per conoscere, per riflettere, per costruire reti

One of the complexities in talking about #omicron is that we are constantly talking about the variant’s properties on two levels: in a naive population and in an immune population (in reality many populations with different levels of immunity) That matters.

@kakape | Kai Kupferschmidt | 30.12.2021

Routine UK COVID data will become increasingly hard to interpret over the coming week, so a humble suggestion after a long year: take a bit of a Twitter break, stay safe and enjoy the festive period. Merry Christmas everyone

@AdamJKucharski | Adam Kucharski | 22.12.2021




I’ve worked on infectious disease outbreaks for 30 years. I’ve NEVER seen anything like the speed of Omicron. It’s as infectious as measles spreading in a non-immune population, with a much shorter incubation time therefore much faster doubling time. Hope it’s a lot less severe.




@DrTomFrieden | Tom Frieden | 21.12.2021

I honestly cannot believe that we’re living in a country where our govt is acting against scientific advice once again, and delaying action on rapid exponential growth, fully aware of the consequences- for the fourth time- a stance normalised by a complicit media.




@dgurdusani1 | Deepti Gurdusani | 21.12.2021

Peter Norvig, one of the best people in high-tech, now at Stanford University, tells us about AI data and modeling in the real world:

@EdwardTufte | Edward Tufte | 21.12.2021

Our pre-print (ie. not yet peer-reviewed) on ‘bad trials’ is just out. In our cohort, 1013/1640 (62%) trials were high risk of bias (bad) and we estimated that these cost between £726 million and £8 billion.

@shauntrewick | Shaun Trewick | 21.12.2021

Rafael Nadal tested positive for the coronavirus after returning to Spain from a tennis tournament in Abu Dhabi. His positive test could affect his plans for the Australian Open next month.




@nytimes | The New York Times | 21.12.2021

There are many places where the loss of a few people with particular skills can bring the entire enterprise to a halt—what is worrying is that the NHS is one of them.

@bmj_latest | The BMJ | 21.12.2021

La cosa che mi chiedo fin dal primo giorno della pandemia è perché abbiano messo in campo ogni genere di competenza tranne qualcuno che capisse di comunicazione. Uno che fosse volto e voce del governo e delle sue decisioni e le sapesse spiegare. Su questo siamo ancora a zero.

@gloquenzi | Giancarlo Loquenzi | 21.12.2021

Trasloco significa sconvolgimento dell’ordine degli oggetti usuale e costituzione di un nuovo ordine, mentre l’inconscio protesta come un gatto sradicato dalle proprie abitudini. Nel frattempo restare aggrappati al cellulare, unico ordine che non cambia.

@pecoraro_fr | Francesco Pecoraro | 18.12.2021

Non so se succede a tutti, forse sì, e forse no, ma io, quando comincio un libro e non riesco a finirlo, ho l’impressione che non sia colpa mia, che sia colpa di chi l’ha scritto.

@paolonori | Paolo Nori | 15.12.2021

When you fail to act in a prudent way when there is a serious contagious disease afoot, you place OTHERS at risk, including the health care workers you assume will be there to care for you.

@NAChristakis | Nicholas A. Christakis | 13.12.2021

Officer Goodman and everyone who saved American democracy this year is my #personoftheyear.




@ColinAllredTX | Colin Allred | 13.12.2021

Covid-19 becoming a milder disease is not a decision the virus will make, it’s a decision that all of us can make if we take advantage of the vaccines that can control spread and reduce the burden of this disease

@HelenBranswell | Helen Branswell | 10.12.2021

A sketch to explain how a new variant may appear milder even with no change in underlying virulence. This can occur because, when calculating the fraction of cases that are severe, the denominator now includes many re-infections that had previously been averted.




@nataliexdean | Natalie E. Dean | 09.12.2021

Lowering drug prices would help tens of millions of Americans finally afford the medications their doctors prescribe them. And it would NOT mean that we’ll lose out on important innovation.

@ZekeEmanuel | Zeke Emanuel | 08.12.2021

1.3 billion people live in Africa. This is enough vaccine to give ~0.7% of the population 1 dose. You can’t end a pandemic with the vaccine supply equivalent of table scraps, nor by patting yourself on the back for your supposed generosity.

@angie_rasmussen | Angela Rasmussen | 03.12.2021