SergioEfe
@sergioefe.bsky.social
Periodista de ciencia. Ex(micro)biólogo.
Pinned
Poco bombazo para quien haya seguido este tema en los últimos años, pero daba titulares y lo facilón e inmediato es ir con quien dice que los plásticos son malos (que lo son).
'High-profile studies reporting the presence of microplastics throughout the human body have been thrown into doubt by scientists who say the discoveries are probably the result of contamination and false positives.'
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘A bombshell’: doubt cast on discovery of microplastics throughout human body
Exclusive: Some scientists say many detections are most likely error, with one high-profile study called a ‘joke’
www.theguardian.com
January 13, 2026 at 9:26 PM
Poco bombazo para quien haya seguido este tema en los últimos años, pero daba titulares y lo facilón e inmediato es ir con quien dice que los plásticos son malos (que lo son).
Reposted by SergioEfe
New thesis on HEPA air cleaners in school classrooms:
🧵 TL;DR: In this school study, HEPA air cleaners showed little reliable impact on absenteeism, and air-quality improvements were limited during actual classroom use.
🧵 TL;DR: In this school study, HEPA air cleaners showed little reliable impact on absenteeism, and air-quality improvements were limited during actual classroom use.
January 13, 2026 at 12:41 PM
New thesis on HEPA air cleaners in school classrooms:
🧵 TL;DR: In this school study, HEPA air cleaners showed little reliable impact on absenteeism, and air-quality improvements were limited during actual classroom use.
🧵 TL;DR: In this school study, HEPA air cleaners showed little reliable impact on absenteeism, and air-quality improvements were limited during actual classroom use.
Reposted by SergioEfe
Global deaths from cancer have increased, but the world has made progress against it—
January 13, 2026 at 9:50 AM
Global deaths from cancer have increased, but the world has made progress against it—
Reposted by SergioEfe
Here we go again with using observational data when it suits them.
This is particularly important here, because there’s a huge difference between observational data & trials on artificial sweeteners.
This is particularly important here, because there’s a huge difference between observational data & trials on artificial sweeteners.
January 8, 2026 at 12:56 PM
Here we go again with using observational data when it suits them.
This is particularly important here, because there’s a huge difference between observational data & trials on artificial sweeteners.
This is particularly important here, because there’s a huge difference between observational data & trials on artificial sweeteners.
Reposted by SergioEfe
“Reclaiming academic publishing as a public good requires a return to not-for-profit models & sustainable open-access systems. Quality, accessibility & integrity need to be put ahead of profit. Change is needed to protect the purpose of academic research: to advance knowledge in the public interest”
The 5 stages of the ‘enshittification’ of academic publishing
Academic publishing now shows the same decline that has hit social media and online marketplaces.
theconversation.com
January 11, 2026 at 10:49 AM
“Reclaiming academic publishing as a public good requires a return to not-for-profit models & sustainable open-access systems. Quality, accessibility & integrity need to be put ahead of profit. Change is needed to protect the purpose of academic research: to advance knowledge in the public interest”
Reposted by SergioEfe
This is good news and is to be celebrated.
I wonder if it will cause any reflection among those who put out the MOAST FLU EVER!!!! press releases and those who reported them?
I wonder if it will cause any reflection among those who put out the MOAST FLU EVER!!!! press releases and those who reported them?
Good confidence that the NHS flu bed count will continue its fall this week. This counts positive tests (NOIDS causative agents report) and tends to be a decent leading indicator.
January 13, 2026 at 8:45 AM
This is good news and is to be celebrated.
I wonder if it will cause any reflection among those who put out the MOAST FLU EVER!!!! press releases and those who reported them?
I wonder if it will cause any reflection among those who put out the MOAST FLU EVER!!!! press releases and those who reported them?
Reposted by SergioEfe
¿No estáis como saturados de datitos mierdosos y ya parece que no queda ninguno que os pueda sorprender?
¿SABÍAS QUE CANADÁ Y DINAMAR-
Seeeh, la guerra de los licores, ahora se reparten la isla.
¿SABÍAS QUE UN PAÍS LIBRÓ UNA GUERRA CONTRA UN AV-
Seeeh, la guerra del emú en australia, la perdieron.
¿SABÍAS QUE CANADÁ Y DINAMAR-
Seeeh, la guerra de los licores, ahora se reparten la isla.
¿SABÍAS QUE UN PAÍS LIBRÓ UNA GUERRA CONTRA UN AV-
Seeeh, la guerra del emú en australia, la perdieron.
January 12, 2026 at 10:19 AM
¿No estáis como saturados de datitos mierdosos y ya parece que no queda ninguno que os pueda sorprender?
¿SABÍAS QUE CANADÁ Y DINAMAR-
Seeeh, la guerra de los licores, ahora se reparten la isla.
¿SABÍAS QUE UN PAÍS LIBRÓ UNA GUERRA CONTRA UN AV-
Seeeh, la guerra del emú en australia, la perdieron.
¿SABÍAS QUE CANADÁ Y DINAMAR-
Seeeh, la guerra de los licores, ahora se reparten la isla.
¿SABÍAS QUE UN PAÍS LIBRÓ UNA GUERRA CONTRA UN AV-
Seeeh, la guerra del emú en australia, la perdieron.
Reposted by SergioEfe
📰 "But the problem with dancing on old journalism’s grave, even if many of its wounds are self-inflicted, is what rises up to replace it: biased TikTokers and influencers, partisan nonprofits or billionaire-funded outlets, or locally trained artificial intelligence LLMs." unherd.com/newsroom/inf...
Influencers and AI will fill the void left by local journalism
The announcement this week that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — one of the nation’s oldest newspapers — will finally kick the bucket on 3 May should surprise no one. The newspaper industry has been evap...
unherd.com
January 12, 2026 at 11:19 AM
📰 "But the problem with dancing on old journalism’s grave, even if many of its wounds are self-inflicted, is what rises up to replace it: biased TikTokers and influencers, partisan nonprofits or billionaire-funded outlets, or locally trained artificial intelligence LLMs." unherd.com/newsroom/inf...
Reposted by SergioEfe
Hace 6.000 años los veranos en Europa duraban 200 días. Entonces, las causas fueron naturales. Hoy el escenario es parecido, pero con una diferencia fundamental: el calentamiento actual avanza a un ritmo muy superior al de aquel periodo.
Doscientos días de verano
El pasado nos avisa de lo que puede pasar si continúa el cambio climático causado por el hombre: hace entre 8 000 y 4 000 años, el periodo estival duraba dos siglos debido al calentamiento del Ártico.
theconversation.com
January 12, 2026 at 11:04 AM
Hace 6.000 años los veranos en Europa duraban 200 días. Entonces, las causas fueron naturales. Hoy el escenario es parecido, pero con una diferencia fundamental: el calentamiento actual avanza a un ritmo muy superior al de aquel periodo.
Reposted by SergioEfe
El último informe Reuters sobre prensa señala que los medios no pintamos mucho aquí, pero en el otro lado ya no hay nada que hacer.
January 12, 2026 at 10:50 AM
El último informe Reuters sobre prensa señala que los medios no pintamos mucho aquí, pero en el otro lado ya no hay nada que hacer.
Reposted by SergioEfe
January 12, 2026 at 7:58 AM
"Khan said addressing the causes of serious violent crime, such as the effects of poverty and lack of opportunities, had been key."
London’s homicide rate drops to lowest in more than a decade
London’s homicide rate drops to lowest in more than a decade
Sadiq Khan says ‘public health’ approach has made the capital one of the safest cities in the western world
London’s murder rate has dropped to its lowest in more than a decade with police in the capital and the mayor saying it is now one of the safest cities in the western world.
The figures come as those on the radical right criticise the city for having a crime problem, hoping to gain politically from such claims being believed. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
January 12, 2026 at 7:42 AM
"Khan said addressing the causes of serious violent crime, such as the effects of poverty and lack of opportunities, had been key."
Reposted by SergioEfe
I really need more people to understand that many, MANY of the social media accounts you see aren't real. Even the ones that seem really real. Even the ones with the hashtags you like. Especially the ones with the hashtags you like.
January 11, 2026 at 8:59 PM
I really need more people to understand that many, MANY of the social media accounts you see aren't real. Even the ones that seem really real. Even the ones with the hashtags you like. Especially the ones with the hashtags you like.
Reposted by SergioEfe
"España atraviesa un episodio más frío de lo habitual, pero encadenamos siete inviernos con temperaturas muy cálidas; nuestros sesgos nos hacen normalizar las temperaturas anómalas y los eventos extremos"
www.lavanguardia.com/natural/2026...
www.lavanguardia.com/natural/2026...
Inviernos más cálidos que percibimos muy fríos: la “amnesia climática” es la culpable
España atraviesa un episodio más frío de lo habitual, pero encadenamos siete inviernos con temperaturas muy cálidas; nuestros sesgos nos hacen normalizar las
www.lavanguardia.com
January 11, 2026 at 4:58 PM
"España atraviesa un episodio más frío de lo habitual, pero encadenamos siete inviernos con temperaturas muy cálidas; nuestros sesgos nos hacen normalizar las temperaturas anómalas y los eventos extremos"
www.lavanguardia.com/natural/2026...
www.lavanguardia.com/natural/2026...
Reposted by SergioEfe
Health experts: Your synthetic text "AI" overviews are misleading, for example see this about liver function tests.
Google: Okay, we'll block "AI" overviews on that query.
The product is fundamentally flawed and cannot be "fixed" by patching query by query.
A short 🧵>>
Google: Okay, we'll block "AI" overviews on that query.
The product is fundamentally flawed and cannot be "fixed" by patching query by query.
A short 🧵>>
‘Dangerous and alarming’: Google removes some of its AI summaries after users’ health put at risk
Guardian investigation finds AI Overviews provided inaccurate and false information when queried over blood tests
www.theguardian.com
January 11, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Health experts: Your synthetic text "AI" overviews are misleading, for example see this about liver function tests.
Google: Okay, we'll block "AI" overviews on that query.
The product is fundamentally flawed and cannot be "fixed" by patching query by query.
A short 🧵>>
Google: Okay, we'll block "AI" overviews on that query.
The product is fundamentally flawed and cannot be "fixed" by patching query by query.
A short 🧵>>
"The patients are real, but the clustering as a mystery disease is not."
"The patient advocates have arguably done more than anyone to keep the story of the cluster going, with an operation that includes lobbying the government, briefing the press and sending legal letters to scientists."
"The patient advocates have arguably done more than anyone to keep the story of the cluster going, with an operation that includes lobbying the government, briefing the press and sending legal letters to scientists."
'The answer cannot be nothing': The battle over Canada's mystery brain disease
www.bbc.com/news/art...
1/6
www.bbc.com/news/art...
1/6
The battle over Canada's mystery brain disease
A small Canadian province feared it had a mystery neurological illness on its hands. The search for answers set off a battle for the truth.
www.bbc.com
January 11, 2026 at 12:27 PM
"The patients are real, but the clustering as a mystery disease is not."
"The patient advocates have arguably done more than anyone to keep the story of the cluster going, with an operation that includes lobbying the government, briefing the press and sending legal letters to scientists."
"The patient advocates have arguably done more than anyone to keep the story of the cluster going, with an operation that includes lobbying the government, briefing the press and sending legal letters to scientists."
"Cuando la sociedad siente que ya no puede decidir su destino, que sus posibilidades de incidir en su futuro se ven cercenadas no importa a quién vote, entonces elige líderes que prometen cambios de fondo, aun al costo de romper las cosas".
January 11, 2026 at 8:16 AM
"Cuando la sociedad siente que ya no puede decidir su destino, que sus posibilidades de incidir en su futuro se ven cercenadas no importa a quién vote, entonces elige líderes que prometen cambios de fondo, aun al costo de romper las cosas".
Reposted by SergioEfe
I don’t think we should have ceded control quite so quickly and without so much as a fight.
January 10, 2026 at 2:52 AM
I don’t think we should have ceded control quite so quickly and without so much as a fight.
Reposted by SergioEfe
Como en el ejemplo del Brexit, el impacto de decisiones estructurales puede tardar y hacerse visible cuando los responsables de la decisión ya no están gobernando.
“When Brexit passed, the economic impact was initially minimal. But a decade later, the UK is estimated to have lost 6 to 8 per cent of GDP relative to its pre-Brexit trajectory. Structural damage reveals itself slowly, and always too late to be reversed.” giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Don’t be fooled — everything has changed for the global economy
Damage caused by US tariffs has so far been muted but that won’t last
giftarticle.ft.com
January 10, 2026 at 9:38 AM
Como en el ejemplo del Brexit, el impacto de decisiones estructurales puede tardar y hacerse visible cuando los responsables de la decisión ya no están gobernando.
Reposted by SergioEfe
Asked which was more important, the acquisition of Greenland or the preservation of NATO, he didn't answer
January 9, 2026 at 6:35 AM
Asked which was more important, the acquisition of Greenland or the preservation of NATO, he didn't answer
Reposted by SergioEfe
Good thread. I'd add that you need to know (or assume) what the true effect size is, to make a claim about who's biased.
There's an implicit assumption that the average effect, or the one found by moderates, is accurate, but that might not be the case.
There's an implicit assumption that the average effect, or the one found by moderates, is accurate, but that might not be the case.
A new paper by George Borjas—who served this past year in the Trump White House designing some of its anti-immigration policies—claims to display evidence of ideological bias among researchers who study immigration.
doi.org/10.1126/scia...
🧵 Thread—>
doi.org/10.1126/scia...
🧵 Thread—>
January 7, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Good thread. I'd add that you need to know (or assume) what the true effect size is, to make a claim about who's biased.
There's an implicit assumption that the average effect, or the one found by moderates, is accurate, but that might not be the case.
There's an implicit assumption that the average effect, or the one found by moderates, is accurate, but that might not be the case.
Reposted by SergioEfe
Si crees que la UE debería prohibir X por ser una amenaza a la seguridad de la Unión y una empresa dedicada a la pornografía infantil el primer paso es dejar de usar X tú mismo. Y convencer a quien puedas de que haga lo mismo. Y empezar a ser parte activa de la solución.
Yo creo que Europa debería prohibir X porque es una amenaza a su seguridad. Pero lo que digo es algo infinitamente más pequeño y sencillo.
January 8, 2026 at 11:09 AM
Si crees que la UE debería prohibir X por ser una amenaza a la seguridad de la Unión y una empresa dedicada a la pornografía infantil el primer paso es dejar de usar X tú mismo. Y convencer a quien puedas de que haga lo mismo. Y empezar a ser parte activa de la solución.
Reposted by SergioEfe
Curioso cuanto menos el contraste discursivo, cuando comparamos además un solo país con toda una coalición de países algunos teniendo incluso arsenal nuclear. Y ojo, que con esto no digo que la respuesta militar sea la más adecuada, pero el contraste con el belicismo anterior es brutal.
January 8, 2026 at 10:12 AM
Curioso cuanto menos el contraste discursivo, cuando comparamos además un solo país con toda una coalición de países algunos teniendo incluso arsenal nuclear. Y ojo, que con esto no digo que la respuesta militar sea la más adecuada, pero el contraste con el belicismo anterior es brutal.
Reposted by SergioEfe
Here's a suggestion for a New Year's resolution: If you see influential bad research, say something. One part of the whole replication crisis story is that a lot of psychological researchers privately knew that a lot of stuff was bad, but it wasn't discussed publicly.
A hope for 2026 is that this perspective piece with @wiringthebrain.bsky.social & @deevybee.bsky.social will serve as a template for others who are similarly frustrated with with exaggerated claims and double speak around so much of research. It's ok to point out that the emperor has no clothes!
The link between the gut #microbiome and autism is not backed by science, researchers say.
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
January 7, 2026 at 2:44 PM
Here's a suggestion for a New Year's resolution: If you see influential bad research, say something. One part of the whole replication crisis story is that a lot of psychological researchers privately knew that a lot of stuff was bad, but it wasn't discussed publicly.
Reposted by SergioEfe
Los 'niños de la Guerra Civil' españoles llevan un año sin cobrar su pensión de Rusia: “No podemos esperar más”
Los 'niños de la Guerra Civil' españoles llevan un año sin cobrar su pensión de Rusia: "No podemos esperar más"
Personas que tienen entre 80 y 100 años y que trabajaron en Rusia tras ser evacuados durante la contienda y la dictadura no están percibiendo la pensión que les corresponde debido, según el Ministerio...
www.eldiario.es
January 8, 2026 at 7:40 AM
Los 'niños de la Guerra Civil' españoles llevan un año sin cobrar su pensión de Rusia: “No podemos esperar más”