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AIPT Science @science.aiptcomics.com · 1d

The research on misinformation is growing, but do we have any solutions yet? We review the new book 'Misguided,' by social scientist @matthewfacciani.bsky.social. @danielloxton.bsky.social @caulfieldtim.bsky.social @jonathanstea.bsky.social @critikid.bsky.social

‘Misguided’ offers games and ‘prebunking’ to abate misinformation

A new entry in the growing field of misinformation research.

aiptcomics.com

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Dr. Jonathan N. Stea @jonathanstea.bsky.social · 1d

Brandolini’s Law (also known as the bullshit asymmetry principle):

The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it.

H/t @unbiasedscipod.bsky.social

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Matthew Facciani @matthewfacciani.bsky.social · 12d

A review of 58 college syllabi that focus on critical thinking showed that these courses often focus on pseudoscience, paranormal claims, and conspiracy theories, relying heavily on active learning methods to help students learn how to separate science from pseudoscience and make better decisions.

Weird, Fantastic, and Fringe: Undergraduate Courses Designed to Teach Critical Thinking Through Refutation

Critical thinking is widely accepted as a goal of higher education. However, students are graduating from college with a multitude of false beliefs indicating current strategies are inadequate. We ...

www.tandfonline.com

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AIPT Science @science.aiptcomics.com · 12d

WWE's Wrestlepalooza event on September 20 presented what was called an "EMF-Friendly" match, partnering with a dubious tech company aligned with President Donald Trump's anti-science HHS Secretary, RFK Jr. Is it just new age snake oil? @wrestling.aiptcomics.com @iamjohnpollock.bsky.social

What was WWE and Aires’ ‘EMF-Friendly’ Wrestlepalooza match?

The future of snake oil!

aiptcomics.com

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Matthew Facciani @matthewfacciani.bsky.social · 24d

A study finds that 75% of the time, people share links to news stories on Facebook without clicking on them first.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Sharing without clicking on news in social media - Nature Human Behaviour

Over 75% of links to news shared on Facebook during the election seasons of 2017–2020 were forwarded without the sharer first clicking on them. Extreme and user-aligned political content was shared mo...

www.nature.com

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Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 25d

This guy's videos are amazing and this animal is absurd

Quetzalcoatlus the Largest land Predator that Flew

YouTube video by Moth Light Media

www.youtube.com

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Astrobites @astrobites.bsky.social · Sep 9

From Annelia Anderson @astroannelia.bsky.social : Today’s paper explores the detectability of primordial black holes as a potential dark matter candidate. 🔭✨☄️
astrobites.org/2025/09/08/i...

If primordial black holes are dark matter, would we know?

Today’s paper explores the detectability of primordial black holes as a potential dark matter candidate.

astrobites.org

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Guardian Environment @environment.theguardian.com · Sep 8

Science is under siege from weaponised disinformation – posing a threat to human civilisation | Michael Mann and Peter Hotez

From Covid misinformation to climate denialism, understanding the divergent paths of Australia and the US can help us fight the powerful forces that threaten our world

www.theguardian.com

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Joseph Laycock @josephlaycock.bsky.social · Sep 6

"These are cases where people are in distress, and I don't think it helps to have a couple of people who have no training and no clinical background show up, tell you it's a demon, and walk away with book and movie contracts," Hendrix said.

The demons in 'The Conjuring' movies may not be real -- but the family tragedies are

The lucrative franchise is based on real stories — and the professional ghostbusters who saved the day. But critics say the real-life couple profited off of people's pain.

www.ideastream.org

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AIPT @aiptcomics.com · Sep 2

‘Ultrawild: An Audacious Plan for Rewilding Every City on Earth’ should be in every future engineer’s library
@lernerbooks.bsky.social #comicbooks #science
Out today, read @davidbrooke.bsky.social's review:

‘Ultrawild: An Audacious Plan for Rewilding Every City on Earth’ should be in every future engineer’s library

Poop-shooting cannons, wild blueprints, and sobering truths rethink how humanity might survive climate change.

aiptcomics.com

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AIPT Science @science.aiptcomics.com · Sep 2

What the heck *IS* the Voynich manuscript? Until Thursday morning, you can contribute to @saltandpeppergames.bsky.social's Gamefound campaign to try to figure it out in board game form. In the meantime, @satanicskeptic.bsky.social is here with the document's real history. @gamefound.bsky.social

The Voynich manuscript: alien field book or medieval hoax?

Probably NOT an ancient D&D manual.

aiptcomics.com

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Astrobites @astrobites.bsky.social · Aug 26

From Sandy Chiu: Cosmic rays, born from powerful events like exploding stars, are an elusive part of a galaxy’s interstellar medium. Today’s paper combines multi-wavelength observations of M82 to untangle how cosmic rays and magnetic fields shape its energetic core.🔭✨☄️
astrobites.org/2025/08/25/c...

Cosmic Rays and their Observational Signatures

Cosmic rays, born from powerful events like exploding stars, are a key but elusive part of a galaxy’s interstellar medium. Today's paper combines gamma-ray, X-ray, infrared, and radio observations of ...

astrobites.org

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Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · Aug 20

RFK Jr. Vowed to Find the Environmental Causes of Autism. Then He Shut Down Research Trying to Do Just That. Story by @fastlerner.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/rfk-...

RFK Jr. Vowed to Find the Environmental Causes of Autism. Then He Shut Down Research Trying to Do Just That.

While touting a $50 million initiative to identify the causes of autism, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is helping lead an administration that is rolling back protections against pollution and toxic chemicals,...

www.propublica.org

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Stephanie Kemmerer @doubtisthewayout.bsky.social · Aug 14

Alex Jones flew too close to Niburu.

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Timothy Caulfield @caulfieldtim.bsky.social · Aug 14

There seems to be NO END to his doubtmongering BS.

Dark Age 2.0

HHS revives child vaccine safety panel sought by anti-vaccine activists www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

And don't fall for the Motte and Bailey fallacy. Obviously everyone wants safe vaccines. Support the science.

HHS revives child vaccine safety panel sought by anti-vaccine activists

Anti-vaccine activists funded a May lawsuit to reconvene the defunct Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines and scrutinize the childhood immunization schedule.

www.washingtonpost.com

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AIPT Science @science.aiptcomics.com · Aug 14

I'm sure this infringing of speech INFURIATES @michaelshermer.bsky.social! Right, Mike? Way worse than not allowing Nazis to speak on college campuses, yeah? Get the word out!

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American Scientist @americanscientist.org · Aug 13

Unlike other senses, smell bypasses the thalamus and makes a beeline to brain areas governing emotion and memory.

Systematizing Scents

Researchers have compiled the largest-ever catalog of olfactory perception to build a universal dictionary describing smells.

www.americanscientist.org

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Scientific Inquirer @scientificinquirer.bsky.social · Aug 8

Penguin poop helps cool Antarctica. 🐧💨 Guano releases ammonia that boosts cloud cover, reflecting sunlight and reinforcing cold conditions—a quirky but vital climate buffer that could weaken as penguin numbers drop. #ClimateScience scientificinquirer.com/2025/08/05/d...

A black-and-white illustration shows four emperor penguins standing in a row on a snowy Antarctic plain, with guano patches scattered around their feet. Above them, a large billowy cloud hangs in the sky, and a bold upward arrow points from the penguins toward the cloud. In the background, smaller clouds drift over distant ice cliffs, creating a playful link between the penguins and cloud formation.

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AIPT Science @science.aiptcomics.com · Aug 8

The drug-induced vision of the Hatman in @jamesthefourth.bsky.social's "Department of Truth" #32 seems like an information age creation, but its origins go much deeper. @doubtisthewayout.bsky.social explains. @imagecomics.com @aiptcomics.com

The Hatman of ‘Department of Truth’ has actually been with us for centuries

A new twist on an old phenomenon.

aiptcomics.com

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · Aug 5

Every reputable expert I know considers mRNA vaccine technology to be one of the most revolutionary advances in medicine in our lifetimes. Its inventors won the Nobel Prize in 2023. Shutting it down now is pointless self-harm to humanity.

Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · Aug 5

Release from HHS: HHS will wind down its development of the mRNA vaccine development activities under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

HHS Winds Down mRNA Vaccine Development Under BARDA

WASHINGTON, DC—AUGUST 5, 2025—The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced the beginning of a coordinated wind-down of its mRNA vaccine development activities under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), including the cancellation and de-scoping of various contracts and solicitations. The decision follows a comprehensive review of mRNA-related investments initiated during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

“We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “BARDA is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”

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Dr. Wendy Bohon @drwendyrocks.bsky.social · Aug 6

Are we having more earthquakes (or more volcanic eruptions) than normal?

Nope.

I explain in this short article. wendybohon.com/2023/04/15/a...

Are we having more earthquakes than usual?

Are there more earthquake than usual? Nope!

wendybohon.com

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AIPT Science @science.aiptcomics.com · Aug 6

Do you want to review this?

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · Jan 5

Saguaro cactus have a long lifespan (150-300 yrs) & there's a rough correlation between height and age. A 25 ft cactus, for example, is probably 100 yrs old.

They may not put out a 'side arm' or branch until they're at least 75 years old.

This specimen *could* be older than the telegraph.

EerilyPhD 👻 @ejwillingham.bsky.social · Jan 5

Saguaro also says hello 🌵🏜️

A large saguaro cactus with six branches

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AIPT Science @science.aiptcomics.com · Aug 1

What would you see if you could go back to the beginning of the universe? Marvel's First Family make the trek in @ryannorth.ca's "Fantastic Four" #33, and astrophysicist @leastactionhero.bsky.social is here to explain. What happened to all the antimatter?! @tombrevoort.bsky.social @aiptcomics.com

The Fantastic Four examine inflation and antimatter

In Ryan North and Cory Smith's 'Fantastic Four' #33.

aiptcomics.com

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Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · Jul 28

Geologic Periods

xkcd.com/3120/

Comic. [3-column table with headers Period, My Favorite Part, and My Biggest Complaint] [Row 1] P: *Precambrian*, MFP: Life develops, MBC: Snowball Earth episodes [Row 2] P: Cambrian, MFP: Trilobites!, MBC: Evolution could stand to calm down a little [Row 3] P: Ordovician, MFP: Earth might have had rings, MBC: Scary volcanic eruption in North America [Row 4] P: Silurian, MFP: First land animals, MBC: Earth’s newfound mold problem [Row 5] P: Devonian, MFP: Big mountains in Boston, MBC: Yeah, sure, what those giant killer fish needed was *armor* [Row 6] P: Carboniferous, MFP: Cool forests, MBC: Bugs too big [Row 7] P: Permian, MFP: Pangea, MBC: Google “The Great Dying” [Row 8] P: Triassic, MFP: Tanystropheus [dinosaur with extremely long neck next to tiny person for scale], MBC: Damage to Canada still visible from space at Manicouagan [Row 9] P: Jurassic, MFP: Birds, MBC: Parasitoid wasps [Row 10] P: Cretaceous, MFP: Raptors, MBC: Raptors [Row 11] P: Paleogene, MFP: Pretty horseys!!!, MBC: Paleocene-eocene thermal maximum [Row 12] P: Neogene, MFP: Forests of *Dracaena* Dragonblood Trees, MBC: Zanclean Flood [Row 13] P: Quaternary, MFP: Burrito invented, MBC: Whoever picked this name for the third period of the Cenozoic

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