Science Journalism

The world may be entering a new phase in the battle with COVID. We - you and me, should not be completely shocked by what has transpired since the last president (#45) left office. In my rather angry tone, the world will be lucky if the USA escapes another war. The former president (#45) gave much of the world a blackened, bloodied eye. His base should view the current COVID crisis as time to repent and strike a new path. (I am dead serious...) I would count all of us fortunate if we do avoid any major conflagrations overseas.  I was watching the news this Sunday morning, and the largest democracy in the world is in chaos. It is not the USA -- it is India. India adopted democracy much later than the USA--- nearly 125 years later than the USA. The COVID crisis, in India, should concern all of us. Reports from their hospitals sound nearly apocalyptic.  India's democracy was gained from the struggles of Mahatama Ghandi, Nehru, and their followers with the UK [in the 20th century]...

Jesus Christ said you will find me among the dispossessed and outcasts of society. For anyone who has spent anytime with a homeless person—at times, you would be very hard pressed to see the ‘face of Christ.’ These are people—plain, ordinary people. Mother Teresa of Calcutta spent decades among the poor in India. It has been said she, at times, would fall into despair over the fact that she was overwhelmed.  I, presently, live in an area with a lot of poor and indigent people. When I say my heart bleeds—it is no lie. There are so many times when I can’t do a thing. At those times there is quite a bit of despair, and you realize these people may be mentally ill or unstable.  It has been awhile since a law was passed that gave the right to a mentally ill person to refuse their medications— it is in my estimation absolutely wrong. While being overwhelmed with prescriptions is cruel—there are some medications that would leave many people catatonic. These souls would essentially sl...

Many of us pin our hopes on future events that are out of our control. Oftentimes, the events we can't control never had a chance in any other universe --even in those universes we could imagine.  What am I driving at? The world has changed quite a bit since the start of the world pandemic -- the freedoms that seemed immutable at the start of 2020 may never return. Travel to other countries may be predicated on proof of immunization-- and worse yet, not all vaccines are created equal. The present Johnson & Johnson vaccine is being held back until enough data can address the issue of potential blood clots. The clotting, for the most part, occurs in women of child bearing age. Pharmaceutical companies are slowly positioning themselves with newer COVID drugs and vaccines -- in the hopes that life can return to something resembling normalcy. The pharmaceutical giants hope to not lose their profitable edge by having their scientists throw the kitchen sink at the problem. In a previo...

I was listening to the Bald Scientist Podcast  and I was struck with a virtual epiphany moment. Professor Pagan is a researcher and instructor at West Chester University in Pennsylvania, USA. He was interviewing a notable science communicator from Mumbai, India. The science journalist, Ms. Clarinda Cerejo, spoke passionately on the subject of bias in the media. The corrected terminology that she used was -- filter bubble . [A filter bubble is defined as that virtual space that people inadvertently fall into as they rely on ONE SOURCE or a FALSE SOURCE for their working knowledge -- it could be everyday knowledge of the world or specialized knowledge. Their views of the world become filtered by false information.] Ms. Cerejo is a trailblazer in the field of science journalism. She led the listeners on a tour de force explanation on how to escape toxic science. It begins with understanding toxic science is information that masquerades as the truth. It needs to be called out as a...

Life, as we understand it, is complicated. One organism depends upon another. Bees need pollen. Plants must be pollinated to produce their fruit. Bacteria, in our gut, need to stay healthy with diets appropriate to our health. Moreover, bodies employ internal viruses and bacteria to maintain good health. Life on earth is closely inter-related.  However, viruses and bacteria have reputations as harmful to the lives of people, animals, and many living organisms. Viruses are known to make most people sick with colds. While the COVID-19 virus looks similar to the cold or the flu virus, at times the symptoms of the new virus can be deadly. At times, some of us appear indifferent or deny our culpability in the spread of the pandemic by not wearing a mask or refusing to be vaccinated. In many ways, this twisted nightmare where so many fail to believe or to trust science may become our ‘swan song.’ Earlier in the 20th century, technology and science enabled so many to leave behind the shac...

In late December of 2019, the world was forewarned that viral outbreaks took place in Wuhan, China earlier in 2019. While no one would believe that in 2021 millions would have lost their lives to this virus, it is ironic that the primary reasons are political. The USA, led by staunch Nationalists masquerading as Conservatives, could not respond to the world crisis. The USA, since the end of WWII, was known as the peacekeeper, the shimmering light on that glorious hill of democracy, the hope that was embodied at Ellis Island in New York harbor, and the defender of the defenseless. [The notions of America as the world leader came crashing in 2016.] It had elected a clownish person as president—he was elected as a result of  interferences in the US electoral processes by Vladimir Putin and the Russian KGB. For those who did vote for #45, much of what was true was they wanted change. They believed this conman who was utilized by Foreign Operatives to advance agendas that were counter t...