MichaelW
@somewise.bsky.social
Programmer/Computational biologist (microbes). COPE Trustee. GAICD. (he/him/his)
Proud Ally
"... But if I'm only for myself, what am I?
And if not now, when?"
Loves K+A.
Proud Ally
"... But if I'm only for myself, what am I?
And if not now, when?"
Loves K+A.
Second night. Candles lit, as much as anything out of defiance, but also out of huge thanks for the public and private response from across the religious spectrum to the #Bondi violence. (If you look carefully you'll notice that the memorial candle on the left is still going).
December 15, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Second night. Candles lit, as much as anything out of defiance, but also out of huge thanks for the public and private response from across the religious spectrum to the #Bondi violence. (If you look carefully you'll notice that the memorial candle on the left is still going).
This first night of Chanuka we did not light the first candle of the festival; we lit a memorial candle for the people massacred in #Bondi.
December 14, 2025 at 12:04 PM
This first night of Chanuka we did not light the first candle of the festival; we lit a memorial candle for the people massacred in #Bondi.
Any sensible health system would treat this as a huge call to arms, Measles has a R(0) value of 12-18, though one source I found quotes it higher. In other words, it is ridiculously infectious. What is even more ridiculous: downplaying vaccination.
December 14, 2025 at 5:10 AM
Any sensible health system would treat this as a huge call to arms, Measles has a R(0) value of 12-18, though one source I found quotes it higher. In other words, it is ridiculously infectious. What is even more ridiculous: downplaying vaccination.
A rather different take on Carol of the Bells
youtu.be/0bqiBpRvEwc?...
youtu.be/0bqiBpRvEwc?...
CAROL OF THE BELLS | Bass Singer Version | Geoff Castellucci
YouTube video by Geoff Castellucci
youtu.be
December 13, 2025 at 10:35 AM
A rather different take on Carol of the Bells
youtu.be/0bqiBpRvEwc?...
youtu.be/0bqiBpRvEwc?...
Reposted by MichaelW
December 12, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Red squirrels have the same pigmentation system as humans (via two sorts of melanin). Regulation is very different, so no chance of us turning red (sunburn is different!!). Interesting to speculation what the sociological impact would be.
European Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris): The Head & Body length of this rodent is 23cm (9in) with its tail adding 20cm (8in)! Thank you again Gvictor Neo for sharing this Awesome photo of a Squirrel taken in Norway. #Red #squirrel #EuropeanRedSquirrel #redsquirrel #wildlife #nature #Norway
December 13, 2025 at 7:13 AM
Red squirrels have the same pigmentation system as humans (via two sorts of melanin). Regulation is very different, so no chance of us turning red (sunburn is different!!). Interesting to speculation what the sociological impact would be.
@ecosiasearch.bsky.social has put together a pot of EUR 1M toward founding a Nobel Prize in Climate. What a brilliant idea.
www.climatenobelprize.org
www.climatenobelprize.org
Climate Nobel Prize – Continuing Alfred Nobel’s Legacy for the 21st Century
The climate crisis is humanity’s greatest challenge. €1,000,000 secured for a new Nobel Prize dedicated to climate and planetary health. Support the movement.
www.climatenobelprize.org
December 11, 2025 at 11:31 AM
@ecosiasearch.bsky.social has put together a pot of EUR 1M toward founding a Nobel Prize in Climate. What a brilliant idea.
www.climatenobelprize.org
www.climatenobelprize.org
This nice article from @newscientist.com describes how spatial multi-omics has developed to study very localised disease at a cellular level, e.g. cancer development from tiny numbers of deranged cells
New tools that create ultra-precise maps of our tissues are transforming our ability to diagnose and cure once-fatal illnesses
A revolutionary way to map our bodies is helping cure deadly diseases
New tools that create ultra-precise maps of our tissues are transforming our ability to diagnose and cure once-fatal illnesses
www.newscientist.com
December 11, 2025 at 2:24 AM
This nice article from @newscientist.com describes how spatial multi-omics has developed to study very localised disease at a cellular level, e.g. cancer development from tiny numbers of deranged cells
Reposted by MichaelW
Leaders of a Catholic church in Massachusetts kept a Nativity display with an anti-ICE message in place on Monday, defying an order from the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston to remove it. The display shows Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus missing, replaced by a sign reading “ICE WAS HERE.” trib.al/adPW46y
December 9, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Leaders of a Catholic church in Massachusetts kept a Nativity display with an anti-ICE message in place on Monday, defying an order from the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston to remove it. The display shows Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus missing, replaced by a sign reading “ICE WAS HERE.” trib.al/adPW46y
Reposted by MichaelW
The Australien Government has made an ad about the Social Media Ban for Under-16s, and it's surprisingly honest and informative.
Honest Government Ad | Social Media Ban
YouTube video by thejuicemedia
www.youtube.com
December 8, 2025 at 3:49 AM
The Australien Government has made an ad about the Social Media Ban for Under-16s, and it's surprisingly honest and informative.
First recorded death due to a new subtype of bird flu H5N5 (versus H5N1 circulating in birds). First case of a new pandemic? Maybe, but there are many more steps before that. In the meantime, surveillance
theconversation.com/first-human-...
theconversation.com/first-human-...
First human bird-flu death from H5N5 – what you need to know
A patient in Washington state has died from H5N5 bird flu, the first known human infection with this virus – but experts say the wider risk remains low.
theconversation.com
December 9, 2025 at 1:37 AM
First recorded death due to a new subtype of bird flu H5N5 (versus H5N1 circulating in birds). First case of a new pandemic? Maybe, but there are many more steps before that. In the meantime, surveillance
theconversation.com/first-human-...
theconversation.com/first-human-...
Reposted by MichaelW
A seal walks into a bar .... (no, really)
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
Baby fur seal wanders into a bar in New Zealand
The surprise visitor waddled around the pub during what’s known as ‘silly season’ where seals pop up in unexpected places
www.theguardian.com
December 6, 2025 at 7:42 AM
A seal walks into a bar .... (no, really)
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
The story about Vitamin-D supplements is really a story about science working as it should; a neat idea (Vit-D is associated with ill-health) found not to imply causation; taking more makes no difference. Vit-D deficiency no longer accepted as a real condition.
gidmk.medium.com/theres-no-su...
gidmk.medium.com/theres-no-su...
There’s No Such Thing As A Vitamin D Deficiency — Part One
The complex science about vitamin D levels and what they mean
gidmk.medium.com
December 1, 2025 at 12:13 PM
The story about Vitamin-D supplements is really a story about science working as it should; a neat idea (Vit-D is associated with ill-health) found not to imply causation; taking more makes no difference. Vit-D deficiency no longer accepted as a real condition.
gidmk.medium.com/theres-no-su...
gidmk.medium.com/theres-no-su...
Reposted by MichaelW
Google is reportedly in talks to sell its tensor processing units – a type of computer chip specially designed for AI – to other tech companies, a move that could unsettle the dominant chip-maker Nvidia
Why Google’s custom AI chips are shaking up the tech industry
Google is reportedly in talks to sell its tensor processing units – a type of computer chip specially designed for AI – to other tech companies, a move that could unsettle the dominant chip-maker Nvidia
www.newscientist.com
November 30, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Google is reportedly in talks to sell its tensor processing units – a type of computer chip specially designed for AI – to other tech companies, a move that could unsettle the dominant chip-maker Nvidia
Vale Tom Stoppard. Easily my favourite C20 playwright. Language and big ideas dance across his plays, but always a sense of humour. My favourite is Arcadia.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Playwright and Oscar winner Tom Stoppard dies at 88
Stoppard was often hailed as the greatest British playwright of his generation, with multiple awards for his work on stage and screen.
www.abc.net.au
November 30, 2025 at 7:02 AM
Vale Tom Stoppard. Easily my favourite C20 playwright. Language and big ideas dance across his plays, but always a sense of humour. My favourite is Arcadia.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
A really nice new study provides evidence that SSRI Sertraline can help prevent domestic violence by reducing impulsivity. Chance for second thoughts. This could be a game changer
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
An answer to domestic violence may be sitting behind pharmacy counters
The findings are significant not just because of how much the trial reduced domestic violence, but because only a few years ago it drew fierce criticism from women's advocates and politicians.
www.abc.net.au
November 30, 2025 at 6:47 AM
A really nice new study provides evidence that SSRI Sertraline can help prevent domestic violence by reducing impulsivity. Chance for second thoughts. This could be a game changer
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Reposted by MichaelW
crazy
IG em_clarkson
IG em_clarkson
November 14, 2025 at 2:54 AM
crazy
IG em_clarkson
IG em_clarkson
Instead of "one is the loneliest number" you should have "zero is the onlyest number"
It took a long time for zero to be recognised as a number at all, let alone one of the most powerful ones – but now it’s clear that every number is made up of zeroes, says Jacob Aron
Why zero is the most important number in all of mathematics
www.newscientist.com
November 14, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Instead of "one is the loneliest number" you should have "zero is the onlyest number"
Very apposite quote. While the original context related to political systems, the idea applies equally well to human relationships, coercive control, family violence.
Whatever needs to be maintained by force is doomed.
Henry Miller
Henry Miller
November 14, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Very apposite quote. While the original context related to political systems, the idea applies equally well to human relationships, coercive control, family violence.
It turns out that a baby's name can affect their future. Nominative determinism (broadly defined). Then again Johnny Cash understood that in 1`969 with his hit "Boy Named Sue"
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
‘You get more attention than you would choose’: how an unusual name can shape your life – for better or worse
From Peach to Riot to Aquaman, anything goes now when it comes to kids’ names. There are even companies to help you pick one …
www.theguardian.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:47 AM
It turns out that a baby's name can affect their future. Nominative determinism (broadly defined). Then again Johnny Cash understood that in 1`969 with his hit "Boy Named Sue"
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Reposted by MichaelW
Yes, some people's legacies are complicated. For example, Watson. After all, though he was racist, don't forget his other traits. For example, he was also sexist. And also anti-semitic. And a data / idea thief. So let's not forget all the different facets.
November 8, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Yes, some people's legacies are complicated. For example, Watson. After all, though he was racist, don't forget his other traits. For example, he was also sexist. And also anti-semitic. And a data / idea thief. So let's not forget all the different facets.
A controversial topic for your Friday 😉
Tea Room Spoons 😀
A 2005 study at Melbourne University looked at the half-life of a set of departmental tea-spoons. I've observed similar at other Australian Comp Sci depts.
10.1136/bmj.331.7531.1498
What about other countries? #anthropology
Tea Room Spoons 😀
A 2005 study at Melbourne University looked at the half-life of a set of departmental tea-spoons. I've observed similar at other Australian Comp Sci depts.
10.1136/bmj.331.7531.1498
What about other countries? #anthropology
November 7, 2025 at 2:05 AM
A controversial topic for your Friday 😉
Tea Room Spoons 😀
A 2005 study at Melbourne University looked at the half-life of a set of departmental tea-spoons. I've observed similar at other Australian Comp Sci depts.
10.1136/bmj.331.7531.1498
What about other countries? #anthropology
Tea Room Spoons 😀
A 2005 study at Melbourne University looked at the half-life of a set of departmental tea-spoons. I've observed similar at other Australian Comp Sci depts.
10.1136/bmj.331.7531.1498
What about other countries? #anthropology
Reposted by MichaelW
Baby Wolf Learns To Howl (cute video)
Baby Wolf Learns To Howl
A baby wolf gets its first lesson in life. Its mother her its two siblings were abandoned by their mother.
youtu.be
November 6, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Baby Wolf Learns To Howl (cute video)
Reposted by MichaelW
It seems this can't be emphasized enough. Chatbots and LLMs do not make mistakes (excepting any bugs in the code). They do not lie. They do not blackmail or cheat. They follow statistics. When the people who build these systems don't tell you this, they are either deluded or trying to mislead.
When a chatbot gets something wrong, it’s not because it made an error. It’s because on that roll of the dice, it happened to string together a group of words that, when read by a human, represents something false. But it was working entirely as designed. It was supposed to make a sentence & it did.
November 6, 2025 at 11:34 AM
It seems this can't be emphasized enough. Chatbots and LLMs do not make mistakes (excepting any bugs in the code). They do not lie. They do not blackmail or cheat. They follow statistics. When the people who build these systems don't tell you this, they are either deluded or trying to mislead.