Mashable – “…Increasingly, medical professionals are using the app to share myth-busting information about things like the COVID-19 vaccine, rates of infection, and COVID treatments, all through succinct, engaging videos that will hopefully reach the people who need them. At the very least, they offer a link for other viewers to send to their more stubborn friends and relatives. Stopping the spread of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation has been a long battle led by government officials, news outlets, and health professionals. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has its own guide to combatting misinformation, and other social media platforms, like YouTube, have even gone so far as banning content that contains vaccine misinformation. TikTok has taken its own steps to ensuring its users get the most accurate information about COVID-19 and the vaccine, like information centers with links to government resources, FAQs, and videos from official health organizations built directly into the app (just search “covid” or “covid vaccine” and click the top link). The app even places information banners on videos that mention the virus. Beyond these resources, though, creators have taken on the task of addressing misinformation in their own comments and on trending videos by fellow TikTok users. The eight accounts highlighted below actively share videos about the COVID vaccine, treatment, and the realities of medical science…”
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Daily Archives: October 20, 2021
The best way to convert annoying WebP images into versatile JPEGs
PopSci: “The story often starts the same way: you find a funny picture on the internet and want to add it to your work presentation or turn it into a meme to share with your friends. You download the image and realize there’s not much you can do with it because your platform of choice… Continue Reading
FDA OKs mixing COVID vaccines; backs Moderna, J&J boosters
AP: “U.S. regulators on Wednesday signed off on extending COVID-19 boosters to Americans who got the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine and said anyone eligible for an extra dose can get a brand different from the one they received initially. The Food and Drug Administration’s decisions mark a big step toward expanding the U.S.… Continue Reading
Governments’ planned fossil fuel production remains dangerously out of sync with Paris Agreement limits
UN – The Production Gap:”Governments still plan to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than what would be consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C, in stark contrast to increased climate ambitions and net-zero commitments. This report first introduced and quantified the “production gap” in 2019, finding that the world’s governments planned to… Continue Reading
Humans did not cause woolly mammoths to go extinct climate change did
Phys.org: “For five million years, woolly mammoths roamed the earth until they vanished for good nearly 4,000 years ago—and scientists have finally proved why. The hairy cousins of today’s elephants lived alongside early humans and were a regular staple of their diet—their skeletons were used to build shelters, harpoons were carved from their giant tusks,… Continue Reading
Rising Arctic Temperatures Mean Migrating North No Longer Worth It for Many Species
Yale Environment 360: “As temperatures rise in northern regions, migrating species are seeing less benefit from migrating north for the summer months, according to scientists who reviewed 25 recent studies. In the warm months, birds, mammals, and insects head north to access food, escape predators, and avoid diseases made worse by summer heat. But with… Continue Reading
Librarians and Professional Labeling: What’s in a Name?
InfoToday / Dave Shumaker: At a recent professional meeting, I was dismayed to find myself witnessing yet another discussion on whether those present should call themselves “librarians.” The program that hosted this discussion opened with the observation that library spaces are shrinking in the post-pandemic world and the question of whether the participants might stop… Continue Reading
What’s the best way to get plastic out of the ocean?
Fast Company: “…Solving the plastic problem will require rethinking how the material is used in the beginning, so it isn’t landing in the ocean in the first place. That means a long list of changes, from consumers and companies moving away from single-use plastic and governments making brands responsible for the trash they create to… Continue Reading
People in the Eastern U.S. might be nearly as susceptible to the dangers of wildfire smoke as those in the Western U.S.
Estimated Mortality and Morbidity Attributable to Smoke Plumes in the United States: Not Just a Western US Problem, First published: 21 August 2021, GeoHealth, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GH000457 – “The pollutants from landscape (wild, prescribed, and agricultural) fires are expected to have an increasing impact on air quality and health in the United States (US) across the current… Continue Reading
Facebook is planning to rebrand the company with a new name
The Verge: “Facebook is planning to change its company name next week to reflect its focus on building the metaverse, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. The coming name change, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to talk about at the company’s annual Connect conference on October 28th, but could unveil sooner,… Continue Reading
