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Wayne Dickson

@waynedickson.bsky.social
1.2K followers 1K following 277 posts

Physicist at King's College London. Research interests include nanophotonics, metamaterials, plasmonics and sustainable nanofabrication. Keenly interested in environmental applications. (Views my own, not my employers).

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Reposted by Wayne Dickson
WATERSHED Investigations @watershed-i.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
'If emissions continue while we wait for complete evidence, the pollution does not wait with us. It may still be present decades later, when the science is much clearer.' Can we afford to let new forms of PFAS to build up, then find out later we shouldn't have? theconversation.com/high-levels-...
theconversation.com
High levels of ‘forever chemicals’ found in Lancashire residents’ blood – what I’ve learned from studying exposed communities for over a decade
Residents near a Lancashire chemical plant have high Pfas levels in their blood. A decade of research shows what that can and can’t tell us.
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Podcasting is Praxis @praxiscast.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Please note: Burnham keeps saying "public control" when talking about watercos, not public *ownership* These are not the same thing
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Wayne Dickson @waynedickson.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
She was a researcher for Helen Whateley in 2017, which says it all really.
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Scientists think Alzheimer’s might be reversible.
reuters.com
NEWSLETTER: Genetic discovery yields clues toward reversal of Alzheimer's brain damage
Today we highlight a discovery with potentially important implications for future Alzheimer's research and treatments. We also report on an experimental Gilead therapy showing great promise ​against a...
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Baroness Floella Benjamin @floellabenjamin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Today it’s 50 years since I first presented Playschool wearing my blue beads and silver heart. I adore bringing joy into the lives of my Playschool Babies during the 12 years I was on the programme. ❤️
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MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 28/09/2026
Trump: Sleepy Joe Biden, have you heard of him? *a few moments later* Trump: 😴😴😴
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Wayne Dickson @waynedickson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This. Exactly this. It's why they supported Brexit.
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Guardian reports Rayner's continued defence of migrants care workers from in Cabinet. Seems to have won that argument for care workers with No 10 + Home Office Big unknown: will anyone protect 250k non-care workers (chefs, vets, architects) from being thrown out www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Angela Rayner stands by attack on care worker visa reforms ahead of Labour conference
Housing secretary says Home Office moved goalposts with ‘disruptive’ change to permanent residence rules
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Dr. SkySkull @drskyskull.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I’ve been saying for a long time that this is likely a big part of the motivation for these companies— designing systems that can break the law without consequence
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Wayne Dickson @waynedickson.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
JFC!
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Wayne Dickson @waynedickson.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Wow!! Wasn't aware of the synchronicity!
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This chart published by the Economics Laboratory, shows that the UK social spending is 23% of GDP, covers NHS, social security and support services. It is a useful rebutal to neoliberals calling for cuts to the NHS, state pension and other benefits. www.linkedin.com/posts/charto...
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Dan Snow @thehistoryguy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Those absolute head bangers have convinced themselves that Churchill, King Charles, Henry V and Brunel aren’t proper English. Robert the Bruce isn’t Scottish. They are modern phrenologists. They spend the weekend working out what George Best was.
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
‘What is emerging is not simply a relationship between [Reform and Farage] and a wealthy Gulf state, but a channel through which an authoritarian government can cultivate political influence here, and abroad.’ Would really recommend a read of this democracyforsale.substack.com/p/reform-and...
democracyforsale.substack.com
Reform and the UAE – a threat to British politics
Nigel Farage's embrace of the UAE is part of a wider effort by the Gulf petrostate to build alliances with the far right across the West, says Alex Carlen.
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Kate from Kharkiv @kateinkharkiv.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This is Radio Svoboda interview with the volunteer working with Oleshky. Everyone should hear/read this! Iryna-Ester Vrataryova, volunteer: "People describe the horror, the total genocide. This famine has reached such a scale that,
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WATERSHED Investigations @watershed-i.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
TONIGHT: 10pm, BBC + ITV News, + in The Times online We tested people living near a chemical plant in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire for PFAS. Tune in to find out what we uncovered. More on the background to the situation in Thornton-Cleveleys via the link below: share.google/g2HJYCoTglTs...
share.google
Thornton families' cancer fears in shadow of 'forever chemical' plant
People in Thorton in Lancashire had been advised not to eat locally-grown produce over contamination fears.
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Kate from Kharkiv @kateinkharkiv.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Please share the information about Oleshky everywhere you can! ​Russia is starving residents of the town and nearby villages by denying food supplies and evacuation. People in Oleshky need help, or else they won't survive the winter!
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
There is a lot of misinformation about the UK social security spending. The chart below shows Total UK social security spending as a percentage of GDP, 2013/14 to 2030/31 (spending & forecast) 55% goes to pensioners, the remainder covers everything else. lordslibrary.parliament.uk/welfare-refo...
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Mic Wright @brokenbottleboy.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Burnham reappointed Shabana Mahmood, Polly. He’s not going to lead you out of this. He’s going to keep it going while being folksy about regional names for bread rolls www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
There is a racism and cohesion crisis in Britain, and someone needs to lead us out of it. His name is Andy Burnham | Polly Toynbee
I want him to start the fightback next week against extremists who peddle hate and those who despise this country. That would be true patriotism, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee
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Richard Corbett CBE @richardcorbett.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Nonsense! Gas prices have risen across Europe, Africa & the Middle East. It’s not peculiar to Britain. What Monaco-based tax avoider Ratcliffe is trying to do is blackmail the UK govt to bung him some taxpayers’ money by threatening to close some his Hull plants www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Sir Jim Ratcliffe suspends production at key UK plants blaming high gas prices
Ineos said natural gas in the UK is twelve times more expensive than in the US.
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sianushka.bsky.social @sianushka.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Asylum seeking people don’t have the freedom to work, they don’t even have the freedom to shop using cash or choose where to shop, in temp accommodation they don’t have the freedom to cook or choose their own food - honestly this headline is batshit
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Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Thousands of university jobs lost too, and barely a peep either.
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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 21/09/2026
The evidence is clear: countries with lower NEET rates than the UK get there almost entirely through higher rates of post-18 education. In these countries, more young people stay in education for longer and often combine it with work.
Comparison of OECD countries’ differences from the UK in 2024 for 18–24‑year‑old participation in education or work
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Fionna O’Leary @fascinatorfun.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Well. That looks systematic 😳 Standard Chartered, Citigroup and other international banks have handled billions of dollars from a Kremlin-backed fintech company that tricked its way into the global financial system with a vast document forgery operation. www.ft.com/content/3848...
ft.com
Kremlin-backed forgery scheme moved $6.9bn through global banks
FT finds thousands of Russian payments handled by Standard Chartered, Citigroup and other international groups in vast leak from inside fintech A7
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Prof Dynarski @dynarski.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Wtf www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
Meta bans ads for Virginia Woolf play in Spain because they relate to feminism
Meta tells theatre that Facebook and Instagram filter out ads mentioning ‘social topics’ such as civil rights or feminism
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Kate from Kharkiv @kateinkharkiv.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
"Unfortunately."
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David Wearing @davidwearing.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
"Concerns". In narrative and policy terms, the "legitimate concerns" paradigm must be one of the greatest political disasters of the modern era. A racism laundry run by centrist pundits and politicians, which has achieved one thing and one thing only: the mainstreaming of the far right.
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Leana Hosea @leanahosea.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
In New York, as air pollution fell, the toddlers' cognitive processing improved, the study found. In London, ULEZ coincided with improved lung health in children. When elected representatives take action to clean up air, our children benefit from better health: share.google/rnnWnmxNOzWF...
share.google
Improved air quality linked to better mental development in toddlers, study finds
Long-term research in New York shows efforts to reduce air pollution associated with higher cognitive test scores
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Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
How is this news? billionaire oil person says uk needs to drill more and tax less, though, of course, he‘s actually in Monaco. And he would do more in the uk if the state subsidised him more. Dear BBC, that‘s like me saying the uk‘s problem is underpaid law profs. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Billionaire Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe says he has lost confidence in UK
Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe tells the BBC he thinks the country is "on the slide" and calls for more investment in the North Sea.
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
PFAS in the blood of 97% of Americans
fortune.com
Data centers are swapping water for forever chemicals to keep AI cool | Fortune
A new ChemSec report finds most of the world's largest PFAS producers are expanding output to meet demand from AI data centers.
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Mike Galsworthy @mikegalsworthy.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
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A Jean Stevenson @amandajean.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
My 95 year old grandma cried when she heard people weren't vaccinating their kids against polio.
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Dave Andress @davidandress.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Well, there you are: official UK govt figures confirm it costs £3,000 a year more to teach the average undergraduate than they're willing to pay us. www.gov.uk/government/p... Now, they'll explain how that's our fault for greedily having almost no pay-rises for a decade...
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John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 18/09/2026
What on earth is happening?
  This had become the new normal. RNLI crew members had been forced to take their permits off their cars after their tyres have been repeatedly slashed. Most of them have been pilloried at the school gates or turned away from local pubs. One man who worked in search and rescue had been beaten unconscious and hospitalised, recognised for TV interviews he had done.
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
As former Labour minister Tom Watson joins Palantir, please read this devastating exposé by @petergeoghegan.bsky.social & @lucasamin.bsky.social of how the company, with Peter Mandelson's help, wormed its way into the UK government to sell its dire & dangerous products. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Peter Geoghegan and Lucas Amin · ‘This looks absolutely rubbish’: Palantir and the NHS
A decade ago Palantir was largely unknown in the UK. It now holds public contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds...
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Wayne Dickson @waynedickson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Oh my. I want one too.
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Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The hospitality industry are back lobbying for a VAT cut They don't mention the cost: £12bn They don't mention who gets the £: ❌ The smallest most vulnerable businesses? Get nothing ❌ Consumers? Prices won't fall ✅ McDonald's gets £400m. Big chains are big winners 🧵:
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Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
OK then. Fuck off.
Screenshot from The Australian

“OpenAI’s ultimatum to PM: dilute creatives’ rights or we won’t discuss renewables”
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
Trump's foreign policy is not isolationist. On the contrary, his ideologues want to build an international empire run by far-right political movements who serve American crypto, mineral and tech companies, many with links to the president. Read more here: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
theatlantic.com
Empire of Grift
Far-right ideologues have transformed American foreign policy into a tool of private gain and antidemocratic reaction.
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Wayne Dickson @waynedickson.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Me? I entered politics to do pointless performative crap.
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HOPE not hate @hopenothate.org.uk · 14/09/2026
🧵 Peter Keeley, a former MI5 agent who spent 15 years undercover in the IRA, now works for Stephen Lennon AKA Tommy Robinson. He’s supplying covertly-procured information while being supported by the British taxpayer. hopenothate.org.uk/lennons-secr...
hopenothate.org.uk
Lennon's Secret Agent
A former MI5 agent who operated as an IRA bomb maker is now working for Stephen Lennon. Despite still being supported by the British taxpayer, Peter Keeley appears to have broken the law by supplying ...
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Damian Carrington @dpcarrington.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
‘Tidal wave’ of #Pfas being launched to satisfy #AI industry, campaigners warn www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘Tidal wave’ of Pfas being launched to satisfy AI industry, campaigners warn
Big manufacturers planning to produce more of the forever chemicals to meet demand from datacentres
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Everyone’s Favourite Jim @jimmeruk.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Cunts have just stolen my bike from the garage and fucked my garage door. If anyone sees this around Croydon, let me know.
Norco Threshold A1 with orange Brooks bartape and saddle.
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
What I don't understand about Rayner's comments on banning crypto donations is, once more, that these *are not* donations in crypto, they're donations from crypto billionaires The donations aren't in crypto because pretty much nobody does anything in crypto (except money launders, drug dealers etc)
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Wayne Dickson @waynedickson.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Yes, I always lament the specific heat capacity of water after diving into my pool when the temperature isn't quite right.
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
British democracy is being bought by crypto billionaires We need to do something to stop it - urgently www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...
telegraph.co.uk
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Digital Warrior - Combat Disinfo @digitalwarrior.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
1/ Nature researchers ran a real-world experiment on X’s algorithm. Turning it ON shifted users’ political views rightward. But turning it OFF did not simply move them back. The reason may be the most important finding in the study. #DV1 #ProudBlue #Voices4Victory #USDemocracy
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
🔴Could what’s happened in US – the corruption, the abuse of power – happen here, I asked Patrick Radden Keefe? He didn’t hesitate. “I don’t think Britain is far behind, honestly.” Read/watch full interview w/London Failing author on Democracy for Sale democracyforsale.substack.com/p/power-corr...
democracyforsale.substack.com
Power, corruption & lies with Patrick Radden Keefe
As crypto billionaire Ben Delo gives £36m to Reform, the acclaimed London Falling author tells us why he thinks Britain may not be far behind Trump’s America.
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Luke Turner @luketurner.com · 12/09/2026
As Ben Delo's record £36m Reform donation is headline news, I can't emphasise enough that the media ought to be reporting on Delo's heinous funding of antisemitic conspiracy theorists in the High Court – anonymous contributors to the horrifying neo-Nazi account shown below. bsky.app/profile/luke...
A sample of neo-Nazi posts by the @ParallaxOptics account, displaying grotesque antisemitic caricatures and violent Jew hate.The @ParallaxOptics account's banner image depicting Adolf Hitler.Post by @ParallaxOptics of an article anonymously written by Nina Power and Daniel Miller: ON CULTS II "If we're proposing the the Left is a cult, the first question is what do cults want in general?"
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Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
It's hard to see how this isn't the outcome the far right wanted and achieved by their actions at the weekend. That feeling will be reinforced by the government "clarifying" condemnation by accepting bogus "legitimate concerns" arguments against providing safety. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Two ports denied request to land 120 migrants in RNLI boats
The King's Harbour Master and Southampton Port both declined to allow migrants ashore on Sunday.
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