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Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · 16d

Now might be a good time to repost this story about what scientists actually know about the complex causes of autism, and what's behind the increasing prevalence.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Autism is on the rise: what’s really behind the increase?

RFK Jr has vowed to find out what’s responsible, but scientists say he is ignoring answers from decades of research.

www.nature.com

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Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · 29d

A good news story. A new birth cohort to add to the UK’s unique series of such studies

News from UK Research and Innovation @news.ukri.org · Sep 9

UKRI announces first UK-wide birth cohort study in 25 years #ESRC #AcademicSky

UKRI announces first UK-wide birth cohort study in 25 years

A ground-breaking UK-wide scientific study will help improve the lives of future generations by studying 30,000 children born in 2026.

www.ukri.org

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Reposted by Helen Pearson

Chris Gunter 🧬 @girlscientist.bsky.social · Aug 28

Good summary by my friend @helenpearson.bsky.social of what we have been saying for years: if there’s an epidemic in autism, it’s of diagnoses, which is not a bad thing www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Autism is on the rise: what’s really behind the increase?

RFK Jr has vowed to find out what’s responsible, but scientists say he is ignoring answers from decades of research.

www.nature.com

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Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · Aug 29

“While X has primarily served as a dissemination tool, Bluesky may support a more interpretive, reflective mode of science communication.” 👇

Nature @nature.com · Aug 29

Posts about research on Bluesky receive substantially more attention than similar posts on X, formerly called Twitter

go.nature.com/45Ftiw4

Research posts on Bluesky are more original — and get better engagement

Bluesky posts about science garner more likes and reposts than similar ones on X.

go.nature.com

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Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · Aug 27

Very surprised and delighted to be one of 4 finalists for European Science Journalist of the Year Award 2025 - along with amazing reporters @mikepeeljourno.bsky.social, Jonas Reese & Christopher Weingart.

ABSW @absw.bsky.social · Aug 27

Congratulations to ABSW members @helenpearson.bsky.social and @mikepeeljourno.bsky.social who are finalists in the European Science Journalist of the Year Award 2025. Really well deserved. efsj.eu/2025/08/27/a...

Announcing the shortlist for the European Science Journalist of the Year Award 2025

The European Federation for Science Journalism reveals the 2025 shortlist for the European Science Journalist of the Year award. National science journalism associations put forward their candidates, ...

efsj.eu

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Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · Aug 27

Yes, thanks - several researchers said this was a factor in the rise in diagnoses. A diagnosis may help families access support.

Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · Aug 26

Many thanks to the autistic people, scientists and autism groups who spoke to me about this important area incl. @autistica.org.uk, @aims2trials.bsky.social, @autismsciencefd.bsky.social, Autism Society of America, Coalition of Autism Scientists and more

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Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · Aug 26

What’s really driving the rise in prevalence of autism? My @nature.com story looks at what scientists and the autism community have learned about the causes of autism and the growth in diagnoses. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Autism is on the rise: what’s really behind the increase?

RFK Jr has vowed to find out what’s responsible, but scientists say he is ignoring answers from decades of research.

www.nature.com

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Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · Jul 17

You’ll be sorely missed Meredith! ❤️

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Reposted by Helen Pearson

Magdalena Skipper @magdalenaskipper.bsky.social · Jul 9

Congratulations to the fantastic crop of winners of the @absw.bsky.social Awards 2025 but especially (of course!) to our @nature.com winners Nisha Gaind (www.nature.com/articles/d41...) & Lizzy Gibney (www.nature.com/articles/d41... ) 🎉🎉🎉
@lizziegibney.bsky.social
🧪
www.absw.org.uk/pages/meet-t...

Meet the Winners 2025 | Association of British Science Writers

The winners of the 2025 ABSW Awards were announced at a ceremony held on Wednesday July 9, 2025

www.absw.org.uk

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Reposted by Helen Pearson

Nature @nature.com · Jul 9

Some sleuths fear that the business of cleaning up flawed studies is being weaponized against science itself

go.nature.com/3TwCNXA

Research-integrity sleuths say their work is being ‘twisted’ to undermine science

Some sleuths fear that the business of cleaning up flawed studies is being weaponized against science itself.

go.nature.com

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Reposted by Helen Pearson

James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · Jul 9

‘Metascience can improve science — but it must be useful to society, too’. Good, thoughtful editorial in @nature.com on #Metascience2025 & the new Alliance

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

@helenpearson.bsky.social @magdalenaskipper.bsky.social @briannosek.bsky.social

Metascience can improve science — but it must be useful to society, too

Researchers studying research must avoid the temptation to get too stuck in the academic weeds.

www.nature.com

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Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · Jul 1

An experimental peer-review system slashes the time taken to review grant applications, according to results reported at #Metascience2025. 'Distributed peer review' requires researchers who apply for funding to review the other applications.

My story for @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

How to speed up peer review: make applicants mark one another

‘Distributed peer review’ of grants makes process more than twice as fast — and includes some cheat-prevention measures.

www.nature.com

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Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · Jun 30

I’m at #Metascience2025 this week, aka the ‘Glastonbury of metascience’. Looking fwd to #sciencepolicy but not the #heatwave metascience.info Metascience 2025 Conference

Metascience 2025 Conference

A global gathering for knowledge sharing, community building, and opportunities to define a roadmap of research and intervention priorities to accelerate science.

metascience.info

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Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · Jun 24

Thanks to @victimofmaths.bsky.social @lynnemargalit.bsky.social, Mary Pat Campbell and others who helped explain the data

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Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · Jun 24

RFK Jr uses the poor ROI in healthcare to justify cost-cutting.

But US public health experts say they want more investment in disease prevention; widening health insurance coverage; and tackling difficult social issues underlying deaths from drugs, guns and cars.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

How to make America healthy: the real problems — and best fixes

The United States has lower life expectancy than most similarly wealthy nations. Chronic disease is part of the cause, but so are guns, drugs and cars.

www.nature.com

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Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · Jun 24

The US is an outlier in high spending on healthcare, as this chart shows.

But compared with similar high-income countries, it’s also unusual in lacking universal health insurance. This + high costs means people seek care later in a disease, hence more premature death.

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Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · Jun 24

High mortality among young people in the US sadly means that roughly one 5 year-old in every class of 20 will die before age 45, according to calculations by @victimofmaths.bsky.social

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Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · Jun 24

Why do more young people die young in the US? Chronic diseases are one big driver of premature deaths in 15-49 year olds, as shown here. Obesity is a big driver.

But what really sets the US apart is high death rates from drug abuse, car accidents and suicide / homicide (largely by guns).

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Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · Jun 24

The US has higher death rates than comparable rich countries in most age groups, but the biggest difference is in young adults.

Young deaths drag down life expectancy more than older ones.

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Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · Jun 24

US life expectancy at birth (78.4 years) is 4 years shorter than the average of 11 comparably large, wealthy countries.

Life expectancy plateaued around 2010, and COVID widened the gap.

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Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · Jun 24

RFK Jr wants to Make America Healthy Again. But is America really that unhealthy?

I spoke with public health experts & data analysts to find out. My story for @nature.com and brief🧵

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

How to make America healthy: the real problems — and best fixes

The United States has lower life expectancy than most similarly wealthy nations. Chronic disease is part of the cause, but so are guns, drugs and cars.

www.nature.com

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Helen Pearson @helenpearson.bsky.social · Jun 19

Scientists say they used LLMs to reproduce 12 gold-standard #Cochrane systematic reviews in 2 days - rather than 12 years.

But other experts are sceptical; the system doesn't automate some review steps and needs independent testing. My news story for @nature.com

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

AI slashes time to produce gold-standard medical reviews — but sceptics urge caution

Although language models can help to accelerate systematic reviews, a fully automated system is still some way off.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Helen Pearson

Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · Jun 17

After ruling the NIH grant cuts were illegal yesterday, Judge Young, a Reagan appointee on the bench since 1985, ended the hearing with a blistering 15-minute speech.

I've cleaned up my notes — here are his remarks in full. 🧵

Judge rules against NIH grant cuts — and calls them discriminatory

The decision means that the US biomedical agency has to restore funding to hundreds of research projects, but the government will likely appeal.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Helen Pearson

Mary Elizabeth Sutherland @meharpist.bsky.social · Jun 13

Do girls and boys really differ in their mathematical skills? A recent @nature.com paper by @standehaene.bsky.social et al shows that French boys and girls enter school with similar abilities, but after just four months, boys pull ahead 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Rapid emergence of a maths gender gap in first grade - Nature

Boys and girls exhibit very similar maths scores upon school entry, but a gender gap in favour of boys becomes highly significant after 4 months of schooling, which increases with years of schooling,&...

www.nature.com

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