It’s been a while since I’ve had science thoughts — You can thank Babesleaga for that.
However, the “overwhelming majority” of you are scientists in one field or another.
The problem is, the press keeps saying that the science is settled. In some fields. Like climatology.
On the other hand, they are constantly finding new things to panic about. In some fields. Like climatology. So how can it be settled — without being too precipitous? (Heh. One for the English major.)
Actual scientists always counter that science is never settled: that it is simply a method, not a text engraved in stone. Because you know what that is? That’s an engraving. On a tomb.
Those who express that opinion are shouted down and defunded. After all, Faucci said that if you attack him, you are attacking Science. The “overwhelming majority” of which has now — in his opinion, apparently — become a data point.
And if you continue to object, guys with pitot tubes or Bunsen burners will be infiltrated into your house. But not by the FBI. Or by the Knights Who Say NIH. … Oh, no.
So, who should one trust in Science? Or should one trust in Science at all? I vote for anyone who gets us a George Jetson flying car in the future, which fits into a suitcase. The flying car, I mean, not the future. But that would make a pretty good science fiction story, too.
Sorry, Australia, I love you as a country, but this is the sorriest whining I’ve ever heard from a sovereign nation. And I’ve heard blubbering from France.
Australian Universities Demand ‘Emergency Meeting’ After Trump Cancels Their Funding
Red State | March 22, 2025Australian universities are crying foul after the Trump administration asks questions that put $386 million in research grants in jeopardy. The bone of contention was a questionnaire sent to Australian grant recipients asking if the institution had “ties to communist or socialist parties, receive funding from China and it only recognises male and female sexes.”
The grants were frozen in January, shortly after President Trump was inaugurated, but were unfrozen at some time thereafter. This new round of questions is the second time the universities were queried, but this time, it has their attention.
Seven days after the Trump administration assumed office, one of Australia’s Group of Eight universities was notified that US funding for a project had been paused.
“This is really concerning and the thin end of the wedge in terms of where it potentially could go,” Group of Eight CEO Vicki Thomson said.
The administration has already sent questionnaires to Australian researchers asking 36 questions on a wide range of topics including drugs, US government transgender policies, and Christianity.
It also asks them to confirm “your organization has not received ANY funding from the PRC (People’s Republic of China) … Russia, Cuba, or Iran”.
“The nature of the questionnaire was quite astounding,” Ms Thomson said.
“If this was any other country, it verges on foreign interference. It’s just remarkable.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on criticisms of the questionnaire.
If you are getting money from a foreign government, you sort of lose the right to complain about “foreign interference” when that government clarifies its terms and conditions.
Australia spends about $800 million per year on university-based research; the US contribution is about a third of the total spent on academic research.
The affected universities are demanding an “emergency meeting” with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Australian Academy of Science chief executive Anna-Maria Arabia told the Australian Financial Review the federal government had to be quicker to respond to the cuts rather than choosing to “wait and see”.
“It is incumbent on the prime minister to call an emergency meeting of the National Science and Technology Council, which he chairs, compelling all ministers to the table to share intel and comprehensively assess the extent of Australia’s exposure to a reduction in US R&D investment across portfolios,” Ms Arabia said.
“The consequences of inaction are profound with consequences for every Australian’s way of life,” she said.
“We don’t know the full extent of the pain US measures will inflict on Australia, but we do know it’s coming, and we have a chance to put in place strategies that will allow Australia to capture opportunities whilst mitigating the worst of the damage.”
For the life of me, I really don’t understand why it is in our interests to fund research at foreign universities using federal funds. Research funding is a zero-sum affair. Doling out $386 million to Australian universities means that money will not be available for funding opportunities for American scientists or world-class scientists living in other countries who want to come to America. We should’ve learned the folly of pushing our research dollars into foreign universities where we can’t control what goes on with our Wuhan Institute of Virology tragedy.
So tragic.
“Allow Australia to capture opportunities” to their heart’s content.
MGM Casino Marketing Director: ‘I’m not going to hire Whites,’ ; James O’Keefe strikes again!
Twitter / X / Citizen’s Free Press | March 21, 2025MGM Casino Marketing Director: ‘I’m not going to hire Whites,’ Favors Candidates Based on DEI Principles: “I’d Probably Hire the African American”
“No matter how great they [Whites] look on paper, they don’t fit well with my team.”
“I will purposefully look for those diverse-based hires.”
15:43 VIDEO AT LINK
I’d bet on either reds or blacks. Heh.
Earlier this week, I bought some TGI Friday’s Potato Skins snack chips. They were stale and awful.
I checked the expiration date: it was May 2025.
Specifically: May 26 25.
Today I bought some Takis. I’ve never heard of Takis, but tried them. They were stale.
Expiration date: May 26 25.
Got some crumbling bread, too, but I don’t see a relationship there.
What’s going on?
Zelensky tells Russia to drop ‘unnecessary’ demands ahead of peace talks
BBC | March 20, 2025 | Vicky WongVolodymyr Zelensky has said Ukrainian and US officials will meet for peace talks in Saudi Arabia next Monday, after the Kremlin confirmed US-Russia talks there the same day.
Both Countries Mutually Agree Not To Drop the “Snow White” Movie Bomb on Each Other
Walrus Agrees Not To Call Oppo Out on Use of Phrase “Mutually Agree”
Maybe I’m an old fogey, but aren’t there enough drugs to abuse already?
Or is it spelled “fogy”?
I lean towards “fogie.”
Anyway, I distinctly remember when crack, crank, and fentanyl had to be explained to me.
Without Federal Action, States Wrestle With Kratom Regulation
MEDPAGE TODAY | March 19, 2025 | Mara SilversReports of deadly overdoses have surfaced in recent years
Montana lawmakers are grappling with how — if at all — the state should rein in kratom, an unregulated plant-derived substance with addictive properties sold mainly as a mood and energy booster at gas stations, vape shops, and elsewhere.
Kratom, which originates from the leaves of a tree native to Southeast Asia, is also touted for helping relieve pain and opioid withdrawal symptoms. But it can have wide-ranging mental and bodily effects, according to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), addiction medicine experts, and kratom researchers. Reports of deadly kratom overdoses have surfaced in recent years, though often in combination with other substances.
But the drug is in a gray federal regulatory area: It’s designated by the DEA as a “drug and chemical of concern,” but it is not considered a controlled substance. Legislation introduced in Congress in 2023 to study kratom has not advanced.
… A federal survey from 2021 estimated that 1.7 million Americans age 12 and older used the substance in some way the year before the study.
Some consider it an herbal supplement, a perception driven by its accessibility in gas stations and vape shops, rather than a mind-altering and potentially addictive drug.
…
“The majority of my patients that are using it can’t even quantify to me how much they’re using,” Zawacki said.
… “The kratom that was on the market then was basically ground-up leaf powder that was not further concentrated,” Grundmann said. “What we have seen in recent years is even stronger extracts that focus specifically on mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine. These should not be seen as ‘kratom’ any longer.”
Hey! I just invented a new phrase!
I was thinking of “dumping on” me, but it came out wrong.
Anyway, I’m posting it here for future dictionary editors who want to chronicle its first use. I assume it’s bound to take off soon.
“But Oppo, what does it mean?”
I don’t know. I just make up new phrases; I don’t define them. Stop deepin’ on me.
Scientists Trapped in Antarctica Plead For Help as Violence Breaks Out
Newsweek | 3/18/25A group of South African scientists has pleaded for help, saying they are trapped in an isolated base on a cliff edge in Antarctica with a team member who has become violent.
One of the team has been accused of assault and threatening violence against his colleagues, according to the South African newspaper The Sunday Times. South Africa’s environment minister confirmed that an assault had taken place.
The overwintering team, a group that remains in a remote and extreme environment during winter months, knew that 10 of their 15 months at the base would be spent in isolation but may now be in danger from one of their own members, who has been accused of being mentally unstable.
(Unfortunately, their longstanding policy is “No Substitutions”.)
Chinese scientists develop cancer treatment that makes tumors mimic ‘pork’ with 90% success
Anadolu Ajansı News ServiceChinese scientists have developed a pioneering cancer treatment that modifies tumors to resemble “pork,” effectively triggering the body’s immune system to attack them, according to a report by the South China Morning Post on Monday.
The researchers have engineered tumors to mimic pig tissue, prompting the immune system to recognize them as foreign and launch a targeted attack using the same response that leads to organ transplant rejection.
The study, published in Cell on Jan. 18, employs a genetically modified virus to disguise cancer cells as pig tissue, inducing a hyperacute immune rejection that specifically targets tumors while sparing healthy cells.
Early clinical trials have shown remarkable results, with 90% of patients suffering from advanced, treatment-resistant cancers experiencing either halted tumor growth or shrinkage.
One cervical cancer patient was even declared clinically cured.
This breakthrough offers new hope for patients whose cancers have not responded to conventional therapies, opening a promising new direction in oncology.
The research, led by Professor Zhao Yongxiang, director of the State Key Laboratory of Targeting Oncology at Guangxi Medical University, has gained widespread attention on Chinese social media.
