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Prof Sam Illingworth

@samillingworth.com

12K followers 67 following 3.9K posts

Professor of Creative Pedagogies | Poet | Game Designer | Slow AI #SciComm #HigherEd #Poetry #GenAI https://theslowai.substack.com/ https://linktr.ee/sam.illingworth

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Sociology 13%

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Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · Jun 30

👋 I’m Sam – Academic & poet exploring #Science, #GenAI, & #HigherEd 🧪

🎲 Latest Paper | Student empathy through play: doi.org/10.3390/bs15...

📖 Latest book | The poetry of physics: doi.org/10.1201/9781...

🤖 Substack | Slow AI: theslowai.substack.com

#SciComm #Poetry #AI #SciArt #SlowAI

Slow AI | Sam Illingworth | Substack

A weekly prompt series exploring mindful, creative, and human-centred ways to engage with AI – one slow idea at a time. Click to read Slow AI, by Sam Illingworth, a Substack publication with hundreds ...

theslowai.substack.com

3 6 25

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 7h

💼 Long-term impact of COVID-19 on work

A study of 158 million US workers found health-related absences remain 13% higher than before the pandemic, reducing labour force participation.

🔗 doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.36635

#SciComm #COVID19 🧪

Enduring Outcomes of COVID-19 Work Absences on the US Labor Market

This cohort study examines the extent to which COVID-19 continues to generate work absences and decrease labor force participation beyond the pandemic period in the US.

doi.org

2 7 29

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 8h

🧬 New clue toward male birth control

Scientists found that sperm switch on an enzyme called aldolase to boost energy for fertilization. Blocking this process could lead to new male contraceptives.

🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

#SciComm #Reproduction #BirthControl 🧪

Sperm meet the elevated energy demands to attain fertilization competence by increasing flux through aldolase | PNAS

Prior to ejaculation, mammalian sperm are stored in the epididymis in a “resting” metabolic state. Upon ejaculation, sperm must alter their metabol...

www.pnas.org

2 5 18

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 11h

💉 School nurses call for stronger vaccine rules

A new position from the National Association of School Nurses in the US says all students should be fully vaccinated, with exemptions allowed only for medical reasons.

🔗 www.news-medical.net/news/2025101...

#SciComm #Vaccines 🧪

NASN position statement emphasizes the importance of school immunizations

The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) today released its updated position statement, Immunization and Vaccination Requirements, underscoring the essential role of timely, up-to-date, and co...

www.news-medical.net

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Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 13h

💊 Rise of deadly nitazene opioids

Researchers report a global surge in nitazene use, a synthetic opioid up to 500 times stronger than morphine. Most overdoses occur when it is sold as other drugs.

🔗 doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-03280-5

#SciComm #Opioids 🧪

Dangerous ‘nitazene’ opioids are on the rise: researchers are worried

This class of synthetic opioids is more potent than heroin and morphine.

doi.org

2 7 9

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 15h

🥤 Soft drinks and depression

A study of 932 adults found that soft drink intake was linked to major depression, especially in women. Gut bacteria changes partly explained the connection.

🔗 jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

#SciComm #MentalHealth #Nutrition 🧪

Soft Drink Consumption and Depression Mediated by Gut Microbiome Alterations

This cohort study examines the association between soft drink consumption and major depressive disorder diagnosis and severity and whether this association is mediated by changes in the gut microbiota...

jamanetwork.com

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Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 16h

📱 Screen time and school performance

A study of over 3,000 Canadian children found that more daily screen use at a young age was linked to lower reading and maths scores in later school years.

🔗 doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.37092

#SciComm #Education #ChildHealth 🧪

Screen Time and Standardized Academic Achievement Tests in Elementary School

This cohort study evaluates whether there is an association between different types of screen time, including TV, digital media, and video gaming, and standardized academic achievement test results in...

doi.org

2 6 14

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 19h

🧠 Suicidal thought patterns in students

Researchers tracked university students’ daily moods and found those with more intense, less variable thoughts and higher stress sensitivity faced the greatest future risk.

🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

#SciComm #MentalHealth 🧪

Subtypes of suicidal ideation among university students – An ecological momentary assessment study

Suicide is a leading cause of death among youth ages 15 to 29. This study identifies suicidal ideation (SI) subtypes among university students based o…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 21h

😴 Sleep and selective memory

Researchers found that when emotion and instruction compete, the brain prioritises what we are told to remember, not what feels emotional. Sleep spindles reflected this selective memory process.

🔗 www.frontiersin.org/journals/beh...

#SciComm #Memory #Sleep 🧪

Frontiers | Top-down instruction outweighs emotional salience: nocturnal sleep physiology indicates selective memory consolidation

IntroductionSleep plays a crucial role in memory consolidation, not only stabilizing newly encoded information but also potentially supporting forgetting. Ye...

www.frontiersin.org

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Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 23h

🩺 New AI tool spots skin cancer early

Researchers have created a computer system that identifies melanoma from images with 99% accuracy, helping doctors detect skin cancer sooner and more reliably.

🔗 news.northeastern.edu/2025/10/01/m...

#SciComm #Cancer #AI 🧪

New AI tool can detect melanoma with 99% accuracy

Northeastern researchers developed a melanoma detection framework that outperforms existing models with a 99% accuracy rate.

news.northeastern.edu

5 13 44

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 1d

🔥 Amazon fires getting worse

The Amazon saw its worst forest disturbance in over 20, mostly from fire-driven degradation. Emissions were 7 times higher than recent years. Brazil and Bolivia were hardest hit.

🔗 bg.copernicus.org/articles/22/...

#SciComm #ClimateCrisis #Amazon 🧪

Extensive fire-driven degradation in 2024 marks worst Amazon forest disturbance in over 2 decades

Abstract. The Amazon rainforest, historically fire-resistant, is experiencing an alarming increase in wildfires due to climate extremes and human activity. The 2023–2024 drought, surpassing previous r...

bg.copernicus.org

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Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 1d

💻 Phishing and multitasking

Two experiments found that multitasking hurts phishing detection, as higher working memory load reduced accuracy.

🔗 doi.org/10.1080/0960085X.2025.2548543

#SciComm #CyberSecurity #Phishing 🧪

Phishing detection in multitasking contexts: the impact of working memory load, goal activation, and message framing cue on detection performance

Phishing, a prevalent cyber threat leveraging social engineering, poses significant challenges in the digital landscape. Despite advancements in security technologies, phishing continues to exploit...

doi.org

6 10

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 1d

I mean how is this even allowed? Oh yes... lobbying. Thanks for highlighting Natalie. And sorry that you have to put up with so many colleagues selling out their constituents for a couple of tickets to see the footy. 😢

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 1d

🎓 Student identity and motivation online

A study of Chinese college students found that those learning online showed lower self-acceptance, social connection, and goal direction than in-person peers.

🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#SciComm #HigherEd #Education 🧪

College students’ identity differences in offline and online learning environment and their effects on achievement motivation - Humanities and Social Sciences Communications

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications - College students’ identity differences in offline and online learning environment and their effects on achievement motivation

www.nature.com

1 4 18

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 1d

🌍 Climate change and mental health

Climate models and policies miss systemic risks, like how food crises, pollution, and heat can harm mental health across generations. A systems approach is vital for true resilience.

🔗 doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000722

#SciComm #Climate #MentalHealth 🧪

Systems-level risks of the climate crisis are currently missed: A mental health lens

A lack of accounting for the systemic risks of the climate crisis in climate risk models, government policy and planning means that such risks remain poorly understood and largely overlooked, with det...

doi.org

10 18

Reposted by Julia Lynch

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 1d

📚 School subjects and politics

A UK study found that what teens study shapes their future politics: arts & humanities students lean liberal, business & economics lean right. These patterns persist into adulthood.

🔗 doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2025.2521582

#SciComm #Education #Politics 🧪

School subject choices in adolescence affect political party support

The educational cleavage is restructuring electoral competition in many democracies, yet there has been insufficient attention on how variation in educational content affects this. In order to addr...

doi.org

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Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 1d

🍄 Psilocybin and suicide risk

A review of 9 trials (N=593) found psilocybin therapy led to a small but significant drop in suicidal thoughts. More data and long-term follow-up are now needed.

🔗 www.psypost.org/psilocybin-t...

#SciComm #MentalHealth #Psilocybin 🧪

Psilocybin therapy linked to reduced suicidal thoughts in people with psychiatric disorders

Psilocybin therapy may reduce suicidal thoughts in people with mental health diagnoses, according to a new review in Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology. The analysis combined results from clin...

www.psypost.org

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Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 1d

🐷 Pig-to-human liver transplant

A world-first: a 10-gene-edited pig liver was transplanted into a living human, functioning for 171 days. The graft produced active human-compatible proteins and avoided early rejection.

🔗 www.journal-of-hepatology.eu/article/S016...

#SciComm #Transplantation 🧪

Genetically engineered pig-to-human liver xenotransplantation

The advent of genetically edited porcine-to-human xenotransplantation has predominantly focused on cardiac and renal applications, with no reported cases of porcine-to-human liver xenotransplantation....

www.journal-of-hepatology.eu

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Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 1d

🍵 Green tea & obesity

In obese mice kept warm (28 °C), green tea improved blood sugar control & muscle health. It boosted genes for energy use & glucose handling, even without raising fat burning.

🔗 analyticalsciencejournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

#SciComm #Obesity #GreenTea 🧪

Does Green Tea Ameliorate Obesity in Mice Kept at Thermoneutrality by Modulating Skeletal Muscle Metabolism?

The effects of green tea on metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes have been extensively studied. Obesity often leads to insulin resistance, particularly in peripheral tissues such as skelet...

analyticalsciencejournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

2 2 20

Reposted by Julia M. Wright

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 1d

💉 2024–25 Covid-19 vaccine effectiveness

In U.S. veterans, the updated vaccine reduced 6-month risks of Covid-related ED visits (-29%), hospitalisations (-39%), and deaths (-64%) vs flu-only group.

🔗 doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2510226

#SciComm #COVID19 #Vaccines 🧪

Association of 2024–2025 Covid-19 Vaccine with Covid-19 Outcomes in U.S. Veterans | NEJM

Amid the declining clinical severity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and diminishing public uptake of annual coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines, ...

doi.org

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Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 2d

🧠 New hope for chronic pain

Scientists have found a cluster of brain cells that stay active long after injury, driving lasting pain. Blocking them eased pain in mice, hinting at new drug targets for millions living with chronic pain.

🔗 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

#SciComm 🧪 #Pain

Brain area linked to chronic pain discovered — offering hope for treatments

The newfound ensemble of neurons could lead to therapies to treat persistent pain, which affects roughly one of five people globally.

www.nature.com

3 10 34

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 2d

☄️ A visitor from another star

Astronomers are tracking 3I/Atlas, only the third known comet from beyond our solar system. It’s releasing unusual gases that could reveal what other star systems are made of.

🔗 www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

#SciComm 🧪 🔭

3/I Atlas: a rare comet from beyond our solar system is being closely tracked – what can it teach us?

Only the third interstellar comet ever to be seen contains material from other star systems that can be observed close up

www.theguardian.com

6 14

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 2d

💉 Why some people are vaccine hesitant

A study in Estonia found two kinds of vaccine-hesitant individuals: those distrusting mainstream medicine & those who doubt vaccines after poor public communication. Building trust, not blame, is key.

🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#SciComm 🧪 #Vaccines

Exploring subjective understandings among vaccine-hesitant individuals: findings from a Q methodology study - Humanities and Social Sciences Communications

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications - Exploring subjective understandings among vaccine-hesitant individuals: findings from a Q methodology study

www.nature.com

2 6 18

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 2d

💊 Ketamine in real-world care

A new study finds long-term treatment with generic racemic ketamine helps many people with hard-to-treat depression, with good safety and no serious side effects when properly monitored.

🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

#SciComm 🧪 #MentalHealth #Ketamine

Real-world clinical data on the long-term effectiveness and safety of generic racemic ketamine treatment

Ketamine is a highly effective treatment for difficult-to-treat or treatment-resistant depression (TRD). The commercially developed intranasal spray c…

www.sciencedirect.com

1 2 9

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 2d

🌌 The expiration date of the universe

A new study suggests dark energy may be slightly different than we thought. If it includes a small negative term, the universe could collapse in a 'big crunch' about 33 billion years from now.

🔗 www.sciencealert.com/physicists-p...

#SciComm 🧪 🔭

Physicists Predict When The Universe Will End in a Reverse Big Bang

If recent discoveries that dark energy is evolving hold any water, our Universe will collapse under its own gravity on a finite timeline, new calculations suggest.

www.sciencealert.com

5 2 14

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 2d

🗿 The moai really walked

New evidence shows Easter Island’s giant statues were engineered to 'walk' upright using their curved bases & forward tilt. A 4.3-ton replica moved 100 m in 40 min with just 18 people, & no logs or sleds.

🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

#SciComm 🧪 #Archaeology

The walking moai hypothesis: Archaeological evidence, experimental validation, and response to critics

The transport of Rapa Nui's (Easter Island) monumental moai statues has been debated for over a century. Based on a systematic analysis of 962 moai, w…

www.sciencedirect.com

2 18 59

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 2d

❄️ Antifreeze from fish blood

A lab-made version of a fish blood protein stops ice crystals from forming, protecting foods and medicines from freeze damage. Cheap, safe, and biodegradable.

🔗 advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

#SciComm 🧪 #MaterialsScience #Biotech

An Ultrapotent, Ultraeconomical, Antifreeze Polypeptide

Simple and inexpensive polypeptides composed of random copolymers of alanine and glutamic acid are effective antifreezes for applications in foods and biomedicine. The polypeptides, inspired by natur...

advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

1 10 28

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 2d

💧 Wastewater and climate impact

A national study finds U.S. wastewater plants emit far more greenhouse gases than thought. Just 10% of facilities create 74% of emissions, pointing to big potential gains from targeted fixes.

🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s44...

#SciComm 🧪 #ClimateCrisis #Water

Comprehensive assessment of the contribution of wastewater treatment to urban greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions - Nature Water

Extensive measurements of the emissions of methane, nitrous oxide and ammonia from wastewater treatment facilities in the USA present higher values than are currently stated in national inventories. The results of this analysis show that greenhouse gas and nitrogenous emissions from the wastewater sector are often overlooked and that their impact on climate should be reassessed.

www.nature.com

2 8 19

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 2d

🧠 Dopamine and forgetting

A new study shows dopamine helps the brain forget old memories. Worms lacking dopamine held onto memories longer, suggesting forgetting is an active, dopamine-driven process.

🔗 doi.org/10.1111/jnc.70200

#SciComm 🧪 #Neuroscience #Memory

Dopaminergic Modulation of Short‐Term Associative Memory in Caenorhabditis elegans

Forgetting is a vital, active process that clears irrelevant memories and supports new learning. Using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans, we investigated how dopamine, a key neurotransmitter,....

doi.org

3 13 54

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 3d

🧊 Ice that changed the wind

New modelling shows the Patagonian Ice Sheet didn’t just react to climate shifts during the last ice age; it helped drive them by reshaping regional winds and storms.

🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s43...

#SciComm 🧪 #ClimateHistory

Patagonian Ice Sheet shaped regional climate during the Last Glacial Maximum - Communications Earth & Environment

The Patagonian ice sheet not only responded to climate change but also actively influenced it regionally, highlighting the role of topographic forcing in shaping atmospheric circulation during glacial-interglacial cycles, according to a modeling study.

www.nature.com

1 10

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 3d

🩸 Hope for ME/CFS diagnosis

Scientists have developed a blood test that detects chronic fatigue syndrome with 92% accuracy.

🔗 www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

#SciComm 🧪 #CFS

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

www.theguardian.com

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