March 5, 2024: Climate change trends on social media after weather events, what underlies chronic pain from bladder infections and an X-ray map of the cosmos. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | | In the aftermath of extreme weather events like hurricanes, social media is abuzz with discussion about climate change. A new study analyzed 65 million Twitter posts about 18 hurricanes between 2010 and 2021 (before the platform was renamed X). In the three weeks after each hurricane, areas that experienced the event saw an average 80 percent increase in the number of tweets mentioning climate change.
Why this matters: Social media is not real life. But public opinion is often reflected there. And previous studies have shown that repeated tweets on a political topic can prompt news coverage—and responses from politicians.
What the experts say: Social media platforms like X don't give the whole picture, "but it gives us necessary insights about how to communicate climate science, improve communication strategies and counteract misinformation," says Fabiana Zollo, a misinformation researcher at Ca' Foscari University of Venice. | | | In a new study, researchers discovered that recurrent urinary tract infections can lead to an overgrowth of pelvic nerve cells, which prolong the pain of an infection. Researchers examined bladder tissue biopsies from 25 people with lingering UTI pain but no trace of associated bacteria in their urine. The researchers hypothesize that repeated infections activate immune cells called mast cells, which send nerve growth into overdrive, making the pelvis and bladder extremely sensitive long after the infection has cleared up.
Why this matters: Urinary tract infections are some of the most common bacterial infections in the world, affecting far more women than men. Up to 44 percent of women who get a UTI develop a second infection within six months and many of those women will have pain that lingers or comes and goes. The only treatment for UTIs is antibiotics, and so when pain lingers, more antibiotics are likely prescribed, potentially leading to antibiotic resistance.
Next steps: The researchers plan to investigate which kinds of treatments could stop the overdrive in nerve growth before it starts, or whether nerve growth could be somehow cut back in patients with persistent pain. | | | • A recent spike in Lyme disease cases reflects better reporting, giving epidemiologists a more accurate picture of what's going on with the disease. | 5 min read | | | • Only seven brown-and-white pandas have ever been documented. Now researchers know the gene sequence that yields this rare coloring. | 3 min read | | | • Last month, the CDC reported a small outbreak of E. coli from raw milk cheddar cheese. Here's what science says about the safety of raw milk cheese. | 6 min read | | | A false-color X-ray view of one half of the sky, based on data from the eROSITA telescope. Sources of broad-band x-ray emission (white) include halos of hot gas surrounding galaxies as well as feeding black holes. Longer wavelength x-rays correspond to redder colors. Shorter wavelength x-rays are shown in bluer hues, and cluster around the dark, dusty regions of the Milky Way where longer wavelengths are blocked. Credit: MPE, J. Sanders for the eROSITA consortium | | | • Parents worry about their kids spending too much time staring at screens. But reading on digital devices should be exempted from that concern, writes Natalia Kucirkova, Professor of Reading and Children's Development and Chair of the think tank International Collective of Children's Digital Books. Digital reading can offer a benefit to kids, as long as the device has "no bells and whistles, no loud sounds that interrupt conversations and no manipulative features that misuse children's attention and data," she writes. | 5 min read | | | Reading for pleasure in early childhood has been linked with better scores on cognitive tests and better performance in school. It is also associated with fewer mental health problems. In my opinion, whatever way kids get their hands on books--whether a tattered library copy, or a streamlined tablet--the more they read, the better. | Thank YOU for reading Today in Science. Reach out anytime with suggestions, comments, or ideas: newsletters@sciam.com. Same time tomorrow! | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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