@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

dmacphee

@dmacphee@mas.to

Reproductive Scientist. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Interested in science education, books of all sorts, science communication, and reproductive biology. Opinions my own. Boosts may not be endorsements but for stimulating discussions. #ReproSci #Science #ReproMed #HigherEd #Reproduction #Scicomm #fedi22 #PretermBirth #Curiosity

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AskPippa, to random
@AskPippa@c.im avatar

What happened to Med-mastodon? I used to be able to read the local posts there, but now it's not even an option. Something to do with the Mastodon upgrades?
@nick

dmacphee,
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

@AskPippa Seems to work for me

dmacphee, to ukteachers
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

Homework. Questions around usefulness of this have been around forever.
Never had a problem with it myself, but some others certainly feel strongly against it.

https://thewalrus.ca/is-homework-good-for-kids/

dmacphee,
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

@AskPippa I agree, quantity is likely the biggest issue here.

dmacphee, to ukteachers
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

No surprise here and just confirms what the repeatedly denies.

https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/christian-group-says-it-influenced-saskatchewan-government-over-pronoun-rules-1.6553468

dmacphee,
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

And this just further demonstrates the power of Christian Nationalists in Saskatchewan via “parental rights”. I imagine banning Evolution teaching will rise again in schools under this guise.

https://regina.ctvnews.ca/protecting-growth-and-parental-rights-key-messages-in-scott-moe-s-address-at-sask-premier-s-dinner-1.6553023

brianklaas, to random
@brianklaas@journa.host avatar

I wrote about the ten days that literally do not exist in history and how subjective our conceptions of time can be. https://www.forkingpaths.co/p/the-ten-days-that-didnt-exist-b76

dmacphee,
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

@brianklaas Some months I wish ten days would disappear.

sundogplanets, to random
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social avatar

Dammit the government here is testing the waters to see how much transphobic shit they can get away with. Lots of kids, trans or cis, experiment with different nicknames. Under this rule, would my grade 3 teacher have had to get permission from my parents before calling me "Sam" as I requested rather than "Samantha?" If yes, that's fucking stupid. If no, that's completely discriminatory. Time to write more emails...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/new-education-policies-sex-education-pronoun-use-1.6943641

dmacphee,
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

@sundogplanets Denouncing the crap today is definitely important.

thetyee, to random

“This page isn’t available right now. This may be because of a technical error that we’re working to get fixed. Try reloading this page.”

That’s what The Tyee’s Facebook profile currently reads.

So, it appears Meta has officially blocked us on Facebook, too.

dmacphee,
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

@thetyee Promote your rss feed , newsletter and website. We’re behind you.

TexasObserver, to fediverse
@TexasObserver@texasobserver.social avatar

For and , let's share our favorite publications in the . Here's just a few of ours:
@damemagazine
@themarkup
@Chron
@TheConversationUS
@gbhnews
@TucsonSentinel
@thexylom
@insideclimatenews
@FAIR
@grist

How about yours?

dmacphee,
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

@TexasObserver

@thetyee @thenarwhal

dmacphee,
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

@TexasObserver

Also @pressprogress

AskPippa, to conspiracy
@AskPippa@c.im avatar

A neurological take on how people end up believing theories -- and then get deeper into them.
Basically, "cognitive linguist" approaches (leaders using the right phrases/words) hack people's brains to get them to form opinions against political targets. Vulnerable people (those feeling uncertainty or fear) relate to what 's said, become less critical -- and real changes are made in the . Those changes become stronger over time and can become more hardwired.
Much of it is about dehumanizing people -- using insults and negative words.
It can happen to people on any part of the political spectrum.
(I think one key is to be skeptical of speeches, articles etc. where insults and a lot of emotional words are used. Plus, watch for wobbly facts.)

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/07/30/the-connection-between-political-lies-and-conspiracy-theories-00108378

dmacphee,
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

@AskPippa This is a really interesting article. Fear is particularly powerful. Training in critical thinking in our education streams, in part, is going to be more important than ever.

dmacphee, to environment
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

I am at a scientific conference this week and PFAS are a big issue with fetal development and fertility in seminars. Drinking water increasingly contaminated with these pollutants. Luckily many water filtration systems can reduce levels.

“Health Canada and Environment Canada's review showed pregnant moms can transmit these substances through the placenta. Infants, it found, can be exposed to PFAS through breast milk.”

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/forever-chemicals-canadian-blood-samples-1.6850049

dmacphee,
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

Beware the dangers of PFAS.
“The reaction from our community has been overwhelming and unanimous: we do not want PFAS in North Bay and area”

https://thenarwhal.ca/north-bay-pfas-mayor-response/?utm_source=The+Narwhal&utm_campaign=8adb6bf29c-July+20%2C+2023+%E2%80%94+Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f6a05fddb8-8adb6bf29c-108926241

AskPippa, to random
@AskPippa@c.im avatar

Once upon a time I worked for a few months in a government related office full of people writing summaries about reports on health quality studies. Healthy quality studies which were about standards and evidence of various things medical.
There was a kitchen in the office where we heated our lunches and made tea. I noticed of bottle of pink Himalayan salt and a question popped into my mind as I studied it. So I asked aloud "I wonder what the contaminant is that makes it pink?"
"Contaminant?" someone replied. "There's no contaminant, it's good for you."
Um... I pressed on. "But salt, sodium chloride is white. This is sodium chloride, so there must be something else in it making it pink."
I got some worried looks. Like I was an alien. An unfriendly one.
In an office of people who regularly read reports about evidence.
<facepalm>
btw I looked it up. Depending on the source of the salt, probably copper or iron.

dmacphee,
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

@AskPippa Thank goodness for your curiosity.

dmacphee, to science
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

Dr. Peter Hotez, professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine has been attacked all weekend by Musk and Rogan on the bird site. Dr Hotez is a vaccine scientist and a threat to disinformation con artists like the two twits mentioned above. He will have a new book out soon and it is important to spread his book title message far and wide.
#FactsMatter #DisinformationKills #VaccinesWork #Science #Medicine #Canada #USA

dmacphee,
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

@objectinspace @jztusk This is not about increasing views or followers or anything like that. It is not a debate. The disinformation artists like Rogan only care about promoting their point of view mostly for monetary gain and fame. They are not interested in changing their minds or admitting they are wrong.

dmacphee,
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

@objectinspace I disagree. The whole point of the disinformation network is to make their arguments sound legitimate. When you debate them, they can claim their point of view is thus worthy. This is now a common tactic. They want to promote their podcast, website, blog, etc. They can make a lot of money that way with total disregard for the health/lives of people who could be influenced by them.
#Disinformation #Misinformation #ScienceUpFirst #FactsMatter #Scicomm #Science

AskPippa, to random
@AskPippa@c.im avatar

17 assigned stories to write before the end of the month. #7 will be done by end of the day. The short ones are quick and easy. It's the longer ones I'm a bit worried about -- most need a secondary comment and it takes a lot of time finding the right knowledgeable expert, and then hoping they have time for it.

dmacphee,
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

@AskPippa Wow.

AskPippa, to random
@AskPippa@c.im avatar

Fix it instead of tossing it. Check for Repair Cafes in your city. You can get small appliances and the like like repaired, usually for free. Also, organizers are always on the lookout for volunteers. It's also a place where you can learn to fix things.

https://repaircafetoronto.ca/

dmacphee,
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

@AskPippa I have never heard of one in . Need to look into this.

dmacphee,
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

@AskPippa Terrific. Thanks.

AskPippa, to random
@AskPippa@c.im avatar

10 more stories and I'll hit the 400 mark for stories written for the Canadian Healthcare Network (Medical Post and Pharmacy Practice). I should hit 400 by the end of next month.
<Goes back to typing>

dmacphee,
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

@AskPippa Nice. All the best.

ct_bergstrom, to random

What's the backstory to the "In defense of merit" paper? How did these 29 authors come together? It didn't just happen spontaneously....

dmacphee,
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

@ct_bergstrom
Merit= the quality of being particularly good or worthy. Kind of ironic the paper is being criticized for the lack of it.

knittingknots2, to random
@knittingknots2@mstdn.social avatar

Rosalind Franklin knew DNA was a helix before Watson and Crick, unpublished material reveals | Live Science

https://www.livescience.com/health/genetics/rosalind-franklin-knew-dna-was-a-helix-before-watson-and-crick-unpublished-material-reveals

dmacphee,
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

@knittingknots2 And the Nature paper

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01313-5?utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=commission_junction&utm_campaign=CONR_PF018_ECOM_GL_PHSS_ALWYS_DEEPLINK&utm_content=textlink&utm_term=PID100052172&CJEVENT=4eea6e7de3d111ed80ca95330a82b82a

dmacphee, to science
@dmacphee@mas.to avatar

Excellent article on democracy, science and misinformation.

https://issues.org/trust-science-democracy-misinformation-mcnutt-crow/

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