Sunday Science Sermon

18/01/2026

Usually we try to do a bit of science communication on this site. This meta study published earlier this week in the Lancet, however requires no explanation or interpretation. It merely confirms that Dumbsh*t Donnie and his methylene blue drinking Sec of Health and Human Services, are as fu***ng idiotic as we have demonstrated on an almost weekly basis.

Current evidence does not indicate a clinically important increase in the likelihood of autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, or intellectual disability in children of pregnant individuals who use paracetamol as directed, supporting existing recommendations on its safety.

09/11/2025

Scientists, using CRISPR-Cas9, in a micro study targeted the ANGPTL3 gene in order to determine if the mimicking of a protective mutation of the said gene (found in about one in 250), which results in the switching off of the gene's functioning in the liver, could find general application and bring about similar results in the general populus. After a single two hour treatment, all 15 participants demonstrated approximately fifty percent reductions in LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. The study is obviously in its infancy, but the uniformaty of the positive results could mean a massive drop in heart disease cases and -deaths.

Angiopoietin-like protein 3 (ANGPTL3) inhibits lipoprotein and endothelial lipases. ANGPTL3 loss-of-function genetic variants are associated with decreased levels of low-density lipoprotein cholest...

18/10/2025

The Milwaukee Protocol (2005, New England Journal of Medicine), has for many years been seen as a Hail Mary for victims of rabies who are not treated within 24 hours with the rabies vaccine. This meta study in PubMed, as well as a number of previous similar studies, draws attention to the fact that there exists no replicated examples of the Milwaukee Protocol which were successful, but at least 64 which failed. The Milwaukee Protocol essentially entails placing the patient in an induced coma and treating her with benzodiazepines (midazolam) and barbiturates to achieve a burst suppression pattern on the electroencephalogram, ketamine, and antiviral therapy with ribavirin and amantadine. The conclusion drawn, is that the critical care component was most likely the only successful aspect of the protocol.

After survival of a rabies case in Milwaukee, the treatment approach has been dubbed the Milwaukee protocol and promoted aggressively. This approach lacks

12/10/2025

A study published in PNAS demonstrated hazidous air pollutants (HAPs) of 5.5 times higher than acceptable levels of mainly ethylene oxide along the entire cancer alley (basically the entire flow of the Mississippi river through Louisiana). This is almost exclusively due to the burning of fossil fuels in oil production.

Communities in southeastern Louisiana are subject to disproportionate environmental health burdens, including elevated risk for cancer, from emissi...

05/10/2025

The Albert Einstein College of Medicine, published a paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Pediatrics) covering a 17-year 2335 participant group covering the efficiency of the HPV vaccine. The vaccine initially covered 2 HPV cancers , then later 4 and currently 9. The vaccine demonstrates higher than 95% reductions in HPV in the group for the first two vaccines and a 75% reduction in the 9 cancer HPV vaccine. Given the fact that the group included a portion unvaccinated females, it was also demonstrated that a high degree of heard immunisation resulted from the vaccines.

This cross-sectional study investigates population-level effectiveness and herd protection in the first 17 years after human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among adolescent girls and young women at increased risk of HPV-related cancers.

05/10/2025

In this joint CSIC and Euro Space Agency study published in Nature, the authors utilised satelite imagery gathered between 2010 and 2018, as well physical samples taken from 2000 onwards, pertaining to ocean salinity , to measure changes in the earth's water cycle. Somewhat predictably the study demonstrates increased salination along the stratification of the ocean, and specifically increases along the "hotter" more equatorial portions. Interestingly, the "fresher" portions of the oceans are also decreasing in salination. Pertinently, the rate of change is increasing disproportionately during the period of the study. These changes in turn materially impact on the resoecrive eco systems. It should be noted that the authors were careful not to identify causes, and even reasonably allowed for variations due to the unique nature of the study.

Changes in the Earth’s water cycle can be estimated by analyzing sea surface salinity. This variable reflects the balance between precipitation and evaporation over the ocean, since the upper layers of the ocean are the most sensitive to atmosphere–ocean interactions. In situ measurements lack s...

05/10/2025

Celebrating my 6th year on Facebook. Thank you for your continuing support. I could never have made it without you. 🙏🤗🎉

29/03/2025

Today's bit of environmentally positive news comes from the land down under. By dissolving palladium in liquid gallium, the team from three prominent universities created a self-regenerating catalytic system, which demonstrated extraordinary performance in Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions. This essentially entails creating carbon-carbon bonds between organoboron compounds and organic halides or pseudohalides, like the bad stuff which is released in making loads of pharmaceuticals, pesticides and even plastics. This process is approximately 100 000 times faster than solid state palladium cathodes which would inevitably cause some poladian to bind in the reactions. The sole result of this fluid based process is the binding of C-C, a safe and environmentally friendly process.

Liquid Pd redefines C─C coupling, achieving unprecedented turnover frequency.

22/03/2025

Chemical cleaning products have been a well documented transgressor against the environment, since the advent of the most lifesaving invention, i.e. soap. Researchers from Tianjin University however recently revisited the Ramsden or Pickering effect, for a cheap and highly biodegradable solution. Using Ramsden emulsion (yes, that experiment we did by adding water and oil and then adding silica to create an oil / silica emulsion) combined cellulose nanofibers from wood with zein protein from corn to create an emulsion. Cellulose can attract and repel water, so it is effective at forming such emulsions and attracting different types of stains. The zein protein, on the other hand, helps stabilize the emulsion and trap oils. The emulsion works on a wide range of products with a 92% and up binding percentage; same depending on the nature of the solid being cleaned.

Pickering particles can self-assemble to form a rigid barrier film at the oil–water interface, effectively inhibiting droplet aggregation and stabilizing the emulsion. This essay explores the potential of Zein/TOCNF (TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofiber) complex aqueous dispersion as an environmenta...

22/03/2025

Bacteria, like humans, get invaded by viruses. In bacteria, the viral invaders are called bacteriophages or "phages." Essentially, the smart folks at John Hopkins, discovered that bacteria take advantage of a type of phages known as temperate phages, by stealing genetic material from temperate phages during this dormant period and form a biological "memory" of the invader that their offspring inherit as the bacteria multiply. Equipped with these memories, the new population can recognize these viruses and fight them off.

Keith et al. show that temperate phages present two unique opportunities for CRISPR-Cas immunizations relative to lytic counterparts. First, immunizations occur preferentially when phages choose lysogeny over lysis. Second, memories can be acquired from prophages already present in a clonal populat...

19/01/2025

This study used a simulation based on distance to closest similar cultural trait, as opposed to a presumed mean. This is done in an attempt to find a more realistic and objective measurement method. Through the simulation, it was demonstrated that conformity to a specific trait will not per se lead to a homogeneous population and that to the contrary, conformity often leads to generational trait variations. Similarly, anti-conformity often leads to polarisation. One can thus argue (albeit not in the majority of instances) that sheep effectively often conform less than, so called, wolves.

Models of conformity and anticonformity have typically focused on cultural traits with unordered variants, such as baby names, strategies (cooperat...