SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " alert " 1,507 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Scientists Find Major Flaws in The Research Behind Collagen Supplements
There's more to the story.
Health Alert – U.S. Embassy Moscow, Russia (October 6, 2026)
Health Alert – U.S. Embassy Moscow, Russia (October 5, 2026) Location: Irkutsk, Russia Event: The U.S. Embassy is aware of press reports from the Irkutsk region of suspected pneumonic plague resulting in the death of an individual and of associated quarantine measures in, and closures of, hospitals in Irkutsk. We continue to track the situation closely. The U.S. government has limited ability to help U.S. citizens in Russia, especially outside of Moscow. U.S. government personnel may face additional restrictions for personal and official travel to specific regions due to health and security concerns. The State Department’s Level 4 Travel Advisory (Do Not Travel) for Russia remains in place and states U.S. citizens currently in Russia should depart immediately. U.S. citizens planning travel to Russia are again strongly advised not to travel to Russia due to risk of wrongful detention and security concerns. Actions to Take: S. citizens in the area should follow the guidance of local health authorities, avoid affected facilities, and seek medical care promptly if they develop fever or respiratory symptoms. Visit the CDC Page on Plague for additional information about the disease. Visit the CDC Travelers’ Health Page for Russia for country-specific health updates. Monitor your health for 14 days following travel if you traveled to an area experiencing the outbreak. Review the S. Embassy country page for general health information. Refer to the Embassy’s list of medical providers. Check with your travel insurance provider about medical evacuation options should you fall ill while overseas. Have a plan to depart in an emergency that does not depend on U.S. government help. Monitor local media for updates. Be prepared to adjust your plans. Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program(STEP) to receive health and security updates. Assistance: U.S. Embassy Moscow, Russia +7 495 728-5577 MoscowACS@state.gov U.S. Embassy Moscow web page State Department – Consular Affairs (+001) 888-407-4747 or (+001) 202-501-4444 Russia Country Information Follow us on Facebook and Twitter State Department – Consular Affairs 1-888-407-4747 or 1-202-501-4444
Scientists Find a Hidden Network of Tiny Channels The Brain May Use to Flush Out Toxic Alzheimer's Proteins
Toxic proteins need an exit.
Scientists Find a Hidden Network of Tiny Channels The Brain May Use to Flush Out Toxic Alzheimer's Proteins
Toxic proteins need an exit.
Netflix's 'East of Eden' cast explain 'poetic' final scene, 'Timshel' meaning
Spoiler alert! The following story contains major details about the "Timshel," the seventh and final episode of Netflix’s limited series “East of Eden” (now streaming).
SAFETY ALERT | School system closed Tuesday tied to skin-related health concern
The system said the closure comes out of an abundance of caution and allows the schools to be deep cleaned.
Answer Man: Misleading political ads? What’s up with water alerts?
Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers: Question: The ads against Jamie Ager that are airing on TV now are false. They say that Ager voted against this or that and supported this or that. He is not an elected official and could not support or oppose any legislation. These are the ads paid for by No Going Back PAC. What am I missing? My answer: Well, I’d like to say, “The good old days of American politics where opponents politely disagreed with one another in their advertising.” But honestly, these campaigns have always been uglier than a closeup of my belly button.
US says foreign financial institutions doing business with Iran may be sanctioned without notice
WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The US Treasury Department said on Monday it was alerting foreign financial institutions that continue to do business with Iran or its financial sector that they may be sanctioned by Washington without advance notice. DETAILS: • "Foreign financial institutions continuing to transact with sanctioned Iranian financial institutions could be targeted at any time without advance notification and should take immediate action to terminate such activity and relationship
US says foreign financial institutions doing business with Iran may be sanctioned without notice
WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The US Treasury Department said on Monday it was alerting foreign financial institutions that continue to do business with Iran or its financial sector that they may be sanctioned by Washington without advance notice.
US says foreign financial institutions doing business with Iran may be sanctioned without notice
The US Treasury Department said on Monday it was alerting foreign financial institutions that continue to do business with Iran or its financial sector that they may be sanctioned by Washington without advance notice.
Your Brain Under Anesthesia Behaves Surprisingly Like a Worm's, Scientists Discover
A shared experience of oblivion.
Scientists Reveal The Optimal Amount of Sleep For Lower Dementia Risk
A huge analysis uncovered the sweet spot.
Skulls Buried Around Egypt's First Kings Reveal Evidence of Human Sacrifice 5,000 Years Ago
Modern forensics gives us a new understanding of an ancient mystery.
Scientists Find a Surprising Link Between Cats And Happiness Across 93 Countries
A purr-fect pet friend?
Scientists Might Have Found a New Cause of High Blood Pressure, And a Way to Treat It
There's an urgent need for new treatment options.
Scientists May Have Found a Way to Make Damaged Adult Retinas Repair Themselves
Rebuilding nerve connections.
Scientists May Have Found a Way to Make Damaged Adult Retinas Repair Themselves
Rebuilding nerve connections.
Pomegranate Compound Improves Heart Function Up to 80% in Mice With Heart Failure
A juicy development.
Decaf Coffee Might Have A Surprising Advantage Over Caffeinated, Study Finds
A buzz without the buzz.
WQAD News 8
WQAD (Quad Cities) is your source for breaking news, weather, traffic, and live coverage in the Quad Cities and surrounding communities. Get the latest updates from the WQAD team — from major local headlines and investigations to severe weather, community stories, and the moments everyone’s talking about. Watch live newscasts, stream breaking coverage, and catch up on the top stories shaping Davenport, Rock Island, Moline, Bettendorf, and nearby areas. Subscribe for: • Quad Cities breaking news + live updates • Weather forecasts and severe weather alerts • Investigations and accountability reporting • Community stories across the region • Major events, sports, and local explainers WQAD — Quad Cities news and weather, live and on demand. 🔗 More: https://www.wqad.com
Scientists Tested Whether Leftovers Really Taste Better The Next Day. One Dish Stood Out.
"Few culinary beliefs are as persistent..."
Little Rock police warn of new scam targeting business owners
Little Rock police are warning Arkansans of a new scam that targets business owners and managers.According to a social media post from the department, scammers
Florida Put on Upset alert Before Playing No 25 Mizzou
Riding high after toppling Ole Miss, the Gators must now survive a hostile SEC road test against a motivated Tigers squad eager to derail Florida’s playoff momentum.
Scientists Discover a Genius Use For Leftover Steel Waste – And It Could Save Lives
Win-win-win.
Almost All The Viruses Found in a Vast Deep-Sea Mining Zone Were New to Science
Nearly 12,000 new viruses have been hiding on the seafloor.
Bishop’s computer science chair says AI is eliminating ‘grunt work’ and reshaping digital jobs
Dr. Russell Butler, chair of Bishop’s University’s Department of Computer Science, says artificial intelligence is increasingly taking over routine digital “grunt work,” changing the skills students and workers may need in the years ahead. Photo courtesy of Bishop’s University. Click here to read our platform! Get local news like this every morning. Subscribe free below. Subscribe Pulse Newsroom Artificial intelligence is already taking over some of the routine digital work once performed by entry-level employees, according to Bishop’s University Computer Science chair Dr. Russell Butler — a shift he believes will make expertise, judgement and the ability to evaluate AI-generated work increasingly important. Butler described the change as automation reaching what he calls the “bottom of the cognitive pyramid” during an interview with The Pulse about AI, university education and the future of digital work. His argument is not that humans are disappearing from the workplace. Instead, he sees their role changing as AI becomes capable of handling more of the repetitive tasks involved in computer-based work. “Everything’s converging on just AI basically doing all the grunt work,” Butler said. The bottom of the cognitive pyramid Butler is from Lennoxville, completed his undergraduate studies at Bishop’s and later earned his PhD at the Université de Sherbrooke. He joined Bishop’s in 2019 and now chairs its Department of Computer Science. He uses AI in research, teaching and other creative work, and said the technology is increasingly capable of handling routine digital tasks that once required substantial human time. “You’ve got the grunt work, like moving things around in Excel, doing basic programming tasks,” Butler said. “That’s like the bottom grunt work that the entry-level worker would have done two or three years ago.” Butler went further, saying in his view that much of this type of work has already been absorbed by AI tools. He connected that change to a shift he sees taking place in computer science, where entry-level roles have declined while experienced workers can use AI to increase what they can produce. “A senior developer now has access to essentially an unlimited amount of junior developers on demand,” Butler said. He was describing AI systems metaphorically, not literal employees. His point was that one experienced developer can now ask AI tools to produce code or other technical work that might previously have been assigned to more junior workers. That raises a broader question for universities and employers. If some of the simpler work traditionally given to newcomers can now be done by machines, how do people gain the experience needed to become senior workers themselves? Students doing work that once required years of programming Butler said he is already seeing the change inside his classroom. He created a Bishop’s course called CS208, Coding in Plain English, to show students — including those without traditional programming backgrounds — what they can accomplish using AI. Some come from disciplines such as psychology or neuroscience with no previous programming experience. “What I’m finding is that students who have zero programming experience, they come in from another discipline like psychology or neuroscience or something, they are now able to get up and running with real data sets,” Butler said. Butler’s own doctoral work involved neuroimaging, and he said he has assigned students work he considers comparable to the kinds of analysis he performed during his PhD. He described giving students a real dataset, an expected result and instructions to use AI to complete the analysis. Butler said those students have been able to carry out work at a level he associates with tasks he once performed after years of programming experience. That does not mean a student using AI instantly acquires the same knowledge as an experienced computer scientist. But Butler sees it as evidence that AI can dramatically lower the technical barrier between having a problem to solve and producing a working result. The role of the person using the system then changes. They need to know what to ask for, understand enough about the subject to judge the answer and take responsibility for what is ultimately produced. What about AI hallucinations? One persistent concern surrounding generative AI is hallucination — when a system produces information that sounds convincing but is false or unsupported. Butler said that problem has improved substantially in newer systems and is not as severe as it was with earlier models. He pointed in particular to newer AI systems’ ability to search the web, consult scientific databases and return source links rather than simply generating a citation from their internal model. Butler nevertheless said users should verify what AI produces. “You should verify,” he said while discussing citations generated with AI. His position is that hallucinations have become less common in the systems he uses, not that incorrect AI output is impossible. Human checking remains part of the process. Hours of work compressed Butler offered another example from his administrative work at Bishop’s. The university has been comparing CEGEP courses with first-year Bishop’s courses to determine where students may qualify for advanced standing. Traditionally, Butler said, that means reviewing two sets of course descriptions and manually matching one institution’s courses with another’s. As department chair, that could require hours of reading and comparison. He said AI can now be given both sets of material and asked to generate an initial mapping automatically. “It saves me hours and hours of work,” Butler said. Butler said the AI-generated mapping can also produce a better result than he would produce himself. He sees similar opportunities in businesses. A company may receive specifications, drawings, emails or other digital material from customers and then have employees convert that information into an internal format before anything can be manufactured or delivered. AI can increasingly perform parts of that intermediate processing. In Butler’s view, the employee does not necessarily disappear. Instead, the job becomes more about checking the result. “The human is still there,” he said. Judgement could become more valuable That change is central to Butler’s view of where digital work may be headed. If AI can produce a first draft, write basic code, compare documents or process large amounts of information, he argues that knowledge and judgement become increasingly important. “The real scarce resource going forward is going to be domain knowledge, expertise, and… credentials, authority, the ability to work with other people,” Butler said. He is therefore encouraging students not only to learn AI tools but also to broaden their education. He mentioned acting, fine art and photography as examples of courses that can help develop what he described as taste and intuition — the ability to recognize what is good, what is not and what should be changed. “And that’s the skill that they need now because the grunt work has been automated and now it’s about evaluating what the AI produces and telling it how to improve or expand the output,” Butler said. That does not remove the need for technical knowledge. Butler’s argument is that the emphasis may shift away from manually completing every step of a task and toward directing, checking and improving work produced with AI assistance. He also stressed that humans remain responsible for final decisions. “At the end of the day, the human has to make the final call,” Butler said, pointing to the question of accountability. Physical work may be different Butler draws a distinction between digital work and jobs requiring people to manipulate the physical world. He expects AI to continue advancing quickly in tasks performed almost entirely on computers. He is more cautious about claims that humanoid robots will soon be able to replace workers such as plumbers or electricians. Butler said those trades would not be replaced “anytime soon” in his view and described some current robotics demonstrations as overhyped. He described the situation as counterintuitive. “It’s almost like we solved the highest level first,” he said, contrasting advances in digital AI with the harder problem of building robots capable of operating reliably in the physical world. Butler’s argument is that some digital occupations could face automation sooner than trades requiring complex physical work. The wider AI shift in the Townships Butler’s comments come as local institutions are increasingly grappling with how AI should be used. The federal government recently announced up to $162 million over five years for 10,000 AI-related placements through Mitacs. The Université de Sherbrooke told The Pulse that the number of its collaborative research and innovation projects supported through Mitacs has approximately doubled since 2018-19, while the number of placements has approximately tripled. UdeS also said it already has projects involving both AI adoption and the application of AI to other fields. At Bishop’s, Butler said part of his role involves building the Computer Science department’s local presence, connecting students with regional partners and strengthening relationships with the Sherbrooke technology ecosystem. Those developments put universities in a difficult position. They have to prepare students to use the tools employers increasingly have available while also making sure graduates understand enough to recognize when those tools are wrong, incomplete or being applied to the wrong problem. The risk of losing human skills Butler does not see AI as risk-free. Later in the interview, he raised a separate concern: as AI becomes better at reading, writing, programming and other cognitive tasks, people could lose some of the underlying skills that historically helped produce new ideas. “The other danger is that we’re going to lose the human skills,” Butler said. He specifically mentioned reading and writing and argued that people could lose some of the lower-level understanding that contributes to breakthroughs. Butler said AI systems are based on existing human knowledge and argued that they become much more powerful when paired with a capable person. That tension runs through his view of the technology. AI can remove hours of routine work. It can allow beginners to perform tasks that once required substantial technical training. It can give experienced workers significant leverage. But the more capable the technology becomes, the more important it may be for people to develop the judgement needed to decide what should be done in the first place. For Butler, that is where education may have to change. Students still need to understand their field. They still need to know when something is wrong. And they still need to be able to make the final decision. But if AI increasingly handles the bottom of the cognitive pyramid, the value of a worker may depend less on how quickly they can perform the grunt work and more on whether they understand what the work is supposed to accomplish. Don’t miss the next story that affects your community. Join thousands of readers getting The Pulse every morning—plus breaking news alerts when it matters most. If you value this kind of local journalism, consider supporting it. Subscribe, share and like! Subscribe Share
Finally: Rose-Tinted Solar Panels Could Let Crops And Electricity Share The Same Land
Could this be the future of solar farming?
County Health Department Alerting Community About Possible Measles Exposures at UPMC Chautauqua
The Chautauqua County Health Department is notifying the community about possible measles exposures at UPMC Chautauqua. The Department said people who tested positive for measles were at the hospit…
A Hidden Compound in 'Healthy' Plant-Based Foods May Be Fueling Gut Inflammation
You may have never heard of it.
A Hidden Compound in 'Healthy' Plant-Based Foods May Be Fueling Gut Inflammation
You may have never heard of it.
A Hidden Compound in 'Healthy' Plant-Based Foods May Be Fueling Gut Inflammation
You may have never heard of it.
Extreme Heat Warning Health Alert Issued for Santa Barbara County
A long-duration heat wave is forecast to bring dangerously hot weather this Friday through next Thursday.
Physicists Find a Superconductor That 'Breaks' The Symmetry of Time – A First For Its Kind
What is happening?
Santa Barbara County Health Department Issues Health Alert Due to Extreme Heat Warning
High temperatures anticipated for parts of Santa Barbara County.
Chautauqua County Health Department Alerts Community of Potential Measles Exposures
People with confirmed measles were at UPMC Chautauqua Hospital on September 26, 27 and 29
A Vast Hole Almost The Size of Portugal Opened Up in Antarctica's Winter Sea Ice. Now We Know Why.
An unprecedented gap in Antarctic sea ice.
Science Says Who You Eat Dinner With Matters as Much as What's on Your Plate
We are social creatures.
Chicago police issue alert about sting of overnight business burglaries on North, West Sides
In each incident, four unknown suspects arrived at a business, targeting cash registers, cash in gaming machines and store merchandise for theft, police said.
Missile alerts cost Ukraine $45m for every hour they halt businesses
Figure cited by economy minister highlights trade-offs Kyiv faces as it tries to keep normal life moving amid Russian strikes
How You Eat Your Fruit Is Linked to Heart Health, Study of 371,000 Americans Reveals
Not all fruit products are created equal.
New potent street drug prompts Hawaii health alert
Cychlorphine, a synthetic opioid up to 10 times stronger than fentanyl, has caused deaths across the U.S., prompting local officials to prepare for its arrival.
Saint Louis County reports public health alert due to spike in non-fatal overdoses
Saint Louis County reports public health alert due to spike in Non-fatal Overdoses
America's Oldest Person Just Turned 116 – Here's What Science Says About How to Live That Long
Exceptional.
Airbus probes A321neo flaw as repair plan eases disruption
Airbus and Italy's Leonardo are investigating a glitch at a privately held coatings firm that triggered a quality alert affecting 500 of the planemaker's best-selling A321neo jets, people familiar with the matter said.
The Sun And Moon Can Trigger Earthquakes, And Scientists May Finally Know How
A ground-shaking orbital dance.
Scientists Watched a Deadly Cancer Physically Reshape The Brain as It Grew
"A major step forward in studying neuro-oncological processes."
Scientists Watched a Deadly Cancer Physically Reshape The Brain as It Grew
"A major step forward in studying neuro-oncological processes."
Scientists Blasted Water With Light 10 Billion Times Brighter Than Sunlight. It Still Didn't Evaporate Faster.
Illuminating one of recent science's most intriguing mysteries.
Is 'Primetime' a true story? We fact-check the Chris Hansen thriller
Spoiler alert! We're discussing major details about the plot of "Primetime" (in theaters now). Stop reading if you haven't seen the movie yet and don't want to know what happens.
Osvaldo’s family shares positive health update after emergency surgery
Daniel Osvaldo’s family say the ex-Roma, Juventus and Italy striker is ‘doing well and is alert’ after emergency surgery on Friday.Osvaldo’s family have provided a reassuring health update aft...
Common Bone Health Supplements Do Little to Prevent Fractures, Major Review Finds
Another racket?
Radiation Exposure May Trigger a Key Feature of Alzheimer's in The Brain
A potential new drug target.
Femme in STEM event brings hands-on science to Wilmington mall
Exhibitors from UNCW, local colleges and WECT’s First Alert Weather Team offered interactive experiments to spark curiosity.
Over 70% of US Coastal Areas Are Sinking Faster Than 1 Millimeter a Year
Action is needed now.
Popular Supplement Increases Strength Even Without Exercise, Study Shows
Here's what to know.
Scavengers Stay Healthy By Not Eating Their Own Kind, New Science Suggests
It’s not actually a dog-eat-dog world.
Scientists Find Hidden Information in The Shape of Neurons' Electrical Signals
"When we turn an action potential into a binary event, we throw away information."
Dave & Buster's Entertainment Stock Short Interest Rises to 36.21%
Dave & Buster's Entertainment short interest was 36.21% of the float on September 15th, according to new data we received from Benzinga. Short interest totaled 9,831,307 shares, which was an increase of 13.2% from August 31st.It is estimated that it would take 2.49 days for short sellers to buy back their shares, with current trading volumes. Quiver Alerts Receive PLAY Data Alerts
Mutant Sperm Are Waging a Fierce Survival-of-the-Fittest Battle Inside Men's Testicles
Darwin would be so proud.
'The Traitors: New Blood' recap. Who was murdered and banished?
Spoiler alert: Major spoilers for "The Traitors: New Blood" follow. "The Traitors" trio is complete, and some of them are already catching heat.
Scientists Burned Their Own Scrolls. Then The Hidden Writing Lit Up.
Fighting fire with fire to reveal long-lost knowledge.
Arsenal alerted as Barcelona pull out of Julián Alvarez chase
Arsenal have been handed a potential boost in their interest in Julián Alvarez after Barcelona reportedly ruled out a January move for the Atletico Madrid forward.The Argentina international was one ...
Ozempic-Like Drugs Linked to 11x Higher Vomiting Risk Under Anesthesia
Be honest with your anesthetist.
GUTS Deadline Alert: Levi & Korsinsky Reminds Fractyl Health, Inc. (GUTS) Investors of Securities Class Action Deadline on October 20, 2026
/PRNewswire/ -- Levi & Korsinsky, LLP notifies investors in Fractyl Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: GUTS) that a class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of...
Network Solutions Dark Web Monitoring alerts small businesses to domain-linked data exposure
Network Solutions Dark Web Monitoring alerts small businesses to domain-linked breach data and offers steps to reduce cyber risks.
First New Wild Cat Species Identified in Over 100 Years Is An Adorably Tiny 'Tiger'
A once-in-a-lifetime discovery.
We've Lost 12 Trillion Tons of Ice From Earth's Major Ice Sheets in Just 47 Years, Satellites Reveal
With no sign of stopping.
Underdog Ole Miss at Florida puts Rebels on upset alert
Fans still enjoying and reveling in the Magnolia Bowl win over LSU and Darth Kiffin are finding themselves with a wake up call that Ole Miss are underdogs to Florida this Saturday. The No.4 Rebels (3-0, 1-0 SEC) are hitting the road into one of the toughest environments in college football at the Swamp in […]
Astronomers Detect Radio Signals Coming Directly From an Exoplanet For The First Time
It's not aliens, though...
One Lifelong Exercise Habit Is Linked to Healthier Signs of Aging After 55
Decades of exercise, greater reserve.
How Epic turns America's health data into answers
Software developer Caleb Cox and chief medical officer Dr. Jackie Gerhart discussed how Cosmos, Epic Research’s database, spurred tools like health alerts.
Nurses Put Maine Hospitals On ‘RED ALERT’ Status to Highlight Healthcare Cuts
Registered nurses with the Maine State Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (MSNA/NNOC) held a rally and community event on Saturday, Sept. 19 in Bangor to highlight the patient care impacts of federal health care cuts on Maine hospitals.
Spain on alert over potential new migrant crossing into Ceuta
Albares said Rabat was 'receptive' to tackling online calls for young Moroccans to cross into Ceuta
The Vivid Dreams Stage of REM Sleep Is Linked With a Lower Risk of 83 Diseases
Sleep type matters.
Bessent: US proposes AI incident alert system in talks with China
The U.S. is proposing a new notification system with China for artificial intelligence incidents that could threaten national security. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the plan on Sunday after talks
Lessons from 7 October for European mass casualty planning
Regular drills are crucial if a mass casualty plan is to work in a wartime situation. Focusing on staff safety in the plan itself and taking information flows into account are also important factors for success. These are the findings of a study from Linköping University, Sweden, published in the scientific journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness.
A film thinner than a human hair blocks electromagnetic waves—and hides heat!
CHANGWON, South Korea — A research team led by Dr. Taehoon Kim of the Composites & Convergence Materials Research Division at the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), headed by President Chul-jin Choi, has collaborated with research teams led by Dr. Seon Joon Kim and Dr. Jaewoo Kim of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) to develop an ultrathin composite film that combines electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, infrared (IR) stealth, and high mechanical strength. The researchers achieved these multifunctional properties by combining carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers and MXene in a structure resembling “bricks and mortar.” The technology is expected to protect military systems and aerospace electronics while also reducing electromagnetic interference in 5G/6G communication devices and wearable electronics.
'Rusty Treasure' in Austria Revealed as Europe's Largest Cache of Iron Age Iron Bars
500 swords' worth.
Carrot Top Awake and ‘Breathing on His Own’ in Hospital Amid Health Crisis
Warning: The following post contains discussions of suicide. Carrot Top is reportedly awake and alert following a suicide attempt on Friday, Sept. 18. In a statement made to TMZ by a representative fo...
Why politicians should pay more attention to the polls (reprise)
Welcome to the 231st edition of The Week in Polls (TWIP), a polling newsletter that always welcomes new readers. So please don’t keep TWIP a secret; share it with your friends and colleagues: Share The Week in Polls With all the stories swirling around Reform, JL Partners and political polling, I am finally tearing myself away from talking about the regulation of polling this week - and instead re-running a previous piece reminding us why the solution to problems with polls isn’t simply to ban or ignore them. Rather, we need them to play a vital role in making our politics - and politicians - better. This is followed by summaries of the latest national voting intention polls, seat projections from MRPs and the most recent party leader ratings. Subscribers who pay for the full edition can also read ten insights from the latest polls and analyses, including: A trio of organisations and a pair of professors have been casting their eyes over the Liberal Democrats ahead of the party’s autumn conference; What impact did the summer heatwave have on views on climate change? and Which wins out between chocolate and cheese? If you are not yet a paid subscriber, you can read all ten by starting a free trial now: Get FREE 7-day trial For more polling news as it comes in ahead of next week’s edition, you can also follow The Week in Polls on Bluesky. Picking up on my doubt last week about whether or not 35% of British train travellers have tried to order a takeaway for delivery to a railway station or carriage, thank you to reader Iain, who has been in touch to say he has done just that… in India. Another quick pair of updates, this time on the controversies around Reform and polling. Politico has a further scoop - “Farage aide caught in donor sting attended Egypt retreat with JL Partners” - and Ian Dunt has written about the problems with polling too: “Seeing the response of many polling experts in the last few weeks suggests that they are nervous about what is happening and keen to mitigate against it. Seeing the response of journalists, which has been basically non-existent, suggests the precise opposite.” My usual reminder as well: please do hit reply if you’ve spotted a poll, focus group or new piece of poll-based research that you think should be in contention for coverage in a future edition. Thank you! And with that, on with the show. How politicians get public opinion wrong I have written before about the benefits that come from widespread availability of high-quality political polling. We need more polls and more good coverage of polls. However, what I’ve not dug into before is the research into how accurately politicians estimate public opinion on issues. Thankfully we have academic research to tell us. First, the bad news: We present results from a study of 866 politicians in four countries.1 Politicians were asked to estimate the percentage of public support for various policy proposals. Comparing more than 10,000 estimations with actual levels of public support, we conclude that politicians are quite inaccurate estimators of people’s preferences. They make large errors and even regularly misperceive what a majority of the voters wants. Politicians are hardly better at estimating public preferences than ordinary citizens. Walgrave, S., Jansen, A., Sevenans, J., Soontjens, K., Pilet, J.B., Brack, N., Varone, F., Helfer, L., Vliegenthart, R., van der Meer, T., Breunig, C., Bailer, S., Sheffer, L. & Loewen, P.J. (2023a), “Inaccurate Politicians: Elected Representatives’ Estimations of Public Opinion in Four Countries”, The Journal of Politics, 85(1): 209-222. The bad news is not quite as bad as that makes it sound because, when asked whether the majority of public opinion was for or against various policies, politicians picked the wrong option ‘only’ 29% of the time. However, this included getting it wrong even when public opinion is far from evenly split on an issue: They do not only get it wrong when the public is divided and hard to read (e.g., when there is a 51%:49% distribution). Seventy percent of the misplacements occur for policies with a relatively clear distribution of at least 60% (dis)agreeing citizens. Moreover, the public scored only slightly worse than politicians, picking the wrong option 2.7 out of 8 times on average, compared with 2.3 times for politicians. Turning to the other measure of accuracy (not which side is in the lead but what the percentage support is for each side), politicians on average were 18 percentage points out in their guesses. Again, this was only slightly better than the public, whose error came in at 21 percentage points.2 Further research, using the same mix of countries, gives a little more comfort about how (in)accurate perceptions are: We show that politicians have a better understanding of public opinion when they think the issue matters to voters. Further, when an issue is personally important to politicians they more accurately estimate their party supporters’ opinions. The results confirm that politicians hold more accurate perceptions of voters’ preferences when they think it is important to do so but not necessarily when the issues actually are important to voters. Butler, C., Walgrave, S., Soontjens, K. & Loewen, P.J. (2024), “Politicians are better at estimating public opinion when they think it is more salient”, Party Politics: 1–13. Even so, it’s not a good picture. The remedy for this? Politicians should spend more time reading the polls. So forward this newsletter to someone you know… Share For a more general argument against banning polls, see my 2024 piece. Is “Let Bartlet Be Bartlet” good advice or not? The latest episode of my Political Fictions podcast heads across the Atlantic for a dip into one of the political TV classics: Mark and Cory talk about a giant of American political drama for the first time this week, as they tackle The West Wing. They talk about Let Bartlet Be Bartlet, the nineteenth episode of series one. In it, Mark wonders if The West Wing is actually the epitome of the “Boris Johnson school of politics”, Cory outmanoeuvres Mark into confirming we will record a Christmas Special about Love, Actually and they debate whether the central message of this episode has been misunderstood. Cory’s email newsletter is Paperback Rioter and Mark has a family of email newsletters. Subscribe to our newsletter for some additional bonus content and to get alerted whenever a new episode comes out. Our theme tune is “Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” by Kevin MacLeod/incompetech.com and licensed under the Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. You can also listen to our episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the web or YouTube. Elsewhere from me… [ A Lord's Eye View How to fix the problem of money in our politics Welcome to my latest update on work in the House of Lords. This time I am taking a look at how our political system is regulated, and the protections we need to keep democracy safe from becoming simply a contest to see who has the biggest bank account… Read more 5 days ago · 3 likes · 2 comments · Mark Pack ](https://lordseyeview.substack.com/p/how-to-fix-the-problem-of-money-in?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web&embedding_publication_id=1269283) If you spot a factual error… Borrowing an idea from Stuart Ritchie and others, if you spot a factual error in an edition of this newsletter, I will give you a free 12-month subscription to the paid-for version (or an extra 12 months on your existing one). Factual errors qualify, but grammatical errors or disagreements over interpretation do not, and my decision is final. Messages about both of those are always welcome, though. Voting intention and leadership ratings Here are the latest voting intention polls from different pollsters. It is all pretty static at the moment, with a small and consistent Labour lead in nearly all the polls. The table is also online here, along with explanations about what is included. It is updated regularly throughout the week as new polls are released. Next are the seat projections from MRPs, also sorted by fieldwork dates, listing those which are based on dedicated fieldwork (rather than models based on averages of other polls). Because such MRPs are published infrequently, some of the entries below are quite old. Finally, here is a summary of leadership ratings, with a graph from PollCheck: Detailed numbers from the latest polls are online here, and both that and the graph are updated regularly throughout the week as new data comes out. For historical figures on both voting intention and leader approval stretching back to the 1930s, including Parliamentary by-election polls, see PollBase. Catch up on the previous two editions [ ](https://theweekinpolls.substack.com/p/a-crisis-point-for-political-polling) [ A crisis point for political polling Sep 13 ](https://theweekinpolls.substack.com/p/a-crisis-point-for-political-polling) [ Read full story ](https://theweekinpolls.substack.com/p/a-crisis-point-for-political-polling) [ ](https://theweekinpolls.substack.com/p/extra-questions-about-the-polls-in) [ Extra questions about the polls in Reform’s funding scandal Sep 6 ](https://theweekinpolls.substack.com/p/extra-questions-about-the-polls-in) [ Read full story ](https://theweekinpolls.substack.com/p/extra-questions-about-the-polls-in) My privacy policy and other legal information are available here. Links to purchase books or other items are usually affiliate links which pay a commission for each sale. Quotes from social media messages are occasionally lightly edited for punctuation and clarity. If you are subscribed to other email lists of mine, please note that unsubscribing from this one will not automatically remove you from the others. If you wish to be removed from all my lists, simply reply to this email to let me know. A quintet of Lib Dem polling analyses, and 9 other polling insights you shouldn’t miss The following ten findings from the most recent polls and analyses are only for subscribers who pay for the full edition, but you can sign up for a free trial to read them straight away. Ahead of the start of Liberal Democrat conference, we have a trio of organisations and a pair of professors with pieces out about Ed Davey’s party:
Video GMA Health Alert: Sleep quality may help prevent disease
A new study suggests that sleep quality may be just as important as the amount of sleep we get when it comes to reducing the risk of a wide range of diseases.
Snails Carry a Surprising Record of Extreme Weather on Their Backs
A cyclone in a snail shell.
Alameda County health authorities alert of possible measles exposure
State and Bay Area health officials warned of a possible measles exposure Friday after a person infected with the disease traveled by train from the Midwest through California.
Nurses sound alarm on proposed healthcare cuts during Bangor bus tour stop
On Saturday, National Nurses United (NNU) made a stop at Bangor’s Cascade Park as they travel the country on its “Red Alert” bus tour, joined by the Maine State Nurses Association (MSNA).
The Human Brain Isn't Meant to Be Awake Past Midnight, Scientists Warn
Dangerous things can happen.
Rep. Pfluger's Mystic Alerts Act Advances Through Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 9/16/2026CONTACT: Madelon Clark Rep. Pfluger's Mystic Alerts Act Advances Through Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & TransportationWASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman August Pfluger's (TX-11) bipartisan and bicameral
Wastewater spill near Boca Raton Resort prompts no-swim advisory
A wastewater spill near the Boca Raton Resort has prompted a health alert and no-swim advisory for waterways in the area, health officials said.
Onvida Health reports 43% drop in sepsis deaths after launching new alert system
Providers at Onvida Health in Yuma say a new hospital-wide alert system is significantly improving patient outcomes.
Health alert issued for Boca Raton waterways after wastewater spill near Intracoastal
A health alert, no-swim advisory and no-irrigation advisory has been issued for waterways near the Boca Raton Resort following a wastewater spill into Camino Real.
Colorado health officials warn of possible measles exposure in Denver, Steamboat Springs
Officials from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued an alert about a possible measles exposure after a confirmed case with an unvaccinated out-of-state visitor earlier this week.
Nebraska DHHS extends health alert for toxic algae at lakes in Gage and Jefferson counties
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services has extended a health alert for toxic blue-green algae at Big Indian Lake in Gage County and Cub Creek Lake in Jefferson County.
Martin County health officials warn of harmful algae near Lake Okeechobee
Health officials issued a blue-green algae alert for part of Lake Okeechobee after Sept. 15 samples found harmful toxins. Avoid visible blooms.
Safety Alert: Health experts expect long flu season
October is under two weeks away, which means flu season is just around the corner.
Safety Alert: Health experts expect long flu season
October is under two weeks away, which means flu season is just around the corner.