Dr. Dom Sirianni

a cartoon drawing of a bottle with a sad face Alt: a cartoon drawing of a plastic soda bottle with a grumpy face

I saw a “life hack” video today which was so wrong, and replete with so many wrong comments, it was unbearable.

I know I should let it go, but I can’t. I just can’t.

So, here we go: why you shouldn’t crush your plastic bottle of cola once you’ve opened it #ChemSky #Chemistry

How to get helpful help Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN): Keeping you up to date with the chemistry news that matters most. Published by the American Chemical Society.

Asking for help is not admitting failure, but rather using your resources to ensure that expectations are met. Knowing how to ask for help ensures that you get help that is actually useful, or even crucial, in meeting your goals. cen.acs.org/careers/care... #chemsky

Hear directly from leaders shaping the future of chemistry education. From curriculum reform to academic-industry partnerships, our panelists will discuss international perspectives and what today’s students need to succeed.

Hear directly from leaders shaping the future of chemistry education. From curriculum reform to academic-industry partnerships, our panelists will discuss international perspectives and what today’s students need to succeed.

RSVP here: connect.discoveracs.org/ACS-Fall-202...
#ACSFall2025 #chemsky

Just out! Our peer-reviewed critique of the Cass Review has been published by BMC Medical Research Methodology. Please read and share. We show that the Cass Review is fatally flawed and should not be the basis for policy or practice in transgender healthcare.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Kit Wallis is standing in a lab, pipetting ammonium bicarbonate into a small centrifuge tube.

The challenge of being neurodivergent in #STEM: Neurodivergent scientists say STEM isn’t built for them, despite the contributions they bring. cen.acs.org/careers/dive... #phdsky #academicsky #phdchat #academicchatter 🧪

2,005!!! Run Eagles Run!! 🦅

White Supremacy's Impact on Embracing Neurodiversity Embracing neurodiversity while challenging white supremacy: A look at Black autistic and ADHD perspectives.

It’s strange how some respond to prejudice by embracing Aspie supremacy as a defense mechanism, claiming superiority not just over neurotypicals but also higher support needs autistic people. Fighting marginalization by creating new hierarchies misses the point. lovettejallow.com/neurodiversi...

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YouTube video by Reactions Lighting Christmas Trees on Fire to Test Internet Wisdom

Earlier this year I asked ACS Reactions if we could do a little academic arson and they said yes!

Lighting Christmas Trees on Fire to Test Internet Wisdom
youtu.be/N6YkYyibFCI

Conflicts of Interest in Early Autism Intervention Research A very large portion of early autism intervention research is… conducted by the same people who design or provide the interventions.

E.g., those "gold standard," "evidence-based" claims? When examined, ABA research is riddled by conflicts of interest. And per Dr. @kbottemabeutel.bsky.social, "we shouldn’t have a separate set of lower standards that we only apply to autism research."

thinkingautismguide.com/2020/05/conf... 4/

Democratic Senators Refuse Vote To Remove Anti-Trans Amendment From Military Budget The move follows passage of the NDAA in the House of Representatives, which will be the first national anti-trans law in recent years.

Today, Democratic Senators refused to hold a vote to remove the anti-trans amendment targeting healthcare of the trans children of service members from the NDAA.

Only 14 Senators voted against the final bill.

Subscribe to support our journalism. Guest post from Mira Lazine.

Sounds like a great memory! It’s a shame that he’s passed. And, I could *not* have predicted the arc of the conversation with the way it started 😂

Eating brunch. Eating. Not “rating.” Although now that I’ve set myself up for it:

I ordered the “country eggs Benedict” with grilled biscuits instead of an English muffin, sausage patties, and topped with sausage gravy…and it was damn good. Rare for places in the north to do sausage gravy right.

Currently rating brunch in Rochester, NY and overhear conversation between two servers behind the counter.

Server 1: Well I’ll NEVER see Tom Petty in concert again!

(Tone suggesting he’d committed some heinous act worthy of boycott)

Server 2: Why’s that?

S1: Because he’s DEAD, Janine. Dead.

BRITAIN BANS BLOCKERS FOR SOME The Sun Times (Owen Sound)12 Dec 2024 The British government on Wednesday indefinitely banned puberty blockers for children with gender dysphoria after independent experts found there was an unacceptable safety risk in prescribing the medication. The decision, which will be revisited in 2027, effectively bans a common approach to medical gender transitions for youths. It also goes against standards held by medical groups elsewhere, including the European and World Professional Associations for Transgender Health, as well as the American Medical Association. The announcement comes after a judge this summer upheld an emergency ban in a ruling that said the treatment was potentially harmful. The ban applies across the United Kingdom after consultation with the Scottish and Welsh governments, and an agreement with Northern Ireland. It does not apply to those already receiving puberty blockers for gender dysphoria, to their use in clinical studies or in treatment of children with precocious puberty, an uncommon medical condition that causes puberty to begin abnormally early. “We need to act with caution and care when it comes to this vulnerable group of young people, and follow the expert advice,” Health Secretary Wes Streeting said. The Associated Press Article Name:BRITAIN BANS BLOCKERS FOR SOME Publication:The Sun Times (Owen Sound) Start Page:B1 End Page:B1

In a story sent out to newsrooms around the world, AP calls puberty blockers a 'common approach' to treatment for trans kids and highlights how the UK ban goes against 'standards held by medical groups elsewhere, including the European and World Professional Associations for Transgender Health'

Physicist J.J. Thomson seated at a lab bench using a piece of equipment. He wears a tweed suit, and is seen in profile. Thomson's hair is receding and he has a mustache.

J.J. Thomson was born #OTD in 1856. He discovered the electron, developed experimental techniques that led to mass spectroscopy, and trained physicists like Rutherford and Bohr.

He was later BETRAYED by his own son, in the ultimate act of 20th century filial physics rebellion. (1/n) 🧪 ⚛️ 🎢

Sheep earwax can record a dangerous diet Sheep that eat death camas plants record the toxic meal in their earwax, a goopy health data repository that researchers are increasingly exploring.

Sheep! Earwax! www.sciencenews.org/article/shee... 🧪

No criticism! I might only add that the “both”-ness of wave-particle duality has a lot to do with how we’re measuring it. Measuring the pressure of impact? Gonna see particle behavior, because you’re measuring a particle-esque property. Measuring diffraction? Gonna see a wave, for the same reason.

If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say most of your following (and myself in particular among them) are doing so because you hold space for us, help us feel understood and valued, your advocacy is inspiring, your science is compelling, and that you’re unintentionally & subtlety funny to boot.

For certain theoretically challenging computations to converge successfully, I often need to have a candle burning in the shrine dedicated to the inventor of the particular convergence algorithm necessary. Most commonly the offering is made to Pulay for DIIS, and/or to Gill & co. for MOM. #compchem

Of course, and seriously, thank you. Especially with yet another indignation pointed towards the Autistic community last week from a major news outlet, having this published in @cenmag.bsky.social helps me still feel welcome in our professional community. Hopefully the same for others too!

Krystal’s respectful and nuanced discussion of neurodiversity in chemistry is a must read! She was brilliant to work with, and I’m so glad to have been able to contribute to helping illuminate our experience. 🧪 #DisabledInSTEM #ChemSky #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs

Type in “-ai” directly after your Google search term. Removes the AI crap.

Day 3 I guess of asking @propublica.org how they wrote an article about Autistic healthcare without consulting a single Autistic person about what our actual needs are. Is anyone there going to correct this egregious oversight?

Pleased (if a tiny bit confused) that this paper is now officially part of an issue (volume 54, issue 4) of Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, six months or so after it was first published!

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Color blind friendly palettes for data visualizations with categories A discussion of color blind friendly palettes for labeling unique catergories in data visualization.

Having a color-blind colleague is a good reminder that we need to be more careful when designing figures for scientific publication 🧪
My lab has found this page especially useful for selecting color palettes, used in combination with different symbols: thenode.biologists.com/data-visuali...

Bell Burnell Graduate Scholarship Fund Apply now to the innovative fund instigated by leading physicist Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell and the Institute of Physics to encourage greater diversity in physics.

The Bell Burnell Graduate Scholarship Fund applications are open! This provides funding for current/prospective PhD students from underrepresented groups in #Physics ⚛️ & Astronomy 🔭 🧪Application deadline is 20th Jan 2025.

FAQs: www.iop.org/about/suppor...

#WomenInSTEM: www.iop.org/about/suppor...

2024 Holiday Requests 2024 Holiday Requests *WishLists with an asterisk next to them could use extra love, as others are getting more attention. Thank you. K is a 7.5 year-old trans child who is Latine. Their extended fa...

Every year I run a Holidays WishList Request program.
Everyone on the list is multiply marginalized (BIPOC, LGBT+, disabled) with little family.

Some get no presents for holidays.

I've compiled a list of all of the WishLists. Please help if you can! Pls share.

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

(And yes, I *did* do the exact same thing I was lamenting when typing out that reply, why do you ask?)