Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Kit Yates @kityates.bsky.social · 19h

“A new study shows that receiving an updated COVID vaccine reduced people’s risk of severe disease and death in all age groups, regardless of immunity from prior infection or vaccination”

New Study Finds Annual COVID Vaccines Protect People against Severe Disease, Even with Prior Immunity

A new study shows that receiving an updated COVID vaccine reduced people’s risk of severe disease and death in all age groups, regardless of immunity from prior infection or vaccination

www.scientificamerican.com

5 40 65

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

BBC Newsnight @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social · 2d

“I’ll put it bluntly, Robert is wrong… it’s actually a very integrated place... Not the definition of a slum.”

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands 2017-24, responds to Robert Jenrick's comments on Handsworth.

#Newsnight

22 92 270

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Helen Salisbury @helensalisbury.bsky.social · 2d

According to Wes Streeting, GPs are less convenient than hairdressers.
My latest on why goodwill has drained away as we try to provide a safe & equitable service in the teeth of a gale of nonsense from NHS England & the govt.
bmj.com/cgi/content/...

Helen Salisbury: GPs versus hairdressers? Streeting has no idea

The row about online access to GP services continues.1 In April it was agreed that GPs would keep online portals open in their core hours, but a six month delay was put in place. This was so that NHS ...

bmj.com

5 17 29

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 3d

BBC accused of 'extraordinary' anti-Green bias after party say the Laura Kuenssberg Show scrapped a promised interview with @zackpolanski.bsky.social on Sunday.

Green sources say the show also refused to interview Polanski after he was elected as leader last month

bylinetimes.com/2025/10/06/b...

87 550 1.3K

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 3d

It helps to be able to spell the country you say only you are competent enough to run.

Goody-bag merch from Tory Conference branded "When Labour negotiates Britian loses" and signed "Kemi Badenoch".

270 920 3K

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Saul Staniforth @saulstaniforth.bsky.social · 7d

"People are tired & exhausted.. bills are sky rocketing.. the NHS is not properly funded, people can't get an NHS appt.. meanwhile since the pandemic billionaire wealth has doubled.. we need to have a tax on multi millionaires and billionaires"

@zackpolanski.bsky.social on #politicslive

6 85 240

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Saul Staniforth @saulstaniforth.bsky.social · 7d

"If you are sick of establishment politics, if you are sick of both the Labour party and the Conservative party, I get that."

@zackpolanski.bsky.social on #BBCBreakfast on the eve of the Green Party conference.

3 43 160

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Bradford District Green Party @bradfordgreens.bsky.social · 7d

🌏 "Investing in tackling climate change creates jobs"

@zackpolanski.bsky.social reacts to Kemi Badenoch's 'irresponsible and economically incoherent' plan to repeal the Climate Change Act.

5 69 190

Nicholas Theobald @nicktd.bsky.social · 7d

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... #immigration #greenparty

Migration is Britain’s superpower. Our future depends on embracing that truth, not denying it | Zack Polanski

Labour has lost its nerve. At our party conference this weekend, we’re gathering to set things right, says Green party leader Zack Polanski

www.theguardian.com

1

Nicholas Theobald @nicktd.bsky.social · 8d

Thank you for your courage in standing up to the powerful lobbies and doing the best for your citizens

16

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 8d

On 15th Sept, billionaire & Royal Society fellow Elon Musk called for political & interethnic violence, to pre-empt (ie, begin) a civil war. ("Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die."). A fortnight later, the Society expresses its disapproval

The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 8d

"I am increasingly concerned over threats to the values that allow science to flourish." Read the full statement from the President of the Royal Society Sir Adrian Smith: royalsociety.org/news/2025/10...

A statement from the President of the Royal Society | Royal Society

A statement from the President of the Royal Society regarding threats to the values that allow science to flourish.

royalsociety.org

14 70 180

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 8d

Here I am in 2020 in the flimsiest, most pitful PPE - like so many other NHS staff, some of whom died from the Covid they caught in their hospitals.

Tory peer Michelle Mone - who today lost her legal case & must repay the govt £122m - dares to claim she’s been ‘scapegoated’.

What, Michelle? 🧵

Rachel wearing very flimsy looking apron, mask and visor in NHS setting

140 1.2K 3K

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Kit Yates @kityates.bsky.social · 8d

"Trial heard 25m surgical gowns supplied by PPE Medpro to protect NHS staff were unusable and could ‘seriously harm or kill patients’"

Good news, but there's a lot more to be done on the PPE/VIP-lane scandal.

UK government wins £122m pandemic case against Michelle Mone-linked firm over faulty PPE

Trial heard 25m surgical gowns supplied by PPE Medpro to protect NHS staff were unusable and could ‘seriously harm or kill patients’

www.theguardian.com

25 79

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 10d

Is there a reason I ask that the Times are using a picture of asylum seekers in a boat to describe rules for migrants who came on legal routes such as skilled worker visas for doctors?

The Times & Sunday Times @thetimes.com · 10d

Tough new conditions to be imposed on migrants who want to settle in the UK will not apply to more than a million people who arrived in the UK under the post-Brexit immigration surge

Labour’s tough new rules will not apply to migrants already in UK

www.thetimes.com

35 630 2.3K

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 9d

Nigel Farage, 3rd September to U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee

● "Free speech is under assault in Britain."

● Free speech laws are "a sledgehammer that misses the nut" because they censor opinion.

●"At what point did we become North Korea?" He asked.

27 days later:

The Times & Sunday Times @thetimes.com · 9d

Nigel Farage: Labour rhetoric incites violence against Reform

Reform UK leader will claim in a speech today that Keir Starmer’s labelling of his migrant plan as ‘racist’ has endangered the safety of his candidates and activists ⬇️

Nigel Farage: Labour rhetoric incites violence against Reform

www.thetimes.com

39 200 540

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Byline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 9d

🔴Calls for New Inquiry Into Russian Interference After Reform’s Former Welsh Leader Pleads Guilty to Bribery

As the Kremlin steps up its political interference efforts in the West, is it time for a new Russia Report?

bylinetimes.com/2025/10/01/c...

Calls for New Inquiry Into Russian Interference After Reform’s Former Welsh Leader Pleads Guilty to Bribery

As the Kremlin steps up its political interference efforts in the West, is it time for a new Russia Report?

bylinetimes.com

38 300 660

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 13d

Sheer hypocrisy from Kennedy as he derails UN declaration on non communicable chronic diseases eg diabetes , lung disease, autoimmunity instead making accusations about abortion and gender that have nothing to do with declaration.

US refuses to back UN declaration on noncommunicable diseases

General assembly backs new targets on cancer, diabetes and heart disease but Robert F Kennedy Jr objects

www.theguardian.com

33 150 380

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 13d

Kennedy has been very busy- I reflect on what has been happening but also worry that his tactics could be adopted elsewhere result in in wider undermining of trust in science and reducing vaccine access and uptake 🧪

What the current disinformation and discussions on vaccines, Tylenol (Paracetamol), autism could mean for us all.

Disinformation and Disarray in American Health Policy Making

open.substack.com

1 28 43

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Prof Danny Altmann @daltmann.bsky.social · 12d

2 8 9

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Alan Rusbridger @arusbridger.bsky.social · 15d

If you enjoyed #TheHack tonight here’s why the story mattered….

Alan Rusbridger @arusbridger.bsky.social · 19d

Robert Redford, me, Toby Jones - and a reporter who found corruption in his own backyard. Thoughts on the coming ITV drama, The Hack www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/...

Me, Toby Jones and a timely reminder of why we need a free press

A new drama on the phone-hacking scandal shows us journalism at its worst, but also how reporting can make real change

www.prospectmagazine.co.uk

4 49 110

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 15d

This is huge: “A drug that provides near-perfect protection against H.I.V. with shots just twice a year will be made available at $40 per patient annually in low- and middle-income countries, offering new hope… making lenacapavir a realistic choice in countries with constrained resources.”

Philanthropies Strike a Promising Deal to Turn Back H.I.V.

www.nytimes.com

4 1.3K 4.2K

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 18d

Reform will apparently pledge today that they'd abolish indefinite leave to remain - including retrospectively, to people already granted it. Obviously this is a moral abomination but it is also a practical and legal impossibility.

250 860 2.7K

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Prospect Magazine @prospectmagazine.co.uk · 18d

International negotiations to reduce plastic production were held hostage by “a handful of Petro states and a small army of corporate lobbyists”, writes @timsmedley.bsky.social.

Why the ‘Paris Agreement’ of plastics ended in failure

Those who hoped to curtail plastic production—and the health risks associated with the stuff—were disappointed. Oil lobbyists, less so

www.prospectmagazine.co.uk

2 14 22

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Tom Yates @tomayates.bsky.social · 18d

There is a big financial penalty to pursuing a clinical academic career - delay to CCT (consultant salary), loss of out of hours supplements whilst on research blocks

Unless this can be addressed, it will increasingly become a choice restricted to doctors from wealthy families

Imperial Medicine @imperialmed.bsky.social · Apr 1

Is an ‘exodus’ of clinical researchers threatening the future of UK healthcare?

“For young NHS clinicians coming through they are often not rewarded for what they’ve done in science whereas they used to be." – Prof Graham Cooke spoke to @financialtimes.com

www.ft.com/content/c4fa...

‘Exodus’ of clinical researchers sparks concern over future of UK healthcare

Lack of incentives is driving down the number of clinical researchers in Britain

www.ft.com

1 1 5

Reposted by Nicholas Theobald

Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 18d

comment masquerading as a news headline

34 76 510