If you are still considering where to go this summer, BBC advertises Latvia. I recommend :) www.bbc.com/travel/artic...

Visai politiskajai jezgai pa vidu arī laba ziņa - beidzot (beidzot!) Saeima pieņēma Biobanku likumu. Izpētīju savā epastā, ka darba grupa tika izveidota 2016. gadā. 🥂https://lvportals.lv/dienaskartiba/389747-saeima-pienem-biobanku-likumu-stiprinot-pamatus-precizijas-medicinas-attistibai-2026

Plenary session: Q. How different should African code for research integrity be? A. Principles are universal, but there still are nuances that might need a "homegrown" approach. #WCRI2026

Very interesting presentations on research security. How is/is not research security assessment connected to research ethics evaluation? Should there be a connection? #WCRI2026

Great questions from the audience during WCRI2026: how much are journals earning from paper mill products and how it influences their willingness to detect paper mill products? #WCRI2026

Venēcijā - tas ir kultūras trops un standartsituācija, kas ir variēta dažādu jomu mākslasdarbos. Tādējādi Kriša Salmaņa plakāts - protesta rīks pret Krievijas dalību Venēcijas mākslas biennālē un citos kultūras pasākumos - #BiennaleArte2026 #inminorkeys

For #PhilSky aficionados, here’s a cartoon from a recent @newyorker.com:

Paula Stradiņa Medicīnas vēstures muzejs š.g. 8.-9. jūnijā aicina klausītājus apmeklēt starptautisku simpoziju "Reproductive Health in Fragile Democracies: Bodies, Technologies and Futures". Apmeklējums bez maksas ar iepriekšēju reģistrāciju (līdz ~07.05.). Reģ.forma šeit: www.mvm.lv/en/what-s-on...

Our newest paper.

Philosophy was mostly "armchair" in the mid-20th century—but it's not anymore! Philosophers have increasingly cited empirical sources and discussed empirical data and evidence. In fact, as of the 2020s, non-empirical philosophy has become the minority.

I hope no one needs an MRI this year. The world's largest producer of liquified helium is in Qatar and is shut off. We just got a notice that our supply for the year will be at least cut in half. No one could have predicted this (unless they thought about it).

This rarely-seen Glass Octopus was caught by an underwater robot during an expedition off the Phoenix Islands.

To celebrate International Women’s Day, read a good book by a female author about strong women. My suggestion: The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. www.goodreads.com/book/show/46...

always loved this book

From my point of view, this seems very important. The metaphors we use when we speak and think about generative AI matter. If we frame it as a tool, tutor or assistant, it raises particular concerns. www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/gene...

The strongest version of this illusion I’ve seen! Absolute head-wrecker!

I'll count this hilarious @bergerandwyse cartoon as a map 😉 🗺️ 🐦️

Today is UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science! Hope you are celebrating! Here are some forgotten heroes. www.lostwomenofscience.org

Starp citu, te ir brīnišķīgs resurss, kur paskatīties, vai kaut ko nevar aizstāt ar Eiropas produktiem. Labi saprotu, ka tāda lieta, kā Zoom vai Teams aizstāšana ir grūta, jo vajag panākt, lai to akceptētu visas iesaistītās puses, bet tomēr. Varianti ir, un ir gandrīz visam. european-alternatives.eu

Ja ir taisnība, ka piektdien LU notikušajā konferencē par šī projekta rezultātiem nebija iespējas uzdot jautājumus un debatēt, tad rodas bažas par akadēmiskās brīvības principa ievērošanu. Zinātniska konference pēc būtības ir vieta debatēm.

Loved this. In general, I really enjoy McEwan’s writing. This 2006 book offers a one-day insight into the life and mind of a London-based neurosurgeon. www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

NEW: Kennedy's plan to study Hep. B vaccine in African babies has been suspended by Guinea-Bissau. Experts say the trial is unethical in a nation where 1 in 5 kids are exposed to Hep. B, which can take decades off their lives. HHS: the trial is "paused." www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/h...

Mycology is amazing. "Every year, doctors at a hospital in the Yunnan Province of China brace themselves for an influx of people with an unusual complaint. The patients come with a strikingly odd symptom: visions of pint-sized, elf-like figures..." www.bbc.com/future/artic...

Wondering why it's so important to empower educators in research ethics? 🤔 Our irecs team from the AUMC Train-the-Trainer event share their insights on this key topic for advancing research integrity. Watch now to hear their perspectives! ➡️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY7u... #ResearchEthics

Svētku pusdienas Eiropas Padomes ēdnīcā.

Great reading: "But the kids know, and they know that the other kids know, and they know that we don’t know shit. Children have always looked for a world without us. With the advent of the Internet, they have found one lying in the rubble." unpublishablepapers.substack.com/p/where-do-t...

JVLMA zinātniskā un radošā darba prorektore Diāna Zandberga līdz galam nesaprot studētāju mērķus:"Lūk, visi ieraudzīja tikai šo naudas summu, un tas kļuva par to varbūt pat mērķi, jo citus gadus visi stājās ar domu attīstīt sevi, sasniegt augstākus mākslinieciskus mērķus." www.lsm.lv/raksts/kultu...

Maastricht University has withdrawn a 2022 news release that claimed overweight and obesity cost Dutch society 79 billion euros annually, due to a calculation error. Additionally, questions have been raised about undisclosed conflicts of interest. nltimes.nl/2025/11/11/m...

This is alarming and unacceptable. Europe continues to uphold a strong ethical stance on embryo editing, while the US remains worryingly unpredictable. www.technologyreview.com/2025/10/31/1...

⚖️ Signe Mežinska shared updates and new plans from Work Package 8: Ethical aspects and social consequences of intergenerational transmission of risk and prediction of mental illness. @signemezinska.bsky.social @ivarsneiders.bsky.social

Man šķiet, ka uz visiem iebildumiem pret pretvardarbības konvenciju vislabāko atbildi sniedza labklājības ministrs Uldis Augulis pirms nieka diviem gadiem (no 4. minūtes). Šo tagad vajadzētu uz katra stūra nonstopā atskaņot. replay.lsm.lv/lv/skaties/i...

Sometimes it is not only about values, but also about optics. In Latvia we discuss local political gambles behind yesterday's vote for the country to leave the Istanbul Convention, from the outside, it is clear - Latvia follows Hungary, Slovakia and other countries that head East.

Aizgāju gulēt Latvijā, pamodos Ungārijā. (Patiesībā jau sagaidīju balsojumu).

Šis ir ļoti satraucoši - pacientu drošības ignorēšana, pārprasta lojalitāte profesionālajā vidē un "gan jau būs labi" attieksme.

"Sorbonne University plans to leave the Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings [..] most of these rankings are “black boxes” whose methods not only raise ethical questions but also fail to cover the breadth and diversity of university contributions." sciencebusiness.net/news/univers...

"About 67% of all antidepressant and antipsychotic treatment episodes in the 700 included patients (mean age = 14.6 years, girls = 67%) were off-label." link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Just a fact: During the 2024-2025 school year, PEN America recorded 6,870 instances of book bans across 23 states and 87 public school districts. pen.org/report/the-n...

It occurred to me that we need Contributor Statements (like CRediT), except to describe various uses of Gen-AI in research. But like all decent thoughts, someone else had it first. I really like what this group has done. Their tool is useful: www.leidenmadtrics.nl/articles/gai... #researchintegrity

Noteikti vērts noklausīties, lai labāk saprastu zinātnes būtību replay.lsm.lv/lv/klausies/...

Recent MDPI paper including diagram of a bacterial cell with a mitochondrion 🤦‍♀️ The authors propose a mechanism for the toxicity of silver nanoparticles: "Ag+ ions in AgNPs bombard the bacterial mitochondria’s electron transport chain, resulting in cell death".

Research: low productivity gains from AI may stem from employees using AI to produce "workslop", or low-effort, passable work that creates more work for others (Harvard Business Review) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

Can large language models stand in for human participants? Many social scientists seem to think so, and are already using "silicon samples" in research. One problem: depending on the analytic decisions made, you can basically get these samples to show any effect you want. THREAD 🧵

Šodien gadījās runāt ar senioriem par pacientu tiesībām veselības aprūpē. Nekādi nepamet sajūta, cik ļoti aplami, ja jāstāsta senioriem par to, kā viņiem labāk aizstāvēt savas tiesības situācijās, kurās visu iesaistīto neapšaubāms pienākums jau sākotnēji būtu nodrošināt šo tiesību īstenošanu.

This is another wake-up call about what is happening with scientific literature, which is being flooded by template papers produced by paper mills. One example is the use of open-access databases like FAERS or NHANES, combined with analyses that rely on biased or incorrect methodologies.

What could be more cheerful than Arvo Pärt dancing on the morning of his 90th birthday? His birthday concert in Riga was also absolutely stunning. www.reddit.com/r/classicalm...

The Russians are showing the same disregard for marine wildlife as they do for human life, by dispatching an increasing number of non-ice class ships to sail on the Northern Sea Route. To prevent an environmental disaster, the Russian shadow fleet must be blocked.

INSPECT-SR has launched today — a new tool for researchers to detect problematic randomized controlled trials. 🔗 Find out more here: www.cochrane.org/about-us/new... #INSPECTSR #ClinicalTrials #EvidenceBasedMedicine #SystematicReviews #ResearchIntegrity

Here we are: "This non-profit grassroots site identifies and verifies courses where ALL student work is done in person, offline, and on paper. " certifiedaifreeskillsandknowledge.org