There was something very odd in the PM’s speech last night - something which infuses RE in the primary school curriculum too: the idea that everyone in this country is religious in one way or another, when we know from polls that over half the population is not religious. 1/7 He said, “You can be a practising Hindu and a proud Briton as I am, or a devout Muslim and a patriotic citizen as so many others are; or a committed Jewish person and the heart of your local community, and all underpinned by the tolerance of our established Christian church.” 2/7

“While countries such as the US and France have made vaccines available to anyone who wants them, the UK will probably continue restricting free access to select groups, and may reduce access further in the future.” @sheencr writes:
theguardian.com/commentisfree/… “In the UK, an estimated 80,000 people have left employment owing to long Covid, and the cost of healthcare provision for people with long Covid is high and only increases over time. Despite the obvious social and economic costs, it seems neither living with long Covid nor its effect on the economy will be considered.”

The long history of humanity teaches us that migration has always been there - ever since (and before) our species spilled out of Africa to make the whole world our home. And most families just want to be able to look after their children. Every human life is precious. Migration is likely to increase when communities face the repercussions of climate change, famine and conflict.

A disturbing story of obfuscation, censorship and catastrophic decision-making is emerging from the COVID enquiry, as @Kit_Yates_Maths reports 1/

“Professor Yvonne Doyle’s Inquiry testimony presents a stark example of the sort of censorship experienced by scientists during the acute phase of the pandemic….” “In January of 2020, the then-medical director for Public Health England undertook an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. In the piece, she candidly admitted there could well already be covid cases in the UK and that it would take months if not years to develop a vaccine.
Following the interview, she was advised “not to do any further media, and that the secretary of state [for Health and Social Care – Matt Hancock] would need to clear all media”” 2/

Some thoughts about the revelations from the COVID enquiry.

It is now blindingly clear that we were lied to.

We were signed up to a massive medical experiment - “herd immunity” - without consent. 1/5 To me, a very major issue is not just the callous decision to pursue herd-immunity-by-infection before a vaccine was available, but the fact that the government lied to the population about this being their strategy. 2/5

@nosuchthing Anatomy pedantry alert!
Catching up on NSTAAF, my ears pricked up at the mention of lacrimal anatomy in whales. It reminded me just how pedantic an anatomist I am. And it sent me on a fascinating deep dive into whale and dolphin lacrimal anatomy… 1/12 The first “fact” was: “Whales don’t have tear ducts cos there’s no point in crying in the ocean”. The tear duct or nasolacrimal duct does not convey tears to the eye - it takes them away, draining into the nasal cavity. 2/12

Having just realised I've written EIGHTEEN books - here they all are! In reverse date order...

Firstly - coming soon!

Roberts AM (2023) Wolf Road
simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Wolf-Roa…

Roberts AM (2023) Crypt: Life, Death and Disease in the Middle Ages and Beyond
simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Crypt/Al… Roberts AM & Copson A (2023) The Little Book of Humanist Funerals
hachette.co.uk/titles/andrew-…

Roberts AM (2022) Anatomical Oddities

simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Anatomic…

A thread on the census results - showing a massive increase in people with ‘no religion’ - up by over 8 million, and from 25% to 37%, compared with 2011 census, with (all forms of) Christianity dropping to less than 50%... This reflects a trend picked up in other surveys. The British Social Attitudes survey has recorded >50% of the population non-religious for years (they ask the less biased question "are you religious" rather than "what is your religion" as in the census)
bsa.natcen.ac.uk/media/39293/1_…

I’m going in… just how bad is Ancient Apocalypse? Starting well “I don’t claim to be an archaeologist or a scientist…”

Our open letter in @bmj_latest today:

Covid-19: An urgent call for global “vaccines-plus” action.

@SGriffin_Lab @adamhamdy
@trishgreenhalgh @dgurdasani1
@ArisKatzourakis @SGriffin_Lab @martinmckee @SusanMichie
@chrischirp @Kit_Yates_Maths

bmj.com/content/376/bm… “Countries which tolerated high transmission have seen rises in both covid & all-cause mortality, healthcare worker shortages, & repeated lockdowns to control surges in case numbers. Countries which suppressed transmission early saw reduced mortality and less economic damage.”

An extremely important piece on schools and protecting children’s health and education.
by @adsquires and @chrischirp in @bmj_latest
bmj.com/content/375/bm… 1/6 “Over the autumn, primary school children saw the highest infections among all age groups for the first time in the pandemic” 2/6

In a short thread, nine favourite books of 2021:

https://twitter.com/thealiceroberts/status/1473760814712918017

Next up:

https://twitter.com/thealiceroberts/status/1472255592223981569

Through the two long years of this pandemic, I’ve had the privilege to meet and work with some incredible scientists and medics. They all take their role as public servants extremely seriously. They analyse data objectively and share their insights because they know… 1/n …science is the best tool we possess for determining our actions. They approach the problem of COVID holistically, thinking about lives, livelihoods, physical and mental health, human warmth and empathy, and the economy. And importantly - they do not seek false hope… 2/n

Nadhim Zahawi's utterances on Sky this morning led me to imagine a conversation with him... using actual words from his interview. Follow the thread:

Zahawi: This pandemic is not over.
Me: No shit! Zahawi: We’re seeing a rise in infection rates in this country, but also in Europe and elsewhere.
Me: I realise you think the context is useful, and it is. But just to be clear, our daily cases in the UK are currently around the same as the rest of the EU combined (29k vs 31k)

In the third century, a Roman soldier, born in (what is now) Turkey, joined a growing cult and was executed for it, inspiring other martyrs. When the cult later became the official religion of the Roman Empire, the soldier inspired a popular subcult of his own in Palestine... The Empire persisted as a religious power structure in Europe and the Middle East, and many churches were dedicated to that Turkish soldier, right across the territory of the old empire - from the Levant in the east to Britain in the west.

In the third century, a Turkish Roman soldier joined a growing cult and was executed for it, inspiring other martyrs. When the cult later became the official religion of the Roman Empire, the soldier inspired a popular cult of his own in Palestine... The Empire persisted as a religious power structure in Europe and the Middle East, and many churches were dedicated to that Turkish soldier, right across the territory of the old empire - from the Levant in the east to Britain in the west.

I've had the joy and privilege of going behind locked doors in so many museums over the years, making dozens of programmes about archaeology and history. So I'm donating this virtual, personal collection to @profdanhicks' #MuseumsUnlocked archive... Shelves of beautifully preserved longbows and combs behind the scenes at the @MaryRoseMuseum - from the first series of Digging for Britain back in 2010 - and outside the museum with my baby daughter at lunchtime!

Here’s something I’ve been musing about this week. I saw some protein bars at the gym - & I wondered what protein they were actually made of. The ingredients were written in a tiny font but, as well as “milk protein”* I found: “collagen hydrolysate”. Sounds kinda sciencey & cool! (* milk protein aka whey - which is now very popular, since cheese manufacturers realised they could sell their waste to body builders)