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Swift Science Writing

@swiftsciencewriting.co.uk
1.7K followers 305 following 47 posts

Freelance writing, consultancy, evidence, editing and data analysis. Fuelled by Yorkshire tea ☕️

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Reposted by Swift Science Writing
SMT Evidence @smtevidence.com · 21/09/2026
The Drugs and Devices Have Been on the Market for Years. But FDA-Ordered Studies Still Aren’t Done. kffhealthnews.org/health-indus... Some great reporting here from @kffhealthnews.org H/T @statnews.com
kffhealthnews.org
The Drugs and Devices Have Been on the Market for Years. But FDA-Ordered Studies Still Aren’t Done. - KFF Health News
To get drugs and devices out faster, the FDA lets companies conduct studies of safety or efficacy after the products are approved. In many cases, such “postmarket” studies are behind schedule or overd...
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SMT Evidence @smtevidence.com · 16/08/2026
Where you live affects your exposure to cancer-causing substances - and scientists can read these exposures in your DNA. Geographic variation of mutagenic exposures in kidney cancer genomes. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #mutations #genomics #cancer #oncology #personalisedmedicine
nature.com
Geographic variation of mutagenic exposures in kidney cancer genomes - Nature
Whole-genome sequencing of 962 clear cell renal cell carcinomas from 11 countries shows geographic variations in somatic mutation profiles, including a mutational signature of unknown cause in 70% of ...
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SMT Evidence @smtevidence.com · 24/06/2026
Our new research is out now! Factors associated with #vaccination decisions in pregnant women in the UK. Read the full article online at: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #OA #openaccess #scopingreview #evidencesynthesis #vaccines #vaccinehesitancy #maternalvaccines HT @cardiffuni.bsky.social
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Vox @vox.com · 05/02/2026
Research has found that a routine vaccine slows aging and cut dementia risk. www.vox.com/health/47776...
vox.com
We have a miraculous anti-aging vaccine. Why aren’t more people getting it?
Research has found that a routine vaccine slows aging and cut dementia risk.
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Hilda Bastian @hildabast.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
LinkedIn's default permission for using your data for AI kicks in on November 3. Here's where to switch it off on your account: > Settings & Privacy → Data privacy → Data for Generative AI Improvement tuta.com/blog/linkedi...
tuta.com
Act until Nov 3rd to stop LinkedIn from abusing your data to train AI! | Tuta
Soon your data like your resumes and profile information will be used to train LinkedIn, Microsoft, and Co.'s artificial intelligence. And no, you didn’t opt-in. Take action and stop this now.
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SMT Evidence @smtevidence.com · 08/10/2025
A microsimulation model to estimate the impact of care disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic on breast cancer mortality using an administrative database. www.jclinepi.com/article/S089... Via @jclinepi.bsky.social
jclinepi.com
A microsimulation model based on healthcare pathways to estimate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic–induced delays on breast cancer mortality
This study aimed to develop a microsimulation model to estimate the impact of a care disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic on breast cancer mortality using an administrative database.
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ACOG @acog.org · 22/09/2025
ACOG reaffirms that acetaminophen is safe for managing pain and fever during pregnancy. No reputable studies support suggestions like those in HHS’s recent announcement linking acetaminophen use in pregnancy to autism; in fact, high-quality studies show no such risk. bit.ly/47Wxc59
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 10/09/2025
New study links marijuana use during IVF to higher risk of abnormal embryos, potentially providing new insights into the link between cannabis use and female fertility. www.statnews.com/2025/09/09/m... Via @statnews.com #fertility #cannabis #marijuana #IVF #statnews
statnews.com
Study links marijuana use during IVF to higher risk of abnormal embryos
Researchers found marijuana's active ingredient may disrupt egg cells and embryos, adds to research that marijuana use can negatively affect male fertility.
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Chemistry World @chemistryworld.com · 04/09/2025
With social media site Bluesky growing in popularity among academics, a new study has revealed how it measures up against X when it comes to sharing and promoting scientific research.
chemistryworld.com
Science content on Bluesky attracts more engagement and originality than on X
New social media site is proving better for sharing research findings
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 04/09/2025
Most Americans still don’t know that #alcohol can cause #cancer — and the alcohol industry and Trump are working hard to make sure it stays that way by discrediting and burying a new report that offers new evidence of the link between drinking alcohol and dying www.vox.com/health/46008... @vox.com
vox.com
Exclusive: RFK Jr. and the White House buried a major study on alcohol and cancer. Here’s what it shows.
Kennedy wants to “Make America Healthy Again” — but doesn’t want you to see a report that could do just that.
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Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
What's wrong with the obsession to consume high protein in your diet or via bars, supplements, or powders? A review of the data on efficacy and safety erictopol.substack.com/p/our-preocc...
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 22/08/2025
Let's all try not to get surgery immediately before the weekend... jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... @jamanetworkopen.com
jamanetwork.com
Postoperative Outcomes Following Preweekend Surgery
This cohort study examines 30-day, 90-day, and 1-year postoperative outcomes of patients undergoing surgical procedures immediately before vs after the weekend.
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 15/08/2025
Really thought provoking article on Canada's assisted dying law - and the fairly murky 'rules' that are supposed to guide clinician's on who is eligible for the procedure. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
theatlantic.com
Canada Is Killing Itself
The country gave its citizens the right to die. Doctors are struggling to keep up with demand.
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Matt Burgess (WIRED) @mattburgess1.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
NEW: In a likely first, security researchers have shown how generative AI agents can be hijacked to cause physical consequences. They tricked Google's Gemini AI into turning off smart home lights, opening windows, and turning on a boiler. They hid instructions to the AI in a *calendar invitation*
wired.com
Hackers Hijacked Google’s Gemini AI With a Poisoned Calendar Invite to Take Over a Smart Home
For likely the first time ever, security researchers have shown how AI can be hacked to create real world havoc, allowing them to turn off lights, open smart shutters, and more.
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Nature @nature.com · 03/08/2025
Scientists have mapped individual sugar molecules on the surface of cells at a resolution once thought to be impossible for light microscopes go.nature.com/40I9Ewv
go.nature.com
Cell's sugar coating mapped at below-nanometre resolution
Nature - Super-resolution technique works with off-the-shelf optical microscopes.
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 29/07/2025
The U.S. is paying $167,000 to destroy $9.7 million worth of contraceptives - including IUDs, implants & pills - meant for low-income countries that don't expire until 2027 to 2031. This takes the Republican madness to boost the birth rate by any means to a new level... www.npr.org/sections/goa...
npr.org
The U.S. is destroying $9.7 million in contraceptives. Is there another option?
This planned destruction of birth control devices is part of the dismantling of USAID services — and is linked to allegations by the government that cite abortion. Critics are speaking out.
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 28/07/2025
Great article from Nichola Ibe feat. some (hopefully helpful) insights from me on the need for professional indemnity insurance as a science writer. "Doing good quality work should be protection enough" - but it's always good to have some insurance - as well as indemnity clauses in your contract.
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 22/07/2025
Starting to have this awful, sinking feeling that the 24h+ of "planned maintenance" on PubMed is just going to turn into the US government shutting down the site completely in pursuit of their silencing of evidence-based medicine. Here's hoping we're wrong...🤞🏻 #pubmed #research #evidence
Screenshot of the PubMed homepage showing the service alert banner describing the planned maintenance for 24h+ from 25th July
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Max Roser @maxroser.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
At least since the mid-20th century, England has left mass hunger behind. How was this possible? How did English farmers prove Malthus wrong? My 'Data Insight' on @ourworldindata.org today is about rising yields and falling hunger. → ourworldindata.org/data-insights
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ErrantScience @errantscience.com · 22/06/2025
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 10/06/2025
Prospective registration was associated with a reduced risk of bias for randomised controlled trials: a meta-research study. www.jclinepi.com/article/S089... Via @jclinepi.bsky.social #riskofbias #bias #reportingguidelines #trialregistration #clinicaltrials #research #evidence
jclinepi.com
Prospective registration was associated with a reduced risk of bias for randomized controlled trials: a meta-research study
To investigate the association between trial registration and the risk of bias (RoB).
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 03/06/2025
More than half of the UK government’s nutrition advisers are paid by world’s largest food companies, including Nestlé, Unilever and Tate & Lyle, generating big conflicts of interest. www.bmj.com/content/386/... Via @bmj.com #OA #openaccess #conflictofinterest #nutrition #food #publichealth
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 02/06/2025
New dental costs of $9.8 billion are expected if the rest of the USA follows Utah and Florida in banning the addition of fluoride to water, based on a new cost-effectiveness analysis. www.statnews.com/2025/05/30/f... @statnews.com #evidence #research #fluoride #dentalhealth #health #dentistry
statnews.com
25 million cavities and $9.8 billion: Study estimates the costs of removing fluoride from water
Researchers estimated 7.5% more U.S. children would get cavities, affecting 25.4 million additional teeth, if fluoridation were banned nationwide
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 31/05/2025
Had enough of the Google AI overview search page nightmare? We’ve changed over to @startpage.com as a browser. Excellent so far! It uses Google’s search engine with super duper privacy protection. It also doesn’t throw up the annoying accept/reject cookies notice every time you open your homepage! 🎉
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SMT Evidence @smtevidence.com · 29/05/2025
In the wake of several countries legalising #marijuana, questions remain about the drug's long-term #health effects. A new study has found that people who smoke weed or use edibles do worse on measures of vascular health that predict cardiovascular risk. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... @jama.com
jamanetwork.com
Endothelial Dysfunction and Chronic Cannabis Use
This cross-sectional study aims to determine whether cannabis use is associated with vascular endothelial function.
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 27/05/2025
This critical work from @hsph.harvard.edu scientists continues to compile a list of the NIH & NSF grants that have been cut by the Trump administration in 2025. Over 2,100 grants have gone, many with a focus on minorities - women, LGBTQ, others. grant-watch.us #grantwatch #science #research
The front page of the Grant Watch website, providing an introduction to the project and offering more resources for any scientists whose grant has been terminated by the Trump administration
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SMT Evidence @smtevidence.com · 23/05/2025
A scoping review of carbon emissions associated with clinical trials finds that several trial activities, including travel and meetings, trial facilities, and sample & lab activities, are consistently carbon heavy. www.jclinepi.com/article/S089... @jclinepi.bsky.social #scopingreview #openaccess
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SMT Evidence @smtevidence.com · 18/05/2025
Brand new SPIRIT and CONSORT #reporting #guidelines are out now! 🎯 CONSORT 2025 for reporting RCTs now has a 30-item checklist 🎯 SPIRIT 2025 for reporting trial protocols now has a 34-item checklist www.jclinepi.com/article/S089... @jclinepi.bsky.social #SPIRIT #CONSORT #RCTs #protocols
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SMT Evidence @smtevidence.com · 11/05/2025
A new reporting guideline has just been published for the involvement of patients and caregivers in identifying and designing healthcare interventions: the IDEAS framework www.jclinepi.com/article/S089... HT @jclinepi.bsky.social #OA #openaccess #IDEAS #coproduction #patients #partners #research
A diagram with seven blue circles describing the different items within a patient-researcher research cycle. The seven blue circles include: designing and managing, undertaking, disseminating, implementing, evaluating impact, prioritising and commissioning
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The Conversation U.S. @us.theconversation.com · 22/04/2025
Thank you #Bluesky for helping us reach 50,000 followers! We've been losing followers steadily on X, but we've appreciated the growing recognition here. But many people don’t know about us yet – if you think your followers would appreciate our links in their feed, please let them know about us. 😀
Does Bluesky value journalism that is: 
* Written by experts
* based in research and science
* Totally free (no paywall or ads)
* Not controlled by a billionaire?
Yes! Thanks for helping us reach 50,000 followers!
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SMT Evidence @smtevidence.com · 15/04/2025
Out of the top 25 most-cited papers in the 21st century, the #PRISMA statement comes in at number 6 with a mind-boggling 133,965 citations according to Web of Science. www.nature.com/articles/d41... H/T @nature.com #systematicreviews #evidence #evidencesynthesis #statistics #data #citations
nature.com
Exclusive: the most-cited papers of the twenty-first century
A Nature analysis reveals the 25 highest-cited papers published this century and explores why they are breaking records.
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 08/04/2025
"Public health isn’t the sum of individual choices. It’s our collective agreement to protect the most vulnerable. When we treat public health as a menu of optional precautions, we stop being a society and start being a collection of disconnected risk profiles" www.statnews.com/2025/04/08/m...
statnews.com
Personal choice has been weaponized to undermine public health
“Public health isn’t the sum of individual choices. It’s our collective agreement to protect the most vulnerable among us,” writes MeiLan Han.
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 05/04/2025
Want to find out if Meta has used* your work as part of LibGen to train its AI models? @alexreisner.bsky.social has a super easy to use search tool for that: www.theatlantic.com/technology/a... @theatlantic.com Then, get angry & sign this petition to stop it: www.change.org/p/protect-au... *stolen
theatlantic.com
Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI
Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.
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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
DOGE preferentially cancelled grants and contracts to recipients in counties that voted for Harris. No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, this is a wild finding. Source: buff.ly/2vBLXx2
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Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · 29/03/2025
The number of working satellites has soared in the past five years to around 11,000, mostly because of constellations of orbiters that provide Internet connectivity around the globe, but it comes with a series of problems. Nature explores the issues and how scientists are reacting. 🔭 🧪
go.nature.com
Swarms of satellites are harming astronomy. Here’s how researchers are fighting back
SpaceX and other companies plan to launch tens of thousands of satellites, which could mar astronomical observations and pollute the atmosphere.
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 27/03/2025
Pregnancy’s true toll on the body: a huge birth study provides the most detailed picture yet using data from 300,000 births to reveal how essential biological processes could be permanently altered by carrying and delivering a baby. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 26/03/2025
Patient- and public-driven health research: a model of coleadership and partnership in research priority setting using a modified James Lind Alliance approach www.jclinepi.com/article/S089... H/T @jclinepi.bsky.social @sporalliance.bsky.social #coproduction #patients #coleadership #research #OA
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 24/03/2025
Large language models for conducting systematic reviews: on the rise, but not yet ready for use—a scoping review. "Although LLMs show promise in supporting SR creation, fully established or validated applications are often lacking" www.jclinepi.com/article/S089... via @jclinepi.bsky.social #AI #LLM
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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Tally marks. Turns out people around the world count differently to five when taking notes. Source: buff.ly/jcjgrLX buff.ly/KhU4soR
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 20/03/2025
Brain waves synchronise when people talk or interact or share an experience, like watching a film. www.scientificamerican.com/article/brai... Via @sciam.bsky.social
scientificamerican.com
Brain Waves Synchronize when People Interact
The minds of social species are strikingly resonant
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 19/03/2025
The proliferation of constructs and measures in psychology — many of which are introduced ad-hoc in new papers and then rarely seen again — is setting up “confusing redundancies” that “make the literature incomprehensible”, write six psychologists. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Defragmenting psychology
Nature Human Behaviour - Psychology is fragmented into the study of a myriad of constructs and measures, most of which are used very rarely. This hinders cumulative knowledge generation. We call on...
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 19/03/2025
In the 1950s, researchers intrigued by the widespread use of Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) in traditional medicine discovered that the vinca alkaloids that it contained could treat cancer. Drugs derived from these compounds are still sold worldwide today: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
How researchers can work fairly with Indigenous and local knowledge
Scientists around the world are recognizing that their research method isn’t the only way.
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 18/03/2025
A new economic analysis of weight loss drugs shows that in order for them to be cost-effective, the price of tirzepatide would need to go down by 30% from its current estimated annual net price while the price of semaglutide would need to drop by 82% jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... #obesity
jamanetwork.com
Lifetime Health Effects and Cost-Effectiveness of Tirzepatide and Semaglutide in US Adults
This study compares the cost-effectiveness of 4 antiobesity medications (naltrexone-bupropion, phentermine-topiramate, semaglutide, or tirzepatide) with lifestyle modification vs lifestyle modificatio...
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Nature Reviews Drug Discovery @natrevdrugdiscov.nature.com · 12/03/2025
Top companies and drugs by sales in 2024 www.nature.com/articles/d41... Merck & Co’s cancer immunotherapy Keytruda solidified its top place, and GLP-1 receptor agonists for diabetes and obesity are shaking up the rankings. Read more in this new analysis by Paul Verdin @evaluatepharma.bsky.social
Top companies and drugs in 2024
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 12/03/2025
We got rid of acid rain. Now it’s time to deal with plastic rain. www.vox.com/climate/4016...
vox.com
We got rid of acid rain. Now something scarier is falling from the sky.
Here’s why you should never, ever drink the rain.
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 11/03/2025
Four researchers are suing the big publishers of academic journals - Elsevier, Wiley, Sage, Springer Nature, Taylor & Francis, and Wolters Kluwer - arguing that the system they operate is exploitative, overly expensive & relies on illegal & anticompetitive practices: www.statnews.com/2025/03/10/p...
statnews.com
Scientists’ suit against top academic publishers lays bare deep frustration over unpaid peer review
Researchers have sued six big academic publishers, arguing their practices are illegal and anticompetitive.
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Hilda Bastian @hildabast.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
PubMed down .... Here's my post on what to do
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 24/02/2025
The Methane Hotspot Explorer app is now live! Visualise the location & origins of #methane plumes in close to real-time: including coal mining, oil, gas, and urban areas encompassing landfills, as well as unexpected sources: atmosphere.copernicus.eu/ghg-services... @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social
Screenshot of the CAMS Methane Hotspot Explorer webpage
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Swift Science Writing @swiftsciencewriting.co.uk · 23/02/2025
Massive “covidisation” of the scientific literature: 718,660 #COVID19 related publications received over 10 million citations as of August 2024, and 2 million authors published COVID-19-related papers, many making a career from it. Read more at www.jclinepi.com/article/S089... @jclinepi.bsky.social
jclinepi.com
Massive covidization and subsequent decovidization of the scientific literature involved 2 million authors
We aimed to examine the growth trajectory and impact of COVID-19-related papers in the scientific literature and how the scientific workforce engaged in this work.
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Oxford Population Health @oxpop.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Environmental factors have a greater impact on health and premature death than our genes, finds new study using data from @ukbiobank.bsky.social participants. 🧬 Read more on our website 👉 buff.ly/437z60x @ox.ac.uk @medsci.ox.ac.uk
Image of an elderly couple walking down a path surrounded my trees and plants.
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