Matthew Markus

Twitter infantilizes you. I am an adult. I can use my mind to read and interpret any content I choose. After 10+ years I'm leaving this platform and returning to a censorship-resistant technology: RSS. I won't be back. Goodbye.

Remember when companies delivered services instead of sermons?

For years, scientists have been hot-wiring viruses to be stronger, deadlier, and more transmissible. The bet was that their work would help prevent a global pandemic. But what if it caused one? @nicholsonbaker8 reports nym.ag/3pJcQCU

Huh. What if there was a mechanism whereby supply and demand are balanced? Maybe rhymes with 'anarchic?' Perhaps, one day, the central planners will rediscover this mechanism and then realize they're an impediment. dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9… cc @JeromeAdamsMD

This prompts the question: Why couldn't @USAID directly fund @SANParks? Doesn't @SANParks know what it needs to purchase to fight wildlife crime more than the planners at @WWFSouthAfrica? For all we know, these kits could be a complete waste of resources. #disintermediate

I want to be a Border Collie when I grow up. youtu.be/UfD7err3Mb0

Who won? cc @Ayjchan “A bioterror or bioerror will lead to one million casualties in a single event within a six month period starting no later than Dec 31 02020.” longbets.org/9/

@ATrotmanGrant @SynBioBeta @StemCellNetwork Finding a way to replenish MeSCs would be valuable too! nature.com/articles/d4158…

We're pitching a #synbio solution for hair loss @StemCellNetwork. If you could ensure safe delivery and specificity to your hair follicles, would you support a gene editing strategy for hair loss? #alopecia #hairloss @SynBioBeta

Why @realDonaldTrump should pardon @Snowden & #Assange: 1. It will take the edge off his pardons for his family & loyalists by being unselfish and not self-serving. And at the least, confound his many critics -- as well as future historians.

@USFWSIntl @savetherhino ⚠️This claim is disputed. "Later, researchers took environmental samples that suggested the virus had landed on surfaces in the market. But in the period since, tissue samples from the market's animals have revealed no trace of the virus." livescience.com/covid-19-did-n…

COVID-19 (which spread to the world via a wildlife market) has amplified how the trade of wildlife – be it live animals, meat or products – can have profound health, economic and social implications for us humans. 3/6

It's been a tough year... Acknowledging the pain and challenges, we want to share some positivity. So we asked our staff the question: "What's something that inspired you in wildlife conservation this year?" Throughout December we plan to publish the responses. 1/6

Wow, finally off Ubuntu after running it in one form or another for over a decade. It's a good Linux distro, but it's time for a change!

@Ayjchan @Twitter

I heard from someone today that @Twitter is still awarding these blue checkmark verified badges that let people know that an account of public interest is authentic. Does anyone know how I can get one?😇

@PeterDaszak @angie_rasmussen @DavidQuammen There are times when I simply cannot believe money is expropriated from citizens like me to fund you.

@angie_rasmussen @DavidQuammen Right now a party in a bat cave sounds just right to me!!

Amen to that @DavidQuammen. Looking forward to that special moment when we hit the baiju and the karaoke with Zhengli & Linfa.

Remember, freedom isn't the chance to choose your rulers.

@Stuffedparatha @Ayjchan Two hypotheses RE India & COVID-19: 1) BCG vaccinations ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P… 2) Cluster containment weforum.org/agenda/2020/04… (see further) theatlantic.com/health/archive…

@Ayjchan Agreed about the median age. As someone who knows how things work here, I'm pretty sure the underreporting is nowhere near as huge as 40X (case counts or deaths). Undertesting, though, might've contributed to reduced case numbers. But all this still does is push the CFR down.

"People have already endured the pain of lockdowns once. They’re tired of the pandemic, and leaders in some cities and states are even fighting back against federally imposed measures." vox.com/21514530/europ…

@RyanBethencourt @cellagritech @rshigeta Nice! But I would like to see links to the stories represented by the red dots in the graph. I've seen some wild claims in the press that I don't necessarily trust.

Don't listen to the skeptics, Shigeta's law clearly shows how quickly #Cellbased meat cost reductions are moving, we'll get to parity with conventional meat in 2022 ($2 trillion market) cc @rshigeta rshigeta.medium.com/lab-grown-meat…

@jemergence @marenkahnert @micsolana You can either "believe evidence" or "trust scientists." But be cognizant of which path you're choosing!

is there a less scientific phrase in popular discourse than “believe science”

@purduebrew @4LOVofScience Facebook is a private company enjoying a public liability shield in the form of Section 230. Remove the liability shield, and I won't care what Facebook does. Else, attach some strings to that liability shield, like the strings attached to FCC licenses. #SPEECH" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">fcc.gov/media/radio/pu…

@4LOVofScience Are you saying its impossible for a fascist to be censored? Does Facebook as a private company not have any legitimate authority over what it allows on its platform? Does responsibility of supporting the right to free speech automatically transfer to a private company?

Fascists aren't the ones who get censored. They are the ones who do the censoring.

I cannot handle any more top scientists or journals telling me that they're against a presidential candidate who doesn't listen to science when they themselves don't listen to science.

Can the introduction of synthetic or faux substitute wildlife products to consumer markets displace consumer demand for the real thing and help to protect species? Here's a theoretical analysis that goes some way to answering this question: sciencedirect.com/science/articl…