im aiming to create an #encrypted #secure and #private #messaging app. (because thats the only type worth working on)

I've highlighted some features below:

- #Decentralized
- No #cookies
- #P2P #encrypted
- No #registration
- No #installing
- #GroupMessaging (coming soon)
- #TextMessaging
- #MultimediaMessaging
- #OfflineMessaging (in #research phase)
- #FileTransfer
- #VideoCalls
- #DataOwnership
- Optional #SelfHosting
- #Screensharing (on desktop browsers)
- #OpenSource

Check it out!
#Blog: https://positive-intentions.com/blog/introducing-decentralized-chat
#GitHub: https://github.com/positive-intentions/chat
#Demo: https://chat.positive-intentions.com

Enhanced immune #evasion of #SARS-CoV-2 variants #KP311 and #XEC through N-terminal domain #mutations

Source: Lancet Infectious Diseases, Correspondence, https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(24)00738-2/fulltext?rss=yes

{Excerpt}

KP.3, a subvariant of JN.1, has rapidly emerged as the dominant strain of SARS-CoV-2 in several countries, and has been designated as a Variant Under Monitoring. Previous studies indicate that the unique Q493E substitution in KP.3 Spike glycoprotein enhances its receptor ACE2-binding affinity and immune evasion, enabling it to outcompete KP.2.1–6 Notably, KP.3.1.1, which only carries one additional S31 deletion compared to KP.3, has surpassed KP.3 to become the new dominant strain globally (figure A; appendix p 4).7 Meanwhile, XEC, a recombinant variant of KS.1.1 and KP.3.3, shows strong potential to become the next dominant strain, rapidly expanding across Europe and North America. Compared with KP.3, XEC has only two additional spike mutations, F59S and T22N (appendix p 4). Both S31del and T22N introduce potential glycosylation on the N-terminal domain. Consequently, there is an imperative need to characterise the antigenicity and infectivity of KP.3.1.1 and XEC.

(…)

____

#abstract #coronavirus #covid #COVID19 #health #pandemic #research #sarsCov2

Time is of the essence: #effectiveness of dairy #farm #control of #H5N1 is limited by fast spread

Source: BioRxIV, https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.11.15.623774v1?rss=1

Abstract
The emergence and growth of highly pathogenic avian influenza(HPAI) A(H5N1) in dairy cows poses a growing threat for both the food supply and onward zoonosis to humans. Despite ongoing surveillance and control measures recommended by animal and public health authorities to limit viral spread, new herds continue to report infections. We show here that the continued spread between farms could be explained by the rapid pace of pathogen spread reported within farms, which greatly limits the potential effectiveness of these recommendations. Under reasonable surveillance strategies, we show that the time farms have to mobilize interventions is extremely limited, as few as a couple days and typically less than a week. Our findings suggest that passive surveillance measures, such as detection of H5N1 via weekly bulk milk testing, comes too late such that most infections have already occurred. For current interventions to be valuable, more sensitive and extensive surveillance is needed and an emphasis should be placed on biosecurity practices rather than reactive practices.

____

#abstract #avianInfluenza #AVIANINFLUENZA #birdFlu #dairyCows #h5n1 #health #news #research #USA

Hi, #AcademicMastodon

📊First results from our #research project on the role of #Mastodon in #academia are in. n=346

1️⃣94.7% say they would increase their professional use of Mastodon if more academic peers from their field joined the platform

2️⃣71.4% report a lack of institutional support for using Mastodon

3️⃣66.1% indicate their professional Mastodon use would increase if their organizations were present on Mastodon

Stay tuned for more results.

#OpenScience #AcademicChatter #SocialMedia

Based on my experiences in academic medicine, this is painfully true

#academia #research

📰 Report: Israeli universities face unprecedented global boycott over Gaza genocide

Citing data from the Association of Israeli University Heads, the channel said more than 300 cases of academic boycott of Israeli universities and academics have been recorded since 7 October 2023.

Read the full report by MEMO staff --
Source: Middle East Monitor 👇🏽

(no paywall)

#mena #gaza #education #mena #research

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241111-report-israeli-universities-face-unprecedented-global-boycott-over-gaza-genocide/

Ranting Trump loses his way as Harris backers dare to hope https://www.politico.eu/article/ranting-donald-trump-loses-way-as-kamala-harris-backers-dare-to-hope/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication #U.S.presidentialcampaigns #U.S.election2024 #ForeignAffairs #Buildings #Elections #Americas #Research #Borders #Media #Data #Poll

Hey friends, Do you want to help with scientific research?
The University of Colorado Boulder needs people to help transcribe bee information from photographs of their collection. You look at a picture and type out any of the written information in the bee's label.

If you've got a few free minutes, give it a whirl! Even just doing 1 or 2 will help

https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/md68135/notes-from-nature-big-bee-bonanza/classify

#CitizenScience #Research #AcademicChatter #Bees #Entomology #ClimateChange

Research PSA:

ChatGPT is not Google, people.
Even Google is not Google.

I am finding relevant hits for my searches on the 8th page of Google Books. And then along comes someone like "ChatGPT told me about this folktale..."

Doesn't exist.

#AI #research #searchengines #ChatGPT #StorytellingPSA

So, the #InternetArchive is down. With it, the Wayback Machine. And Open Library.

I am here chasing an obscure Philippine epic with a female protagonist published as an MA thesis in the 1970s and referenced in a book from the 1980s not available anywhere.

I know this is a very niche problem to have.

But it hurts.

#storytelling #research #folklore

Addendum:

1. One page of academic writing often requires 5+ of those books.

2. I still buy a whole lot of books (yep) and go to a whole lot of libraries.

3. Even university libraries have budgets.

4. Copyright is obviously still a thing.

#research #InternetArchive #books #writing #academia

#zotero - the free reference manager - now supports #epub in the beta 🤯

Stable and beta available via PPA https://github.com/retorquere/zotero-deb

#linux #research

Judge skeptical of lawsuit brought by Elon Musk's X over hate speech research https://www.npr.org/2024/02/29/1234901186/judge-skeptical-of-lawsuit-brought-by-elon-musks-x-over-hate-speech-research 'In a hearing over Zoom on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer appeared highly skeptical of the case, devoting the majority of the proceeding to grilling Musk's lawyer over why the lawsuit was brought at all.

Jon Hawk, X's lawyer, said at core the suit is about honoring data security agreements to protect the platform's users.

Breyer was unconvinced.

"You put that in terms of safety, and I've got to tell you, I guess you can use that word, but I can't think of anything basically more antithetical to the First Amendment than this process of silencing people from publicly disseminated information once it's been published," Breyer said.

"You're trying to shoehorn this theory by using these words into a viable breach of contract claim," the judge added.' #socialmedia #Twitter #ElonMusk #freespeech #research #hatespeech

#TFW you do three hours of research into a story, only to finally remember you have already blogged about it two years ago... 😅

(granted, didn't dig this deep last time...)

#research #folklore #folktales #storytelling

"Duke University has decided to close its herbarium, a collection of 825,000 specimens of plants, fungi and algae that was established more than a century ago. The collection, one of the largest and most diverse in the country, has helped scientists map the diversity of plant life and chronicle the impact of humans on the environment.

The university’s decision has left researchers reeling."

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/21/science/duke-herbarium.html?_hsmi=295219570&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--49-1nkXMbh-xwvpU36ZVfMCLhO7_9YXbh3TiDO_u8FYKsy-xSY1mFj2WTFp20g_wfTIS-YGXpABnnLm2siwYodUXVFw

#science #research #academia #plants #botany #biology

I am researching a Tabwa myth about aardvarks that tunnel between our world and the otherworld.

Out: going "down a rabbit hole" for research

In: going "into the aardvark tunnels" for research

Sounds much better doesn't it

#research #mythology #academia #storytelling #aardvark #animals

Am I too deep in the research rabbit hole if I am emailing the Vatican's publishing house about an article from the 60s?...

#research

I needed a journal article for research, and I couldn't find it anywhere. Not through libraries, not from the publisher. In the end I emailed the author, a little hesitantly. He sent me the article in 15 minutes.

Academic publishing being the mess it is, never discount the power of asking the author directly.

#academia #research #publishing

I went to the Academy of Sciences library, and found that the card catalog has been replaced by computers at last. At one of these computers sat an elegant elderly lady, sporting a Retro Academia look. As I walked past her station, she looked up and snapped:

"What the hell are you looking at?! I won't quit until I find the damn thing!!!" And kept smashing furiously at the keyboard.

I think I just encountered academic road rage.

#academia #research #library #AcademicRoadRage

Wrote a blog post for Myths and Legends Day on the A to Z main blog. It's about how to find good books on legends and mythology 😊 And what to look for in a good source.

Read here
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/2023/10/happy-myths-and-legends-day.html?m=1

#AtoZChallenge #mythology #legends #books #bookstodon #research

I just found out that more than 6000 people have downloaded my PhD dissertation on forum-based role-playing games, and my mind is blown 🤯
(I never thought to check)

And more than 17,000 for my master's thesis on #ttrpg in the high school classroom 🤯

I read a lot of theses and dissertations when I research. It's good to see others are getting use out of what I wrote. And I'm glad it's freely available. It should be.

#RPG #gaming #games #gamer #academia #research

Is autism self-diagnosis valid? Yep. 💜

Hey all, after reading dozens of research papers, and meta-analyses, and living through it, I made a thing!

I'd love it if you'd check it out! 🥰

https://codeberg.org/alicewatson/asd-self-dx/src/branch/main

---

Update: I've added *a lot* of new stuff to the project.

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@actuallyautistic #ActuallyAutistic #Autism #ASD #Trans #SelfDiagnosis #SelfDX #SelfDxIsValid #Research #Codeberg

The future of labs may have a lot more AI and automation but I'm willing to be the same management problems will remain⁠
⁠
#AI #Automation⁠
#cartoon #cartoons #comic #comics #instacomic #instacartoon ⁠
#academia #science #research ⁠
#errantscience

Intellectual humility is associated with less affective polarization and, among conservatives, less polarized attitudes

Perhaps driven by more political heterophily among the humble

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pops.12890

#socpych #polpsych #polisci #research #socialscience #socialNetworks #polarization #politics #conservatives #attitudes #newpaper #newpsychresearch @socialpsych @politicalscience