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Reposted by Jeffrey Barrett

Nancy Kanwisher @nancykanwisher.bsky.social · 1d

I am proud of MIT, where our branch of AAUP has voted unanimously to endorse this statement urging MIT leadership and the MIT Corporation to reject the Compact wholesale
docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Letter Regarding Compact

MIT Chapter of the American Association of University Professors October 6, 2025 Statement on the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” MIT has been invited by the federal governmen...

docs.google.com

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Reposted by Jeffrey Barrett

Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 6d

feels a bit weird that we keep having these stories about individual cyber attacks but without anyone really joining the dots and going "okay, shall we maybe talk about this as a major global story"

Tony Tassell @tonytassell.bsky.social · 6d

Japan is just a few days away from running out of Asahi Super Dry as the producer of the nation’s most popular beer wrestles with a devastating cyber attack that has shut down its domestic breweries www.ft.com/content/bb86...

Japan days away from running out of Asahi Super Dry after cyber attack

Vast majority of factories of nation’s most popular beer have stopped work this week

www.ft.com

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Edward Elderman @elderman.bsky.social · 11d

This only happens to you once

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Jeffrey Barrett @jeffbarrett.eu · 12d

That’s a hell of an abstract

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Jeffrey Barrett @jeffbarrett.eu · 13d

Good point

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Jeffrey Barrett @jeffbarrett.eu · 13d

I admit I was surprised to learn that apparently they can submit to the FDA for approval based on this study. I guess you could justify an RCT with sham procedure since there’s no currently available alternative. Still a bit ethically tricky IMHO.

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Jeffrey Barrett @jeffbarrett.eu · 13d

It is an important caveat, but presumably this design is because it is hard to give a 12 hour brain surgery to people in a placebo arm?

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Jeffrey Barrett @jeffbarrett.eu · 13d

Meanwhile, science is awesome:

kottke.org @kottke.org · 13d

Huntington’s disease successfully treated for first time. “An emotional research team became tearful as they described how data shows the disease was slowed by 75% in patients.” [bbc.com]

Huntington’s disease successfully treated for first time

One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.

www.bbc.com

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Reposted by Jeffrey Barrett

WHO @who.int · 14d

WHO statement on autism-related issues

The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that there is currently no conclusive scientific evidence confirming a possible link between #autism and use of acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol) during pregnancy

Full statement bit.ly/47YsgwI

WHO statement on autism-related issues

Follow @WHO for the latest updates

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Jeffrey Barrett @jeffbarrett.eu · 13d

1. e.g. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

2. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

For expert advice on using tylenol during pregnancy:
www.acog.org/clinical/cli...

Acetaminophen Use in Pregnancy and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes

www.acog.org

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Jeffrey Barrett @jeffbarrett.eu · 13d

The science is, in fact, clear. Good studies [1] consistently show a weak association between tylenol & autism. Those studies are very careful to say they can't establish whether this is causal. A huge Swedish study used a clever sibling design to address this, and showed zero causal effect [2].

NPR @npr.org · 14d

The science on Tylenol and autism isn't clear, despite President Trump's claims. Here's what parents need to know to make their own decisions about acetaminophen.

When it comes to Tylenol, what are parents to do?

The science on Tylenol and autism isn't clear, despite President Trump's claims. Here's what parents need to know to make their own decisions about acetaminophen.

n.pr

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Laura Anne Gilman @lauraannegilman.bsky.social · 20d

www.nytimes.com/1939/02/04/a...

Headline from the New York Times, 1939: “Goebbels ends careers of five “Aryan“ actors who made witticisms about the Nazi regime.”

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Jeffrey Barrett @jeffbarrett.eu · 23d

Excellent choice of hat. 🧦

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Reposted by Jeffrey Barrett

Endless Screaming @infinitescream.bsky.social · 23d

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

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Caroline Wright @carolinefwright.bsky.social · 28d

Very cool new feature in @deciphergenomics.bsky.social - direct link from any missense variant to ProtVar @ebi.embl.org. This variant is in the binding site and likely interacts with the ligand, predicted using AlphaFold with AlphaFill!

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Jeffrey Barrett @jeffbarrett.eu · Sep 7

“Hey Frank, we need some art for the lunar eclipse story, stat!”

“I’ve got just the thing, boss.”

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Jeffrey Barrett @jeffbarrett.eu · Sep 7

Got it, thanks. (300 chars at a time is often less than ideal for science chat!)

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Jeffrey Barrett @jeffbarrett.eu · Sep 7

Naive question: is the decrease in cancer mortality in tweet 1 deaths from cancer per capita, and survival (1-deaths) per diagnosis? Trying to understand the distinction you’re making.

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Seamus Blackley @seamus.bsky.social · Sep 5

Find the love in your heart, awaken to it, and beam it to everyone you can.

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Jeffrey Barrett @jeffbarrett.eu · Sep 6

Huh, I wonder if I’m sleeping on this. How big is big enough?

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FinnGen @finngen.bsky.social · Sep 5

This week, ~230 national and international FinnGen partner researchers came together in Helsinki for our annual F2F-meeting at Kalastajatorppa. The excellent scientific presentations and exchange of ideas will help shape the next phase of FinnGen and advance our scientific goals. Thank you!

A group photo of the meeting participants raising their glasses.

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Jeffrey Barrett @jeffbarrett.eu · Sep 4

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Michael Baym @baym.lol · Sep 1

You aren't developing good hands by taking a bootcamp, reading a book, or half-assedly pipetting while watching youtube. No more than you're becoming a world-class pianist or athlete that way. Talent helps, but skills are developed through practice, not exposure alone

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Adam Kucharski @adamjkucharski.bsky.social · Sep 1

Results so stunningly clear they inspired this classic xkcd (xkcd.com/2400/):

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Jeffrey Barrett @jeffbarrett.eu · Aug 30

Capturing all the heat from Finnish saunas and converting it back yo electricity would basically get us to net zero.

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