Articles tagged as: Sound reasoning definition

Potential role for T cells in COVID-19 immunity accurately reported in National Geographic article

in National Geographic, by Carrie Arnold

“The article accurately discusses the recent findings about the presence/relevance of T cell response against COVID-19. Indeed, both arms of adaptive immunity, humoral and cellular, contribute in different ways to the body’s fight against viral infections. What remains to be seen and explored in greater detail is how important the role of antigen-specific T cells is in protecting people from a re-infection or ameliorating the disease symptoms.”

— 19 Aug 2020


ABC article effectively illustrates important climate trends for Australian readers

in Australian Broadcasting Company, by Tim Leslie, Joshua Byrd, Nathan Hoad

“This article is exceptionally good in delivering accurate information in an engaging way. There are many useful statements made about the effects of climate change on extreme weather globally and in Australia and these have been backed up by links to relevant peer-reviewed literature.”

— 11 Dec 2019


New York Times accurately reports vaccine-derived polio outbreaks caused by low vaccine coverage

in New York Times, by Associated Press

“The content of the article is correct: attenuated polio strain type 2 contained in the oral vaccine can – in very rare cases – mutate and cause disease in under-immunized persons. However it might be good to specify that if the vaccine coverage is good, this will not happen (so the vaccine coverage has to be maintained, since it has prevented 13 million cases since 2000, according to the WHO).”

— 02 Dec 2019


Washington Post article accurately discusses warm Arctic weather event

in The Washington Post, by Jason Samenow

“This article accurately describes the Arctic warming event and associated surprise by scientists, includes multiple explanations for possible causes, and does not overstate any connections to climate change, pointing out that more data is needed to know if these above-freezing events will be a new Arctic normal.”

— 14 Jan 2019


Time article accurately describes distinguishing features between influenza infection and infection by other respiratory viruses

in Time, by Markham Heid

“Generally accurate. However, the main issue is that influenza viruses can also cause a “cold”, i.e. upper respiratory tract infection. A “cold” is a symptom/diagnosis whereas “influenza” is a virus that can cause symptoms such as a cold. There could be a better distinction by saying there are lots of viruses (flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus (HMPV), rhinovirus, coronavirus, etc.) that cause respiratory infections including ‘colds’ and ‘chest infections’.”

— 28 Nov 2018


Washington Post accurately describes ocean warming study (which has since been corrected)

in The Washington Post, by Chris Mooney, Brady Dennis

“The Washington Post article accurately reports the results and links to other topics using reliable sources. Quotations from Pieter Tans and Paul Durack add important caveats showing that this is strong new evidence but not the final say. This caution is vital for readers to interpret the findings.”

— 03 Nov 2018


Guardian story accurately describes study on environmental impacts of our food system

in The Guardian, by Damian Carrington

“Although the presented facts are clear, the scientists give a personal interpretation of the priorities and needed policies, which are not covered in the source. The data give added value, but are in line with earlier studies.”

— 17 Oct 2018


National Geographic accurately covers research pointing to slower-moving hurricanes

in National Geographic, by Craig Welch

“This is an important topic and the article explains the new research findings clearly… Highlighting how this result about slowing storms is consistent across two studies that employ very different methodologies further helps convey to the public how we try to use multiple lines of evidence to understand how our world works and how it may chance in the future.”

— 08 Jun 2018


New York Times story accurately describes Rio Grande’s climate context

in The New York Times, by Henry Fountain

“The issue of water resource management in the western US and how it fits within a changing climate is extremely complex and spans many disciplines from climatology to hydrology to city planning to population dynamics, and so on. This article does a nice job presenting the very basics of the climate science involved and tying the greater changes to the personal stories of people in the region.”

— 31 May 2018


Washington Post accurately covers permafrost study, albeit under a somewhat sensational headline

in The Washington Post, by Chris Mooney

The article accurately described a study indicating that more of the carbon released from thawing permafrost will be released as methane and provided context on its overall implications by quoting comments from two other researchers. The article’s headline, however, may mislead readers through the use of the sensational phrase “the Arctic’s carbon bomb”, which calls to mind a catastrophic, explosive release of greenhouse gas.

— 22 Mar 2018