Elaine
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miakat1.bsky.social
Elaine
@miakat1.bsky.social
Scientist (retired)👩🏻‍🔬🦠🔬💉, Stretford ender 👹, cat servant 🐈🐈😻
Reposted by Elaine
Can all the folk who just got reminded that they’ve listened to a tonne of music on streaming this year, have a look at the music they heard and buy some on bandcamp today? 🫡🙏🏼
December 5, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Reposted by Elaine
First sentence: "Millions of men are set to be denied routine prostate screening"

How about: "Millions of men are set to avoid harm and NHS to avoid wasted money through poorly evidenced screening programme"?
This is what happens when as a single condition health charity you’re overly focused on those who die of your condition and you don’t consider outcomes for those who don’t, or the opportunity costs involved for NHS. PCUK are particularly guilty but they’re not alone.
www.thetimes.com/article/4487...
Start prostate cancer testing regardless of advice, Wes Streeting told
NHS advisers are expected to rule against a mass programme for the disease, which causes more than 12,000 deaths a year
www.thetimes.com
November 28, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Reposted by Elaine
Please pass this on to any potential PhD applicants. Thanks.

The closing date for applications is 10 December.
November 13, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Reposted by Elaine
Neurologically speaking, there's no such thing as 'useless' subjects or 'rip-off' degrees

Insisting we should only teach useful subjects is like saying science should only do research that gives positive results

If you honestly believe that's how anything works, *your* education was the wasted one
October 15, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Reposted by Elaine
Hi @npr.org! We worked late tonight putting together this handy pocket guide!

It doesn't address road design issues, but if we're going to educate road users, we should include drivers.

It's the size of a folded business card. Print it, fold it, put it in your wallet!
September 26, 2025 at 5:21 AM
Reposted by Elaine
The idea that the combined MMR is dangerous but separately the vaccines are fine was created out of whole cloth by Andrew Wakefield, a disgraced former doctor who had a patent on a non-combined version of the MMR. We've known his research was bunk for almost 30 years.
We are ruled by malicious conspiracy theorists
September 18, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Reposted by Elaine
Starmer could have said:

Vandalism isn't patriotism; daubing red crosses on Chinese takeaways and writing racist graffiti isn't patriotism; perfomatively sitting in front of a flag or tying one to a mosque isn't patriotism;

Patriotism is about making this country safe, happy productive for all.
Asked by the BBC how he would feel if "your daughter was having to walk past one of these [asylum] hotels every day?" Keir Starmer replies that "I completely get it".

"I understand why people want the hotels closed. I want them closed".
September 1, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Reposted by Elaine
Seeing some politicians competing for just how brutal and dehumanising they can be to vulnerable minorities - I can’t help comparing that to 16th and 17th witch trials. It’s so depressing.
August 26, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by Elaine
You don't need to launch a full bore defence of liberal internationalism to be able to question the ethics of sending refugees to their certain deaths.
August 26, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by Elaine
Two PhD studentships available in real-time infectious disease modelling, jointly with LSHTM, Imperial and UKHSA. January 2026 start + 3.5 years of funding: www.lshtm.ac.uk/study/fees-a...
PhD studentships in real-time infectious disease modelling | LSHTM
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Imperial College London and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) are pleased to invite applications for two PhD studentships in real-time
www.lshtm.ac.uk
July 24, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Reposted by Elaine
Wherever you live in the world, your climate is getting warmer.

21st June is #ShowYourStripes day when we encourage everyone to use the warming stripes graphics to talk about climate change and how we are all already experiencing the consequences.

Download your stripes: www.ShowYourStripes.info
June 4, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Elaine
The MenACWY vaccine helps protect against life-threatening illnesses like #Meningitis and #Sepsis. 💪

It's offered to teenagers in school, but can be given up to the age of 25 for free if it's been missed.

We're encouraging parents and young people to contact their GP practice to catch up.
May 28, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Reposted by Elaine
More performance from Labour.

People that keep our public realm in good shape are skilled and yet this is framed as punishment work. You can also bet that there is plenty of exploitation to be had here at the risk of people's actual jobs.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Criminals could fill potholes and clean bins under government plans
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is said to want to expand unpaid work, which she believes to be too lenient.
www.bbc.co.uk
May 18, 2025 at 7:26 AM
Reposted by Elaine
Longest shot in the world here, but one of our #cats went missing last Saturday and still hasn't shown up. Never missed a meal in her almost 6 years.

She's microchipped, neutered, and wearing a grey collar.

Droylsden area of Greater Manchester, specifically M43 7 postcode.

Please repost.
May 9, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Reposted by Elaine
Great write up on a very effective scam that uses a second scammer to call your bank while you speak to the scammer. Don't trust unsolicited calls/texts/emails claiming to be from your bank.
The scammer is on the phone to you.
Their accomplice is on the phone to your bank, pretending to be you.
Your bank sends you the notification.
You accept, and scammers proceed to drain your account.

Full write up: shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/05...

🧵🔚
Bank scammers using genuine push notifications to trick their victims
You receive a call on your phone. The polite call centre worker on the line asks for you by name, and gives the name of your bank. They say they're calling from your bank's fraud department. "Yeah, r...
shkspr.mobi
May 3, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Reposted by Elaine
We also need to have a conversation about cyclists being set up to fail. I cycle on a narrow shared-use path that is almost guaranteed to have children running across it because it sits between a beach and a playground. If I drive an antisocial SUV I'm given a road where such issues are controlled
Prosecutions under this change in the law might amount to two or three per year.

Which I'm fine with, BTW.

But now do the same for drivers.

Anyone recall the last time a driver got life for any of the 1600 deaths involving motor vehicles?

www.theguardian.com/news/2025/ap...
Cyclists who kill pedestrians could be jailed for life under new law in England and Wales
Reckless cycling is currently prosecuted under legislation from the 1860s, with a maximum two-year jail sentence
www.theguardian.com
April 25, 2025 at 6:44 AM
Reposted by Elaine
Dog whistling.
How many drivers have received life sentences for death by dangerous driving.
This govt continues to find new ways to appall me
So the first real policy decision on active travel or road safety by this government is a law targeting cyclists which will do nothing for road safety, briefed to a newspaper which openly hates cycling. Whatever your hopes for active travel from current ministers, perhaps calibrate these downwards.
April 25, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Reposted by Elaine
Listen to this. 5live commentary on the climax of United’s comeback against Lyon. Art.
April 18, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Reposted by Elaine
I have no love for Liverpool FC (Never forgave them for signing Kenny) however fans of a certain age know that Liverpool fans were just "the unlucky ones"
It could have happened to any fan of any big club.
I wrote this nearly nine years ago
uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/hillsbo...
Hillsborough disaster: It could have been you, me or any football fan
Jim Burke looks back at the fan experience in the eighties, how the Hillsborough disaster was an accident waiting to happen for every fan who attended games, and how the cover-up was easy for a ruling...
uk.sports.yahoo.com
April 15, 2025 at 6:59 AM