Science in the Pub (PubSci) - now on Bluesky

Many thanks to Prof Andrew Jaffe for a thrilling cosmological talk at PubSci last Week. It's not often you find Beer, Burgers and the Big Bang all under the watchful gaze of a king! Watch this space for news of April's PubSci with Joanna Bagniewska. linktr.ee/pubsci

@OurWorldInData @docamar #ScieneAndStstistics #ScienceIsStatostical

The number of cancer deaths worldwide has more than doubled since the 1980s. Does that mean we're losing the fight against cancer? Not necessarily, because it depends on how you measure it. On this chart, you can see three ways to look at the same data. The red line shows the total number of cancer deaths. It has increased by about 120%, but this measure doesn't account for the fact that the world's population has also grown enormously over this period. Another approach is to look at the death rate: the number of cancer deaths divided by the total population. That's the brown line, called the crude cancer death rate. It has increased too, but much less — around 20%. But there's still a problem: the world's population has been getting older. Cancer is mostly a disease of old age, so even per capita, we'd expect more cancer deaths simply because there are more older people than before. That's where the method of “age standardization” comes in. It's a way of asking: what would the cancer death rate look like if the age structure of the population hadn't changed? The blue line shows this age-standardized rate: it's fallen by about 25%. At any given age, people are now less likely to die of cancer than they were in the 1980s. The same underlying data gives us three different pictures. The absolute number of deaths is up; the crude rate is up slightly; the age-standardized rate is down. None of these are inaccurate, but they answer different questions. Age standardization is one of the most important statistical methods for making sense of health data. Without it, population aging can hide progress or mask problems.

@fryertom @foundring1 😂😂😂 Moron

There was never any "pandemic" btw. It was one of the biggest psyops of all time. I think AI was intimately involved, if not the main culprit.

@foundring1 @mikeymusto Liar

@mikeymusto You didn't lose anyone to COVID you lost people to lockdowns and the protocols. It was mass murder by the State. There was no COVID and the vaccine was democide. You are the reason why they got away with it by the way. You are the enemy of a free humanity. x.com/foundring1/sta…

@foundring1 @AeldorThalion 😂😂😂😂. You're made up You're not real

@AeldorThalion definitely part of it but also I think a lot of the reports were mass generated somehow, makes sense it was AI-related. You could search for any number and "covid infections" or "deaths" and you would find an article, but the articles are mostly not even real. It was all made up.

@foundring1 😂😂😂

Weds 18th March: "Is everything we know about the Big Bang wrong?" • Is the universe expanding at an ever-increasing rate? • Does cosmic inflation have your head in a spin? • Do our models fit the observations – and why can't cosmologists even agree? eventbrite.co.uk/e/18th-march-i…

It's not every day you get to hold Einstein's actual brain (or in this case the only 3-d model of it in the world)! But that's PubSci for you — and the fabulously entertaining science communication of Prof Mark Lythgoe. Watch this space for details of next month's event on 18/3

Just 10 places left for tomorrow's PubSci. I've had a sneak preview... and it's going to be brilliant! Read all about it – and much, much more – in my latest blog post (event booking link in the the blog). tinyurl.com/PubSci-blog-Fe…

There are still a few tickets for "Naked to the Bone: Next Gen. Medical Imaging" on Wednesday 18th February with the amazing Professor Mark Lythgoe. Grab yours on Eventbrite before they all go. As always, PubSci is a "pay what what you can" event! PubSci-February2026.eventbrite.co.uk

At PubSci next week, the one and only Prof. @marklythgoe of @ucl and @TheCrick presents the spectacular wonders of biomedical imaging in "Naked to the Bone: Next Gen Imaging" Reserve you place now, then grab a pint at The Old King's Head, Weds 18th Feb. eventbrite.com/e/18th-feb-nak…

Next week's PubSci is nearly sold out, with no publicity! Don't miss this special event on 21st January with UK Polar Network, APECS and a Polar Beers pub quiz! Last few tickets on Eventbrite eventbrite.com/e/21st-jan-202…

@4everwalkalone @visegrad24 @AestheticSales_ Nope. Kremlin backed social engineering operations run by the bot farms Elon claimed he was closing down (🤦‍♂️😂) are an existential threat to democracy. You just don't like being reminded that Kremlin bots are pro MAGA for a reason... bbc.com/news/articles/…

@visegrad24 @AestheticSales_ "Fact-checking, content moderation, trust & safety" are all weasel words for censorship. Do people post falsehoods, unknowingly or with intention? Certainly. The thing to do is counter with facts, publicly, rather than imposing silence. That way onlookers learn from it too!

BREAKING: The U.S. has decided to stop issuing and renewing visas for people who work in fact-checking, content moderation, trust and safety, or related activities like “combating misinformation or disinformation.” The U.S. now views it as "censorship" of Americans.

PubSci's latest blog is packed with news, events, a casting call and details of the last PubSci of 2025. Mike and I were at the IoP Communicators Conference yesterday to talk about PubSci. Regulars will be glad to know "Scampi and chips!" got a mention tinyurl.com/PubSci-blog-No…

You’ve got three days to visit this fab little exhibition at Candid Arts in Islington (not St. Pancras church crypt as originally advertised). Now in its fourth year, The Eng. Club’s exhibition explores the imagination and artistry that underlies engineering. FREE!

Following @JennyRohn's brilliant talk on antimicrobial resistance, PubSci looks at the root causes of dementia in our final event of the year. Join PubSci and Dr Emma Clayton from Dementia Research Institute at The Old King's Head on Weds 26th November. eventbrite.co.uk/e/lost-in-tran…

Many thanks to Prof @jennyrohn for a brilliant talk on antimicrobial resistance last week. Watch this space for news of November's talk on Wednesday 26th Meanwhile, why not check out the radio show pilot Mike and I made for Resonance FM! tinyurl.com/TheScienceShow…

New blog post! 🧪 AMR with @JennyRohn, @MathsWorld_arch with @robeastaway, science meets poetry with Sam Illingworth. Plus Jane Goodall and John Searle, Ig Nobels, and The Science Show begins on @ResonanceFM I may be biased but I think you should read it tinyurl.com/PubSci-blog-Oc…

Only two days until @JennyRohn visits The Old King's Head to talk about antimicrobial resistance and what we can do about it. Don't miss this chance to hear a leading scientist in the perfect setting THere's a reason we refer to PubSci as "Sipping • Supping • Science"

@FreeMindsThrive @DrNeilStone You're right, these are 'HAARP clouds': chemtrails modified into a nefariously regular array by a secret government facility that's so secret, anyone can visit and they're really happy to talk about their work and they'll give you a tour. Yup, they're just clouds really. 😉

@DrNeilStone Those aren’t the types of skies or lines people point to as chemtrails. You’re being disingenuous, I suspect on purpose (but it’s possible you just don’t know what you’re talking about). It’s public knowledge that there’s weather modification and cloud seeding technology.

Chemtrails. Again. Day ruined. I think they might have mRNA in them too. I am fuming