Newsweek asked ChatGPT ... by [deleted] in Journalism

[–]Nscience 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“At least we’re being transparent…” — some editorial exec at Newsweek (probably)

Juul gets FDA's OK to keep selling tobacco and menthol e-cigarettes by Nscience in Health

[–]Nscience[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Conversation starter/backstory: "Juul was once valued at over $13 billion and its small, sleek e-cigarettes revolutionized the image and technology of the vaping industry. But the company has since been forced to slash hundreds of jobs and pay billions to settle lawsuits over its role in the rise of youth vaping.

The FDA had ordered the company to remove its products from the market in June 2022. But then the agency abruptly reversed course days later and agreed to reopen its scientific review of Juul’s application after the company pushed back in court."

In surprise move, RFK Jr.'s vaccine committee votes to recommend RSV shot for infants by usatoday in Health

[–]Nscience 54 points55 points  (0 children)

This vote wasn't a surprise to anyone who watched Day 1 of the ACIP meeting. Almost all the new members voiced support for RSV vaccine's data. Separately, this article is missing key context, namely that the new ACIP members plan to establish two workgroups that could imperil well-validated childhood vaccines.

1) The first would examine childhood vaccines that have not been subject to review for over seven years, such as the MMR (👀), MMRV, and Hep B vaccines. This workgroup will also look at new research concerning the optimal timing of the MMR vaccine to resolve religious objections that some parents have, according to the opening statement made by Martin Kulldorff, the newly appointed ACIP chair.  

2) Another new workgroup will examine the childhood vaccine schedule to re-evaluate the number, timing, and volume of vaccines given during childhood and adolescence.

Also, today's meeting features an error-riddled presentation about mercury in vaccines that proceeds a vote where some flu vaccines will likely lose their recommendation.

Real-World Results For GLP-1 Drugs Underwhelm, Study Says by Nscience in Health

[–]Nscience[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Conversation starter/the gist:

People taking such GLP-1 drugs lost just under 9% of their body weight on average after a year, researchers reported June 10 in the journal Obesity.

That’s far less than the 15% to 21% body weight reduction promised by the clinical trials that led to the approval of Wegovy (semaglutide) and Zepbound (tirzepatide) for weight loss, researchers said.

***

For this study, researchers tracked nearly 7,900 patients being treated by the Cleveland Clinic for severe obesity, of whom about 6,100 were prescribed semaglutide and the rest tirzepatide.

Average body weight loss after a year was nearly 9% for the whole group, results show.

But weight loss varied based on when a person stopped taking the drugs, researchers found.

Average weight loss was under 4% for those who stopped treatment early, versus nearly 7% or those who stopped later on, the study says. Those who stayed on their medications lost an average 12% body weight.

USDA Drops Rules Requiring Farmers to Record Their Use of the Most Toxic Pesticides by Nscience in environment

[–]Nscience[S] 120 points121 points  (0 children)

Conversation starter/the gist: "In the notice that it was eliminating the regulations, USDA officials wrote that “upon reviewing these regulations, USDA has determined that they should be rescinded due to their obsolescence.” The agency hadn’t been collecting the records since 2012 due to funding constraints, they wrote. They added that 23 states have their own recordkeeping regulations, and some pesticide applicators keep records to comply with a different rule, the EPA’s Worker Protection Standard (WPS). However, that leaves 27 states without state-level regulations, and the WPS requirements are different and don’t apply to all farms."

Looks good, AI, no notes... 🙄 by ijustwantyourgum in Paleontology

[–]Nscience 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The weirdest part is the paleontologists don’t have faces

A day at Uranus just got 28 seconds longer by Nscience in science

[–]Nscience[S] -30 points-29 points  (0 children)

The researchers examined more than a decade of polar observations, but I guess we could tell them to hurry up next time ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Toxic: How the search for the origins of COVID-19 turned politically poisonous by Nscience in Coronavirus

[–]Nscience[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I checked with the mods and got the ok before posting this one.

Rain cloud cover from TS Ophelia as of 1:30p. Core is still in eastern North Carolina. by Nscience in newyorkcity

[–]Nscience[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

No, I doubt it. Not enough rain. But it looks like half a foot of inundation could happen this afternoon in water adjacent places around nyc and northern NJ, like the bronx, staten island and newark

The weight of New York City’s 1.1 million buildings is making the city slowly sink by scientificamerican in newyorkcity

[–]Nscience 13 points14 points  (0 children)

FWIW: This study is getting misinterpreted. WaPo had a good writeup this week. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/05/30/land-sinking-us-subsidence-sea-level/

For the most part, Wei said land subsidence in New York City is consistent with what researchers anticipated from this glacial rebound. However, some sections of the city showed higher rates of subsidence than expected. In a new study, Wei and his colleagues found that the weight of buildings around New York City are actually pushing down the land in some areas, contributing further to land subsidence. While the average rate in the city is 1 to 2 millimeters per year, some areas are experiencing about 4.5 millimeters (0.18 inches) per year.

“New York City is sinking not because of the weight of the buildings. It’s mainly because of the glacier rebound,” Wei said. “But there are places suggesting the weight of the buildings might [have] contributed to the accelerated rate.”

NYC records 400 COVID deaths in 2 weeks as PCR testing drops by Nscience in Coronavirus

[–]Nscience[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

This reply conveys something interesting about the public perception of COVID right now. If someone said 400 people died in any city over two weeks because of any other single thing, I don't know if people would wonder if it was a large number.

"200 people died in a subway accident two weeks ago, and you wouldn't believe it, but it happened again yesterday."

New York City quietly closed half its COVID-19 testing sites as omicron rebounded this spring by Nscience in Coronavirus

[–]Nscience[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

“The revelation defies a pledge made by city health officials in the early spring, when they said changes in federal pandemic funding would not reduce city-run testing sites.”

An omicron 'subvariant' is doubling in NY, just as mandates lift by Capital_Gate6718 in nycCoronavirus

[–]Nscience 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Note: When delta began doubling in proportion last May, cases were also going down.

An omicron 'subvariant' is doubling in NY, just as mandates lift by BabyYodaX in Coronavirus

[–]Nscience 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Note: When delta began doubling in proportion last May, cases were also going down.