Ginny Barbour

If you ask historians of medicine what keeps them up at night, many will not say a new plague or bioterrorism, they will answer, "antibiotic resistance."

Time for the book of the Handmaids Tale perhaps.

"Something is deeply wrong with this system, when people who are wealthy are getting far wealthier...and people who don't have a lot are falling further and further behind."

- Dr Cassandra Goldie AO, CEO, Australian Council of Social Service at our Revenue Summit 2025
#auspol

SA's anti-abortion bill, blocking critical access to healthcare, was an attempt by conservatives to use women's rights as a political football.

To those who made their voices heard & voted this bill down, thankyou.

We deserve evidence-based & compassionate healthcare.

The BBC’s editing error was serious, but the response is way out of proportion | Margaret Sullivan The broadcaster should not cave to Trump’s demands

The BBC’s editing error was serious, but the response is way out of proportion | Margaret Sullivan

What do you need to do to ‘earn’ a trillion dollars in this economy? | First Dog on the Moon Look at all those zeroes – look at them!

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The BBC is in a fight for its survival The BBC only has itself to blame for its handling of a serious error in a documentary on Trump. But its demise—as the US media landscape shows—would l...

You’d never guess from the hysterical coverage that the BBC remains the UK’s most trusted news outlet. It has made mistakes, but we’d be worse off without it, writes @arusbridger.bsky.social.

Australia’s poker machine story started 70 years ago. We were warned of harms from the beginning Australia is the poker machine capital of the world. But from nearly as soon as they were installed, people voiced their opposition to the pokies

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

a wooden floor with seducktive written on the bottom right Alt: a wooden floor with a duck running

I may finally have found a legitimate use for AI: Strava’s analysis of runs. Today’s gem for me “Uneven but interesting effort”. I’ll take it

She Says Doctors Ignored Her Concerns About Her Pregnancy. For Many Black Women, It’s a Familiar Story. Black women in America are more than twice as likely as white women to have a stillbirth. Getting physicians to take their concerns seriously is one reason for this disparity, they say: “If you’re a B...

Black women in America are more than twice as likely as white women to have a stillbirth.

Getting physicians to take their concerns seriously is one reason for this disparity, they say: “If you’re a Black woman, you get dismissed.”

(Published Dec. 2022)

Insiders warn how dismantling federal agencies could put science at risk From NASA to the National Institutes of Health, federal agencies conduct research that universities cannot. Agency scientists speak out about the irreplaceable facilities, institutional knowledge and training opportunities that the country is losing.

From NASA to the National Institutes of Health, federal agencies conduct research that universities cannot. Agency scientists speak with Nature about the irreplaceable facilities, institutional knowledge, and training opportunities that the country is losing. 🧪

Horizontal stacked bar chart of Concern about biodiversity issues From top to bottom, the issues are: Potential impacts of bird flu on Australian wildlife Impact of renewable energy developments on the environment Native forest logging Taking water from rivers to water crops Land clearing for urban development Land clearing for agriculture Impacts of climate change on native wildlife Decline / extinction of insects and pollinators Impact ofweeds and feral animals on the environment Increasing levels of waste and pollution Loss of natural places Possible extinction of native animals Figure 3. This graph shows how concerned participants were about a range of biodiversity issues. A majority of people were very concerned or extremely concerned (blue groups) about all issues presented.

Horizontal stacked bar chart of Government performance for Australia State/Territory Figure 7. This graph shows how participants have rated the federal (top) and their state/territory (bottom) government's performance in protecting nature. The majority of participants rated both as 'terrible', 'poor or 'average' (red and yellow colours).

Vertical bar chart of Do Australians want action for nature? x-axis lists the categories (left to right): 'No more', 'A little more', 'Some more', 'A lot more' & 'A great deal more' Figure 5. This graph shows how much more action participants think needs to be taken for nature protection and recovery. Results show that the vast majority (96%) believe at least some action is needed, with only 4%

Horizontal stacked bar chart on What pro-biodiversity policies do Australians support? From top to bottom, they are: Strengthen environmental laws to protect nature Establish national standards for the protection of the environment from developments Require native forest logging to be regulated by national environmental law Establish a network of marine sanctuaries that protect at least 30% of different habitat types in Australia's.... Protect native species' habitat from developments such as mines and urban expansion Establish new national parks to protect natural and cultural values Investing in science to understand nature Require businesses to report their impacts on nature Require cat owners to keep their cat contained to their property Remove taxpayer subsidies for industries or projects that damage nature Humanely kill non-native (invasive) species that threaten wildlife and natural places Increase investment for managing Indigenous Protected Areas in line with National Parks Protect and conserve dingo populations as an important part of natural ecosystems Figure 12. This graph shows levels of community support for a range of policies aimed at helping biodiversity. For each policy, a strong majority support the policy (blue bars), while some Australians neither support nor oppose (yellow bars), and a small percentage oppose the policies (red bars).

Biodiversity Council's 2024-25 Biodiversity Concerns Survey of >3,500 Australians found that a majority
😟 are very/extremely concerned about biodiversity issues
☹️ think gov performance at Federal & State/Territory level is terrible/poor/average
💪 want action (96%)
💪 support pro-biodiversity policies

An impressive list, girls, but I know we can do better

The story behind Australia's incredible democratic system Behind the quirks of Australia's incredible democratic system are a series of complex human backstories.

Love this! www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...

"Seditious Pockets" would be an excellent name for an alt-rock band.

Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani’s supposedly radical policies as ‘normal’ Critics of New York City’s mayor-elect have said his pledges of free bus service and universal childcare are unrealistic, but in Europe it’s a given

“He promised things that Europeans take for granted, but Americans are told are impossible.
...Here, taking care of one another through public programs isn’t radical socialism. It’s Tuesday.” #ZohranMamdani
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

When I was doing my DPhil in Oxford I went to a talk he gave. It was excruciating: in content & his then views. A senior colleague said “you can only get away with this if you have a Nobel prize” I’ve met other Nobel Laureates who were amazing intellects but also humble: I’d hope he was an outlier

For those saying James Watson's intellectual brilliance made his bigotry an acceptable trade-off, might I point out (Exhibit A below 👇) that one brain ought to be easily big enough to be a genius AND a decent human being. We don't call bigotry 'small mindedness' for nothing.

This is a powerful piece by Rebecca Huntley: “our mental health crisis and the climate crisis are intersecting, creating a perfect storm for our hearts and minds”

‘Google Maps’ for Roman roads reveals vast extent of ancient network A high-resolution digital map nearly doubles the known length of the ancient road network.

Stuffed up the link - try this link 😑 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

‘Heroic actions are a natural tendency’: why bystander apathy is a myth Modern research shows the public work together selflessly in an emergency, motivated by a strong impulse to help

“[This research] revealed something very positive about the human condition – but it also indicated that society would benefit from fostering and harnessing this natural capability by helping people to feel empowered to take control during emergencies.” www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Image of Roman roads

For all map nerds everywhere 🗺️🧐https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03626-z?utm_source=Live+Audience&utm_campaign=c6dd4e7cfd-nature-briefing-daily-20251107&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-33f35e09ea-51822884

Elon Musk's $1tn pay deal approved by Tesla shareholders The richest man in the world will get hundreds of millions of new shares if he hits his targets.

It is both ethically wrong & fundamentally anti-democratic for one man to command this much wealth and power.

States spent centuries trying to tame the power of over-mighty subjects. The rise of the global barons is not compatible with democracy as we've understood it.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

ICYMI: breaking the inequality-pandemic cycle, Indigenous futures, award-winners and a tribute

ICYMI: breaking the inequality-pandemic cycle, Indigenous futures, award-winners and a tribute www.croakey.org/icymi-breaki... #publichealth

1. This is a thread on freedom, and how easy it is to lose.

Over the past 2,000 years in Europe, there have been few periods and places of freedom. For much of the time we lived under highly oppressive tyrannies of various kinds, whether small or grand, local or imperial, secular or religious.🧵

Born #OnThisDay in 1867 was Marie Skłodowska–Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the only woman to win twice and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two disciplines: Physics for her work on radioactivity, and Chemistry for her discovery of radium and polonium. #WomenInSTEM

The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.

One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc

Dare to be better – a timely call to action ahead of COP30
buff.ly/2bAfR4N

#ClimateHealthSummit25

Screenshot cover page to Australian Academy of Science Indoor Air The science of indoor Air & Pathways to improve indoor Air quality in Australia

🇦🇺 Academy of Science

#IndoorAir #IAQ
The science of indoor air
& Pathways to improve
Indoor Air Quality
In Australia

November 2025 Report

www.science.org.au/supporting-s...