@criticascience.bsky.social
From Critica: Vaccination rates among US kindergarten children have fallen to their lowest levels in years, as exemptions rise sharply. It is imperative that public health officials unite to reassure people that these vaccinations are essential and safe. www.cdc.gov/schoolvaxvie...
Vaccination Coverage and Exemptions among Kindergartners
View national and state-level school vaccination coverage and exemption estimates.
cdc.gov
From Critica: The US Department of Energy issued a report disputing that climate change is significant or a function of human activity, but experts contend that report is misguided and wrong. www.science.org/content/arti...
Contrarian climate assessment from U.S. government draws swift pushback
Researchers say DOE report cherry-picks data to downplay threat of greenhouse gases
science.org
From Critica: Here's another important reason to support mRNA technology.
Nature@nature.com · last yr.Two vaccine candidates using mRNA technology elicit a potent immune response against HIV go.nature.com/4ov7WZI
From Critica: During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic there were many attempts to stoke doubt and fear about face masks. Here is a study showing that one of these fears, that toddlers who wear face masks can't learn, is baseless. neurosciencenews.com/mask-languag...
Masks Don’t Muffle Word Learning: Toddlers Learn Without Seeing Mouths - Neuroscience News
Toddlers as young as two can successfully learn new words even when a speaker’s mouth or eyes are covered, a study shows.
neurosciencenews.com
From Critica: In states like Texas, wind and solar energy are key to helping farmers and small communities remain economically viable. theconversation.com/how-wind-and...
How wind and solar power helps keep America’s farms alive
Rural counties also benefit in jobs, manufacturing and tax revenue that will be hard to replace as the US government slashes support for the industries.
theconversation.com
From Critica: Eliminating the EPA endangerment finding will be devastating to the world's efforts to contain climate change. It is imperative that this not happen. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/c...
In Game-Changing Climate Rollback, E.P.A. Aims to Kill a Bedrock Scientific Finding
nytimes.com
From Critica: We have found guidelines from USPSTF to be generally balanced and important. It is unclear why there is now a proposal to fire all of its members. www.medpagetoday.com/primarycare/...
RFK Jr. Reportedly Planning to Fire All USPSTF Members
Move would come on the heels of abrupt cancellation of task force meeting
medpagetoday.com
From Critica: In an important comment piece in The Lancet, five scholars detail efforts to preserve threatened US public health institutions and call for more concerted effort to advocate for science-based public health policies. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Building a resistance to US assaults on public health
The administration of US President Donald Trump has launched a full-fledged assault on science and public health;1 its “flood the zone” strategy created chaos and initially overwhelmed potential oppos...
thelancet.com
From Critica: It is important that we understand the facts about gain-of-function research, a necessary method to understand the biology of viruses and get ahead of potential spread to humans. theconversation.com/gain-of-func...
Gain-of-function research is more than just tweaking risky viruses – it’s a routine and essential tool in all biology research
From cancer immunotherapy and antibiotics to GMO crops and pandemic surveillance, gain of function is a cornerstone of basic research.
theconversation.com
From Critica: We are deeply concerned by US HHS Secretary Kennedy Jr.'s announcement that he plans to make significant changes in the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, a move that could jeopardize the supply of childhood vaccines. www.propublica.org/article/rfk-...
RFK Jr. Wants to Overhaul a Vital System That Supports Childhood Immunization
The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program stabilizes the nation’s childhood immunization system while paying those harmed by rare side effects. If the program topples, it could threaten access to vaccin...
propublica.org
From Critica: Dr. Jen Gunter reviews the scientific literature to dispute the FDA's director's statements about menopause hormone therapy. She demonstrates that the issues are complex and require medical expertise to unravel. vajenda.substack.com/p/marty-maka... @Dr. Jen Gunter
Marty Makary's Many Blind Spots about Menopause Hormone Therapy
His book is a master class in cherry picking
vajenda.substack.com
From Critica: Jeremy Faust explains that contrary to media reports the FDA did not in fact give full approval to Moderna's pediatric Covid-19 vaccine and why this could jeopardize the safety of children at risk. www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/faus...
Opinion | FDA Didn't Really Give 'Full Approval' to Moderna's Pediatric COVID Vaccine
Decision was limited to children who are at increased risk of severe disease
medpagetoday.com
From Critica: We published this today on MedPage Today: Can a Novel Motivational Interviewing Technique Help in the Measles Outbreak? www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco... @medpagetoday.bsky.social @gfriedman.bsky.social and visit Critica at www.criticascience.org
Opinion | Can a Novel Motivational Interviewing Technique Help in the Measles Outbreak?
The approach focuses on community-level change in a public forum
medpagetoday.com
From Critica: A Washington Post editorial suggests that likely new CDC director Susan Monarez could be an important voice to preserve vaccine access and "push back against false information about vaccines." www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202... And follow Critica at www.criticascience.org
Opinion | The woman who could impede RFK Jr.’s anti-vaccine agenda
Susan Monarez deserves to be confirmed as CDC director.
washingtonpost.com
From Critica: Here's an example of misinformation. But no, the horrible Texas floods were not caused by cloud seeding. Climate change made the floods much worse. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
He seeded clouds over Texas. Then came the conspiracy theories.
Cloud seeding couldn’t have caused the floods that killed more than 100 people, experts say. But rumormongers suggested a link to one company’s work.
washingtonpost.com
Here is our July Psychology Today blog post. Comments welcome. Visit Critica at www.criticascience.org www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/deny...
Toward a Better Understanding of Electroconvulsive Therapy
When we don't understand how something works, we often fear it. That has been the case with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), but new research may be shedding needed light.
psychologytoday.com
The frequency of the longest and most dangerous heatwaves is increasing as the planet warms https://go.nature.com/4ktlzVZ
Hot air: the most extreme heatwaves are accelerating the fastest
Tropical regions where heatwaves are already common will be hardest hit by this trend.
go.nature.com
From Critica: Several major medical societies are taking legal action to challenge the CDC decision to stop recommending Covid-19 vaccines for pregnant women and "healthy children." Scientific evidence clearly supports this legal challenge. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/h...
Medical Societies Sue Kennedy and H.H.S. Over Vaccine Advice
nytimes.com
From Critica: Despite attempts to stifle its development, our friend Jeff Levy-Lyons pointed out this article demonstrating that offshore wind energy projects are flourishing in the US. commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/offs...
Offshore wind is alive and well. Maybe we should just keep quiet about that. - CommonWealth Beacon
Is it possible that the predictions of the death of offshore wind power – one of our single best tools in the fight against climate change – were greatly exaggerated?
commonwealthbeacon.org
From Critica: Scientists say that the gradual nature of climate change makes people ignore it because "the human brain tends to overlook small, creeping change." They suggest strategies to overcome the so-called "boiling frog effect." www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
Why climate change fades into the background – and how to change that
The public is tuning out the seemingly slow warming of the world, but it doesn't have to be that way, argue Grace Liu and Rachit Dubey
newscientist.com
"The anti‑vax movement, once seen as confined to the U.S., is now spreading globally." An excellent, if sobering, piece from Rivka Galchen.
The New Yorker@newyorker.com · last yr.A recent study devised forecasts for the next 25 years if vaccination rates decline by various rates. A ten-per-cent drop in measles vaccination, for example, would lead to some 11 million additional cases.
From Critica: Using CRISPR gene editing, scientists can make plants that will boost food production and decrease food waste. www.newscientist.com/article/2479...
England has just given the thumbs up to gene-edited plants. Hooray!
A UK parliamentary committee has greenlit gene-edited plants. This is great news, as it will boost food production and reduce waste, says Michael Le Page
newscientist.com
From Critica: In another blow to science, the US administration proposes to cancel a mission to return rocks from Mars. www.scientificamerican.com/article/trum....
Trump Seeks to Cancel NASA’s Mars Sample Return—And Scientists Are Outraged
After billions of dollars in spending and decades of planning, NASA may be forced to abandon precious samples of air, rock and soil on the Martian surface. Experts are furious
scientificamerican.com
From Critica: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports that millions of people will lose health care insurance if the "Big, Beautiful Bill" passes. That would be a disaster that must be avoided. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Trump's budget: Nearly 12 million estimated to lose health coverage, says CBO
The spending plan could also add nearly $3.3tn (£2.4tn) in debt, according to non-partisan analysis.
bbc.com
From Critica: Yesterday's AHIP decision to remove the preservative thimerosal from flu vaccines is a colossal waste of time: almost no vaccines actually contain it, there is no evidence it is harmful, and it doesn't involve the toxic form of mercury. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
RFK Jr. wins his fight against a rare, safe flu-shot ingredient
A CDC panel’s vote to stop recommending thimerosal-containing flu shots would have limited impact, but it illustrates how the anti-vaccine movement is achieving its goals.
washingtonpost.com
From Critica: The US makes a disastrous decision to stop contributing to the international vaccine organization Gavi. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
RFK Jr. says U.S. will stop funding global vaccine alliance Gavi
Gavi works to expand access to vaccines for children in some of the world’s poorest countries. Health experts say the move could have deadly consequences.
washingtonpost.com
Having the freedom to defend science is a privilege. Those who have it owe it to everyone the world over to make their voices heard https://go.nature.com/44guILv
In the face of anti-science politics, silence is not without cost
More scientific leaders need to speak out about anti-science agendas and threats to academic freedom across the world.
go.nature.com
From Critica: A new poll shows that an impressive majority of US Americans support mandatory vaccines for children and believe childhood vaccines are safe and effective. 19thnews.org/2025/06/vacc...
Vaccine support isn’t as controversial as it seems
A new poll shows support is shared across political party lines — and comes as Health and Human Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. could reshape the future of vaccines.
19thnews.org
From Critica: By shifting to wind power, Uruguay now has "the lowest per capita emissions in the world" and falling electricity prices. kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/commentary/b...
Learning From Uruguay’s Energy Transition
Energy policy research from the University of Pennsylvania
kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu
From Critica: Contrary to expectations, a new randomized, controlled study finds that exposure to information about climate change shifts attitudes and increases belief in the urgency of climate change. penntoday.upenn.edu/news/penn-as...
News on climate change is more persuasive than expected | Penn Today
In a new paper, Computational Social Science Lab postdoctoral researcher Amir Tohidi and colleagues find that exposure to articles about climate change significantly increases climate change concerns ...
penntoday.upenn.edu