authorization-of-bivalent-covid-19-boosters-is-based-on-scientific-evidence-of-their-safety-and-effectiveness

image credit The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Publich Health SUMMARY In August 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized bivalent COVID-19 vaccine formulations as single booster doses. These bivalent formulations contain messenger RNA (mRNA) from the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and mRNA present in the BA.4 and BA.5Continue Reading

google’s-demonetization-of-misinformation:-one-year-on

Back in December 2021, Science Feedback conducted a quick check on the extent to which Google’s then-new policy on demonetizing climate change denial content was enforced. Our study focused on videos published on Youtube. We first found that Google’s policy was too narrow: about half of the videos that scientistsContinue Reading

what’s-in-a-number?-the-significance-of-the-1.5°c-warming-threshold-and-reporting-on-its-possible-breach-in-popular-media

1.5 is an important number in climate science. It is the recommended target, in degrees Celsius, to which global warming should be limited relative to preindustrial levels, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world’s leading authority on climate science[1]. Further, the legally binding Paris Agreement tasksContinue Reading

misinformation-superspreaders-are-thriving-on-musk-owned-twitter

Key results 1. A study of 490 “misinformation superspreaders” (here defined as accounts that have repeatedly published popular tweets linking to known misinformation) shows that their collective popularity has significantly grown (on average, +42% interactions per tweet) since Elon Musk took effective control of the platform on 27 October 2022.Continue Reading

of-the-many-factors-that-cause-wildfires,-the-influence-of-climate-change-and-human-activities-is-growing

This past summer was the hottest ever recorded…again. As monthly heat records fell one by one worldwide, wildfires also became front-page news throughout 2023. From across North America, Greece, Chile, Algeria, and Kazakhstan among many others, wildfires burned uncontrollably. The striking orange New York City skyline was the result ofContinue Reading

authorities-undertaking-climate-action-targeted-by-viral-“climate-lockdowns”-narrative-on-social-media

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, long before vaccines became available, many countries acted to curb the spread of the virus by imposing restrictions on people’s movement called lockdowns. Lockdowns have saved lives by reducing the physical interactions between infected and uninfected people, which in turn reduces transmissionContinue Reading