Dan RiskinVerified account

@riskindan

Bat-loving biologist who is on TV and radio sometimes. CTV Canada's Science and Tech Specialist. Author of Mother Nature is Trying to Kill You.

noctilio.com
Joined April 2011
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  1. Pinned Tweet
    26 Sep 2019

    I've made it a personal goal to never drink water from a plastic water bottle again. My last sip was April 4, 2019. So my streak so far is 175 days. Please respond to this with your own streaks (even short ones just starting out). Let's cheer each-other on!

    30 replies 15 retweets 189 likes
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  2. Retweeted
    Jan 24

    We are calling for the closure of live animal markets that sell for human consumption. They are a threat to human , wildlife populations, economies and the poor. They need to go.

    4 replies 51 retweets 63 likes
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  3. Retweeted
    12 hours ago

    "Influenza has already sickened at least 13 million Americans this winter, hospitalizing 120,000 and killing 6,600, according to the CDC. And flu season hasn’t even peaked. In a bad year, the flu kills up to 61,000 Americans." via

    10 replies 98 retweets 112 likes
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  4. Retweeted
    22 hours ago
    Replying to

    I remember a conference talk given by a coronavirus expert during the SARS outbreak. "Wow," he said as he scanned the packed ballroom, "This is more people than I've ever spoken to before...." Then he continued: "...in my entire career, combined."

    22 retweets 185 likes
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  5. Retweeted
    Jan 24

    Here's your periodic reminder that basic research is only "useless" until it suddenly becomes the most important thing in the world. 20 years ago, coronavirology was an obscure sub-field the public never heard about. Good thing we funded it anyway.

    35 replies 2,023 retweets 5,642 likes
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  6. Jan 24

    Has anyone told them?

    If a spider had a penchant for right angles, its web might look like this. So much going on in this glowing view of the capital city of ! Goodnight !
    1 reply 2 likes
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  7. Retweeted
    Jan 24

    The voice of the mummy thing has reminded me of possibly the funniest thing I've ever seen or heard.

    55 replies 69 retweets 384 likes
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  8. Retweeted
    Jan 24

    Let it never be said that I can't bandwagon.

    5 replies 14 retweets 72 likes
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  9. Retweeted
    Jan 24

    Our lab is looking for new students to work on the evolutionary ecology of under anthropogenic change using More information on potential PhD topics: 

    1 reply 22 retweets 18 likes
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  10. Jan 24

    Some bad code (i.e. instructions) got sent to the Curiosity Rover. It lost track of its own position, so it stopped moving as a self-protective response. Now new code needs to be sent there to get it moving again.

    5 likes
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  11. Retweeted
    Jan 23

    No, snakes are not likely to be the reservoir for nCoV-2019. To investigate this unlikely claim widely circulated in the media, I performed a series of analyses to show that this claim is false and we still don't know the nCoV reservoir. Details here:

    15 replies 313 retweets 532 likes
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  12. Retweeted
    Jan 23

    China virus death toll mounts to 25, infections spread; China’s National Health Commission said 830 cases had been confirmed so far and 25 people had died as of Thursday.

    3 replies 13 retweets 13 likes
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  13. Retweeted
    Jan 23
    Replying to

    Let’s say it’s not impossible, but there is no strong evidence for snakes being a transition host. For snakes to influence the virus DNA, as suggested by the paper, it would have had to host the virus for a long time, which is unlikely given the evolution of the virus.

    1 retweet 1 like
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  14. Retweeted
    Jan 23
    Replying to

    My academic grandfather, herpetologist, and one of the fathers of modern phylogenetics, David Hillis, is very skeptical!

    1 retweet
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  15. Retweeted
    Jan 23

    It probably isn't snakes.

    4 replies 50 retweets 71 likes
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  16. Jan 23

    Yes, Fred. Yes.

    I am not at all over-hyping this when I tell you it is one of the most ridiculous athletic performances I have ever seen. And yes. It's lawn bowling. And also yes...it's mesmerizing.
    1 reply 1 like
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  17. Jan 23

    Ok so now people seem to be questioning the snake story. Seems to be general agreement that bats are the original source and that it may have gone through another species on the way to human, but people are doubtful it was a snake.

    Articles in mainstream journals are coming out suggesting that the Wuhan coronavirus comes from snakes. But the study behind this statement is apparently problematic. More robust studies instead suggest a close affinity to bat coronaviruses.
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    3 replies 2 retweets 6 likes
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  18. Retweeted
    Jan 23

    Amazing opportunity!

    Know a writer who loves science? A scientist who loves to write? They (you) can join a vibrant community of scientists and writers developing an undergraduate program in science writing as a Mellon Science Writing Fellow at Kenyon College! Please RT
    4 retweets 8 likes
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  19. Retweeted
    Jan 23

    Unsurprisingly, wildlife markets increase the risk for transmission of zoonoses. So preventing wildlife trade isn't just about protecting biodiversity, but also protecting people from disastrous public health issues.

    NEWS: China's latest virus outbreak exposes perils of exotic wildlife trade, writes . It is time to close live animal markets that trade in wildlife, says WCS's Dr. Chris Walzer.
    7 retweets 25 likes
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  20. Jan 23

    "The practice of isolating people... dates at least to the 14th century, when ships arriving in Venice during the plague epidemic were required to anchor off the coast for 40 days." Quarantine comes from the Italian quaranta giorni, meaning 40 days.

    1 retweet 3 likes
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  21. Retweeted
    Jan 22

    Betelgeuse is Continuing to Dim! It's Down to 1.506 Magnitude - Universe Today

    7 replies 11 retweets 47 likes
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