Aaron Miller
@amillerphd.bsky.social
Teaching professor in biomedical sciences at Marquette. Husband, father, cyclist, runner. Milwaukee, WI
Pinned
Aaron Miller
@amillerphd.bsky.social
· Nov 14
An introduction: I teach physiology, pharmacology and nutrition to undergrads, PA, and dental students. I'm also a husband, tween girl parent, and occasional mountain bike racer. Looking forward to (re)connecting with people who have similar interests!
Still get excited by the first real snow of the year. The subsequent ones, maybe not so much.
December 20, 2024 at 9:00 PM
Still get excited by the first real snow of the year. The subsequent ones, maybe not so much.
Reposted by Aaron Miller
Congo outbreak identified: "The mystery has finally been solved. It's a case of severe malaria in the form of a respiratory illness... and weakened by malnutrition." www.reuters.com/world/africa...
Congo's health ministry says unknown disease is severe malaria
Democratic Republic of Congo's health ministry said on Tuesday that a previously unidentified disease circulating in the country's Panzi health zone is a severe form of malaria.
www.reuters.com
December 17, 2024 at 3:23 PM
Congo outbreak identified: "The mystery has finally been solved. It's a case of severe malaria in the form of a respiratory illness... and weakened by malnutrition." www.reuters.com/world/africa...
Reposted by Aaron Miller
Me: Dr. Salk your vaccine will save so many children!
Salk: Well thank God
Me: Of course they will grow up
Salk: Well I hope so
Me: And get old
Salk: I guess?
Me: And eventually vote for lunatics who will try to stop your vaccine
Salk: what now
Me: And leave NATO
Salk: shit
Salk: Well thank God
Me: Of course they will grow up
Salk: Well I hope so
Me: And get old
Salk: I guess?
Me: And eventually vote for lunatics who will try to stop your vaccine
Salk: what now
Me: And leave NATO
Salk: shit
December 13, 2024 at 5:33 PM
Me: Dr. Salk your vaccine will save so many children!
Salk: Well thank God
Me: Of course they will grow up
Salk: Well I hope so
Me: And get old
Salk: I guess?
Me: And eventually vote for lunatics who will try to stop your vaccine
Salk: what now
Me: And leave NATO
Salk: shit
Salk: Well thank God
Me: Of course they will grow up
Salk: Well I hope so
Me: And get old
Salk: I guess?
Me: And eventually vote for lunatics who will try to stop your vaccine
Salk: what now
Me: And leave NATO
Salk: shit
An interesting Wikipedia rabbit hole is the controversy surrounding smallpox inoculation when it first came to Boston in the 1720s. Still having the same debates 300 years later.
December 14, 2024 at 1:12 AM
An interesting Wikipedia rabbit hole is the controversy surrounding smallpox inoculation when it first came to Boston in the 1720s. Still having the same debates 300 years later.
Reposted by Aaron Miller
I read the first post in this thread about mirror life, thought “they can’t mean…”, and then clicked the link.
Yep, that’s exactly what they mean. Bioengineering reversed-chirality microbes.
Vaughn’s piece is a necessary if frightening read.
Yep, that’s exactly what they mean. Bioengineering reversed-chirality microbes.
Vaughn’s piece is a necessary if frightening read.
I’m proud to join more than 30 colleagues today in sharing our analysis of potential risks from “mirror life”. We summarize our findings in a @science.org article, and in greater detail in a 300pg technical report:
Article: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Report: purl.stanford.edu/cv716pj4036
Article: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Report: purl.stanford.edu/cv716pj4036
December 12, 2024 at 7:38 PM
I read the first post in this thread about mirror life, thought “they can’t mean…”, and then clicked the link.
Yep, that’s exactly what they mean. Bioengineering reversed-chirality microbes.
Vaughn’s piece is a necessary if frightening read.
Yep, that’s exactly what they mean. Bioengineering reversed-chirality microbes.
Vaughn’s piece is a necessary if frightening read.
Until recently I was more concerned with AI gaining exceptional abilities and taking over the world; now I'm more worried it will stay mediocre but still come to dominate us by eroding our critical thinking skills.
I'm sure many have said this before but I'm reading a student-facing document about how students might use AI in the classroom (if allowed) and one of the recs is: use AI to make an outline of your reading! But ISN'T MAKING THE OUTLINE how one actually learns?
December 12, 2024 at 7:53 PM
Until recently I was more concerned with AI gaining exceptional abilities and taking over the world; now I'm more worried it will stay mediocre but still come to dominate us by eroding our critical thinking skills.
In middle school, it's considered uncool to wear a winter coat. I'm not sure where this mentality comes from, but a lot of people never outgrow it.
December 12, 2024 at 7:47 PM
In middle school, it's considered uncool to wear a winter coat. I'm not sure where this mentality comes from, but a lot of people never outgrow it.
Reposted by Aaron Miller
This is what's so baffling about so many suggestions for AI in the humanities classroom: they mistake the product for the point. Writing outlines and essays is important not because you need to make outlines and essays but because that's how you learn to think with/through complex ideas.
I'm sure many have said this before but I'm reading a student-facing document about how students might use AI in the classroom (if allowed) and one of the recs is: use AI to make an outline of your reading! But ISN'T MAKING THE OUTLINE how one actually learns?
December 11, 2024 at 10:43 PM
This is what's so baffling about so many suggestions for AI in the humanities classroom: they mistake the product for the point. Writing outlines and essays is important not because you need to make outlines and essays but because that's how you learn to think with/through complex ideas.
Reposted by Aaron Miller
🧵 On the day Remco Evenepoel was knocked off his bike by a postal worker and broke multiple bones, the Belgian Postal Group's stock price dropped 2% to a new all-time low... 📉 @escapecollective.bsky.social
December 6, 2024 at 3:35 PM
🧵 On the day Remco Evenepoel was knocked off his bike by a postal worker and broke multiple bones, the Belgian Postal Group's stock price dropped 2% to a new all-time low... 📉 @escapecollective.bsky.social
Reposted by Aaron Miller
In my research of 17th century letters and diaries one thing that I find striking is for any illness, even minor ailment, they do not take it for granted you'll recover. They might think it's *probable* and at some point consider you out of danger. Today, it's the opposite, it's so striking 1/2
December 6, 2024 at 1:58 PM
In my research of 17th century letters and diaries one thing that I find striking is for any illness, even minor ailment, they do not take it for granted you'll recover. They might think it's *probable* and at some point consider you out of danger. Today, it's the opposite, it's so striking 1/2
Reposted by Aaron Miller
As the article’s first line makes clear, AI is a technology that thrives on and deepens austerity and it demands coalitions of students, faculty, and staff to resist and refuse its institutionalization.
Wisconsin professors worry AI could replace them
Faculty say a proposed policy change could lead to AI-run classes at the Universities of Wisconsin System. University officials say their fears are overblown.
www.insidehighered.com
December 6, 2024 at 1:50 PM
As the article’s first line makes clear, AI is a technology that thrives on and deepens austerity and it demands coalitions of students, faculty, and staff to resist and refuse its institutionalization.
Reposted by Aaron Miller
I just had the sloppiest bowl of chili served to me by a woman who went straight from serving to bedazzling the t-shirt she was going to wear to her birthday trip to the shooting range with her mom. WISCONSIN!!!
December 5, 2024 at 11:00 PM
I just had the sloppiest bowl of chili served to me by a woman who went straight from serving to bedazzling the t-shirt she was going to wear to her birthday trip to the shooting range with her mom. WISCONSIN!!!
Reposted by Aaron Miller
"Infected people had flu-like symptoms including high fever and severe headaches..."
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...
Unknown disease kills 143 people in south-west DRC, local authorities say
Infected people described as having flu-like symptoms including high fever and severe headaches
www.theguardian.com
December 3, 2024 at 3:46 PM
"Infected people had flu-like symptoms including high fever and severe headaches..."
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...
Reposted by Aaron Miller
East Wisconsin Avenue - Milwaukee Wisconsin 2024.
December 2, 2024 at 11:47 PM
East Wisconsin Avenue - Milwaukee Wisconsin 2024.
I'm not sure how widely this is recognized outside of the education world, but with the advent of AI, take-home graded writing assignments are effectively dead. I think the societal consequences could be quite profound.
December 1, 2024 at 11:00 PM
I'm not sure how widely this is recognized outside of the education world, but with the advent of AI, take-home graded writing assignments are effectively dead. I think the societal consequences could be quite profound.
The HPV vaccine can be given as early as age 9, and vaccine efficacy is actually better in younger kids. Get it now if you can. My kid who turns 9 in 2025 will receive it ASAP, unless the new administration decides to mess with vaccine access.
November 29, 2024 at 9:12 PM
The HPV vaccine can be given as early as age 9, and vaccine efficacy is actually better in younger kids. Get it now if you can. My kid who turns 9 in 2025 will receive it ASAP, unless the new administration decides to mess with vaccine access.
Reposted by Aaron Miller
Another reminder to not amplify misinformation. Block and move on. Sub-post (is that a thing?) if necessary #medsky
New paper out in @ScienceMagazine! In 8 studies (multiple platforms, methods, time periods) we find: misinformation evokes more outrage than trustworthy news, when it does it's shared more + ppl are less likely to read before sharing. w/ @killianmcl1 @Klonick @mollycrockett 🧵👇
November 28, 2024 at 11:26 PM
Another reminder to not amplify misinformation. Block and move on. Sub-post (is that a thing?) if necessary #medsky
Reposted by Aaron Miller
got banned for life from the TaleSpin forums for suggesting that Baloo in TaleSpin is NOT the same bear as Baloo in The Jungle Book. People were screaming at me to shut the fuck up even though I provided EVIDENCE
November 27, 2024 at 6:58 PM
got banned for life from the TaleSpin forums for suggesting that Baloo in TaleSpin is NOT the same bear as Baloo in The Jungle Book. People were screaming at me to shut the fuck up even though I provided EVIDENCE
Reposted by Aaron Miller
The HPV vaccine has been recommended in the US since 2006. New study out today shows that cervical cancer deaths in young women in the years that followed have plummeted, decreasing 15% per year from 2013-2015.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Cervical Cancer Mortality Among US Women Younger Than 25 Years
This study examines trends in cervical cancer mortality in US women aged younger than 25 years before and after the introduction of human papillomavirus vaccines.
jamanetwork.com
November 28, 2024 at 2:43 AM
The HPV vaccine has been recommended in the US since 2006. New study out today shows that cervical cancer deaths in young women in the years that followed have plummeted, decreasing 15% per year from 2013-2015.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
We don't know where this is headed, but now's a good time to pick up a box of N95s. We know from last time, by the time you know you need them, it will be too late.
Not sure this is on the incoming administration's radar, but it ought to be. #H5N1 #birdflu in dairy cows — and poultry, and people — isn't going away. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/26/o...
Opinion | I Ran Operation Warp Speed. I’m Concerned About Bird Flu.
Avian influenza might mutate to enable human-to-human transmission.
www.nytimes.com
November 27, 2024 at 1:51 AM
We don't know where this is headed, but now's a good time to pick up a box of N95s. We know from last time, by the time you know you need them, it will be too late.
Reposted by Aaron Miller
1/ Influenza wastewater activity levels are currently low across the US, aside from conspicuous areas in CA where #H5N1 is spreading in dairy cows.
A deeper dive into the Wastewater Scan data paints a very concerning picture and should add to our sense of urgency.
A deeper dive into the Wastewater Scan data paints a very concerning picture and should add to our sense of urgency.
November 26, 2024 at 10:06 PM
1/ Influenza wastewater activity levels are currently low across the US, aside from conspicuous areas in CA where #H5N1 is spreading in dairy cows.
A deeper dive into the Wastewater Scan data paints a very concerning picture and should add to our sense of urgency.
A deeper dive into the Wastewater Scan data paints a very concerning picture and should add to our sense of urgency.
Reposted by Aaron Miller
Post your favorite non-alcoholic (holiday) beverage!
Note for the upcoming holiday season,,, some of us are on a sobriety journey and mocktails or non-alcoholic beer options make a big difference 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
November 26, 2024 at 5:47 PM
Post your favorite non-alcoholic (holiday) beverage!
Reposted by Aaron Miller
How cooked are we as a society that raw milk is becoming popular specifically *because* people are mad that they were told not to drink it so they don’t get avian flu
.@capublichealth.bsky.social reports finding #H5N1 #birdflu virus in raw milk. The producer, Raw Farm LLC of Fresno County, has agreed to recall a batch of a whole milk product called "cream top."
Milk from infected cows contains staggering levels of virus. www.statnews.com/2024/04/29/b...
Milk from infected cows contains staggering levels of virus. www.statnews.com/2024/04/29/b...
November 25, 2024 at 10:04 PM
How cooked are we as a society that raw milk is becoming popular specifically *because* people are mad that they were told not to drink it so they don’t get avian flu
Reposted by Aaron Miller
Damn and now Drake is going to have to pay a 25 percent tariff on that beef?
November 26, 2024 at 12:22 AM
Damn and now Drake is going to have to pay a 25 percent tariff on that beef?