TRUMP ANNOUNCES U.S. WITHDRAWAL FROM WHO AND AID SUSPENSION
Donald Trump announced that the U.S. will withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) and suspend foreign aid for three months. The decision, effective in 12 months, will halt the U.S.’s financial contributions, which make up 18% of WHO’s budget. The WHO’s global health initiatives, particularly in poorer regions and conflict zones, are crucial for combating diseases like Ebola, polio, and mpox. Trump criticized the WHO for being politically influenced and argued that the U.S. made disproportionate financial contributions. Experts warned that the withdrawal could harm global health efforts, especially in pandemic preparedness. Dr. Pete Baker from the Center for Global Development expressed regret, while Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown University called the move a grave strategic error, undermining U.S. security and the global health infrastructure. The decision follows Trump’s 2020 attempt to leave the WHO, which was reversed under President Biden. China reaffirmed support for the WHO. (The Guardian)
TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER WITHDRAWING U.S. FROM PARIS AGREEMENT
President Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, joining only Iran, Libya, and Yemen in not participating in the global pact to fight climate change. The move follows his earlier decision to exit the agreement in his first term, later reversed by President Biden in 2020. Critics, including scientists, activists, and Democrats, condemned the decision as a step backward in combating the climate crisis and undermining U.S. leadership on clean energy. Trump’s administration has pushed for increased fossil fuel production and rolled back clean energy policies, which experts warn will worsen emissions. While U.S. emissions have decreased 20% since 2005, progress has stalled, and experts project the country will fall short of its climate goals by 2030. Despite leaving the Paris Agreement, the U.S. remains a member of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will continue to host global climate talks. (New York Times)
TRUMP CLAIMS AMERICANS SPLIT THE ATOM SPARKING OUTRAGE
During his inauguration address, President Trump claimed that Americans “split the atom,” a statement that sparked outrage in New Zealand. New Zealanders pointed out that the achievement belongs to Ernest Rutherford, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist from New Zealand, who is widely regarded as the first to knowingly split the atom in 1917. The feat is also credited to English scientists John Cockroft and Ernest Walton, who conducted experiments in 1932 in a British laboratory developed by Rutherford. Trump’s broad statement of American accomplishments, which included references to conquering deserts and launching mankind into space, included the atom-splitting claim. New Zealand politicians, including Nick Smith, the mayor of Nelson (Rutherford’s birthplace), expressed surprise and frustration over the misattribution, with Smith offering to host a visit to Rutherford’s birthplace to set the historical record straight. Rutherford’s work is celebrated in New Zealand, where he is a national hero. (AP)
AI CHATBOTS STILL GENERATE HALLUCINATIONS DESPITE IMPROVEMENTS
AI chatbots, particularly large language models (LLMs), are known to generate “hallucinations” — false or fabricated information that can lead to issues, especially in academic and professional contexts. Researchers, including Andy Zou from Carnegie Mellon University, have faced challenges when AI chatbots provide incorrect scientific references, sometimes citing non-existent papers or authors. These hallucinations occur due to the AI’s statistical nature, where it generates responses based on patterns rather than factual accuracy. Despite efforts to reduce hallucinations through techniques like fact-checking, self-reflection, and training on cleaner data, errors remain. A study in 2024 found that chatbots misreported references between 30% and 90% of the time. While some approaches, such as Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), improve factuality, hallucinations persist, especially in more complex or open-ended queries. Experts recommend using AI chatbots cautiously, as they often present incorrect answers confidently. Researchers are working on enhancing chatbot reliability, but current models are not yet suitable for delivering accurate factual information consistently. (Nature)
STUDY SHOWS DIETARY SURVEYS UNRELIABLE DUE TO UNDERREPORTING
A recent study published in *Nature Food* highlights the unreliability of dietary surveys, a common method used in nutritional epidemiology to link food consumption with health outcomes. Researchers, using a technique that measures energy expenditure, discovered that more than half of the data in widely used databases, like NHANES, is likely inaccurate due to underreporting. This misreporting undermines studies that link diets to diseases. The study applied a model derived from over 6,000 DLW measurements and found that most reported energy intakes did not match predicted values, with significant discrepancies found in diets high in protein. While the study calls into question the validity of many nutritional studies, some experts argue that misreporting isn’t severe enough to distort the results of well-conducted research. Despite these criticisms, researchers are exploring better methods, like photographic food diaries and wearable cameras, to improve the accuracy of dietary data in the future. (Science)
Thanks for reading. Let’s be careful out there.
WORDS: The Biology Guy.