Science

🌍 NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, in collaboration with data from the World Meteorological Organization, merges satellite observations, advanced models, and immense computing power to monitor aerosols in our atmosphere. These tiny, invisible solid or liquid particles — including black carbon (orange/red), sea salt (cyan), dust (magenta), and sulfates (green) — travel vast distances, affecting air quality, human health, climate, and visibility far from their source. 🔹 In South America, black carbon from wildfires burning in the Amazon rainforest drifts across the continent. 🔹 Over the Atlantic, massive plumes of dust from Northern Africa journey westward toward the Americas, influencing ecosystems, weather, and even hurricane formation. This striking visualization, powered by NASA’s Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model and informed by WMO’s authoritative climate data, delivers realistic, high-resolution weather and aerosol insights. These data streams fuel #AI innovation and help provide customized environmental predictions — critical tools for #climateresilience and disaster preparedness #EW4ALL. ➡ A reminder: Every particle tells a story about the planet’s interconnected systems — and our shared responsibility to protect them

If your paper is getting rejected, it isn’t necessarily the science that’s the problem (it’s likely the journal fit that’s off!). Here’s how you can be be strategic about journal selection. How do I choose the right scientific journal? ↳ Analyze your citation list and target relevant publications. Can impact factor really determine journal quality? ↳ Look beyond numbers, focus on specialized audience fit. How to avoid predatory journal publication traps? ↳ Verify journal reputation before submitting your research. Will editors help improve my manuscript? ↳ Follow author guidelines meticulously. Navigating the academic publication landscape can feel like traversing a complex maze. As a professor, I've learned that selecting the right journal is both an art and a science. Here's a game-changing approach I've developed: 1. Conduct a citation audit: Count journals you've referenced most frequently. These are likely your ideal publication targets. 2. Beyond Impact Factor: Don't get fixated on numbers. A lower-ranked journal with a specialized audience might be more valuable than a high-impact generic publication. 3. Beware of predatory journals: If an unsolicited email promises quick publication for a fee, run! Legitimate open-access journals conduct rigorous peer review. 4. Craft a strategic cover letter: Suggest credible reviewers, highlight your paper's novelty, and demonstrate professionalism. 5. Patience is key: Most journals reject approximately 50% of submissions. Don't be discouraged - each submission is a learning opportunity. Pro tip: Always read and follow the journal's specific author guidelines. This shows you're a detail-oriented, professional researcher. Have you ever struggled with selecting the right scientific journal for your research? What challenges have you encountered? #science #scientist #ScientificCommunication #publishing #phd #professor #research #postgraduate

A new resource to clarify net-zero standards at COP 29! Reaching net zero is hard enough without all the competing definitions, initiatives, and frameworks! That's why I love this work from John Lang and the Net Zero Tracker team that compares and clarifies the most important net zero standards for private sector actors! They explore the differences and numerous commonalities across: - 'Integrity Matters' recommendations by the UN Expert Group on Net Zero - Corporate Net-Zero Standard by the Science Based Targets initiative - Race to Zero criteria by the High-Level Climate Champions - Net Zero Guidelines by ISO - International Organization for Standardization - Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor by NewClimate Institute - A landscape review of net zero standards by Oxford Net Zero You can see perspectives on transition plans, offsets, target-setting and more right here: https://lnkd.in/ezRedS8k #climate #netzero #cop29 #greenertogether #decarbonization #esg #sustainabilitystandards #un #climateaction #emissions #sustainability

A couple of news items have me thinking. And frankly, getting a bit agitated. The first was the news that the Kiwisaver gender gap has got worse in the past year. New research from Te Ara Ahunga Ora The Retirement Commission shows a 36 percent gap between the amount men and women are putting into KiwiSaver each year, far outpacing the actual gender pay gap. Men and women are contributing the same percentage of their salaries, but women are disadvantaged by working part-time and taking greater (unpaid) care responsibilities. The other bit of not-unrelated news, is the NZ Herald’s list of top-earning CEOs. Of the top 10 - just one woman. In the 54 CEOs surveyed: seven women. In the immortal words of Carrie Bradshaw: I couldn’t help but wonder… WTF is going on here? How have we not come further? Of those top 10 CEO’s companies, how many are reporting on their gender pay gaps? (The answer, according to the Mind the Gap registry: 4) Is there a relationship between perimenopause/menopause support (or lack of it) and the lack of women in CEO roles in our top organisations? AND between perimenopause/menopause and the Kiwisaver gender gap? I think there might be. We know, for example, from the work of Sarah Hogan who found in her NZIER research that 14% of women said they had to reduce their working hours to manage their menopause symptoms, and 6% had changed roles. Twenty percent of women who experienced symptoms said it would have been helpful to be able to make adjustments, but they never requested any, mostly because of menopause and gendered ageism stigma. All of us who are working in menopause education have heard stories from women who - at a critical stage in their careers in midlife - have made the call to step back rather than step up into senior roles, because of the challenges of menopause and the lack of support for them in their organisations. We have to talk more about this. In fifty years we’ve made so little progress… we REALLY don’t want our granddaughters to be still facing these kinds of shocking statistics in fifty years’ time. 

For decades, we’ve been told “we need to save the planet”. But the truth is, the planet will be fine. Over billions of years it’s weathered asteroid impacts, ice ages, and mass extinctions at a scale we can hardly imagine. What’s at stake now is something far more fragile: us. That’s the message at the heart of a new Lancet article which argues that as the climate warms and ecosystems falter, we are no longer facing a purely environmental crisis, but a full-scale public health emergency. Environmental breakdown is no longer altering only forests, coastlines, and deserts. It is disrupting the very foundations of human health and wellbeing: our bodies. The true costs of planetary breakdown are not found in charts. They are found in neonatal units and cancer registries, in stolen potential, and in the quiet grief of families facing wholly preventable illnesses and deaths. Recognising that human and planetary health are inseparable should not just sharpen our sense of urgency, it must fundamentally reshape how we govern, invest, and lead. For the last 150 years, we have been dismantling the very foundations of prosperity and doing so in the name of prosperity itself. There was a time where we could feign ignorance, but that time has long passed. The science is clear. The risks are measurable. The costs are already being paid in hospital admissions, in economic disruption, and in the slow erosion of public trust. What remains in doubt is not the data, but whether those in power are prepared to govern in accordance with the world as it is, not as it once was.

Why so few female professors? 🔹97% of female professors say "barriers within academia" such as "implicit bias in evaluations, male networks and an unwelcoming academic culture" play an important role. 🔹Only 22% of male professors mention such barriers. Instead, male professors are more likely to point to "family factors" and "women's own interests and preferences". 🔹A majority of male professors shows "hesitation, uneasiness or reluctance when asked how the low proportion of female professors can be explained". Only 3% of female professors do so. These are among the key results of a study by sociologists Margaretha Järvinen and Nanna Mik-Meyer, based on 77 qualitative interviews with full professors in economics, political science, and sociology in Denmark. Moreover, the study identifies "a ‘silent standpoint’ among the participating male professors: the idea that women are generally less qualified than men as candidates for full professorships." Read the full study here: Margaretha Järvinen and Nanna Mik-Meyer (2026), The Silent Standpoint: How Professors Explain Gender Disparities in Academia, British Journal of Sociology, forthcoming: https://lnkd.in/eG6UkJ6x (open access) The quotes from the interviews in the "Supporting information" file are also quite illuminating. HT Marie Rosenkrantz Lindegaard

💥A nanorobot just killed a cancer cell. Not with chemicals. But with intelligence. This microscopic machine hides its weapon inside a DNA nanostructure — and only unlocks it in the tumor’s microenvironment. Healthy cells stay untouched. As Professor Björn Högberg from Karolinska Institutet explains: “If you were to administer it as a drug, it would indiscriminately start killing cells in the body... To get around this, we’ve hidden the weapon inside a nanostructure built from DNA.” What most people don’t know: These DNA nanostructures aren’t just passive containers. They can sense, decide, and act — like tiny programmable agents operating inside the human body. It’s not science fiction anymore. It’s agentic medicine. My take: We talk about AI transforming business — but the next frontier is AI transforming biology. When intelligence becomes molecular, health stops being reactive and becomes adaptive. We’re not just curing diseases; we’re teaching cells how to defend themselves. It’s a glimpse of what happens when biology meets computation — and when humans stop programming code, and start programming life. #AI #Nanotechnology #Medicine #DNA #Innovation #AgenticAI

𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 👇 2024 appeared to be the year of Small Molecules, I&I, and Oncology. CGT remains a tough sell for many investors, but 2025 is looking more optimistic overall. VCs I speak with are showing a growing appetite for risk, with dry powder ready to deploy, AZ's acquisition of EsoBiotec certainly helped. As a biotech recruiter working closely with VC-backed founders/ investors - 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 1. Lead with Clinical and Commercial Clarity: Investors prioritise companies with robust early-stage clinical data showing both safety and efficacy. A well-articulated commercialisation path can significantly increase attractiveness. 2. Diversify Financing Sources: Beyond VCs, pursue strategic partnerships with large pharma, apply for grants, and explore public market options (e.g., IPOs, SPACs). Don’t overlook non-dilutive funding sources. It's vital. 3. Capital Efficiency & Milestone Discipline: Burn rate matters. Emphasise your capital runway, milestone planning, and how each raise de-risks the business. Metrics like “cost per development stage” or “cash to IND” can build confidence in your execution discipline. 4. Regulatory Pathway: For novel modalities (e.g., gene editing, cell therapy), clearly outlining your regulatory strategy — Fast Track, RMAT, Breakthrough — helps investors evaluate time-to-market with greater confidence. Is there anything vital you would add? Source: Evercore with a great graphical breakdown. #biotech #oncology #celltherapy #CGTweekly

I’ve worked on AI my whole life because I’ve always believed it could unlock the ability to answer some of the biggest and most intractable problems in science. Our first big science breakthrough happened five years ago when we announced our solution to the protein structure prediction problem: AlphaFold 2. It has been incredible to see its impact since then. More than 3 million researchers across 190 countries have used this tool for disease understanding, drug discovery and more. And it was an honour of a lifetime for our work to be recognised last year with a Nobel Prize. One of our greatest ambitions is for AI to aid in accelerating drug design and help cure all diseases. This is what led me to found Isomorphic Labs, which is already making amazing progress. We’ve also expanded AlphaFold to predict the interactions of all of life’s molecules. But AlphaFold represents more than a solution to a biological puzzle. It demonstrated how AI can crack ‘root node’ problems - where a single breakthrough unlocks entire new avenues of research. It is a critical step towards a long-held dream of mine: building a virtual cell. Imagine running ‘in silico’ experiments orders of magnitude faster than in a wet lab. Scientists could rapidly test hypotheses, model complex pathways and see how a drug affects a cell. It would be an incredible boon not only for fundamental biology but also for medicine. Although for me, AlphaFold was never just about biology. It was the first major proof point for a much larger thesis: that AI could be the ultimate tool for advancing science. By processing data or helping us come up with new hypotheses, I think AI will help us tackle some of humanity’s greatest challenges and answer fundamental questions about the universe. From materials design to fusion energy to mathematics, I believe we’re on the cusp of a new golden age of discovery. We’re just getting started. Read more about AlphaFold’s impact: https://lnkd.in/eNeqxqQp

7 daily habits I avoid as an orthopedic surgeon - because they quietly damage your body. You don’t notice them right away. But over time, they wear down your joints, disrupt your posture, and raise your injury risk. Here are things I’ve learned to say no to - and what I recommend instead. ▶︎ 1. Sitting for more than 2 hours at a stretch Your spine isn’t built for stillness. Prolonged sitting increases disc pressure by 40%, slows circulation, and weakens your core - fast-tracking back pain. → So set a 90-minute timer. Stand up, stretch, reset. Your back will thank you. ▶︎ 2. Ignoring strength training, especially after 30 Muscle loss begins in your 30s. By 70, most people lose up to 30% of their lean mass. That means weaker joints and higher fall risk as you age. → Even 2 weight training sessions a week makes a difference. ▶︎ 3. Sleeping on my stomach This is brutal on your spine. Sleeping this way keeps your neck rotated and your lower back extended for hours - which adds up to pain and tightness over time. → Try to sleep on your side or back. Using a knee or body pillow can also help. ▶︎ 4. Staying inactive all week, then overdoing it on the weekend 5 days of physical inactivity followed by a sudden burst of intense exercise puts your tendons, ligaments, and joints under pressure they’re not prepared for. → Focus on consistency. Even 20 mins of exercise a day is enough. ▶︎ 5. Wearing unsupportive footwear all day Flat, uncushioned soles may not hurt on day one. But over time, they increase loading on the heel, knee, and hip - especially on hard floors. → Choose footwear that offers structure, arch support, and shock absorption. ▶︎ 6. Ignoring early warning signs of pain That dull ache, that stiff shoulder - they’re whispers before the body starts screaming. Most surgeries could’ve been avoided with timely action. → If a specific area feels tight or painful for more than 4 days, get it checked. ▶︎ 7. Glorifying pushing through pain Working through discomfort occasionally is fine. But normalising pain, especially in joints or tendons often leads to bigger breakdowns later. → Don’t push yourself unnecessarily. Learn to listen to your body. Most injuries don’t happen in one big moment. They’re built over time -through repeated habits we didn’t think mattered. So if it made you rethink even one daily habit, someone else might need this too. Repost 🔁 to share the message. #healthandwellness #lifestyle #habits