Lifeboat Foundation

Ninety percent of psychology studies come from countries representing less than 15 percent of the world’s population. Researchers are realizing that universalizing those findings might not make sense.

Bitcoin seems largely a ‘psychological’ currency whose value oscillates mostly in response to changes in folk’s opinions rather than shifts in some real underlying store of value, imo https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/when-fork-forks-what-yo…-goes-war/ https://paper.li/e-1437691924

Here’s what you need to know to get up to speed.

As a quick reminder, what is Bitcoin Cash again?

Continue reading “When the Fork Forks: What You Need to Know as Bitcoin Cash Goes to War” »

Still, the data trove has enabled Science, working with Retraction Watch, to gain unusual insight into one of scientific publishing’s most consequential but shrouded practices. Our analysis of about 10,500 retracted journal articles shows the number of retractions has continued to grow, but it also challenges some worrying perceptions that continue today. The rise of retractions seems to reflect not so much an epidemic of fraud as a community trying to police itself.

Better editorial oversight, not more flawed papers, might explain a flood of retractions.

Composite tank fabrication signals next step to completing Phantom Express.

We must prepare for tough choices as we subcontract ethical decision making to machines, says author David Edmonds.

Due to unfavorable weather conditions, the launch of Northrop Grumman Corporation’s #Antares rocket with #Cygnus cargo spacecraft is now targeted for 4:01 a.m. EST on Saturday, Nov. 17 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. The spacecraft will deliver more than 7,400 pounds of science & research, crew supplies and hardware to the International Space Station. Get the latest updates: https://go.nasa.gov/2qW8lJb

Open a book kids!

Smartphones and tablets are causing issues for kids as young as two years old.

The company-funded animal test was performed to ascertain how neural development is affected by the pesticide chlorpyrifos, which is used on a wide variety of crops around the world, including some 20 EU countries. The test laboratory concluded that there was no such effect, even at high doses.

Academic researchers have examined raw data from a company-funded safety evaluation of the pesticide chlorpyrifos. They discovered an effect on the brain architecture of the exposed laboratory animals at all tested doses, which was not included in the reported conclusions. Karolinska Institutet in Sweden led this independent study, which is published in the scientific journal Environmental Health.

All pesticides must be evaluated in terms of their safety and potential risks for human health before they can officially be approved. Normally the companies that manufacture the products cover the cost of such evaluations and commission test laboratories to perform the necessary animal tests.

Continue reading “Flaws in industry-funded pesticide evaluation” »

Chemical substances and nanomaterials are processed on a massive scale in diverse products, while their risks have not been properly assessed. Time and again synthesised substances have been shown to pollute the environment more than lab tests predicted. This is the warning given by Professor of Ecotoxicology Martina Vijver from Leiden University in her inaugural lecture on 16 November.

Laboratory tests are inadequate, according to Vijver, because they do not imitate a complete ecosystem. In her inaugural lecture she will discuss in greater detail two examples of substances where more realistic research is needed: agricultural toxins and nanoparticles. ‘But the same can be said for many other groups of substances, such as antibiotics, plasticizers and GenX.’