readpith

A weekly read on tech, education, and where opportunity is moving. Pith, not noise.

[BBC News (World) @BBCWorld]

Two people rescued from Nepal tunnel more than a week after flash flood

https://t.co/nLZSHLdJcV

[readpith @readpith]

@Rainmaker1973 Imagine the relief of their families!

[readpith @readpith]

@W0rld2026 Beautiful

[readpith @readpith]

@zerohedge But AI detectors are wrong most of the time! Take five texts written before the AI era and run them through AI detectors; you will be surprised.

[readpith @readpith]

@zoomafrika1 yes! these are very rich in proteins! so delicious too

[NASA's Kennedy Space Center @NASAKennedy]

🚀Roman milestone complete!

Teams are proceeding with final launch preparations after @NASA, @NASARoman and @SpaceX mission managers finished the Flight Readiness Review for an Aug. 30 launch.

Up next for Roman: Encapsulation!
https://t.co/zzv3WmRi7G

[readpith @readpith]

@ZelenskyyUa I really don't understand these people!!! why can't you find a better way to solve problems without sacrificing human lives?! THE ONLY BEST HELP IS TO HELP STOP THE WAR!! PLEASE

[U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White @USAmbToBelgium]

The United States Mission to Belgium condemns, in the strongest terms, Ghent University’s retaliation against an American scholar following his accurate whistleblower reporting on academic fraud.

The United States government regularly funds and supports research, academic exchanges, and other engagements with overseas universities. Dishonest, corrupt institutions that engage in, or reward, scapegoating mob behavior are not desirable partners for us. This is particularly true where the purpose and effect of the scapegoating is to punish accurate journalism unearthing academic dishonesty. We are therefore reviewing any relationships we have with Ghent University.

Bad-faith idealogues will try to make this a referendum on the content of Cofnas’s scholarship – or polemical distortions of it. That’s wrong. Free speech means that controversial views are protected. And Cofnas’s views were known to Ghent University when he was hired.

The ultimate purpose of freedom of speech is to overturn lies, fraud, and false ideologies. This is precisely what Cofnas was doing, and precisely the reason his home institution wants to silence him.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

[readpith @readpith]

When Academic Accountability Forgets the Person https://t.co/U89AsEHBAb

[readpith @readpith]

@USAmbToBelgium I support this!!! Cofnas deserves justice!!!!

[readpith @readpith]

@thetimes YES! Nathan did the right thing! I don't understand why he should be treated as if he is the one who pushed Arday to commit academic fraud!

[readpith @readpith]

Why? I think this is becoming politicized!

[readpith @readpith]

This is going in the wrong direction!

[Nathan Cofnas @nathancofnas]

I was just suspended by Ghent University. They will almost certainly fire me.

The decision was made by rector Petra De Sutter, a former leader of the Green Party.

[readpith @readpith]

It is shocking that Arday was able to rise so far in academia using allegedly false credentials. Even more troubling is that some of his papers were reportedly flagged for plagiarism more than five years ago, yet the system apparently remained silent. This raises serious questions about institutional accountability and the scrutiny given to academic appointments and promotions.

At the same time, we cannot know exactly what led to his suicide. His death is a tragic reminder that accountability for misconduct must go hand in hand with stronger mental-health awareness and support.

[readpith @readpith]

Those who are connecting Arday's tragedy to racism are sick!

[readpith @readpith]

I think people should stop defending Arday’s lies. That is unacceptable and should serve as a lesson on the importance of greater scrutiny and accountability when hiring or promoting academics. At the same time, the fact that he ultimately died by suicide is deeply troubling and highlights how much more work society needs to do to raise awareness about mental health, provide support, and address the pressures that can contribute to such tragedies.

[Bloomberg @business]

A British sociologist who resigned last week from the University of Cambridge following weeks of public accusations of plagiarism and media scrutiny was found dead Friday. https://t.co/OKCWpFldc5

[readpith @readpith]

@CollinRugg Prayers go to his family, especially his two children!

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

Earthquake interrupts a surgery

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

A recent study has demonstrated that continuous exposure to rose essential oil through inhalation can lead to measurable increases in gray matter volume in the human brain.

In this randomized controlled intervention, 50 healthy women participated: 28 in the experimental group applied rose essential oil to their clothing daily for one month, while 22 in the control group used plain water. Before and after the period, researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess changes in brain structure. The results indicated a significant increase in gray matter volume (GMV) across the whole brain, with a particularly notable effect in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), a region involved in memory processing, self-referential thinking, and emotional regulation. No significant changes occurred in areas like the amygdala or orbitofrontal cortex.

The olfactory pathway likely explains this effect: aromatic compounds from the rose oil travel directly to the limbic system, providing sustained stimulation that may promote neuroplasticity and help counteract age-related brain atrophy. The authors suggest this could have implications for dementia prevention, as the PCC is among the regions affected early in conditions like Alzheimer's disease.

This appears to be the first evidence that prolonged scent inhalation can induce structural changes in the adult human brain.

[Kokubun, K., et al. (2024). Continuous inhalation of essential oil increases gray matter volume. Brain Research Bulletin, 208, 110896. DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2024.110896]