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan had all officially lost their measles elimination status, which means the virus has been circulating continuously in those countries for more than 12 months.
Public health
Science
fromNature
2 months ago

Marvellous microbes, memory and the multiverse: Books in brief

Leeuwenhoek's microscopic discoveries illuminated microbes and cells; biosemiotics links human and nonhuman sign systems; memory entwines the remembering and the remembered.
Public health
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

America Should Fear Polio

Polio vaccination in the U.S. faces reconsideration due to low disease risk, shifting HHS leadership, and heightened scrutiny of vaccines despite safety evidence.
fromArs Technica
2 months ago

Doctors face-palm as RFK Jr.'s top vaccine advisor questions need for polio shot

If we take away all of the herd immunity, then does that switch, does that teeter-totter switch in a different direction?
Public health
Public health
fromThe Local France
2 months ago

France launches campaign against 'major public health risk' of online misinformation

False or misleading medical information online poses a major public health risk, prompting a national monitoring and response strategy in France.
Public health
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Experts warn NIH director now leading CDC will push RFK Jr's agenda'

Jay Bhattacharya was named acting CDC director while retaining NIH directorship, consolidating power among a small group and raising concerns about vaccine policy.
fromwww.independent.co.uk
1 month ago

Misinformation is rife': Readers on why parents avoid the measles jab

Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
Public health
Public health
fromPoynter
1 month ago

A viral claim about chickenpox vaccines is spreading. Here's what the evidence says. - Poynter

Widespread chickenpox vaccination has not been shown to cause increased shingles cases in the United States.
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