Liam Shields

Scientists develop first ‘accurate blood test’ to detect chronic fatigue syndrome Research could offer hope for ME patients – but some experts urge caution and say more studies needed

ME/CFS is a devastating condition that has long been denied, dismissed, psychologised and underdiagnosed. Research is at last starting to catch up with it, with glimmers of hope for those who have been left untreated for so long.
There's a huge BUT coming ...🧵
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

No sudden rupture is now required for the far right to take power in this country. For what we're seeing is a steady normalisation of extremists by the Conservative and Labour Parties, BBC, Telegraph, Mail and others. A shift once considered unthinkable beings to look acceptable, even inevitable.🧵

I've just read a book for my research that was published by Routledge and there are a huge number of glaring typos in it and other errors.

The research was really good and very helpful. I'd be distraught if a publisher was so careless with my own manuscript.

London Councils Face Losing Half Their Share Of Children's Services Funding Some of London’s poorest areas could see their share of funding for children’s services halved under Labour’s plans to reform local government gran...

Some of London’s poorest areas could see their share of the children’s services funding formula halved under Labour’s plans to reform local government grants.

By me, for Politics Home: www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Releasing stranded baby puffins on a remote Icelandic island Join the puffin patrol as they rescue lost pufflings on Vestmannaeyjar, off the southern coast of Iceland.

Releasing stranded baby puffins on a remote Icelandic island www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...

David Wengrow to give the Tanner Lectures on Human Values for 2026 David Wengrow (UCL Institute of Archaeology) has been invited to give the Tanner Lectures on Human Values at the University of Utah in March 2026.

David Wengrow to give the Tanner Lectures on Human Values for 2026 @utah.edu entitled 'The Elementary Forms of Human Freedom.'

More here:

📱 www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo...

Image: @davidwengrow.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk Institute of Archaeology (Image credit: Tom Jamieson)

#LocalAndGlobal

Job Opportunity at University of Leeds: Lecturer/Associate Professor in Philosophy Are you an experienced academic in Philosophy with the ambition to carry out world-leading research and deliver an exceptional student experience in a research-intensive Russell Group University? Woul...

Philosophy job at Leeds

jobs.leeds.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...

Very good come back that #utft

One of the good things about making your own massaman curry is that you can add as many peanuts as you like

Launch event of the Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience, LSE

What a great responsibility and a great privilege to be directing the world's first Centre for Animal Sentience. Many thanks to the ~300 in the room and ~500 online who attended our launch event. Wonderful to have you there on Day 1. www.lse.ac.uk/philosophy/s...

My son recently found a swastika drawn on the pavement at... The Manchester attack didn't come as a shock. The only surprise is it hasn’t happened sooner

I wrote a short piece for the Observer on the attacks in Manchester.

observer.co.uk/news/opinion...

The attainment, when not contextualised, is not really an indicator of ability. Fortunately a lot of universities do use contextualised data, though not as much as id like to see.

If a university thinks it’s the ‘best’ it should take people with low or no prior attainment and prove it. Otherwise it’s just cherry-picking and claiming unearned credit.

MGX Says $2 Billion Binance Investment Used USD1 Because Of ‘Compliance History’—But The Trump-Linked Stablecoin Was Brand New The Abu Dhabi fund told Forbes that Binance requested settling with a cryptocurrency and used a stablecoin for stability, ultimately selecting USD1, in part, because it was backed by U.S. government a...

New: Abu Dhabi fund MGX told me it picked USD1—a Trump family–linked stablecoin from World Liberty Financial—to put $2B into Binance, citing its “compliance history.”

USD1 had just launched.

me, for @forbes.com

🪙🍼🤷

1/

Thinking of Jewish friends in Greater Manchester and beyond after this morning's despicable attack.

Every group of current Reform supporters wants immigration reduced by a lot.

Importantly, the differences between self-placement and party placement are tiny in every case. For immigration, Reform’s voters and Reform’s perceived policies are almost identical.

Correct. Unless the government is going to impose limits on the number that can go to university, it's meaningless. (They're not).

I'm delighted to be in York today to present my paper What is Wrong with Severing a Grandparent-Grandchild relationship?

18 years ago I studied for an MA political philosophy (the idea of toleration), thanks to the financial support of the C and J B Morrell Trust. I am extremely grateful.

Excited to host Liam Shields @liamshields.bsky.social tomorrow at our York Workshop in Political Theory, with his paper 'What is Wrong with Severing a Grandparent-Grandchild Relationship?'

Experts reveal the personality traits linked to living a longer life Those who are ‘organised, responsible and hardworking’ have a lower risk of dying, a new study suggests

Are certain personality traits linked to a longer life?
A new study co-authored by Professor in #psychology @renemottus.bsky.social suggests being organised, responsible & hardworking can lower mortality risk—while worry-prone traits may raise it. Read more: edin.ac/4nBx4gn #Research #Personality

Do fact-checks really work against misinformation? A recent study shows that fact-checking reduces false belief in misinformation

Do fact-checks really work against misinformation? 📰🤔
Recent research in @bjpols.bsky.social, summarized on @3streamsblog.bsky.social, finds that fact-checking cuts false belief in half — and its effects last.
Read here 👉 medium.com/3streams/do-...

Fascinating research. This graph from it should be on every Labour strategist’s mind

Bids invited to turn Sycamore Gap timber into art The National Trust says it wants to turn the illegal destruction of the tree into a message of hope.

Bids invited to turn Sycamore Gap timber into art. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

#philosophy #slopification #DentalRealism 😂

#Wrwc2025 "England and sniffing line" says the commentator, and we've got a player whose name is spelled Cokayne and pronounced the same as "Cocaine"

I can imagine that being nice.

My least favourite way to start the day: spend 30 minutes chiselling ice out of the freezer because someone left the door open last night and now it won't shut properly.

The Story of DOGE, as Told by Federal Workers WIRED spoke with more than 200 federal workers in dozens of agencies to learn what happened as the Department of Government Efficiency tore through their offices.

NEW

WIRED led the way in reporting on Elon Musk's efforts to dismantle the US government. My colleagues and I spoke to 100s of employees at dozens of agencies to understand what happened.

This is the definitive story of DOGE as told by those who experienced it

www.wired.com/story/oral-h...

The future of universities: A Nature special report The world's universities are under intense pressure. Nature examines the threats they face and asks how the sector can and must adapt to survive.

"The future of universities: A Nature special report"

This is key.