Washington Post: Misinformation research is buckling under GOP legal attacks

Washington Post: Misinformation research is buckling under GOP legal attacks. “Academics, universities and government agencies are overhauling or ending research programs designed to counter the spread of online misinformation amid a legal campaign from conservative politicians and activists who accuse them of colluding with tech companies to censor right-wing views.” The link is to a gift article so you should be able to read it without paywall.

Bloomberg: TikTok’s Rules Deter Researchers From Crunching Data on Users, Misinformation

Bloomberg: TikTok’s Rules Deter Researchers From Crunching Data on Users, Misinformation. “As TikTok gets more popular, researchers at leading academic institutions want to study what users are doing there. Publicly, the company says it’s open to this, and is partnering with academics. But researchers said so far, the video app’s rules about data are too burdensome.”

University of Wisconsin-Madison: Machine learning analysis of research citations highlights importance of federal funding for basic scientific research

University of Wisconsin-Madison: Machine learning analysis of research citations highlights importance of federal funding for basic scientific research. “Biomedical research aimed at improving human health is particularly reliant on publicly funded basic science, according to a new analysis boosted by artificial intelligence.”

Associated Press: Repurposing dead spiders, counting cadaver nose hairs win Ig Nobels for comical scientific feats

Associated Press: Repurposing dead spiders, counting cadaver nose hairs win Ig Nobels for comical scientific feats. “Counting nose hairs in cadavers, repurposing dead spiders and explaining why scientists lick rocks, are among the winning achievements in this year’s Ig Nobels, the prize for humorous scientific feats, organizers announced Thursday.”

Retraction Watch: The Retraction Watch Database becomes completely open – and RW becomes far more sustainable

Retraction Watch: The Retraction Watch Database becomes completely open – and RW becomes far more sustainable. “We’re thrilled to announce that Crossref has acquired The Retraction Watch Database and will make it completely open and freely available.”

UK Government: New one-stop shop to find the topics government is interested in researching

UK Government: New one-stop shop to find the topics government is interested in researching. “A new tool which brings together all Areas of Research Interest (ARI) documents from across government departments in a one-stop shop is now live. ARIs are lists of research questions or topics which government departments and agencies would welcome more research on to inform their policies and help close the evidence policy gap. This new database allows anyone accessing it to search for particular areas of research interest, and find out what are the main research questions facing government departments.”

University of Michigan: AI tool helps optimize antibody medicines

University of Michigan News: AI tool helps optimize antibody medicines. “Antibody treatments may be able to activate the immune system to fight diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and colorectal cancer, but they are less effective when they bind with themselves and other molecules that aren’t markers of disease. Now, new machine-learning algorithms developed at the University of Michigan can highlight problem areas in antibodies that make them prone to binding non-target molecules.”

Michigan Law / University of Michigan: Michigan Law Launches Data for Defenders Project to Aid Defense Work

Michigan Law / University of Michigan: Michigan Law Launches Data for Defenders Project to Aid Defense Work. “A new public database housed at the Law School aims to help public defenders assist indigent clients by making a wide range of social-science resources readily available. Data for Defenders collects briefs, motions, and transcripts focused on social science research and data that public defenders could find useful. It includes information on topics like the science of eyewitness memory; problems with racism and bias in the criminal legal system; and the use of unreliable, seemingly scientific evidence.”

Stanford University: Stanford Ethicists Developing Guidelines for the Safe Inclusion of Pediatric Data in AI-Driven Medical Research

Stanford University: Stanford Ethicists Developing Guidelines for the Safe Inclusion of Pediatric Data in AI-Driven Medical Research. “…the international SPIRIT-AI and CONSORT-AI initiative has recently established guidelines for AI and machine learning in medical research. These frameworks, however, have not outlined specific considerations for pediatric populations. Children present uniquely complex data quandaries for AI, especially regarding consent and equity.”

Bloomberg: UK Back in EU’s Horizon Science Program After Brexit Freeze

Bloomberg: UK Back in EU’s Horizon Science Program After Brexit Freeze. “Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gave the go-ahead for the UK to rejoin the European Union’s €95.5 billion ($103 billion) Horizon science program, allowing closer ties between Europe’s top research hubs following a two-year gap because of post-Brexit political wrangling.”

MIT News: Fast-tracking fusion energy’s arrival with AI and accessibility

MIT News: Fast-tracking fusion energy’s arrival with AI and accessibility. “As part of their strategy to accelerate fusion energy’s arrival and reach carbon neutrality by 2050, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) has announced new funding for a project led by researchers at MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) and four collaborating institutions.”

NREL: NREL Launches Science and News Podcast

NREL: NREL Launches Science and News Podcast. “Forty-six years ago, the research organization that would become the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) was born. This year, on July 5, NREL’s birthday, the laboratory launched its news podcast, ‘Transforming Energy: The NREL Podcast.’ Every other Wednesday, podcast hosts Kerrin Jeromin and Taylor Mankle provide news about research at the laboratory and the ways NREL’s work is impacting the clean energy space.”

Architect Magazine: Materials Science Is Starting to Reap the Benefits of AI

Architect Magazine: Materials Science Is Starting to Reap the Benefits of AI. “Scientists have begun exploring the use of AI tools to automate a variety of tasks that are typically time-consuming, including manual endeavors such as identifying relevant references or potential compound ingredients. Remarkably, researchers have also begun employing AI to discover new materials and develop current material compounds in previously unexplored ways.”

PsyPost: A new mouse maze emoji to increase scientific representation on social media?

PsyPost: A new mouse maze emoji to increase scientific representation on social media?. “A brief focal point article published in Lancet Neurology questions whether implementing a mouse maze emoji could prove useful in representing the advances made in neuroscientific research. Emojis are small digital icons that are used in digital communication, often conveying emotion or context that may be missing in conversations over text.”

OPI: On Bruno Pereira’s birthday, Opi, Coiab and Opan launch a platform to monitor isolated indigenous peoples

OPI: On Bruno Pereira’s birthday, Opi, Coiab and Opan launch a platform to monitor isolated indigenous peoples. (Everything with regards to this article has been machine-translated from Portuguese.) “The tool gathers information from public databases and field surveys of the Observatory’s networks. Combined, this information makes it possible to analyze the living conditions and territories of these groups. The initiative is a collaboration between [Observatory of Isolated Indigenous Peoples and of Recent Contact] and the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (Coiab) and Operation Amazônia Nativa (Opan).”