Tag Archives for twitter

Stephen Colbert and Neil deGrasse Tyson disagree about PLUTO’s planet status! @neiltyson @StephenAtHome @NASANewHorizons

Very funny video interview with Stephen Colbert and Neil deGrasse Tyson in response to the NASA New Horizons flyby of PLUTO! Seen here, with article!

Colbert and Tyson also had quite a humorous exchange about PLUTO on twitter.

@NASANewHorizons will flyby Pluto tomorrow! Already sending amazing images of PLUTO!!

Who’s excited for the NASA spacecraft New Horizons Pluto flyby??? CauseScience is!!!!

[tweet https://twitter.com/NASA/status/620656430601895936] [tweet https://twitter.com/NASA/status/620641204653420546] [tweet https://twitter.com/NASANewHorizons/status/620638853360017410]

Jim Carrey throws anti-science twitter tantrum against California’s new vaccination law, makes fool of himself #science #irony

Earlier this week California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a contentious, but scientifically supported, bill enforcing strict school vaccination requirements!!! Following the signing, Jim Carrrey went on a rant on twitter raging against the bill.

Carrey claims that he’s not anti-vaccine, just anti- ‘toxins’ in vaccines. Too bad the science behind these compounds being ‘toxins’ is about as good as the science showing that vaccines cause autism (hint- its not good science). Apparently no one ever sent Jim Carrey this meme showing the basic chemistry difference between mercury and a mercury containing compound. #SCIENCE

Carrey can claim that he isn’t anti-vaccine, but he is still clearly misinformed when it comes to vaccines and science.

Lastly, Carrey included a picture in one of his anti-‘toxin’ tweets (below, the picture has been removed by twitter).

Turns out that the boy actually suffers from the disease Tuberous sclerosis, which has nothing to do with vaccines, but IS associated with autism. The boys mother couldn’t be more annoyed that her son’s image was misused by Carrey in such a way.

“Jim Carrey has a huge platform — a huge following — and is misrepresenting my son’s image by attaching it to his anti-vax rant,” Alex’s mother, Karen Echols, told BuzzFeed News by email.

Alex was born with a genetic syndrome called tuberous sclerosis, or TSC, which causes benign tumors to grow all over the body, including the brain. Many children with TSC have autism, including Alex.

Alex’s photo was removed from Carrey’s tweet on Wednesday night after Echols filed a copyright complaint to Twitter. (Echols’ first-ever tweet was to Carrey asking him to take the picture down.) The tweet had already been retweeted nearly 600 times.

Echols first found out about Carrey’s tweet when her brother-in-law posted it to her Facebook wall.​ Her sister, Elizabeth Welch, is also upset about Carrey using the photo out of context. “It kind of felt like he was mocking [Alex], and that’s what was upsetting,” Welch told BuzzFeed News.

“I’m very disgusted and sickened that a celebrity would use a photo like this that was used in the first place to spread awareness of Tuberous Sclerosis to mock him and and my sister for vaccinations,” Welch wrote. “Even if that was not his intended outcome, it is what happened.”

Apparently the hilarious, but scientifically misinformed, actor hasn’t learned the vaccines-cause-autism-etc-lesson from ex-wife Jenny McCarthy. Yikes!

Successful launch pad abort test for @NASA and @SpaceX Dragon crew capsule!! with video!!

Crew Dragon’s first critical flight test, known as a Pad Abort Test, is expected to take place on Wednesday, May 6, from SpaceX’s Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) in Cape Canaveral, Florida. While the test is originating from the same launch pad we use for operational missions, this is not an operational flight. This will be the first flight test of SpaceX’s revolutionary new launch abort system, and the odds of encountering delays or issues are high. Fortunately the test doesn’t need to be perfect to be valuable—our primary objective is to capture as much data as possible as the data captured here will be key in preparing Crew Dragon for its first human missions in 2017. More information about the test can be found at: http://www.spacex.com/news/2015/05/04…

[tweet https://twitter.com/NASA/status/595938945839538177] [tweet https://twitter.com/NASA/status/595933904651079681]

Tomorrow is Earth Day! Celebrate by sharing #NoPlaceLikeHome pictures with @NASA

[tweet https://twitter.com/NASA/status/590534712256499712]

There are (so far) 1,800 known planets beyond our solar system, but among all of them, there’s no place like Earth. This Earth Day, April 22, NASA is asking you to share pictures and video of your favorite places on Earth using social media – and tag them #NoPlaceLikeHome.

More info here at NASA.gov.

Terrific @Nature article about inspirational science hashtags on twitter! #BeyondMarieCurie #IAmAScientistBecause

Whether you saw the recent twitter hashtags, #BeyondMarieCurie and #IAmAScientistBecause, be sure to check out this feature in Nature about these social media hashtags by Chris Woolston!! It definitely focuses on the positive vibe that is often missing in science discussions recently!!!

At a time when online conversations about science can become mired in negativity — job shortages, dwindling grant support and breakdowns in peer review — the Twitter streams of many researchers recently turned positive. Researchers of all types rallied around the hashtag #IAmAScientistBecauseto share their scientific inspirations.

[tweet https://twitter.com/cbpolis/status/585064469836857344] [tweet https://twitter.com/NIH_Bear/status/586565725273350144]

See the article for more featured tweets and commentary on these scientific social media ‘campaigns.’

Twitter mocks ‘The Food Babe’ Vani Hari for her anti-science, fear-monger lies!! @foodbabefacts #science

[tweet https://twitter.com/GeneticLiteracy/status/586521730581143552]

If you didn’t already know about the anti-science activist Vani Hari, commonly known as ‘The Food Babe,’ you may have seen her name over the last week. ‘The Food Babe’ is popular for fear-mongering and sounding off about invented dangers from just about everything – including GMO’s, vaccines, additives, food, and anything else she can make up. Check out this terrific NPR piece exploring why Hari should be labeled a fear-monger – exploiting the fears of the ignorant, uneducated, or those prone to conspiracy theories. Also check out this great post by Keith Kloor that looks at Hari and how science should deal with her. Twitter and scientists have had enough of Hari, and are now openly mocking her all over twitter – and calling out her anti-science drivel.

Case in point… the hilarious twitter handle  @foodbabefacts – some of my favorites below!

[tweet https://twitter.com/foodbabefacts/status/586457892082941954] [tweet https://twitter.com/foodbabefacts/status/586454992178913280] [tweet https://twitter.com/foodbabefacts/status/586454992178913280] [tweet https://twitter.com/foodbabefacts/status/586401176180002816] [tweet https://twitter.com/foodbabefacts/status/586385272620711936] [tweet https://twitter.com/foodbabefacts/status/586290793398276096]

Also check out this great post about Hari from fellow WordPress blogger – Violent Metaphors