Author | Lightnews

Heather Comfort @heathercomfort.bsky.social · 5h

“Our findings show that women are rated significantly lower as they age from younger to middle age, with their lowest teaching ratings emerging at age 47. Men do not experience this drop in ratings.”

Ratings and bias against women, over time

Two new studies show how bias against women in student ratings operates over time, worsening with critical feedback and instructor age.

www.insidehighered.com

Reposted by Heather Comfort

Heather Comfort @heathercomfort.bsky.social · 5h

On the Fifth Day
by Jane Hirshfield

On the Fifth Day

On the fifth day the scientists who studied the rivers were forbidden to speak or to study the rivers. The silence spoke loudly of silence, and the rivers kept speaking of rivers, of boulders and air.

www.poetryfoundation.org

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Heather Comfort @heathercomfort.bsky.social · 5h

They spoke, the fifth day,
of silence.

Heather Comfort @heathercomfort.bsky.social · 5h

Bus drivers, shelf stockers,
code writers, machinists, accountants,
lab techs, cellists kept speaking.

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Heather Comfort @heathercomfort.bsky.social · 5h

The silence spoke loudly of silence,
and the rivers kept speaking
of rivers, of boulders and air.
Bound to gravity, earless and tongueless,
the untested rivers kept speaking.

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Heather Comfort @heathercomfort.bsky.social · 5h

The facts, surprised to be taken, were silent.
Now it was only the rivers
that spoke of the rivers,
and only the wind that spoke of its bees,
while the unpausing factual buds of the fruit
trees
continued to move toward their fruit.

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Heather Comfort @heathercomfort.bsky.social · 5h

Someone, from deep in the Badlands,
began posting facts.
The facts were told not to speak
and were taken away.

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Heather Comfort @heathercomfort.bsky.social · 5h

and the ones who worked for the bees.

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Heather Comfort @heathercomfort.bsky.social · 5h

The scientists who studied the air
were told not to speak of the air,
and the ones who worked for the farmers
were silenced,

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Heather Comfort @heathercomfort.bsky.social · 5h

On the fifth day
the scientists who studied the rivers
were forbidden to speak
or to study the rivers.

1

Heather Comfort @heathercomfort.bsky.social · 5h

On the Fifth Day
by Jane Hirshfield

On the Fifth Day

On the fifth day the scientists who studied the rivers were forbidden to speak or to study the rivers. The silence spoke loudly of silence, and the rivers kept speaking of rivers, of boulders and air.

www.poetryfoundation.org

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Reposted by Heather Comfort

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 2d

Rubin Observatory is going to be a game-changer for studies of the Milky Way, galaxy evolution, and cosmology

NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory @vrubinobs.bsky.social · 2d

We come with receipts🧾

Tidal tails are cosmic “receipts” of galactic drama, showing who collided with whom. Rubin's camera is sharp enough to catch wind of even the faintest intergalactic tea.

No need to worry about "pics or it didn't happen" with Rubin keeping a close eye 😎 🔭🧪

A sprawling field of galaxies fills the deep black of space, dotted with glowing stars and colorful smudges of light. Near the top, a smooth golden elliptical galaxy glows like polished stone, linked by delicate, taffy-like streams of stars to nearby galaxies below—evidence of ancient cosmic collisions.

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Reposted by Heather Comfort

Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 12d

"Humans aren’t very efficient movers—until you put us on a bicycle, when we become some of the most energy-efficient land travelers in the animal kingdom."
www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-hu...

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Heather Comfort @heathercomfort.bsky.social · 24d

“Eunice Newton Foote showed that carbon dioxide traps the heat of the sun in 1856, beating the so-called father of the greenhouse effect by at least three years. Why was she forgotten?”

The Woman Who Demonstrated the Greenhouse Effect

Eunice Newton Foote showed that carbon dioxide traps the heat of the sun in 1856, beating the so-called father of the greenhouse effect by at least three years. Why was she forgotten?

www.scientificamerican.com

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Heather Comfort @heathercomfort.bsky.social · Sep 20

Because of 2008

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Reposted by Heather Comfort

Jacqueline Antonovich @jackiantonovich.bsky.social · Sep 5

I am fascinated by this guy who was a Higher Ed administrator and has now moved into teaching classes as a faculty member. He is documenting his whole journey on TikTok. Over the summer, he had so much excitement 🧵

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Heather Comfort @heathercomfort.bsky.social · Sep 5

Growing up I listened to so many family stories about life before vaccines and penicillin from my late grandmother.

I cannot comprehend the relief she must have felt when her grandchildren began to receive regularly scheduled vaccinations after they were born.

Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · Sep 4

Disease prevalence in US states before & after vaccine introduction 🧪

From Edward Tufte & graphics.wsj.com/infectious-d...

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Reposted by Heather Comfort

John Moe @johnmoe.bsky.social · Aug 25

Okay, there’s something I need to do every August 24th.
I need to tell you to not give up on your mental health, yourself, this world, or hope.
My brother Rick should be turning 63 today but he died at age 44 due to depression and other mental health problems. He shouldn’t have.
(🧵)

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Heather Comfort @heathercomfort.bsky.social · Aug 21

“Reactivation of viruses, including Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and varicella zoster virus (VZV), has been commonly observed after covid-19.

A 2023 study reported EBV reactivation in covid positive patients at more than double the rate seen in covid negative patients.”

Why scientists are rethinking the immune effects of SARS-CoV-2

“Immunity debt,” a theory to explain the global surge in non-covid infections since pandemic restrictions were lifted, is increasingly being challenged by emerging evidence. Nick Tsergas reports Myco...

www.bmj.com

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Heather Comfort @heathercomfort.bsky.social · Aug 21

“Participants who exclusively used the AI to help write essays showed weaker brain connectivity, lower memory retention and a fading sense of ownership over their work.”

New MIT study suggests that too much AI use could increase cognitive decline

Participants who exclusively used the AI to help write essays showed weaker brain connectivity, lower memory retention and a fading sense of ownership over their work.

www.nextgov.com

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Reposted by Heather Comfort

Blue Heron Farm @blueheronfarm.bsky.social · Jul 11

Mistakes were made

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Heather Comfort @heathercomfort.bsky.social · Jul 6

Thank you for articulating the bigger picture so eloquently. I’m terrified and overwhelmed by the never ending bullshit.

@geauxgabrielle.bsky.social

Reposted by Heather Comfort

Ash Parrish @adashtra.bsky.social · Jun 29

Where you get your abs from?

Pop Crave @popcrave.com · Jun 29

Drake in new selfie.

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Heather Comfort @heathercomfort.bsky.social · Jun 18

Tooooo many cooks

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Heather Comfort @heathercomfort.bsky.social · Jun 8

“Friends of Shenandoah Mountain is a coalition of local citizens, businesses, faith groups, wilderness advocates, mountain bikers, hikers, hunters, fishermen, and other forest users working to protect the wild heritage of Shenandoah Mountain for future generations.”

Friends of Shenandoah Mountain

www.friendsofshenandoahmountain.org

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