BC SCIENCE
Saved by @Alex1Powell

I want to share my thoughts, as someone who has been so alarmed by the so-called "dissident" scientists like Gupta, Heneghan, Kuldorff, Bhattacharya, & Ioannidis who consider themselves brave Galileos unfairly treated by "establishment scientists." I will try not to swear. 1/n

 I want to talk about 3 things:
‼️Their fringe views are inhumane, unethical junk science that promotes harm
‼️They complain that they've been marginalized but this is simply untrue
‼️I am sick of people telling me we have to "listen to both sides." There aren't 2 sides here 2/n
These 'dissident' scientists have consistently downplayed COVID-19, urging policymakers not to take aggressive control measures. They claim it is not a serious threat. Gupta even went on TV saying people under 65 shouldn't worry about it!

RECEIPTS ⬇️3/n

https://t.co/GyfV528Y9T
They have consistently argued that policymakers should just let the virus rip, in an attempt to reach herd immunity by natural infection. Kuldorff *continues* to argue for this even now that we have many highly effective, safe vaccines.

RECEIPTS⬇️4/n

https://t.co/QCaWS6xXXv
We've never controlled a deadly, contagious pandemic before by just letting the virus spread, as this approach kills & disables too many people. In Manaus, Brazil, 66% of the city was infected & an astonishing *1 in 500* people died of COVID-19

5/n

https://t.co/72g0qmGE1N
Gupta, Kuldorff, & Bhattacharya argue that we must let the virus rip while locking away the vulnerable, a grotesque dystopian view. Here's who you'd have to lock away: elderly people; medically vulnerable people; people of color; disabled people. 6/n

https://t.co/NPh1f977T2
Let's not forget: these authors were funded by corporate interests. It's Merchants of Doubt all over again. Corporations want to see "opening up of society" and they fund academics to push a pro-corporate view.

RECEIPTS⬇️7/n

https://t.co/BrUD4FP6lc

https://t.co/MmlCuiZ5km
Now to the silly notion pushed by these edgy "dissident" scientists that they've faced censorship for being Galileos. OK, this is when I may swear a little bit.

Are you f**king kidding me?

Since the start of the pandemic, every time you turn on your bloody TV there they are 8/n
In fact, they've had the largest megaphone of all: THEIR VIEWS HAVE BEEN ADOPTED IN THE USA BY TRUMP AND IN BRITAIN BY JOHNSON.

Don't give me your bullshit about how they've been marginalized. Their views = Trump policy & Johnson policy.

RECEIPTS 9/n

https://t.co/NuF34J8edm
These dissidents did all they could to shape Trump's policies; looking at the cases now in the US, they got what they wanted. In Scott Atlas, Trump's coronavirus czar, & in Florida's governor, they found champions

RECEIPTS⬇️10/n

https://t.co/EmvkR01xdy

https://t.co/wnjWu6aj22
Time & again, these fringe views BECAME Trump's policies or Johnson's policies. So when you say "well, debate is important & it is critical to hear all views," I agree that debate matters but these nihilistic views won the day in US/UK policymaking 11/n

https://t.co/6ksS0QOi1q
There are East Asian & Pacific Rim nations that have controlled the virus, without even a vaccine. They used science-based measures, acted fast, had great leaders. They listened to @who & did test/trace/isolate/support. The US/UK ignored these successes & here we are today. 12/n
Last, I cannot tell you how many times I have been scolded & reprimanded for "not giving the Great Barrington Declaration authors serious consideration." Two Duke professors, for example, told me academics like me must stay open minded & universities must show both sides 13/n
I respectfully disagree. THERE AREN'T 2 SIDES. The public health science on pandemic control is established, & nations that followed the science did better, both from a health AND economic view. Shouldn't we be basing policy on, um, science? We need VACCINE herd immunity FFS. END

More from Science

Sri Krishna
Sri Krishna
@tellkrish
With @franklowery our new study on attributes of T cells that contribute to successful cell therapy in cancer patients in @ScienceMagazine today w/ colleagues @slgoff_SB, @NCI_CCR_SB @theNCI a TL;DR thread on key findings with caveats :) 1/10

has a long history of using tumor infiltrating T cells (TILs) to treat cancers since well.. before I was even born. We analyzed our most successful melanoma ACT trial for cell surface phenotypes in TIL infusion products of patients (aPD1/immunotherapy naive) /2

Surprisingly we found a CD39- TIL subset (CD39-CD69-, DN) associated with ACT-response. TBH we were expecting the opposite (CD39+). We only included CD39 bcz multiple groups (e.g. Simoni et al, 2018) had reported CD39+ as enriching for anti-tumor/neoantigen reactive T cells. /3


CD39- DN TILs RNA/epigenetics resemble stem-like memory progenitors, and in vitro were able to self-renew, and give rise to other CD39+ subsets. OTOH the most dominant subset of patient infusion products were CD39+ CD69+ (DP) and these guys were terminally differentiated.. /4


So, to clarify we specifically analyzed tumor-specific mutation-reactive Tcells. Turns out, ACT-responders had pool of neoantigen-reactive TILs in the CD39- phenotype, while non-responders did not (despite other irrelevant CD39- Tcells) -> not all CD39- T cells are bystanders /5
SCIENCE
Sean Carroll
Sean Carroll
@seanmcarroll
Hugh Everett's birthday! Pioneer of the Many-Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics. Let us celebrate by thinking about ontological extravagance. I will do so by way of analogy, because I have found that everyone loves analogies and nobody ever willfully misconstrues them.


We look at the night sky and see photons arriving to us, emitted by distant stars. Let's contrast two different theories about how stars emit photons.

One theory says, we know how stars shine, and our equations predict that they emit photons roughly uniformly in all directions. Call this the "Many-Photons Interpretation" (MPI).

But! Others object. That is *so many photons*. Most of which we don't observe, and can't observe, since they're moving away at the speed of light. It's too ontologically extravagant to posit a huge number of unobservable things!

So they suggest a "Photon Collapse Interpretation." According to this theory, the photons emitted toward us actually exist. But photons that would be emitted in directions we will never observe simply collapse into utter non-existence.
SCIENCE
Advertisement
Katie Mack
Katie Mack
@AstroKatie
Light travels at about 1 foot per nanosecond.

Hold your hand up 12 inches from your face: you’re seeing your hand as it was a nanosecond ago. Everything you look at is, to one degree or another, in the past. The farther away in space, the more ancient in time.

You can’t see the Sun as it is now, but you can see it as it was about 8 minutes ago. You can’t see Alpha Centauri now, but you can see it 4.4 years ago. You can see the Andromeda Galaxy as it was 2.5 million years in the past. And so on.

With powerful telescopes, we can see galaxies whose light has been traveling to us for more than 13 billion years. We see them shining in a universe that’s still young, where gravity has just begun to pull matter together into stars and galaxies.

We can see something even more distant, and more ancient, than the first galaxies. If we peer out far enough, in between the galaxies, we can see parts of the Universe that are so far away, it has taken the light from that distance almost the entire age of the cosmos to reach us.
SCIENCE
Navin Kabra
Navin Kabra
@NGKabra
Did you know that all the nuclear bombs we exploded in the '40s-50s-60s have permanently contaminated all the steel the world has produced since then? All steel in the world is divided into two categories: pre-1945 non-contaminated steel, and post-1945 contaminated steel.

How?

Nuclear bombs (including the tests) create a lot of radioisotopes that are not found in nature. For example Cobalt-60 (a radioactive version of Cobalt-59). And since the 1945 Trinity test, these have all dispersed in the atmosphere.

What does this have to do with steel?

The process of manufacturing steel uses atmospheric air (or atmospheric oxygen). Some of the radioisotopes like Cobalt-60 get pulled in too, and as a result, any steel produced after 1945 has embedded in it some of these radioisotopes, sitting there emitting gamma rays.

Why do we care about traces of radioisotopes in steel? When making Geiger counters, or medical devices to check for radioactive contamination, or astronomical instruments, the emissions from the contaminated steel would interfere with the measurements.

So we need pre-1945 steel

Pre-1945 non-contaminated steel is called "low background steel". And when we need it, where do we get it from?

We go, find pre-World-War-II sunken shipwrecks, and then salvage the steel (and lead) from those to build our instruments which need heavy radiation shielding.
SCIENCE
Gem,Mummy to 6yr \U0001f3c6\U0001f947 Scientist & outdoor educator
Gem,Mummy to 6yr 🏆🥇 Sc...
@EdadventuresM
Hi, I'm #MarvellousMarthy & this is a mini #GlobalScienceShow to celebrate @WomenScienceDay. I'd like to tell you about my STEM Role Model @MarineMumbles. Stick around for @philjemmett who’s up next. #WomenInSTEM #WomenInScience4SDGs #WomenInScience #girlsinSTEM


Go to https://t.co/fAM7lPSznm to watch my film. I love Rockpooling now as a hobby & I have got Mummy & Daddy into it too. I have learnt loads about marine life over the last year & Elizabeth @marinemumbles has shared her ❤️ of the oceans with me. I LOVE crabs 🦀 🦀🦀!!

This is Gem, Marthy’s Mummy. There have been so many other STEM women who have truly inspired #MarvellousMarthy over the past year: @DrJoScience has ignited a love of experiments, @ScienceAmbass has brought giggles with some fab experiment-alongs, @HanaAyboob for introducing her

to some amazing #SciArt, @BryonyMathew for releasing some fabulous books to help raise aspirations, @Astro_Nicole & @Victrix75 for allowing her to interview them as part of #worldspaceweek & @AmeliaJanePiper for the ongoing support since she won the SciComm presenter competition.

So, as you can tell from the film, Marthy adores Elizabeth & is truly inspired by her. Since engaging with her for the first time about 10 months ago, Marthy has developed a very keen & passionate interest for all things Marine! The @angleseyseazoo can vouch for this!!!!
SCIENCE

You May Also Like

\U0001f1fa\U0001f1f8I Support Our Military & Law Enforcement\U0001f1fa\U0001f1f8
🇺🇸I Support Our Milita...
@TheWiseOwl_AZ
1. We were informed that Tier 4B (us, the Internet Group) would receive 800# notification on Wed. 16 Dec. (A Shotgun Release of liquidity started on Mon. 14 Dec.).

Redemption Center personnel were scheduled to work for the next nine days from 8:30 am to 8:30 pm until...

2. ... Dec. 24, when they would close at 5:30 pm.

The general public would begin exchanging at the new International Rates on the first banking business day after the Christmas Holiday.

A. The RV, NESARA, GESARA, Restored Republic and Martial Law

3. According to Charlie Ward we began the Ten Days of Darkness on Tues. 15 Dec. The Ten Days would finish Dec. 24 Christmas Eve with the US going into NESARA and then the rest of the world would go straight into GESARA on 1 Jan. 2021.

4. Every single country and territory has agreed to GESARA. The UK government corporation was liquidated in Oct. last year and it was finalized last week. France has started breaking up their Parliament. Everything needed for implementation of NESARA/GESARA was finished.

5. Trump’s Christmas present: In a recent Executive Order President Trump declared that all government agencies (except for essential ones) permanently close on Dec. 24 2020. Trump had that authority since we were already under Martial Law (the US had been functioning under...
WAR
Engineer Who
Engineer Who
@Engr_Who
A long but must read thread. Udaybhan Rathore and myth making in Maratha history: An analysis. This is the thread on Udaybhan Rathore, who he was and how over the time period, his life was portrayed in maratha chronicles and pseudo history. (1/n)

Udaybhan rathore was the head of Bhinai thikana (84 villages) in Ajmer. He was the direct descendant of the famous Rao Chandrasen, Raja of Marwar (4th generation) who resisted Akbar all his life and never made any alliance with mughals like Maharana Pratap. (2/n)

Later in 1783, Maharaja of Jodhpur gave title of Raja to Bhinai family for their military service. Bhinai family and their direct descendant Raja Sh Mayuraj Singh still lives in Ajmer. Anyway coming to Udaybhan Rathore and story of Tanaji. (3/n)

Jai Singh's march on Shivaji and treaty of Purandar (1665) is a well known episode to repeat here. After getting the hill forts from Shivaji under the treaty, Jai Singh didn't have enough man-power to man every one of the small forts because of his next (4/n)

campaign against Bijapur. Jai Singh personally took over a couple of important forts like Kondhana (Sinhgarh), Purandar etc. Others were given to some mughals or their fortification walls destroyed. Jai Singh died in 1667 near Burhanpur while enroute to the north. (5/n)
INDIA
Advertisement
Anu Satheesh
Anu Satheesh
@AnuSatheesh5
Story of Thumba Poo and Shiva

Thumba poo is a tiny white flower which grows in all areas. These flowers are used for treatment for sinus. Small children who have polyps in Nose are told to crush tumbha leaves and apply in nose part.
There is an interesting story of Thumba and


Mahadeva. Thumba flowers were not taken for Shiva Pooja. Saddened to this Thumba prayed sincerely and Mahadeva appeared before her.
She was surprised that Shiva had appeared before her. Instead of saying that she wants to under his feet always, she said
@SriramKannan77


She said that her feet should be on his head. Shiva accepted her prayers. It is because of this Thumba flower is placed in the head of Shiva Linga.
Shambo Mahadeva
Om Namah Sivaye
🙏🕉🙏
ALL
Vedic Gyaan
Vedic Gyaan
@vedicgyaanindia
The chorus of this song uses the shlokas taken from Sundarkand of Ramayana.

It is a series of Sanskrit shlokas recited by Jambavant to Hanuman to remind Him of his true potential.

1. धीवर प्रसार शौर्य भरा: The brave persevering one, your bravery is taking you forward.


2. उतसारा स्थिरा घम्भीरा: The one who is leaping higher and higher, who is firm and stable and seriously determined.

3. ुग्रामा असामा शौर्या भावा: He is strong, and without an equal in the ability/mentality to fight

4. रौद्रमा नवा भीतिर्मा: His anger will cause new fears in his foes.

5.विजिटरीपुरु धीरधारा, कलोथरा शिखरा कठोरा: This is a complex expression seen only in Indic language poetry. The poet is stating that Shivudu is experiencing the intensity of climbing a tough peak, and likening

it to the feeling in a hard battle, when you see your enemy defeated, and blood flowing like a rivulet. This is classical Veera rasa.

6.कुलकु थारथिलीथा गम्भीरा, जाया विराट वीरा: His rough body itself is like a sharp weapon (because he is determined to win). Hail this complete

hero of the world.

7.विलयगागनथाला भिकारा, गरज्जद्धरा गारा: The hero is destructive in the air/sky as well (because he can leap at an enemy from a great height). He can defeat the enemy (simply) with his fearsome roar of war.
VEDICGYAN
William
William
@wimgz
🛠️ OPEN BUSINESS IDEAS 🛠️

Below a list of business/product ideas I had or read about.

They are worthless if they remain ideas and if you don't overcome the challenges in building them, so feel free to copy / tweak / implement them!
👇

Better: use one and make a MVP during the #24hrstartup challenge!

😻 Product Hunt Time
A clock that displays the time it is @ProductHunt
Also displays what you should do and where you should post, at each specific time during your launch

🚧 IndieCrunch - VC free tech news
Techcrunch but only for bootstrapped companies

🎧 Kickstarter for audiobooks
A lot of awesome books are not available as audio.
Crowdfund the money to buy the audio rights + a voice actor
MAKERS