29 September 2025
Hello again, friends of Science,
Halò a-rithist, a charaidean Saidheans,
[About 80,000 people speak Scottish Gaelic]
In the escalating war on science, our Secretary of Health & Human Services has once again shown his disdain for – or ignorance of – epidemiology by warning pregnant women off of Tylenol. “Hogwash” comes to mind, except that’s a slur against our porcine population. However, i’m not going to burden you with details – you can read about them in Nature magazine. Quick summary: A single study found a difference of 0.0009 in the number of autisms diagnosed with mothers who took Tylenol versus those who did not. That tiny difference disappeared when comparing children with the same mother, i.e. siblings. Other studies failed to find any differences. There is no causal link between Tylenol use and autism. We are now likely to see more fetal defects when pregnant women endure fevers and “tough it out” rather than take Tylenol.
Here’s another obscene example of the war on science: The words “trans” and “expression” were flagged in a research project at Georgia State University and funding cancelled. The research was developing a drug to treat Type 2 diabetes using translational therapeutic strategies employing gene expression. Maybe just a coincidence; maybe not.
Ah, well. After writing the above stressing news, i could use a dose of theobromine.
SPACE
Watch the ISS Monday evening: 7:26PM, 6 mins from NW to ESE, max 55°
Watch Earth from the ISS: 24 hour Live Cam
The 3I/Atlas interstellar comet is making its way through the Solar System at about 70 km/sec. It will not at any time be visible with binoculars from Earth. By analyzing its diffuse dust and gas created by our sun’s warmth and light pressure, we are learning about its composition, which is slightly different from Solar System comets.
Currently there are 11,700 active satellites and 30,000 defunct satellites and pieces of debris in Earth orbit. In case you’re wondering, the red dots in a large circle represent satellites in geostationary orbit – GEO – where each is stationed continuously over the same spot on Earth along the equator.
CLIMATE
Due to advances in mining, charging, and recycling, EVs now have a lower carbon footprint than ICE [Internal Combustion Engine] vehicles regardless where you live in the U.S.
President Trump on Tuesday in front of the United Nations General Assembly: “This ‘climate change,’ it’s the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion. All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong. They were made by stupid people that have cost their countries fortunes and given those same countries no chance for success. If you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail.” [No comment needed.]
In August i wrote about our Federal government’s release of a Climate Assessment authored by climate deniers. Since then, real climate scientists fact-checked the document and found over 100 claims that are false or misleading.
Things to Do this Week
There are many wonderful science-related events this week. Peruse them all on the Bay Area Science Calendar. Below are my (biased) picks.
Diving for Science in Antarctica Monday Noon, Sonoma State University
Wonderfest – AI for Learning Tuesday 7pm, Novato
The Rise of Invisible AI-Powered Health Tech – Wednesday 4pm, UC Berkeley
Deepfakes, Dirty Tricks, & the Future of Trust Livestream Thursday 4pm
ARCHAEOLOGY
About half a million years ago, a Homo heidelbergensis girl was born with lambdoid synostosis, a cranial abnormality which likely rendered her unable to care for herself. However, she lived to be 10+ years old. This strongly suggests that others in her hunter-gatherer clan invested considerable effort in caring for her; behavior suggestive of compassion and empathy.
About 2.6 million years ago, hominins picked out suitable stones, transported them several kilometers, and then fashioned them into tools. ¿How did they ‘transport’ the stones? Satchels made from animal skins? Travois? Uber?
FUN NERDY VIDEOS
Zooming in on a Milky Way Neighborhood – HubbleWebbEsa – 1.5 mins
Teaching Robot Manipulation across ‘Embodiments’ – Google DeepMind – 2 mins
Experiment Rules Out Bohmian Mechanics – Sabine Hossenfelder – 5.5 mins
History of the Urinary Catheter – The Right Chemistry – Dr. Joe Schwarcz – 6 mins
Science in Health, Wealth, & War – Star Talk Plus – Neil deGrasse Tyson – 7.5 mins
The Time of Peak Amber – PBS Eons – Michelle Barboza-Ramirez – 10.5 mins
¿When Did Humans ACTUALLY Get to the Americas? – SciShow – Savannah Geary – 11 mins
Antarctica’s Dry Valleys – Dr. Gilbz – Ella Gilbert – 12.5 mins
Disasters & Deaths; Worse than We Thought – PBS Terra – Maiya May – 14 mins
2 freak accidents & human evolution – Big Think – Sean B. Caroll – 20 mins
Curium – Tales from the Periodic Table – Ron Hipschman – 36 mins
Bird Intelligence Research – PBS NOVA – 50 mins
¿Want to get out of the house and make a new friend or two? ¿Would you demonstrate against the ‘War on Science’? Consult this listing of gatherings in your area.
Stay well. Stay curious.
Dave Almandsmith, Bay Area Skeptics
“Journalists have a wealth of stories at their fingertips once they reject the notion that truth is subjective and start asking for evidence and digging into details. They especially have a wealth of stories at their fingertips when they start exploring how science is being intentionally misrepresented by vested interests.”
― Shawn Lawrence Otto [1961 – ] American writer, producer, & science advocate