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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

New study on fluoride exposure and IQ may require current public health policies to re-evaluate the practice of adding fluoride to the water supply. Has water fluoridation finally met its match? See what it all means during my new LIVE stream tomorrow! (link below) Saturday 2/1 1PM PT (4PM ET)

New Study on Fluoride Exposure and Child IQ appearing in JAMA Pediatrics

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

Hope to see you there! youtube.com/live/ZRrE57n... Fluoride in our Water: the science you need to know LIVE STREAM with Q&A Thursday 1/16 at 5PM Pacific Time (8PM Eastern Time)

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

Kicking off my first live stream on Fluoride, which has recently sparked controversy in the US over its safety in the water supply. The views are divided & tough to navigate. In this stream, I'm going to provide answers using the current scientific research of how fluoride can affect your health.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

This is a great article citing the frustrations faced by legitimate scientists when presenting their work to an online audience. Popular science is flooded with algo-optimized terms, misrepresented graphic images, and science factoids bereft of relevant significance or context. Worth a read👇#SciComm

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

My limited experience has shown me the best science discussions are on THIS platform. Aside from a couple of notable exceptions (who also happen to be on here as well 😅)

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 30/11/2024

This is why I’m frustrated at the tech world. Science can point out externalities of tech. These aren’t great selling points in VC pitches, so they’re vehemently ridiculed and ignored.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

Awesome! Thanks so much! Excellent list and thanks for putting it together!

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

Nice list. Could I be included on here as well? Appreciate your work in getting this together!

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

Oh boy, not sure I like where this is headed. Need to check it out!

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

It’s literally a calming experience. The name is true to form.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

That’s an interesting case study as well. And right, this was likely a very biased work. I’ll be on the lookout for others. I was seeing where this info of IQ and fluoride was coming from and sort of gasped at the highest ranked published study in search. The media should dig into this more.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

And yes, I would suspect other environmental factors would play a much larger role in IQ than fluoride concentration. It's not clear what the physical mechanism would be for Fluoride and brain activity. Bone can at least act as a binding element for the negative ions.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Really appreciate you sharing your thoughts on this. I couldn't believe this was peer reviewed either. Not 100% sure if this is the main study on the matter, but it seems riddled with error and inconclusive at best. It was the first study to appear in Google search on the matter.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

I second that! And add me to that list as well 😅

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

I thought so as well. The study concludes with an extremely low p-value as well. It’s more than subtle data massaging.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

What are your thoughts? 🤔 Let me know! I'm working on a video for my YouTube channel on this topic, and the more input from experts and scientists, the better! Best comments will get put in the video :)

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

🧪4/ IQ tests in general are very questionable scientifically. It is widely believed that they're unbiased & fair, but in reality, the tests probe specific cognitive biases held by the test makers. It's difficult to interpret how these tests apply to disparate villages under non-Western education.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

🧪3/ The correlation in the data only arises after artificially binning the IQ levels. For example, the authors of the study assigned grade 1 as IQ >95%, grade 2 as IQ between 75-95%, grade 3 as 25-75%, grade 4 as 5-25%, and then grade 5 as <5%. The divisions and cutoffs are arbitrary.

Distribution of IQ grades of the children based on fluoride concentration.
SOURCE: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5285601/table/T5/

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

🧪2/ The fluoride concentration levels along the horizontal axis are out of order. The Fluoride concentration does not monotonically rise from left to right, but the trend line monotonically decreases. This is misleading data presentation.

Correlation between IQ and fluoride concentration in total patients
SOURCE: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5285601/figure/G2/

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

🧪1/ The mean IQ is actually highest for the medium level of Fluoride concentration (1.2-2ppm). In the study, participants consuming the medium Fluoride levels scored on average 15 points higher in boys, and 17 points higher in girls.

Mean IQ levels based on fluoride concentration among boys and girls.
Source: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5285601/table/T4/

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

🧪Is this the slam-dunk study claiming negative correlation between IQ and fluoride concentration in water? There's a lot of wrong to unpack here (comments below), but if I'm missing something (on either side of the argument), please let me know. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effect of fluoridated water on intelligence in 10-12-year-old school children

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship of drinking water fluoride levels with children's intelligence quotient (IQ). Water was collected from initially identified endemic fluori...

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Wow! Incredible stuff. I can’t believe how fast the rotation rate is! Pulsars are like the data centers of the Milky Way!

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Wow, thanks for the great explanation! I need to read up more on pulsars. I regret not taking more astronomy in grad school. The signal looks great and the precision is really extraordinary to see.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

And a few follow ups 😅 What characteristics of the binary star can you determine from the pulse spectra? Rotation rate? Mass? Distance? Again, really cool to see this and thanks for sharing!

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

This is so neat! Feels like I’m in the observatory. What is the pulse phase axis? Everything is centered at 0.5. Is this real-time pulse duration in seconds?

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Reposted by Dr John

Dr Jamie Gallagher @jamiebgall.co.uk · 19/11/2024

The #SciComm starter pack is almost full. Make sure to revisit it as l’ve added lots of folk this week. Do share it and flag up if you’d like added. go.bsky.app/VJQzace

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Taking the higher road is, in itself, an effective argument. It's disarming. Opens the door for true dialogue. Not for everyone. But for enough.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Right, fully agree. Hitting at some nuance here, which is why this is a complicated topic.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Right, this is the pitfall of acting too far outside your field of expertise. This is how scientists are weaponized and distrusted. I hesitated saying scientists should speak outside their domain of expertise. A particle physicist speaking on the solar system, okay. But on COVID, not a good look.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Even basic skills like promoting a research publication to a general audience. Emphasizing the social relevance of a work to a general audience. Certainly not advocating everyone to become Neil deGrasse, but graduate students should actively be building followings & skills to communicate their work.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Ignoring the contra narratives is a mistake. Acknowledging the supporting arguments as well as pointing out the scientific pitfalls of such narratives is the key.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Engaging in conversations with relevant experts on the topic can be enlightening. It may also be wise to even highlight disagreements among the communities. Scientific discourse is an important topic that sometimes gets blurred in the public space. When done professionally, it can foster trust.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

This is an excellent point, and a question I grapple with as well. Ideally, yes, but unfortunately, the field of expertise can be confining and not an adequate measure of true knowledge. I think it's important to be honest and up front about expertise before providing a point of view.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

🧪 The leaders of such conspiratorial groups are likely not going to be convinced, but their public audience certainly can be swayed otherwise. And this is the main point. The public audience. They are looking for answers. Try to give them some convincingly right ones.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

🧪This being said, the dialogue should be as politically neutral as possible. Arguments such as 'proof by consensus' are bad optics for scientists, especially if the consensus is the target of attack. Issues need to be handled head on. If the science is right, then it can be easily shown to be right.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

🧪Too often, legitimate scientists get outmaneuvered by pseudoscientific narratives which exploit scientific uncertainty to the nth degree. It's an egregious misstep to simply ignore such narratives, as they can rapidly erode public trust (and eventually funding) for legitimate research.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

🧪It's a tough skill, and one that's not emphasized in the majority of graduate programs. At least one class needs to be integrated on social communications in all STEM graduate programs. Graduate students are becoming stewards of science. Should their communication be left to complete chance?

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

🧪Here are some take-away messages. To gain public trust, scientists need to be an active participant in the popular science dialogue of today's social media landscape.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

🧪It was also noted that 49% of adults stated scientists' judgments are just as likely to be biased as other people's.

2024 Pew Research Study on the US public's views of scientists' judgment vs that of other people's.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

🧪A common critique of the scientific community was science communication, where only 45% of respondents cited scientists as good communicators. This aligns with their take on scientist involvement in public policy, where only 51% stated scientists should take an active role in public policy.

2024 Pew Research Findings on public's impression of scientists as Intelligent and Good Communicators. While 89% of those surveyed highlighted scientists as intelligent, only 45% cited scientists as good communicators.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Trust in Scientists 🧪 Public confidence in scientists edged up slightly in 2024, according to a recent Pew Research Study, but still remains 10 percentage points below pre-pandemic levels. The confidence rise is split along party lines (88% vs. 66%), but notable that Republicans edged 5% higher YoY.

2024 Pew Research Study on public trust in scientists. The data suggests a rise of 3 percentage points YoY.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Really appreciate it! Thanks for including me on here, and looking forward to contributing to the conversation. Have a great weekend!

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

I’ll start: I’m Dr. John, a Ph.D. in physics (so no medical advice!) and I run a physics YouTube channel on understanding technology, society, and history through a physics lens. If that sounds like your cup of tea, follow me over on YouTube: youtube.com/@DrJohnDev

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

I’ve got to admit. I’m running about 50 mm Hg lower over here than over on X. Would really love to get to know more of you and build a larger network! Please introduce yourself.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Hi Physgal, could I be added to the Science feed? For proof, here’s my research gate account: www.researchgate.net/profile/John... Thanks so much for organizing this community. Really looking forward to meeting more from this group!

researchgate.net

John GRUENEWALD | Cited by 272 | of University of Kentucky, Lexington (UKY) | Read 12 publications | Contact John GRUENEWALD

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Follow for more science content concerning the rapidly-evolving developments of today's world, and some of the (little) things we can do about it. Take care.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

It should be stressed, KI pills should only be taken in an emergency situation. Taking KI unnecessarily or frequently can pose other long term health risks to thyroid function. It's obviously a hope to never need to use KI pills, but it's safer to have some on hand in precarious times.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

To reduce this risk, Iodine Pills can be taken immediately following (ideally before) a nuclear blast. Specifically, Potassium Iodide (KI). These pills provide a saturating amount of stable Iodine for your thyroid, which inhibits the thyroid's ability to absorb any radioactive iodine from the blast.

Potassium Iodide Tablets for emergency use in the proximity to a nuclear blast.

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Dr John @drjohndev.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Following the Chernobyl Nuclear disaster in 1986, about 4,000 cases of thyroid cancer were diagnosed in children during 1992 - 2000 in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine.

Aftermath of Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster in 1986

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