Valentin Rodionov
@arbitraryeffect.bsky.social
Chemist. Neurodivergent. Orcophobe. Hand-tool woodworker. Faculty @ CWRU Macro. Lab website: rodionovlab.org
Pinned
I think I should start identifying as an orcophobe.
By the way, orc ideology is quite popular in Russia:
www.tolkienguide.com/modules/newb...
By the way, orc ideology is quite popular in Russia:
www.tolkienguide.com/modules/newb...
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
Want to know how companies are guessing your age? Read all about it in our guide to age assurance technology. eff.org/deeplinks/2...
So, You’ve Hit an Age Gate. What Now?
EFF is against age gating and age verification mandates, and we hope we’ll win in getting existing ones overturned and new ones prevented. But mandates are already in effect, and every day many
www.eff.org
January 17, 2026 at 10:02 PM
Want to know how companies are guessing your age? Read all about it in our guide to age assurance technology. eff.org/deeplinks/2...
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
My last two shots before my world went dark.
January 17, 2026 at 9:55 PM
My last two shots before my world went dark.
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
Photo by Pierre Lavie. Yes this is me. And I threw my Leica. It landed on the bass plate with hardly a scratch. Another Photographer grabbed it along with my phone and I was able to track him later. I was held face down tear gas deployed right in front of me and pepper sprayed directly into the eye.
January 17, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Photo by Pierre Lavie. Yes this is me. And I threw my Leica. It landed on the bass plate with hardly a scratch. Another Photographer grabbed it along with my phone and I was able to track him later. I was held face down tear gas deployed right in front of me and pepper sprayed directly into the eye.
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
everyone keeps telling me that AI is getting better, but maybe it's the humans who are consistently wrong
January 16, 2026 at 5:38 PM
everyone keeps telling me that AI is getting better, but maybe it's the humans who are consistently wrong
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
I don’t know how many people in the Twin Cities were clutching pearls about OMG TRANS KIDS IN SPORTS but I hope they get a chance to reflect on shit that really matters.
Minneapolis Parks and Recreation has canceled youth sports because ICE is terrorizing our community
January 16, 2026 at 6:53 PM
I don’t know how many people in the Twin Cities were clutching pearls about OMG TRANS KIDS IN SPORTS but I hope they get a chance to reflect on shit that really matters.
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
The actual story is that a family of American citizens trying to evacuate from a neighborhood that ICE had made unsafe, and then ICE tossed munitions into the car, causing three kids to be hospitalized and a six month old to stop breathing. DHS called the family “radical agitators”
January 16, 2026 at 5:16 PM
The actual story is that a family of American citizens trying to evacuate from a neighborhood that ICE had made unsafe, and then ICE tossed munitions into the car, causing three kids to be hospitalized and a six month old to stop breathing. DHS called the family “radical agitators”
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
Oh no! 😰
🙏Please, @sdu.dk don't let your scientist run this unethical, colonialist, and -probably- pointless trial! @cthogersen.bsky.social can you do something?
🙏Please, @sdu.dk don't let your scientist run this unethical, colonialist, and -probably- pointless trial! @cthogersen.bsky.social can you do something?
Guinea-Bissau hepatitis B vaccine trial continues.
No screening of mothers for hepB.
No measurement of hepB transmission.
Analysis and link to Jan 14 2026 trial protocol by @insidemedicine.skystack.xyz
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/update-a-n...
No screening of mothers for hepB.
No measurement of hepB transmission.
Analysis and link to Jan 14 2026 trial protocol by @insidemedicine.skystack.xyz
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/update-a-n...
Update: A newly revised protocol of the CDC-funded Hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau. "This is still bad."
A January 14 document fails to address major ethical issues identified in the version published here yesterday. "The University of Southern Denmark is complicit in this unethical research conduct."
insidemedicine.substack.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:51 AM
Oh no! 😰
🙏Please, @sdu.dk don't let your scientist run this unethical, colonialist, and -probably- pointless trial! @cthogersen.bsky.social can you do something?
🙏Please, @sdu.dk don't let your scientist run this unethical, colonialist, and -probably- pointless trial! @cthogersen.bsky.social can you do something?
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
As a journalist, I've spent lots of time climbing around in old coal plants. They're all rotted-out, cob-webbed piles of metal, industrial haunted houses on the verge of collapse. Keeping them going is yet another sign American energy poverty and political decline.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/c...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/c...
Trump Wants to Halt Almost All Coal Plant Shutdowns. It Could Get Messy.
www.nytimes.com
January 16, 2026 at 12:06 PM
As a journalist, I've spent lots of time climbing around in old coal plants. They're all rotted-out, cob-webbed piles of metal, industrial haunted houses on the verge of collapse. Keeping them going is yet another sign American energy poverty and political decline.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/c...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/c...
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
For decades organic chemists have used 1,2-dibromoethane to activate zinc metal. What if it’s not actually doing anything?
Farewell to Dibromoethane
www.science.org
January 15, 2026 at 7:11 PM
For decades organic chemists have used 1,2-dibromoethane to activate zinc metal. What if it’s not actually doing anything?
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
Oh God, this is good news. I had been trying to bring myself to blog about this trial, but every time I was too enraged to get something together.
This was a hideously stupid and unethical idea, and no one promoting it should have anything to do with medicine or public health.
This was a hideously stupid and unethical idea, and no one promoting it should have anything to do with medicine or public health.
BREAKING: The controversial hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau has been *cancelled,* I can now report. A senior official with Africa CDC confirmed the cancellation and said GB officials are working to make sure any research is conducted ethically:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Controversial US study on hepatitis B vaccines in Africa is cancelled
$1.6m project drew outrage over ethical questions about withholding vaccines proven to prevent disease
www.theguardian.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:46 PM
Oh God, this is good news. I had been trying to bring myself to blog about this trial, but every time I was too enraged to get something together.
This was a hideously stupid and unethical idea, and no one promoting it should have anything to do with medicine or public health.
This was a hideously stupid and unethical idea, and no one promoting it should have anything to do with medicine or public health.
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
It is hard to explain institutional collapse to voters; videos where state actors are clearly acting in abusive ways explain themselves.
This is incredible: 81% of working class and 83% of young voters have seen video of Renee Good's killing, per new data I've obtained. Majority of working class disapproves of ICE enforcement. ICE brutality is breaking through big time.
Some thoughts on this here:
newrepublic.com/article/2052...
Some thoughts on this here:
newrepublic.com/article/2052...
January 15, 2026 at 12:33 PM
It is hard to explain institutional collapse to voters; videos where state actors are clearly acting in abusive ways explain themselves.
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
Seriously. I have issues with how the press handles statements from law enforcement—but this is something else. This admin, this agency, these same officials have constantly lied the whole time, including lying about events on video. It is dishonest for journalists to simply repeat their claims.
WHY are news stations reading DHS statements out loud as if they have ANY credibility at all? They literally murdered a woman in cold blood LAST WEEK and are still lying about what happened, even though we can see what happened. That any credibility would be given to their statement is insane
January 15, 2026 at 4:00 AM
Seriously. I have issues with how the press handles statements from law enforcement—but this is something else. This admin, this agency, these same officials have constantly lied the whole time, including lying about events on video. It is dishonest for journalists to simply repeat their claims.
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
It seems as though ICE has been instructed to escalate the violence to justify more violence, and to create propaganda to make us forget we outnumber them 10,000 to 1.
🚨BREAKING: ICE unleashes ONSLAUGHT of flash bang grenades and chemical ammunition at unarmed Minneapolis protesters in WAR-LIKE attack. Several protesters struck. Our reporter @zdroberts.bsky.social struck in the head.
"I got hit in the head really bad." LIVE NOW ⬇️
"I got hit in the head really bad." LIVE NOW ⬇️
January 15, 2026 at 3:45 AM
It seems as though ICE has been instructed to escalate the violence to justify more violence, and to create propaganda to make us forget we outnumber them 10,000 to 1.
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
I don’t know who this piece of shit is but CNN needs to stop giving a voice to smarmy pricks just bc they need someone in the smarmy pricks chair. We don’t need to hear from lying idiots just bc we happen to have one in the White House.
January 15, 2026 at 3:15 AM
I don’t know who this piece of shit is but CNN needs to stop giving a voice to smarmy pricks just bc they need someone in the smarmy pricks chair. We don’t need to hear from lying idiots just bc we happen to have one in the White House.
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
think it’s time to start treating cbs news links the way sensible people treat free press links, by which i mean ignoring them and not spreading them
January 14, 2026 at 6:44 PM
think it’s time to start treating cbs news links the way sensible people treat free press links, by which i mean ignoring them and not spreading them
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
This would be funny and pathetic, but Lex Bouter is literally the boss of all research integrity on this planet.
osf.io/preprints/me...
osf.io/preprints/me...
January 14, 2026 at 9:00 AM
This would be funny and pathetic, but Lex Bouter is literally the boss of all research integrity on this planet.
osf.io/preprints/me...
osf.io/preprints/me...
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
Seeing a lot of attention to a story pointing out major flaws in that highly publicized spoon full o' microplastics in your brain study. Worth reading my @opinion.bloomberg.com colleague Faye Flam's piece from last month on the problems w/the study (🎁): www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
The Real Microplastics Problem Isn’t in Your Brain
In the realm of horror, it was hard to beat the headlines last February that you were carrying around the equivalent of a plastic spoon’s worth of microplastics in your brain. The findings, reported i...
www.bloomberg.com
January 14, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Seeing a lot of attention to a story pointing out major flaws in that highly publicized spoon full o' microplastics in your brain study. Worth reading my @opinion.bloomberg.com colleague Faye Flam's piece from last month on the problems w/the study (🎁): www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
There’s a big story everyone is missing—but this article hits on it.
We aren’t just seeing public health dismantled bc we’ve been taken over by conspiracy theorists and lunatics.
What we’re really seeing is the giant, predatory, underegulated wellness industry come to Washington.
We aren’t just seeing public health dismantled bc we’ve been taken over by conspiracy theorists and lunatics.
What we’re really seeing is the giant, predatory, underegulated wellness industry come to Washington.
FDA deletes warning on bogus autism therapies touted by RFK Jr.‘s allies
The agency used to warn of chelation, used by RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine ally David Geier.
arstechnica.com
January 14, 2026 at 2:30 AM
There’s a big story everyone is missing—but this article hits on it.
We aren’t just seeing public health dismantled bc we’ve been taken over by conspiracy theorists and lunatics.
What we’re really seeing is the giant, predatory, underegulated wellness industry come to Washington.
We aren’t just seeing public health dismantled bc we’ve been taken over by conspiracy theorists and lunatics.
What we’re really seeing is the giant, predatory, underegulated wellness industry come to Washington.
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
It’s wild that Democrats are still negotiating their little appropriations bills as though everything is normal and Republicans won’t vote unilaterally to break the deals when Trump asks.
January 13, 2026 at 8:49 PM
It’s wild that Democrats are still negotiating their little appropriations bills as though everything is normal and Republicans won’t vote unilaterally to break the deals when Trump asks.
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
January 13, 2026 at 8:46 PM
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
Pseudoreplication is a common issue in biomedical studies, Nicely illustrated here: pubpeer.com/publications...
And good explainer, with R code for analysing such data here:
www.wiley.com/en-ie/Basic+...
#statistics
And good explainer, with R code for analysing such data here:
www.wiley.com/en-ie/Basic+...
#statistics
PubPeer - Large-scale investigation confirms TRPM3 ion channel dysfunc...
There are comments on PubPeer for publication: Large-scale investigation confirms TRPM3 ion channel dysfunction in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (2026)
pubpeer.com
January 13, 2026 at 9:37 AM
Pseudoreplication is a common issue in biomedical studies, Nicely illustrated here: pubpeer.com/publications...
And good explainer, with R code for analysing such data here:
www.wiley.com/en-ie/Basic+...
#statistics
And good explainer, with R code for analysing such data here:
www.wiley.com/en-ie/Basic+...
#statistics
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
ICE shut down the oldest Mexican restaurant in my hometown of Forest Lake, Minnesota -- a city that voted overwhelmingly for Trump (and Pete Hegseth's hometown too)
Feel safer yet?
Feel safer yet?
January 13, 2026 at 3:46 AM
ICE shut down the oldest Mexican restaurant in my hometown of Forest Lake, Minnesota -- a city that voted overwhelmingly for Trump (and Pete Hegseth's hometown too)
Feel safer yet?
Feel safer yet?
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
Wagner Ring Festival in Vienna
forbetterscience.com/2026/01/13/w...
forbetterscience.com/2026/01/13/w...
Wagner Ring Festival in Vienna
Erwin Wagner is not related to the famous German composer but we shall enjoy the Ring Festival with him and his friends anyway.
forbetterscience.com
January 13, 2026 at 6:12 AM
Wagner Ring Festival in Vienna
forbetterscience.com/2026/01/13/w...
forbetterscience.com/2026/01/13/w...
Reposted by Valentin Rodionov
A case from the 'strange' category: This XRD pattern looks like the noise signature was trimmed with a cookie cutter? Abdin et al. 2025 (DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.143841) in 'Food Chemistry'. pubpeer.com/publications...
Not sure why someone would use this method. Maybe get rid of peaks?
Not sure why someone would use this method. Maybe get rid of peaks?
January 12, 2026 at 8:59 PM
A case from the 'strange' category: This XRD pattern looks like the noise signature was trimmed with a cookie cutter? Abdin et al. 2025 (DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.143841) in 'Food Chemistry'. pubpeer.com/publications...
Not sure why someone would use this method. Maybe get rid of peaks?
Not sure why someone would use this method. Maybe get rid of peaks?