Halifax updating accessibility standards at transit islands that connect with bike lanes - Halifax Examiner A 2023 CNIB report found that intersections of bike lanes and transit islands have barriers for people who are blind or partially sighted.

Halifax updating accessibility standards at transit islands that connect with bike lanes www.halifaxexaminer.ca/government/c...

Crick Crash Course: Embryo development

I am giving a "Crash Course in Embryo Development" for the general public (no science background needed! pitched around GCSE-level) in London on 21st May www.crick.ac.uk/whats-on/cri... We'll dip into development, with a splash of embryo models, and a pinch of ethics. And it's free! Book online 👍

legend has it he's still out there diverting traffic to this very day....

Figure showing number of competitive grants mentioning women from 2015-2025. The number was rising until recently, with a precipitous drop in the last year.

At the end of 2024, the National Academies put out a report concluding the NIH has woefully underfunded women’s health research, and they suggested $15 B should be invested over the next 5 years.

Here’s what’s happened instead. Hard to study women’s health if you can’t say “women.”

wapo.st/4euUt1c

Screenshot of a tweet by Rep. Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) praising a breakthrough in pancreatic cancer research, calling it "the best of America" and noting that lead researcher Dr. Balachandran is the son of Indian immigrants and works at Sloan Kettering. He quote-tweets Ian Weissman, DO (@DrIanWeiss...), who reports that an mRNA pancreatic cancer vaccine showed lasting results in an early trial, with nearly all responding patients still alive six years later.

Science leads to amazing breakthroughs. Immigrants lead to amazing science.

Indigenous people and supporters protest Avon River aboiteau, treaty violations - Halifax Examiner On Saturday, dozens gathered at the Treaty Truckhouse in Falmouth for the demonstration.

Indigenous people and supporters protest Avon River aboiteau, treaty violations

reported by Madiha Mughees @mmughees.bsky.social

... we don’t yet know how to ask, because the underlying phenomena aren’t understood. That’s why exploration matters: it expands the space of what’s possible. From quantum mechanics to polymerase chain reaction, history shows that investing in the unknown is what unlocks entirely new industries.

In the 1990s, NSF invested ~$3M in exploring better information retrieval. The research helped lead to Google and Alphabet (current market cap ~ $4T).

This million-fold return came from funding curiosity-driven, fundamental research.

The biggest breakthroughs often start as questions ...

1/

Congrats to first author @emmajbanks.bsky.social, #ListerFellow @tunglejic.bsky.social and collaborators 👏 Discovered 3-gene control hub and strict regulator genes for gene transfer agent activation and bacterial cell lysis.

Paper in @natmicrobiol.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...

masterclass continues

The thing about Vancouver wanting a world class art gallery is we already have one.

The Museum of Anthropology combines two of the greatest visual contributions this land has shared with the world — West Coast Modernism and Northwest Coast Art — into a singular expression of this region.

Pregnancy vaccine reduces baby hospital admissions for RSV by 80% A study confirms the vaccine gives excellent protection for babies against life-threatening chest infections.

Vaccines are humanity’s greatest scientific achievement.

Canadian citizenship ceremony held in Halifax museum an emotional celebration - News Beep Five-year-old Anaya was smiling and dancing as she waved a small Canadian flag during her father’s Canadian citizenship ceremony Friday, unable to contain her

Canadian citizenship ceremony held in Halifax museum an emotional celebration

https://www.newsbeep.com/491933/

Five-year-old Anaya was smiling and dancing as she waved a small Canadian flag during her father’s Canadian citizenship ceremony Friday,…

Full picture of the tree in question although it's shape is confused a little bit by a another evergreen in the background

Close up of its many ancient cones, weathered silver

Dead branches covered in clusters of dead cones is what gives me an idea of the tree's advanced age

Old growth Jack pines are not exactly majestic (though Tom Thomson captured their distinctive rattiness nicely).

Still, I was thrilled today to see one that is surely over a hundred years old.

Comments from tree biologists welcome.

An unnamed lake in HRM. Granite 'shelf' at the shoreline makes getting in and out easy. Attractively arranged evergreens on the opposite shore

Such a sweet swimming spot. OK, it's a bit early in the season, so I didn't jump in

Living together: evolutionary and ecological dimensions of protist endosymbiosis From symbionts to organelles: evolutionary integration of microbial partners into eukaryotic cells.

academic.oup.com/microlife/ar...
#protistsonsky

There needs to be a giant billboard in every major American city that touts this. In any other era except this suicidal science administration, this would be a miraculous, wondrous thing.

Katy Jean addresses a crowd of people, many wearing bicycle helmets, at the intersection of Harvard and Allan streets in Halifax.

A large crowd of people gathered at the intersection of Harvard and Allan streets in Halifax. Many have bicycles while a few are using scooters. They are listening to Katy speak.

Two homemade signs stuck in a planter. One says "We miss Scritchy" and has a drawing of a raccoon's face. Another says "Justice 4 Scritchy!"

Several flowers and bouquets of flowers laid against a traffic cone at the intersection of Harvard and Allan streets.

Big turnout for Scritchy the Raccone's memorial service at the Harvard/Allan diverter this afternoon. @katynotie.bsky.social delivered a moving eulogy before mourners observed a moment of silence. #BikeHfx

Dear Member of Congress: The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) are deeply grateful for the longstanding bipartisan support from Congress for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). We want to inform you of current and likely impacts of delays and changes in funding policies and procedures for NIH grants. Our concerns relate to the following areas within NIH: • Massive reduction in notice of funding opportunities • Delays in funding processes and inadequate capacity to administer grants • Increase in forward funding of multiyear awards in year one • Delays and potential lapses in funding for large clinical trial networks and clinical trial units Lack of transparency around permitted international collaborative partners for research projects • Disproportionate impact of grant terminations on vulnerable populations, especially women and people of color

U.S. infectious disease research is on the brink. Without immediate action from Congress, much of it will cease to exist within a year.

For example👇

1️⃣ No collaborative RFAs posted for >1 year (normal: many / year).
2️⃣ No foreign collaborators allowed on grants.

🧪🪦 www.idsociety.org/globalassets...

A bunch of people and bikes outside at the Halifax oval

A small pylon dressed up as a raccoon with a yellow safety vest and bow in its hair

Huge turnout for the #KidicalMassHFX Spring Social at the oval today. Lots of humans and a few raccones. It was really nice getting to see everyone. I think it's safe to say bike season has started

bringing back shame and social sanction for being a bigoted asshole is good, actually

Basic income guarantee conference in Halifax looks at poverty and the justice system - Halifax Examiner Seventh annual conference was held at the Halifax Central Library on Friday.

Basic income guarantee conference in Halifax looks at poverty and the justice system
By Marielle Godfrey

My waking thought this morning was why in the world are we still subsiding fossil fuel companies & why on earth aren't we windfall-taxing the absolute crap out of them? This world is so messed up and there's no planet B. Our leaders are failing us all now & for generations to come #ClimateActionNow

“16% of commercial taxes and 10.4% of residential taxes are collected in D7. If we include D5, 7, 8 & 9 (Downtown Dartmouth & the 3 peninsula districts) those portions rise to 35% and 30% respectively. We need to have a thriving downtown (socially and financially) to have a sustainable municipality”

What’s missing in women+ health research?

IWK Health is asking people across the Maritimes to help answer that.

If you’re 18+ and live in the region, you can share up to five questions you think research isn’t addressing.

SURVEY: www.maritimewomenshealth.com?fbclid=IwY2x...

We are looking for a research scientist to join us!
asv.mcjobboard.net/jobs/221333?...

Just a reminder that in computational biology and bioinformatics, we should NOT just translate the longest ORF in genomes but the most likely to be translated.

Our paper here details some of the pitfalls of you don’t. Be aware. Be warned.

doi.org/10.3390/gene...

Men are 2.6x more likely than women to bike to work. Study finds where protected bike lane coverage is higher, women’s cycling rates rise significantly faster than men’s. Where coverage is limited or fragmented, women’s participation drops more sharply.
momentummag.com/the-bike-lan...

And then join the Kidical Mass spring social at the Oval!

hfx.bike/kidical-mass...

All are welcome to join to honour the memory of Scritchy Raccone, our fallen hero of the #PylonWars.

A small service will be held at the intersection of Harvard and Allan Streets in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Saturday, April twenty second 18th at 2:00 PM.