Elizabeth Preston

@inkfish.bsky.social

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Science journalist, humor writer and aspiring cephalopod. Working on a book about the evolution of parenting.

elizabethgpreston.com

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Regarding that histamine receptor paper: 🧪

my prior on any & all "alternate receptors for SARSCoV2" results remains "artefactual/false unless *extremely* carefully & robustly demonstrated" & no this paper does not qualify.

🧪 This paper says that the Covid virus uses histamine receptors to help it enter our cells, and that ordinary antihistamines can prevent mice from being infected. This seems exciting? But the only coverage I saw was on...Newsmax?? Someone tell me what I'm missing. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

The histamine receptor H1 acts as an alternative receptor for SARS-CoV-2 | mBiojournals.asm.org In addition to human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can utilize alternative cofactors to facilitate viral entry. In this study, we discov...

What I really want to know is, is someone doing the study that will tell me whether I can pop a Zyrtec whenever I need to be around people and stop worrying about Covid? I'm so tired

This is probably the @mcsweeneys.bsky.social headline I think of most often. www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/in-... (from 2018)

In Order to Keep Our Editorial Page Completely Balanced, We Are Hiring More Dipshitswww.mcsweeneys.net Here at the New York Times, we believe that all sides of the story should be tolerated and explored, from white supremacists being actually kinda c...

She also told me "We saw an animal!" "What kind of animal?" "It was called a fog." "A frog?" "No, a FOG." "I've...never heard of that animal." "It looked like a deer." "Fawn, honey. You saw a fawn."

Picked my 7-year-old up from her first day of forest camp. Her: "We had a word of the day! And...it wasn't abomination? Something like that." Me: "Um. Do you know what it meant?" Her: "Something that makes you better, like a bunny has long ears." Me: (trained for this moment) "Adaptation!!" 🧪

Reply to

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson

Not that I know of, and usually I see a mix of honeybees, bumblebees, many little waspy things. The zucchinis are down the block at a community garden with many flowers.

Are anyone else's pollinators missing? 🐝 I'm in MA and my hydrangeas are usually swarming with bees (like, children don't want to walk past) but right now are empty. My zucchinis are normally robust but this year I have only small, misshapen ones and I think they're under-pollinated. 🧪

OUT: scale bar IN: scale guy EVEN BETTER: scale guy in peril (figure source: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...) 🧪

Reply to

Jarrett Byrnes

We only need to be on Mass Ave for literally one block in Arlington, but it involves a left turn from the bike lane across three lanes of traffic. Next time I'm taking the sidewalk/crosswalk because I like being alive!

Last week I faced my fear of biking on Boston-area streets and rode my bike to pick up my 4-year-old from daycare. She loved it, but turning off Mass Ave was hairy. This morning I asked if we should bike again and she said "Yes!!...Do a better job," and kissed me on the leg.

Reply to

Birds, Snakes, etc

The paper did say that they often see one female pursued by up to three males at a time.

Can anyone who's tried this report back? 🧪

Reposted by

Elizabeth Preston

Google's AI Overviews must create entirely new information in response to a search query. That costs an estimated *30 times* more energy than simply extracting information from a source through a traditional search. 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/what... by @parshallison.bsky.social

What Do Google’s AI Answers Cost the Environment?www.scientificamerican.com Google is bringing AI answers to a billion people this year, but generative AI requires much more energy than traditional keyword searches

Signs I’ve been working on this book too long: I told another parent on our camping trip that while the proximate cause for my daughter’s swimming tantrum was the water was too cold, the ultimate cause was she never ate her afternoon snack. 🧪

Reply to

Jo Wolfe, PhD

I noticed!

Just learned that a friend's kid's school has a whole spirit MONTH to end the year, AND SIMULTANEOUSLY a kindergarten-specific 26-day alphabet countdown (F = friendship day, M = mismatch day, etc.) and I'm never complaining again.

🧪 I have something important to share here, and it’s my first-grader’s crab haiku: Crabs Hiding behind rocks. Crabs making lot’s of babies. Pinching people hard.

Reposted by

Elizabeth Preston

one of the most charming things about human beings is that they need explainers like this, something literally no other creatures in the animal kingdom need at all

Adding this to my collection of creepy-ass inaccurate AI animals available from stock photo sites:

Why does this exist? It's labeled "baby orangutan" but it looks like the computer mashed up a Furby and Chewbacca. Is someone paying to license this?

The most effective motivator for me to stop scrolling social media is when my four-year-old asks me sincerely, “What are you looking for?”

Reposted by

Elizabeth Preston

I am going to be really blunt here. My friend is dying of cancer. I wanted to get him a bunch of attention and at least a few art sales and I am failing so far 😞 Can you help?

I wrote about one of my art friends who has been dealing with cancer for six years. Please take a look substack.com/home/post/p-...

Matthew Parker: An Appreciationsubstack.com An artist on his work and living with cancer

Reposted by

Elizabeth Preston

Reply to

Hypervisible

No one has satisfactorily answered the fundamental question of why I should bother to read something you couldn't be bothered to write

Was driving around with my 4-year-old yesterday when she piped up from the back seat: "Mommy, how come the signs says DO NOT EVER, but they don't tell you what you're not supposed to do?"

Reposted by

Elizabeth Preston

I see another "it is impossible to make a living writing" post making the rounds so I just want to tell you again about something the Icelandic government does. They give writers salaries to write books. Icelandic is such a small language, which makes for a very small book market ... 🧵

Reply to

Bethany Brookshire

See also: people saying “nervous system” when they just mean…anxiety? “Reset your nervous system!” “How to have a healthy nervous system!” Guys everything you do is your nervous system, what are we talking about

Reposted by

Elizabeth Preston

I am not a real doctor but I am a real worm (gift link) wapo.st/3ydvblk

Opinion | I’m the worm that ate part of RFK Jr.’s brain, and I’m asking for your votewapo.st I am brave enough to say: I am a parasite, and I don’t understand what is best for the country!

Recently decided to tackle a weedy, ugly strip next to my house. Right after I started digging everything up, a 4-year-old neighbor walked by and said "Wow!! You're...doin something!" and that's the kind of validation I wish for all of you today.

Current status: Sitting in a zoom room where my interviewee didn't show up, and using the time to email a different person who ghosted me earlier in the week. Do we think my editor will be mad if my final three book chapters are fiction?

In 2024 I've started assuming I won't get a reply to my first email. Of course, sometimes I also stop getting replies in the middle of a thread. Pretty sure I've had more ghosting and non-responding this year than ever before.