Links for you. Science:
The harms of promoting the lab leak hypothesis for SARS-CoV-2 origins without evidence
Previously undetected H5N1 avian flu cases in farmworkers revealed in new report (paper here)
How a Crisis for Vultures Led to a Human Disaster: Half a Million Deaths. The birds were accidentally poisoned in India. New research on what happened next shows how wildlife collapse can be deadly for people. (gift link)
Deep mutational scanning of H5 hemagglutinin to inform influenza virus surveillance
Solving genomic puzzles: computational methods for metagenomic binning
Mysterious sawfish die-off has likely ended. Scientists keep searching for why it happened
Other:
The Indomitable Covid Virus: How to respond without denialism or complacency (excellent; must-read)
Why Trump Can’t Banish the Weirdos. Whatever Trump says about Project 2025, his ties to it are undeniable. (gift link)
Trump Insists That He and His Weird VP Pick J.D. Vance Are ‘Not Weird’: Dems’ “weird” attacks are getting under Trump’s skin. “Of course he’s upset,” a source told Rolling Stone
The One Thing You Need to Know to Understand Usha Vance (excellent)
Trump Flails Without EMAILS Or Age Smears. Manufacturing those attack lines takes time, but his loyalists will work quickly when desperate.
The largest campaign finance violation in US history
The Broligarchs Have Arrived. And They’re Coming For Our Democracy.
J.D. Vance: Pregnancies from rape should go to term even if they’re ‘inconvenient’
Schumer vows Supreme Court reform will be ‘a very big priority’ if Democrats win election
Gavin Newsom’s Fraudulent Homelessness Agenda
Peter Thiel’s influence over a network of Lord of the Rings-inspired companies
JD Vance Is An Investor In A Far Right Video Platform Filled With Neo-Nazi Content
Abortion Ballot Measures Aren’t Safe From the Courts. People are understandably excited about statewide votes on abortion, but they could be gutted by a future Trump administration or by conservative judges.
How the Supreme Court Built a Jurisprudence of White Fragility: The conservative justices are vigilant defenders of lawmakers who are accused of doing something racist. But they have very little to say about racism itself.
Ukraine’s stolen children: Officially 20,000 children have been detained since Russia’s invasion in 2022, but the true number is likely to be far higher
What Role Did Local News Play in the Controversy About Masks?
“War on white America”: Influential Texas group hosting pro-Christian nationalism conference. True Texas Project has for years worked with Attorney General Ken Paxton, Sen. Ted Cruz and other prominent Republicans.
For multiracial people, questions confusing ancestry and identity are exhausting; ‘it’s happened my entire life’
Exactly What We Lost When We Lost Congestion Pricing
What Happens When Election Officials Refuse to Certify Results?
UAW president voices concerns about Kelly, Shapiro amid Harris’ running mate search
The Painful Reality of Loving a Conspiracy Theorist. What do you do when a family member falls for QAnon?
Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter to Star in ‘Waiting for Godot’ on Broadway (gift link)
Planned life sciences hub in North Bethesda gets millions more federal dollars
Of Course JD Vance Has A Six-Figure Investment In Rumble. Guys is it bad if the VP pick is profiting off of neo-Nazi content, Andrew Tate, and conspiracy theories?
J.D. Vance Has a Conspiracy Theory About Childless People
AIPAC Used Distorted Photo of Cori Bush in $7 Million Negative Ad Blitz
mikethemadbiologist
This list has so much to comment on. But this caught my eye: “The harms of promoting the lab leak hypothesis for SARS-CoV-2 origins without evidence”. Unfortunately, I have forgotten so much — but I recall evidence presented, not only of lab leak but of weaponization. But I don’t recall this addressed: “The harms of promoting the open-air bazaar transmission hypothesis without evidence.”
At minimum, these questions should be addressed: “How ventilated was the open-air bazaar?” and “How often do pathogens jump to humans in that bazaar?”
China’s obstruction in determining the source is plausible. What’s weird is WHO’s acquiescence to the obstruction. Weirder still appears to be WHO’s (and possibly the medical profession’s) position on airborne pathogens apparently only fully revised (and corrected) this year.
Apparently, they viewed airborne pathogens as exceptional, when in reality, any pathogen transmissible through sneezing, coughing, etc. is airborne. This is but the latest revelation in medical practice that would lead me, were I a litigating attorney, and if this benefited my client, I would ask for a Daubert hearing on whether Medicine is a valid scientific practice for which expert testimony could be given.