BioBlog

why it’s important to check sources

Alison Campbell • Apr 17, 2021

• COVID-19,
• misinformation,
• New Zealand stories,
• preprints

While checking my spam folder (before yeeting the contents permanently) I noticed that I’d been sent a bunch of email ‘newsletters’ from the group “Voices for Freedom.” Out of interest I opened one, just in case the contents were worth a post or two – & indeed they were. The writers of the newsletter state that “And we take it … Read More

so much misinformation on a page supposedly about health

Alison Campbell • Apr 15, 2021

• COVID-19,
• misinformation,
• New Zealand stories,
• vaccination

It’s always something of a shock to come across a page run by a health-focused business that contains substantial misinformation. This one left me gobsmacked, given the sheer number of statements that are demonstrably untrue. And while a fair bit of the content is prefaced by the statement that it’s the personal opinion of one individual, the fact that … Read More

we haven’t taught critical thinking particularly well

Alison Campbell • Apr 14, 2021

• critical thinking,
• New Zealand stories,
• research

  Yesterday I got told to “do some research” &, by extension, to think critically. The biologist in me cringed a little when I read it (and not because of the advice about doing research). Biology teachers I know suggested that perhaps everyone should take the NCEA standard that lets students learn about the basic genetics that … Read More

evidence vs spin

Alison Campbell • Apr 14, 2021

• COVID-19,
• New Zealand stories,
• vaccines

A friend of mine pointed me in the direction of this blog post by New Zealand’s “Plan B” group. While initially this group opposed the government’s use of lockdowns to manage covid19 outbreaks in this country, they seem to have since moved on to opposing the rollout of vaccines against SARS-Cov-2. And, while they claim to be “injecting evidence … Read More

there’s a word for this sort of misinformation about vaccines

Alison Campbell • Apr 10, 2021

• COVID-19,
• misinformation,
• New Zealand stories,
• vaccines

A friend found a concerning FB post (see below – this is a public post & so I have not redacted the name) & – as you do – immediately queried it with Southern Cross Life & Health Insurance as well as sending the screenshot to me¹. We both read the relevant policies & exclusions and were pretty sure the … Read More

“doing my own research” & the scientific method

Alison Campbell • Apr 07, 2021

• biases,
• research,
• scientific method

This evening I was engaging in polite conversation (well, I was polite, anyway) on an RNZ Facebook post about – you guessed it! – the covid19 vaccination program. One of those present offered up a link to a blog post by Joseph Mercola to support a claim he was making about the vaccines. When I pointed out that … Read More

the strange case of the headless sea slug

Alison Campbell • Mar 31, 2021

• autotomy,
• biology,
• New Zealand stories,
• sea slug

Autotomy. There’s a word you don’t see every day – but those familiar with lizards may well have seen the result. For autotomy is the scientific name for what I suppose we could also call “self-amputation”: the process whereby an animal deliberately sheds a part of its body (a tail, limb, or other appendage). Lizards do it, but apparently so … Read More

I’m still not in the money

Alison Campbell • Mar 24, 2021

• community water fluoridation,
• fluoride,
• water

In the last week water fluoridation has made the headlines again, alongside the continuing articles and posts related to SARS-Cov-2 and the rollout of vaccines against it. One of the common features shown by quite a few of those opposed to these 2 public health initiatives (fluoridation & vaccination) is a tendency to claim that those supporting the initiatives in … Read More

Luciferin, Luciferase, etymology, & innuendo

Alison Campbell • Feb 17, 2021

• bioluminescence,
• cyberbullying,
• glow worms,
• luciferase,
• luciferin,
• science communcation,
• Social media

On Friday (5 February) we went for a walk in the Karangahake Gorge, and were very happy to discover (during the Windows Walk) that there are glow-worms in the darker parts of the mine workings. (Strictly speaking they’re glow-maggots as they’re the larvae of small flies/midges, but that is perhaps less attractive to the ear ) These little … Read More

Vaccines, viruses, & mRNA

Alison Campbell • Dec 13, 2020

• COVID-19,
• mRNA vaccine,
• Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine,
• science and society,
• vaccination

Today I was told that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (now approved for use in the US, UK, & Canada) is a virus (screencap at the bottom of this thread). It really isn’t, but I’ve seen this one several times & so I think it’s worth unpacking a little further. (You can also read about mRNA vaccines here, here, & … Read More