The future of Uk scientific research. Several research projects face funding cuts. Here are some projects under threat. Words over a picture of the extremely large telescope (ELT) under construction in Chile

Scotland's Astronomer Royal, Catherine Heymans, speaking for the UK community of astronomers, told the science select committee that the proposed cuts were "genuinely catastrophic and will be devastating for the UK." She, along with a particle physicist, told MPs most of the potential cuts would lead to British scientists having to greatly reduce their involvement or withdraw altogether from some of the world's most important international astronomy and particle physics experiments. Those experiments seek to answer some of the biggest questions in science. These include learning how the Universe began and how it will end, finding the first ever signs of life on planets orbiting distant stars, detecting black holes that ripple space time, mapping newborn planets around distant stars and analysing their atmospheres for signs of life. All of these are experiments in which, historically, the UK played a leading role. But now, British scientists could be largely locked out of them in the future, if the STFC does not pay its way.

The future of UK Astronomy & Particle Physics is at risk from proposed 30% funding cuts that, if implemented, will be "genuinely catastrophic".

Great to see this detailed BBC report on the issue by @pallabg.bsky.social 🔭🧪⚛️

#STFCcuts #SaveUKAstronomy

🗞️: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The US already has a treaty with Denmark that guarantees them Greenland. Trump is breaking it already, which is impeachable. Why aren’t we talking about this?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_...

Cardiff University academic who objected to cuts robbed of title through 'spite' Martin Shipton A distinguished archaeologist and academic who publicly opposed Cardiff University’s cuts programme has been “spitefully” denied a status often given to retired professors. James Whitle...

Spiteful, petty bean counters

nation.cymru/news/cardiff...

This one hits particularly hard. I'm a UIUC alum.

There's an experimental field in the middle of the campus that grows corn and soybeans.

The large undergraduate library next to it is built underground - legend has it that this is so that the building doesn't cast a shadow on the field. (1/2)

And if there is a shortage of air traffic controllers then accidents like this will be more likely. If you voted for him, does this sound like a good strategy? To me it is inhuman. /end

It is unlikely that this had anything to do with yesterday’s tragic air crash, but it might well make it more difficult to figure out what happened and then do something to prevent it. /2

Ranking Members Larsen, Cohen Statements on Trump’s Dangerous Freeze of Air Traffic Control Hiring | The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

On his second day in office, Trump fired the head of the TSA, fired the entire Aviation Security Advisory Committee, and froze hiring new air traffic controllers. /1

democrats-transportation.house.gov/news/press-r...

A world less safe and secure On 20 January, President Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO). President Trump shares many of the same concerns about WHO as previous administra...

A world less safe and secure www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Wild. Top is the NBC upload, bottom is the one aired as the live feed

It should be the oil companies that pay the bill. I am no friend of billionaires, but the oil companies’ value comes from putting carbon into the atmosphere.

In early 2020, a pandemic was spreading. The UK’s PM went on a 10 day half-term holiday during which he was uncontactable and the government went into panic mode, focusing, as Hancock related to the COVID enquiry, on buying enough body bags. 1/8

New Climate Maps Show a Transformed United States According to new data analyzed by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, warming temperatures, rising seas and changing rainfall will profoundly reshape the way people have lived in North…

In 2020, we mapped out the danger zones that will close in on Americans over the next 30 years — combining climate data with wildfire projections by US Forest Service researchers.

See what changes are in store for your county.

By @shaw.al , @abrahm.bsky.social & Jeremy W. Goldsmith

Huge gratitude for our neighbors, Mexico and Canada have sent fire fighters and army to help us.

this is it

Zuck goes full Musk, dumps Facebook fact-checking program Meta will replace it with so-called community notes like on the X platform. The content moderation changes won’t be rolled out in the EU for now.

Zuck goes full Musk as Facebook dumps third-party fact-checkers & content moderation.

Zuckerberg's gestures towards making Facebook less toxic were only ever cosmetic. Money & power are what it's about for the tech-bros, & democracy be damned. www.politico.eu/article/mark...

Resignation of the Journal of Human Evolution Editorial Board: We are saddened to announce the resignations of The Joint Editors-in-Chief, all Emeritus Editors retired or active in the field, and all but one Associate Editor. Press release below.

Sums up Elon’s position pretty well.

US agency focused on foreign disinformation shuts down A leading US government agency that tracks foreign disinformation has terminated its operations, the State Department said Tuesday, after Congress failed to extend its funding following years of Repub...

Thanks to the Republican Congress, and a tsunami of lies from Musk and others, the only US agency dedicated to tracking and exposing Russian and Chinese propaganda around the world ceases to exist
www.france24.com/en/live-news...

This Map Lets You Plug in Your Address to See How It's Changed Over the Past 750 Million Years The interactive tool enables users to home in on a specific location and visualize how it has evolved between the Cryogenian period and the present

This Map Lets You Plug in Your Address to See How It’s Changed Over the Past 750 Million Years www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/m...

Funding overhaul threatens historic U.K. research units Scientists protest new “challenge-led” grants replacing funding that supported long-term basic research

Scientists protest new “challenge-led” grants replacing funding that supported long-term basic research www.science.org/content/arti...

Goldman Sachs asks in biotech research report: 'Is curing patients a sustainable business model?' Goldman Sachs warns sales from the most successful disease treatments are difficult to maintain.

I can hardly think of a better example of the moral decay in modern health care than a Goldman analyst noting that biotech cures for diseases like hepatitis are cool and all, until their success diminishes the business opportunity for pharmaceutical manufacturers.

www.cnbc.com/2018/04/11/g...

Louisiana forbids public health workers from promoting COVID, flu and mpox shots An NPR investigation found Louisiana health officials told staff to stop promoting vaccines for COVID, flu and mpox, holding flu shot events or otherwise encouraging the public to get those vaccines.

This is outrageous: “Staffers were also told that it applies to every aspect of the health department's work: Employees could not send out press releases, give interviews, hold vaccine events, give presentations or create social media posts encouraging the public to get the vaccines.”

The world's richest man managed to take $190 million away from a *child cancer research center* with his posts yesterday. Funding now stripped in the new bill.

Steven Bartlett sharing harmful health misinformation on Diary of CEO podcast Disproven health claims are accepted with little challenge by host on number one podcast, BBC investigation finds.

Disinformation and Misinformation shared by Steven Bartlett in his so-called health podcast has multiple dubious claims, debunked ‘experts’ including Malhotra and people with stakes in wellness including the host who also makes £££ from the podcasts. 😡😡😡🧪

The picture is fun, but surely the sapiens at that time had dark skins and dark curly hair!

Thread on need to fight for evidence-based policy - a response to Trump's cabinet picks.

Based on new @bmj.com article by me, @martinmckee.bsky.social & @kentbuse.bsky.social

TLDR: Now is the time to stand up for science, not appease those in power attacking it

www.bmj.com/content/387/... 1/14

The usual suspects are out there yelling "There are 23 million government workers! Fire most of them!" No awareness that most work for local governments, and most of *them* are schoolteachers. Federal employment hasn't grown since the 1950s

A thread you have never seen before.

Open-access journal elife will lose its ‘impact factor’ over controversial publishing model Web of Science index decides to strip key metric because elife’s unusual peer review doesn’t meet its criteria

Open-access journal elife will lose its ‘impact factor’ over controversial publishing model | Science
www.science.org/content/arti...

Thread - on Bluesky design