becca harrison

Scientist friends: Read this. All of this. Multiple times. Every day. @marklargent #AAASmtg #WarOnScience

Hospital acquired infections are referred to as “Nosocomial infections” and before COVID it was already a major problem that people were being infected by viruses while trying to seek care in healthcare settings. Now that “COVID is over” so is every other nosocomial infection

@OliveSiffleur @chaitrovert Even if they aren’t widely “necessary,” what sterile gowns do ensure is that there is a barrier between potentially unclean scrubs that were in contact with a previous patient and the sterile field. They are not expensive or time-consuming. What arrogance.

letting them whine their way out of proper masks during a global pandemic really emboldened the nastiest healthcare workers to demand the right to be as unsanitary as they have always yearned to be

The correct take. Because there is a correct take

A lot of people are under the mistaken impression that progress means advances in tech. Real progress is kids who are literate, free meals for public school students, a culture in which human art & poetry are celebrated. We're regressing rapidly & the only way forward is to read.

the willful ignorance is astounding.

The only data centers that communities actually need are PUBLIC LIBRARIES.

There’s nothing to “learn.” All you’re doing is help to train it. Anyone pushing you to use AI has their own vested interest in it

“Nothing snapped back” because the pandemic didn’t end, and most people are getting infected annually with a virus that lowers IQ and damages the frontal lobe of their brains, causing emotional dysregulation. Anyone following the science understands exactly what’s going on.

Think it's kinda silly to think otherwise. Of course Rory had an advantage. She left public school because her grandparents paid for Chilton. They then also paid for her to go to Yale which opened up many more doors for her. Yes Rory worked hard, but obviously had an advantage.

wtaf is the point of health insurance if a drug deemed “medically necessary” and “approved” by the company has a $470 co-pay?

@jabberwock951 You seem to be missing OP’s point…

I'm not gonna lie, it is frustrating when you ask a patient what's wrong and they just give you a diagnosis. Like "I have a chest infection". OK, you're probably right but I need to know your symptoms to see if I agree with that diagnosis. I can't just take your word for it.

How is artificial intelligence actually being used inside universities? Over the past two years, AI tools have become widely available to students, researchers and professional services staff. Many people now use AI in their everyday work. But the way AI is being adopted inside universities raises an interesting question. Is this transformation being managed institutionally, or is it largely happening informally at the individual level? ________________________________________ Bottom-up experimentation In many universities, AI adoption appears to be happening organically. Individuals explore tools on their own initiative. Researchers test them while writing papers or analysing data. Professional staff use them to draft documents or summarise information. Students experiment with them while studying. The pattern often looks something like this: ⚫️ Individuals use free tools such as ChatGPT ⚫️ Some staff pay for subscriptions themselves ⚫️ There is informal sharing of prompts and techniques among colleagues ⚫️ Departments or teams develop their own experimentation culture In other words, AI use is spreading quickly. But much of it may be uncoordinated and largely invisible to institutional leadership. ________________________________________ Institutional provision Some universities are beginning to respond more formally. They provide licensed tools. They integrate AI into learning systems. They develop guidance and policies. But the level of institutional support, and the governance around it, varies widely. ________________________________________ What is AI actually being used for? Another interesting question is how these tools are being used in practice. For example: ⚫️ As an enhanced search tool ⚫️ Drafting reports or documents ⚫️ Responding to emails ⚫️ Summarising research papers ⚫️ Translating text ⚫️ Supporting coding and data analysis ⚫️ Designing teaching materials In some cases, more innovative uses are emerging. But it is still not entirely clear how widespread these more advanced applications are. ________________________________________ The governance question All of this raises a broader leadership issue. If AI is already embedded in daily academic work, universities face an important governance challenge. Not simply writing policies. But understanding: ⚫️ What tools staff and students are actually using ⚫️ How those tools affect teaching, research and administration ⚫️ What risks and opportunities they create ⚫️ How institutions build genuine AI capability In your institution today, which best describes the situation? ⚫️ Mostly individual experimentation ⚫️ Some institutional tools but limited coordination ⚫️ A clear institutional AI strategy ⚫️ Still largely undecided Is there a coordinated institutional approach, supported by clear leadership and governance?

I used to wonder what it felt like to be a scientist sounding the alarm on: tobacco AIDS Now we’re living it. Turns out the barrier isn’t evidence. It’s denial.

@drseanmullen Maybe it’s because I’m an asthmatic and super aware of it, but the gasps for air so many people take at the end of sentences now—seemingly without noticing???—are impossible for me to ignore.

Serious question: What’s the biggest change you’ve noticed in people’s health since 2020 that nobody is openly talking about?

@astro_jaz I’m more interested in how “normal” her house seems. Refreshing.

CHRISTINA KOCH GREETING HER DOG AFTER RETURNING FROM THE MOON IM GONNA CRYYY 😭😭😭

@Covid_institute @chaitrovert And this assumes that we are already willing to make the leap to Covid = something-other-than-respiratory-infection in the first place.

The small blood vessels, not the large ones your cardiologist monitors, are the problem in Long COVID vascular disease. And every standard cardiac test is designed to miss them.

I *literally* spent the last 6 months of my life working to convince the NYS Worker’s Compensation Board judges that just b/c a neuro wrote “I don’t know how X could have caused Y” in her notes did not mean X did not cause Y—but that she lacked the expertise to understand it.

Literally everything I learned about how to stay alive & care for my body when I got sick was thanks to the millions of other sick people who came before me & left detailed instructions. No doctor helped. Even the nice ones who believed me had no actual advice. Only other sickies

also see/ The Pitt