Discussing causes, origins, evolution, and implications of disease and other phenomena.
"...a veritable expert on tawdry cosmetic procedures gone horribly awry..."--Kevin Beck
Tara C. Smith is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology. Her research involves a number of pathogens at the animal-human nexus. Additionally, she is the founder of Iowa Citizens for Science and also writes for The Panda's Thumb and WIRED SCIENCE's Correlations. Please note the views expressed on this site are Dr. Smith's alone and may not be representative of the groups mentioned above.
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July 31, 2006
Category: Infectious disease • Policy • Public health • Various bacteria • Various viruses
Good timing. Just Friday we were discussing limits on biological knowledge, particularly in regard to bioterrorism and the potential for information to fall into the wrong hands (or be used for the "wrong" purposes). Today, msnbc.com has an article discussing...
Posted by Tara C. Smith at 2:00 PM • 2 Comments
Category: Cancer epidemiology • General Epidemiology • Historical studies of disease • Infectious causes of chronic disease • Infectious disease • Influenza • Policy • Politics • Public health
I was busy over the weekend (and disgusted by the hot, nasty weather that will not die), so I don't have a lot on tap for today. Luckily, though, there's some interesting stuff elsewhere that's already written up--thoughtfully saving me...
Posted by Tara C. Smith at 12:00 PM • 14 Comments
Category: Blog carnivals
Check out the latest edition of Pediatrics Grand Rounds over at Ringmaster Flea's Three-Ring Circus....
Posted by Tara C. Smith at 8:50 AM • 0 Comments
July 29, 2006
Category: Blog carnivals • General Epidemiology • Influenza • Policy • Various viruses • Women and science
More fascinating topics I didn't get around to:...
Posted by Tara C. Smith at 12:30 PM • 0 Comments
July 28, 2006
Category: Humor • Iowa/area news
It ain't ethanol......
Posted by Tara C. Smith at 2:05 PM • 8 Comments
Category: General Epidemiology • General biology • Infectious disease • Influenza • Policy • Public health • Various viruses
Chuck Darwin posed a very good question here that I'm spinning off into a new discussion. The work Taubenberger and others are doing on the evolution of influenza a century ago is fascinating and could very well be pertinent to...
Posted by Tara C. Smith at 12:50 PM • 6 Comments
Category: General Epidemiology • General biology • Skepticism
A reader sent me a link to this site, which contained a reprint of a story by CBS 47 in Jacksonville. Mostly, it was a repeat of the story I already discussed, but it added this tidbit of information:...
Posted by Tara C. Smith at 8:30 AM • 11 Comments
July 27, 2006
Category: General Epidemiology • General biology • Infectious disease • Influenza • Public health • Various viruses
Somehow I missed this story in the June issue of Science: ...Jeffery Taubenberger of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) in Washington, D.C., said that RNA found in tissue samples from pneumonia patients who died in 1915 shows that...
Posted by Tara C. Smith at 12:30 PM • 20 Comments
Category: Misc.
So, over at the World's Fair, they've put together an unofficial ask a scienceblogger: Are there any children's books that are dear to you, either as a child or a parent, and especially ones that perhaps strike a chord with...
Posted by Tara C. Smith at 10:20 AM • 8 Comments
July 26, 2006
Category: General Epidemiology • Infectious disease • Skepticism
Every couple of months, it seems, comes a new media story on Morgellons disease, a "mysterious ailment" in which Most individuals with this disease report disturbing crawling, stinging, and biting sensations, as well as non-healing skin lesions, which are associated...
Posted by Tara C. Smith at 11:30 AM • 164 Comments
Category: Academia • Public health
I've not commented on the whole stem cell controversy. Though I follow the literature (and the news), others are much better-versed in the science (and the politics) than I am, so I've left it to them to comment on both...
Posted by Tara C. Smith at 9:00 AM • 56 Comments
July 25, 2006
Category: Blog carnivals
This week's Grand Rounds, a roundup of the week's best medical blogging, is up over at Medical Humanities with a unique garden theme....
Posted by Tara C. Smith at 1:00 PM • 2 Comments
Category: Ecology • General Epidemiology • General biology • Infectious disease • Influenza • Public health • Various viruses
I've mentioned previously the potential role that mild or asymptomatic infections with influenza may play in transmission and evolution of the virus. Right now, most of our reports of H5N1 have been due to serious infections that caused a...
Posted by Tara C. Smith at 9:00 AM • 0 Comments
July 24, 2006
Category: AIDS/HIV • General biology • Infectious disease • Intelligent design/creationism
Evolutionary biologists sometimes think we microbiology people have it easy. "No one doubts the germ theory!," they claim. Au contraire, mes amis: Do some research Tara. Then you will be ready to start from scratch again, forget the germ theory...
Posted by Tara C. Smith at 2:00 PM • 250 Comments
Category: Academia • Women and science
I see Janet has a post series going on family + academic career. (Part 1; Part 2). I've written a bit on my own experience at the old blog (and I do mean "a bit;" it's much more of a...
Posted by Tara C. Smith at 12:30 PM • 5 Comments
Category: Intelligent design/creationism • Science education • Skepticism
Just wanted to point y'all to PZ's post on Gallagher's editorial (as he notes, he's much less generous than I am) and make a few clarifications:...
Posted by Tara C. Smith at 11:00 AM • 2 Comments
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(Non-U.S. subscribers, click here.)
