Roland Pease
@peaseroland.bsky.social
Pinned
BBC World Service - Science In Action, How science got here, and where next
As anti-science leaves research reeling, does evidence-based policy have a future?
www.bbc.co.uk
It's the end of the road for BBC Science in Action. But science itself is facing growing roadblocks. For this terminal edition of SinA I'm joined by @naomioreskes.bsky.social @drdebhoury.bsky.social @michaelemann.bsky.social & @angierasmussen.bsky.social for where now?
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w...
Reposted by Roland Pease
"When you remove scientists from science, you don’t get truth. You get ideology. " Signed D3- Deb, Dan, and @drdemetre.bsky.social
We are former CDC officials. RFK Jr.'s change to vaccine guidance is propaganda.
Under Secretary Kennedy, CDC materials can no longer be assumed to reflect scientific authority.
www.ms.now
November 21, 2025 at 11:01 PM
"When you remove scientists from science, you don’t get truth. You get ideology. " Signed D3- Deb, Dan, and @drdemetre.bsky.social
The bit R4Today chose to highlight from its two awful COVID report interviews.
That "without [Johnson's] drive, we wouldn't have had the vaccine rollout".
This untested assertion was made after both Gove & Webb had dismissed the 23,000 avoidable deaths fig in the report as mere "model projections".
That "without [Johnson's] drive, we wouldn't have had the vaccine rollout".
This untested assertion was made after both Gove & Webb had dismissed the 23,000 avoidable deaths fig in the report as mere "model projections".
November 21, 2025 at 12:14 PM
The bit R4Today chose to highlight from its two awful COVID report interviews.
That "without [Johnson's] drive, we wouldn't have had the vaccine rollout".
This untested assertion was made after both Gove & Webb had dismissed the 23,000 avoidable deaths fig in the report as mere "model projections".
That "without [Johnson's] drive, we wouldn't have had the vaccine rollout".
This untested assertion was made after both Gove & Webb had dismissed the 23,000 avoidable deaths fig in the report as mere "model projections".
Reposted by Roland Pease
This exchange between Hancock and Johnson on 7th March 2020 speaks volumes about that government’s pandemic leadership.
Hancock: This is a clarion call for you to lead.
Johnson: Ok, I’m off to the rugby.
Hancock: This is a clarion call for you to lead.
Johnson: Ok, I’m off to the rugby.
November 20, 2025 at 7:24 AM
This exchange between Hancock and Johnson on 7th March 2020 speaks volumes about that government’s pandemic leadership.
Hancock: This is a clarion call for you to lead.
Johnson: Ok, I’m off to the rugby.
Hancock: This is a clarion call for you to lead.
Johnson: Ok, I’m off to the rugby.
Reposting because I may need this for a forthcoming series.
Hot off the press! Our latest paper led by @fernpizza.bsky.social, understanding how plasmids evolve inside cells. These small, self-replicating DNA circles live inside bacteria and carry antibiotic resistance genes, but also compete with one another to replicate. 1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Intracellular competition shapes plasmid population dynamics
From populations of multicellular organisms to selfish genetic elements, conflicts between levels of biological organization are central to evolution. Plasmids are extrachromosomal, self-replicating g...
www.science.org
November 20, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Reposting because I may need this for a forthcoming series.
Reposted by Roland Pease
Semeru, Indonesia is erupting. Communities are being evacuated.
Incredible footage of pyroclastic density currents in the news.
youtube.com/watch?v=ducv...
Incredible footage of pyroclastic density currents in the news.
youtube.com/watch?v=ducv...
Indonesia's Mount Semeru erupts and covers villages with falling ash
YouTube video by Associated Press
youtube.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Semeru, Indonesia is erupting. Communities are being evacuated.
Incredible footage of pyroclastic density currents in the news.
youtube.com/watch?v=ducv...
Incredible footage of pyroclastic density currents in the news.
youtube.com/watch?v=ducv...
This is certainly one way of framing the US's current catastrophic health policies.
Can’t believe the whole country has to suffer through the return of Dickensian childhood diseases because the worst, most ignorant attention-demanders decided other people’s expertise makes them feel bad
November 20, 2025 at 11:14 AM
This is certainly one way of framing the US's current catastrophic health policies.
A story I absolutely would have been covering if they hadn't killed off Science in Action.
We had @carnegiescience.bsky.social 's Bob Hazen on about the steps building to this precisely because the chemical traces of early life seemed so promising.
carnegiescience.edu/chemical-evi...
We had @carnegiescience.bsky.social 's Bob Hazen on about the steps building to this precisely because the chemical traces of early life seemed so promising.
carnegiescience.edu/chemical-evi...
Chemical evidence of ancient life detected in 3.3-billion-year-old rocks
New study shows life’s signature still exists in rocks long after the original biomolecules are gone.
carnegiescience.edu
November 20, 2025 at 9:43 AM
A story I absolutely would have been covering if they hadn't killed off Science in Action.
We had @carnegiescience.bsky.social 's Bob Hazen on about the steps building to this precisely because the chemical traces of early life seemed so promising.
carnegiescience.edu/chemical-evi...
We had @carnegiescience.bsky.social 's Bob Hazen on about the steps building to this precisely because the chemical traces of early life seemed so promising.
carnegiescience.edu/chemical-evi...
Reposted by Roland Pease
This was always a great radio programme. Informative, well-researched. I always learned something. It's disgraceful it is being cancelled.
The UK govt's attitude to the World Service is profoundly stupid. The BBC is one of the greatest projections of soft power for the UK
The UK govt's attitude to the World Service is profoundly stupid. The BBC is one of the greatest projections of soft power for the UK
For 61 years the #BBCWorldService has been broadcasting the latest in science via its weekly Science in Action programme. That dies in the next half hour, with this final edition, reflecting on the fall in trust in expertise driven by malign interests over recent years.
October 30, 2025 at 10:22 PM
This was always a great radio programme. Informative, well-researched. I always learned something. It's disgraceful it is being cancelled.
The UK govt's attitude to the World Service is profoundly stupid. The BBC is one of the greatest projections of soft power for the UK
The UK govt's attitude to the World Service is profoundly stupid. The BBC is one of the greatest projections of soft power for the UK
Reposted by Roland Pease
NASA will have a live event this Wednesday to share imagery of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS collected by a number of the agency’s missions.
www.nasa.gov/news-release...
www.nasa.gov/news-release...
NASA to Share Comet 3I/ATLAS Images From Spacecraft, Telescopes - NASA
NASA will host a live event at 3 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Nov. 19, to share imagery of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS collected by a number of the agency’s
www.nasa.gov
November 18, 2025 at 2:12 AM
NASA will have a live event this Wednesday to share imagery of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS collected by a number of the agency’s missions.
www.nasa.gov/news-release...
www.nasa.gov/news-release...
Reposted by Roland Pease
My latest for @science.org: A remarkable set of high-resolution climate model runs, computed over 900 (!) days of supercomputing time, are revealing how warming-induced changes to Earth's wind patterns due can prime huge spikes in extreme rainfall.
But the MESACLIP runs also do much more than that.
But the MESACLIP runs also do much more than that.
High-resolution climate model forecasts a wet, turbulent future
With details as fine as short-term weather forecasts, model achieves newfound accuracy
www.science.org
November 18, 2025 at 2:35 PM
My latest for @science.org: A remarkable set of high-resolution climate model runs, computed over 900 (!) days of supercomputing time, are revealing how warming-induced changes to Earth's wind patterns due can prime huge spikes in extreme rainfall.
But the MESACLIP runs also do much more than that.
But the MESACLIP runs also do much more than that.
Looking into the water crisis in Iran has taken me to the fate of Lake Urmia, c.1270m altitude in the country's northwest, shrinking owing to water overuse for decades. A restoration plan started 10 years ago appeared to help briefly, but aridity since 2020 has reversed gains. Landsat images.
November 18, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Looking into the water crisis in Iran has taken me to the fate of Lake Urmia, c.1270m altitude in the country's northwest, shrinking owing to water overuse for decades. A restoration plan started 10 years ago appeared to help briefly, but aridity since 2020 has reversed gains. Landsat images.
Useful thread, but while reading it keep in mind the later "continuing current trends" scenario in mind, "could lead to 4°C warming" by end century. Because that's where the stop-net-zero crew will send us.
The downward trends of the earlier scenarios look appealing, but they have to be worked for.
The downward trends of the earlier scenarios look appealing, but they have to be worked for.
November 18, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Useful thread, but while reading it keep in mind the later "continuing current trends" scenario in mind, "could lead to 4°C warming" by end century. Because that's where the stop-net-zero crew will send us.
The downward trends of the earlier scenarios look appealing, but they have to be worked for.
The downward trends of the earlier scenarios look appealing, but they have to be worked for.
Reposted by Roland Pease
In 1885, after traveling for over two million years, the light from an exploding star swept over caused astronomers to think the universe was way smaller than it really is.
badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/the-irony-...
🧪 🔭
badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/the-irony-...
🧪 🔭
The irony of Supernova 1885A
It proved the Universe was bigger than astronomers thought, but they couldn’t believe it
badastronomy.beehiiv.com
November 17, 2025 at 7:29 PM
In 1885, after traveling for over two million years, the light from an exploding star swept over caused astronomers to think the universe was way smaller than it really is.
badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/the-irony-...
🧪 🔭
badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/the-irony-...
🧪 🔭
Reposted by Roland Pease
Lovely review of CRICK by Peter Lawrence - who knew Francis well and took the photograoh below - in @currentbiology.bsky.social. “Scintillating… a biography to savour.”
Francis Crick: A thoughtful biography to savour
“His aim was not just to make discoveries about two of the major riddles of science,
he was also driven (…) to understand our true place in the Universe, shorn of superstition
and religion.”
www.cell.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Lovely review of CRICK by Peter Lawrence - who knew Francis well and took the photograoh below - in @currentbiology.bsky.social. “Scintillating… a biography to savour.”
Insect ecologists get my vote.
Following.
Following.
POV: you are a young woman celebrating a recent academic success
November 17, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Insect ecologists get my vote.
Following.
Following.
Reposted by Roland Pease
Starting my Monday morning with an email to Director Bhattacharya...
1/6
1/6
November 17, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Starting my Monday morning with an email to Director Bhattacharya...
1/6
1/6
Reposted by Roland Pease
I've got a bad feeling about the upcoming flu season, given the fact that there are a bunch of subtypes at this party with the potential to wreak varying amounts of havoc. So I broke it all down here.
open.substack.com/pub/rasmusse...
open.substack.com/pub/rasmusse...
The Real Subtypes of the 2025 Flu Season
Have you ever been to a party where you sensed the messiness before it happened?
open.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:54 PM
I've got a bad feeling about the upcoming flu season, given the fact that there are a bunch of subtypes at this party with the potential to wreak varying amounts of havoc. So I broke it all down here.
open.substack.com/pub/rasmusse...
open.substack.com/pub/rasmusse...
Thanks to listener Fred White for this letter to Radio Times about the ending of Science in Action on the #BBCWorldService - "required listening".
"At a time when the lights of reason are dimming across the world, cancellation of this vital prog is a sad and myopic decision by BBC planners." Indeed.
"At a time when the lights of reason are dimming across the world, cancellation of this vital prog is a sad and myopic decision by BBC planners." Indeed.
November 17, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Thanks to listener Fred White for this letter to Radio Times about the ending of Science in Action on the #BBCWorldService - "required listening".
"At a time when the lights of reason are dimming across the world, cancellation of this vital prog is a sad and myopic decision by BBC planners." Indeed.
"At a time when the lights of reason are dimming across the world, cancellation of this vital prog is a sad and myopic decision by BBC planners." Indeed.
Reposted by Roland Pease
On the mathematics of Covid-19 and excess mortality in Sweden, and why their pandemic response might not have been quite as successful as first billed. Great Substack post from @adamjkucharski.bsky.social
Latest post on how to make a popular metric tell any story you like... kucharski.substack.com/p/excess-mor...
November 17, 2025 at 10:01 AM
On the mathematics of Covid-19 and excess mortality in Sweden, and why their pandemic response might not have been quite as successful as first billed. Great Substack post from @adamjkucharski.bsky.social
Read this.
But for me the most egregious bit is in the headline, telling "the world" it needs a new playbook while pulling the US out of international institutions like WHO, and destroying international collaboration.
But for me the most egregious bit is in the headline, telling "the world" it needs a new playbook while pulling the US out of international institutions like WHO, and destroying international collaboration.
We've got a MASSIVE DEEP-DIVE rebuttal to the NIH leadership’s recent essay. They're arguing for a head-in-the-sand approach to pandemic preparedness.
The great @angierasmussen.bsky.social joins me in an extraordinarily detailed, line-by-line fact check.
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/a-rebuttal...
The great @angierasmussen.bsky.social joins me in an extraordinarily detailed, line-by-line fact check.
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/a-rebuttal...
A rebuttal to NIH leadership's screed against pandemic preparedness.
Dr. Angela Rasmussen joins Inside Medicine for a tag-team response to a poorly reasoned essay by NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and his deputy, Dr. Matthew Memoli.
insidemedicine.substack.com
November 16, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Read this.
But for me the most egregious bit is in the headline, telling "the world" it needs a new playbook while pulling the US out of international institutions like WHO, and destroying international collaboration.
But for me the most egregious bit is in the headline, telling "the world" it needs a new playbook while pulling the US out of international institutions like WHO, and destroying international collaboration.
Reposted by Roland Pease
Got home from #svp2025 to find a shiny advance copy of THE WONDER OF LIFE ON EARTH. It’s published in February and I’ll be launching it at the #norwichsciencefestival - but why wait? You can pre-order a copy now www.panmacmillan.com/authors/henr...
November 15, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Got home from #svp2025 to find a shiny advance copy of THE WONDER OF LIFE ON EARTH. It’s published in February and I’ll be launching it at the #norwichsciencefestival - but why wait? You can pre-order a copy now www.panmacmillan.com/authors/henr...
Reposted by Roland Pease
gift link: James Watson Saw the True Form of DNA. Then It Blinded Him.
Opinion | James Watson Saw the True Form of DNA. Then It Blinded Him.
www.nytimes.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:15 PM
gift link: James Watson Saw the True Form of DNA. Then It Blinded Him.
Reposted by Roland Pease
3I/ATLAS is the first interstellar object bright enough for amateurs to image: so fabulous to see the delight ☄️😍
I got it... I actually got it... Interstellar comet 3i, imaged from the middle of light-polluted Kendal, at 6am this morning, using my Seestar S50... This comet was already billions of years old before our Sun was even *born*... Very chuffed with this!
November 16, 2025 at 8:51 AM
3I/ATLAS is the first interstellar object bright enough for amateurs to image: so fabulous to see the delight ☄️😍
Reposted by Roland Pease
Now that the US gov is open, 3I/ATLAS images from the Mars-orbiting HiRISE camera will soon be out. My money is on them looking just like regular cometary images. If that disappoints you, scan the HiRISE catalog for spectacular Mars images like this one uahirise.org/catalog/
November 15, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Now that the US gov is open, 3I/ATLAS images from the Mars-orbiting HiRISE camera will soon be out. My money is on them looking just like regular cometary images. If that disappoints you, scan the HiRISE catalog for spectacular Mars images like this one uahirise.org/catalog/
The inner workings of a silk factory.
🚨New paper! 🚨
@jasminealqassar.bsky.social led this work on the silk glands of the pantry moth.
These two long tubes inside the caterpillar continuously make a ton of silk
How does this special organ work?
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
@cp-iscience.bsky.social
🧵THREAD🧵
@jasminealqassar.bsky.social led this work on the silk glands of the pantry moth.
These two long tubes inside the caterpillar continuously make a ton of silk
How does this special organ work?
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
@cp-iscience.bsky.social
🧵THREAD🧵
November 16, 2025 at 2:06 PM
The inner workings of a silk factory.