THE NUZZO LETTER IN THE NEWS
A pre-print of my latest paper is now online. The paper is currently undergoing peer review, and I will update subscribers after the peer review process is finished and the final version of the paper is published in a journal. Please note that contents of pre-prints often change after reviewer feedback is received.
Sex of Researchers and Study Participants in Research Quarterly, 1930-1979
SportRxiv
ABSTRACT: Researchers often discuss the historical representation of female participants in health and exercise studies. Research Quarterly is an historically important journal in exercise science but its archives have not been audited regarding participant sex. Here, the purpose was to determine participant and author sex of research published in Research Quarterly between 1930-1979. A total of 3,453 article items were identified, with 2,603 classified as data articles. The data articles included 1,931,370 participants, with a mode sample size of 60. Sex was reported for 1,591,921 participants: 1,101,294 males (69.2%) and 490,627 females (30.8%). Removal of two large military studies changed male and female representations to 60% and 40%, respectively. A total of 1,243 articles included only male participants (47.8%), 491 included only females (18.9%), 496 included both sexes (19.0%), and 373 did not indicate sex (14.4%). Females were 50% or more of participants in 11 of the 50 years. First author sex was determined for 2,490 data articles: 1,850 males (74.3%) and 640 females (25.7%). The most prolific author was H. Harrison Clarke (29 data articles). The mean number of authors per data article was 1.55 ± 0.85. Author sex correlated significantly with participant sex, with male authors more likely to study male participants and female authors more likely to study female participants. In sum, males and females were regular participants in early exercise research. Greater male than female participant representation was due, in part, to two large military studies and greater male than female researcher productivity, as participant and author sex correlated.
PODCASTS AND PRESENTATIONS
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya Goes to Washington: Reforming Science from the Inside at NIH
Uncommon Knowledge
Episode description: Peter Robinson speaks with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a former Stanford professor and epidemiologist, and the newly appointed director of the National Institutes of Health. Once labeled a “fringe epidemiologist” by the previous administration at NIH, he now leads the world’s largest biomedical research agency and its $50 billion annual budget. Their conversation explores the structural flaws in America’s public health institutions, including the replication crisis, the culture of scientific risk aversion, and the NIH’s growing failure to address the rise of chronic disease. Dr. Bhattacharya outlines his vision for reform—emphasizing transparency, innovation, and restoring public trust in science. He also addresses the politics of scientific funding, the need for better vaccine evaluation standards, and the rationale behind the administration’s new restrictions on gain-of-function research. It is a candid and thoughtful discussion with a scientist now tasked with reshaping the very system he was once attacked by.
Dr Joe Unplugged (also available on Substack here)
Serious questions are being asked about publication bias in medical journals. The answers, whilst disappointing, will not surprise.
The Great Energy Deception: The True Cost Of Renewables | Chris Uhlmann
Conversations With John Anderson
Episode description: John Anderson and journalist Chris Uhlmann confront Australia’s energy crisis, revealing the stark costs of renewable energy. Despite claims of affordability, electricity prices have soared 70% in a decade, tied to a rise in renewables. South Australia’s costly grid and Spain’s blackout expose renewables’ instability, a risk worsened by Australia’s isolation. The discussion questions why leaders dodge honest talks on costs, leaving citizens vulnerable to an unreliable energy future.
False Accusations with Bettina Arndt
ARTICLES AND ESSAYS
COVID-19 vaccinations no longer recommended for healthy children and adolescents under 18
Canberra Daily
Epidemiologist fired from Harvard after refusing COVID shot named to CDC vaccine panel
The College Fix
Chinese UMich researchers accused of smuggling biological weapons to remain in jail
The College Fix
The Nature-Nurture-Nietzsche Newsletter
How equity trumped saving lives
The Revolution Will Be Peer Reviewed
Reality’s Last Stand
A peer-reviewed paper titled ‘My pronouns are fuck ICE’ turns tea, pronouns, and gender confusion into anti-colonial resistance.
Year in review: 101 campus cancel culture incidents during 2024-25 school year
The College Fix
Defending Education
Society may have overestimated risk of the ‘manosphere’, UK researchers say
The Guardian
A global view of men’s experiences with partner violence
George Mason University
Borders or Borderliners: The Psychopathology Behind the Angry Female Protestors
Psychobabble
Examining the rising prevalence rate of Cluster B traits
Blocking Puberty Doesn’t Block Biology
Reality’s Last Stand
A flawed assumption about puberty is reshaping sports policy and putting children at risk.
Annals of Internal Medicine
Sex Differences in 1600-m Running Performance and Participation for Children Aged 6–12 yr
Exercise, Sport, and Movement
Abstract: Introduction: In children, females participate in sport and physical activity less than males and have lower peak oxygen intake values. How this sexual dimorphism in the aerobic capacity of children affects the aerobic performances of children in a 1600-m race and whether the reported discrepancy in sport and physical activity participation accounts for any sex differences in aerobic performance are unknown. The purpose of this study was to 1) identify sex-based differences in aerobic running performance at 1600 m for children aged 6–12 yr and 2) investigate sex-based differences in participation in children and any relationship between participation and sex differences in aerobic performance. Methods: We compared 1600-m running velocities (in m·s−1) and participation for 3621 children in the United States in grades 1–6 (ages 6–12 yr) for the years 2007–2014 that were obtained from a publicly available website (runnercard.com). We correlated the female participation with the performance difference between the sexes for each year and grade. We also created a mathematical model to predict the mean velocity (Ve) needed to equalize the sex difference in performance if participation was equalized. Results: Male children were faster (3.00 ± 0.53 m·s−1) than female children (2.77 ± 0.49 m·s−1) at every grade level, with an average difference of 7.7% (P < 0.001). Participation was lower for female children (46.2%; χ2 = 13.0, P = 0.02) and there was no correlation between female participation and the performance difference between sexes (Pearson’s r = 0.255, P = 0.96). Ve needed to equalize the sex difference in performance if participation was equalized was 4.39 m·s−1, which was greater than the observed female mean plus two standard deviations. Conclusions: Male children are faster than female children at running 1600 m at ages 6–12 yr. This sex difference was not a result of lower female participation and suggests that innate physiological sex differences may be responsible.
HISTORICAL ARCHIVES
Single-Sex Spaces for Me, But Not for Thee
The Fiamengo File (2023)
If women expect men to defend female single-sex spaces, they should take a hard look at the erosion of male space
PLoS One (2019)
Abstract: Background: The process of growing leads to inter-individual differences in the timing of growth, maturational, and developmental processes during childhood and adolescence, also affecting balance performance in youth. However, differences in balance performance by age and sex in youth have not been systematically investigated yet. Objective: The objective of the present study was to characterize and quantify age- and sex-related differences in balance performance in healthy youth. Methods: A computerized systematic literature search was performed in the electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science, and SPORTDiscus. To be applicable for analysis, studies had to report at least one measure of static steady-state, dynamic steady-state, proactive or reactive balance in healthy children (6–12 years) and/or adolescents (13–18 years). Coding of the studies was done according to the following criteria: age, sex, and balance outcome. Study quality was assessed using the Appraisal tool for Cross-Sectional Studies. Weighted standardized mean differences were calculated and classified according to their magnitude. Results: Twenty-one studies examined age-related differences in balance performance. A large effect for measures of static steady-state balance (SMDba = 1.20) and small effects for proxies of dynamic steady-state (SMDba = 0.26) and proactive balance (SMDba = 0.28) were found; all in favor of adolescents. Twenty-five studies investigated sex-related differences in balance performance. A small-sized effect was observed for static steady-state balance (SMDbs = 0.33) in favor of girls and for dynamic steady-state (SMDbs -0.02) and proactive balance (SMDbs = -0.15) in favor of boys. Due to a lack of studies, no analysis for measures of reactive balance was performed. Conclusions: Our systematic review and meta-analysis revealed better balance performances in adolescents compared to children, irrespective of the measure considered. Sex-related differences were inconsistent. These findings may have implications for example in terms of trainability of balance in youth that should be investigated in future studies.
Discovering Misattributed Paternity in Living Kidney Donation: Prevalence, Preference, and Practice
Transplantation (2009)
Abstract: When evaluating a living kidney donor and recipient with a father-child relationship, it may be discovered that the two are not biologically related. We analyzed data from the United Network for Organ Sharing and the Canadian Organ Replacement Registry to determine how frequently this occurs. We surveyed 102 potential donors, recipients, and transplant professionals for their opinion on whether such information should be disclosed to the donor-recipient pair. We communicated with transplant professionals from 13 Canadian centers on current practices for handling this information. In the United States and Canada, the prevalence of father-child living kidney donor-recipient pairs with less than a one-haplotype human leukocyte antigen match (i.e., misattributed paternity) is between 1% and 3%, or approximately 0.25% to 0.5% of all living kidney donations. Opinions about revealing this information were variable: 23% strongly favored disclosure; whereas, 24% were strongly opposed to it. Current practices are variable; some centers disclose this information, whereas others do not. Discovering misattributed paternity in living donation is uncommon but can occur. Opinions on how to deal with this sensitive information are variable. Discussion among transplant professionals will facilitate best practices and policies. Strategies adopted by some centers can be considered.
RUBBISH BIN
Who Is Queer Enough for Queer Research?: The Issue of Absence Within Queer Research
Diversity & Inclusion Research
Abstract: Although the inclusion of queer people in research—as well as the application of queer research methods and methodologies that some call queer research—has been on the rise, too often, certain voices are not heard. Not all groups of people who fall under the umbrella term of “queer” are included in queer research. By looking at the examples of asexuality and queer Muslims in this paper, we offer some insights on how people in these groups are often absent in queer research and how cis-heteronormativity alongside compulsory sexuality, allonormativity, homonationalism and homocapitalism operates within queer communities and queer research, with exclusion often being the result. Through the utilization of intersectional feminism, transnational feminism, and queer of color critique as our methodological approach, we show how these experiences stand exemplary for the absence of some queer communities from queer research. Furthermore, such a methodological approach can assist us to understand the role of cis-heteronormativity in queer research and what we can do to become more inclusive when undertaking queer research projects.
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Is there any way for a civilian (someone not in academia) to access these handbooks without having to folk out ~£200?
I'm interested in the Male IPV book.