We had a great conversation, thanks @plutopia.io !

This simple house may help prevent multiple fatal diseases in African children Randomized, controlled trial shows the $8800 design can reduce cases of malaria, diarrhea, and respiratory infection

The research “contributes hugely to the critical evidence that a house is a social determinant of health, a factor that is largely overlooked by health practitioners and those involved in building and construction,” adds Bernard Abong’o, an entomologist at the Kenya Medical Research Institute.
🧪

AI doom warnings are getting louder. Are they realistic? Researchers are increasingly sounding the alarm that artificial intelligence could end humanity. But such doomsday warnings carry their own risks.

Good critical analysis of the idea that AI could end humanity by @lizziegibney.bsky.social

Many "warn that raising the alarm unnecessarily could be harmful" by distracting from well-documented risks of AI — such as misinformation and mass surveillance.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Smoking ban for people born after 2008 in the UK agreed The "landmark" legislation aims to stop anyone born after 1 January 2009 from taking up smoking to create a smoke-free generation.

With all the other distractions, don’t let this good news pass you by today.

“Children aged 17 or younger will face a lifelong ban on buying cigarettes, as the Tobacco and Vapes Bill clears Parliament.”

www.bbc.co.uk/news/a...
1/2

Rare sighting of a column chart taking a dip at Hove Beach.

#dataviz

Excellent. Will add to my beer glass evidence collection!

Thanks so much for your kind words and support!

I’ve had the same editor since 1967. Many times he has said to me over the years or asked me, Why would you use a semicolon instead of a colon? And many times over the years I have said to him things like: I will never speak to you again. Forever. Goodbye. That is it. Thank you very much. And I leave. Then I read the piece and I think of his suggestions. I send him a telegram that says, OK, so you’re right. So what? Don’t ever mention this to me again. If you do, I will never speak to you again

Maya Angelou on the joys of being edited

The trials that quietly changed our lives Testing claims matters more than ever in an age of misinformation, overconfident assertions and unsubstantiated opinions

My article in the Financial Times about my book. It includes a wonderful randomised trial of beer glasses (which you might unknowingly have been part of if you bought a pint in some British pubs c.1998)

“Testing claims matters more than ever in an age of misinformation”
as.ft.com/r/f5a2f313-a...

Britain Talks Trust in Science Commissioned by The Wellcome Trust Trust in science has long been one of the UK’s quiet strengths: a stable foundation beneath political cycles, economic shifts, and moments of national crisis. At fir...

Perhaps the most resonant point from Wellcome's new trust in science report:

'38% say there’s too much information available to know what’s true about science'

Some experts I speak to say the issue is that scientists have lost influence/voice, not trust
www.moreincommon.org.uk/our-work/res...

‘Science needs defending’: record number of researchers run for office in US mid-terms Many Democrats making the switch to politics are motivated by the Trump administration’s cuts to science — whereas energy and AI are a pull for some Republicans.

Scientists are going into politics in the US in increasing numbers. This is a brilliant and much needed trend

🧪

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Landmark ancient-genome study shows surprise acceleration of human evolution Data from more than 15,000 ancient people reveal natural selection of hundreds of genes linked to immunity, skin tone, behaviour and other traits.

"the frequency of two-thirds of the variants that they identified moved more like rollercoasters"

Good write up from Ewen Callaway @nature.com on a massive analysis of gene variants that evolved through natural selection www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Exactly 💯

I now have fancy graphics for my book, which I rather like👇

➡️Two weeks until it’s out, on April 28th!

Preorders *really* help raise the visibility of the book - and help support evidence and facts 🙏

@princetonupress.bsky.social

The air is full of DNA — here’s what scientists are using it for Airborne genetic material can be used to paint a picture of ecosystem health, watch for invasive species and even identify humans.

"Airborne animal DNA has always been there, it’s just that we’ve never looked for it”

They are now. How researchers are using DNA in air to monitor species and ecosystems, including tiger detection - by @aislingirwin.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

BBC Radio 4 - More or Less, Dr Spock’s dangerous advice on baby sleep How evidence eventually showed front sleeping was linked to sudden infant deaths

I’m on BBC Radio’s More or Less talking about my book, Beyond Belief.

I explain how Dr Spock's unsubstantiated advice to put babies to sleep on their fronts fuelled a rise in infant deaths (SIDS)

A powerful cautionary tale on importance of studies to find causes.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...

Particularly sad because decades of research shows that children who grow up in disadvantaged circumstances tend to do worse on health and wealth outcomes throughout their lives

I was with Artemis II’s scientists during the Moon fly-by. Here’s what I saw Nature correspondent Alexandra Witze describes the joy and tension at mission control in Houston.

On Monday this week, as four humans flew around the far side of the Moon, Nature correspondent Alexandra Witze sat at the heart of the Artemis II mission’s science operations. Here's what she saw.

go.nature.com/4dE5gpv

Scientists invented a fake disease. AI told people it was real Bixonimania doesn’t exist except in a clutch of obviously bogus academic papers. So why did AI chatbots warn people about this fictional illness?

🚨 For nearly two years - and even now, depending on the day and model - AI models could tell you all about bixonimania, a totally made-up disease in a paper funded by “the Professor Sideshow Bob Foundation". My @nature.com story on AI's fallibility in medicine www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Excellent thread about an ahead-of-his-time 16th century doctor who realised it was better to *test* if blood letting worked rather than doing it because everyone said so..

and proposed a 200-strong randomized trial (purging vs not) in which "we shall see how many funerals each of us will have".

From Science to SciComm From Science to SciComm is a guide and workbook for scientists who want to move into a science communication career. The first few chapters will also be of interest to researchers who want to get invo...

In case you missed it when I posted it a few weeks ago: I updated the "From Science to SciComm" guide for 2026. It's aimed at PhD students/postdocs who want to transition to #scicomm payhip.com/b/zSQ0

Half of social-science studies fail replication test in years-long project Results from massive, ‘eagerly awaited’ initiative reinforce concerns about the credibility of science — but raise hope for solutions.

A massive seven-year project exploring 3,900 social-science papers has ended with a disturbing finding

go.nature.com/4bZ9k0W

Artemis II mission is about to fly humans to the Moon — here’s the science they’ll do Set to lift off this week, the NASA flight will take astronauts around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

Need to catch up on #ArtemisII science ahead of today's launch attempt to the MOON? See our explainer at @nature.com 🧪🔭

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Fair point, the picture obviously differs from country to country - but there are interesting global trends, such as boys often being behind on some educational measures and experiencing high levels of injuries and violence. The global picture provides context.

Are boys really in crisis? What the science says in the age of the manosphere Some data suggest that boys and young men are struggling with school, health and masculinity. But does talk of a male crisis further sideline women and girls?

"For many outcomes, things still look much worse for adolescent girls". Talk of a male ‘crisis’ is uncomfortable when girls and women face entrenched inequalities.

The message I heard was: we need to understand challenges faced by *all* young people. 7/7
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Research on the manosphere is still limited. What does exist suggests that many young men follow masculinity influencers.

Online is a space for “recruitment and engagement of the most vulnerable young men”. But also for information & connections -it's complex. 6/7 uk.movember.com/movember-ins...

Stereotypical ideas about masculinity are common in boys & young men, surveys show.

Many feel under pressure to be a certain type of man: tough, self-sufficient, financial provider, in control, suggests research from @Equimundo and others. 5/7 www.equimundo.org/resources/st...

Mental health is a concern for boys and girls. Healthy life years lost to mental-health disorders (10–24-year-olds) rose from 27 million to 47 million btw 1990 and 2023 (from GBD study).

Surveys suggest boys & young men are less likely to talk about mental health / have close connections. 4/7

One striking difference between male and female adolescents: injuries are far higher for boys.

Injuries — road accidents, violence, self‑harm, falls etc — account for 33% of healthy life lost for males and 15% for females (ages 10-24). One reason: boys sometimes take more risks. 3/7

Globally, more boys than girls are out of school or falling behind, and young men are less likely to attend higher education.

It's partly because girls have been catching up with boys - but poverty puts pressure on boys to work and gendered expectations can affect boys’ desire to learn. 2/7