Archives for June, 2009
Poor and disadvantaged suffer greatly from poverty-caused neglected diseases
Posted by Greg Laden on June 28, 2009 The best of last June Triatoma infestans, Chagas vector This is the conclusion of a report to be published in the June 2008 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases journal. The report, by Peter Hotez of George Washington University and the Sabin Vaccine Institute, is a clear indictment of economic disparity in the United States. The bottom…
How Birds Fly (book review)
Posted by Greg Laden on June 28, 2009 previously reviewed Birds: Nature’s Magnificent Flying Machines is a book by Caroline Arnold and illustrated by Patricia Wynne for, I’d say, Pre-Elementary School kids and first/second grade. This is a good book to read to a pre-literate kid. Then put it away for later when the first grade academic report on birds is due ……
Bible Hawkers Arrested at Pride Fest in Minneapolis
Posted by Greg Laden on June 28, 2009 The Minneapolis Gay Pride Fest is the third largest GLBTQFA festival in the country. Of which we are very proud. Which is why we call it the pride festival. Well, yesterday, three people form Hayward Wisconsin, which seems to be in a region that is a hotbed of bible thumping yahooism, were arrested. Previously, these…
The good book
Posted by Greg Laden on June 28, 2009 Whenever I sat at Joseph and Mary’s dinner table, Mary showed a great deal of interest in my work. In between her frequent forays away from the dining room table to get this or that food item, or to issue instructions to a servant, or whatever, she would sit at the table across from me…
We are the World: New Philippines Prisoner M. Jackson Tribute
Posted by Greg Laden on June 28, 2009 Prisoners, nuns, do the wave for Jacko: I concur with BGF’s opinion on this. Except I’ve got to add: When the nuns came out I kind of freaked. Also, as I’ve mentioned before, I totally missed the “we ae the world we are the Coke Commercial” event because I was in the jungle with the…
A blogoversary of note. Adults only.
Posted by Greg Laden on June 28, 2009 Happy Third Blogoversary Janie!
The Perfect Bird Family Tree…
Posted by Greg Laden on June 27, 2009 The best of last June … is certainly still in the future. But we have seen a step in that direction in a new paper, coming out this week in Science. This research applies intensive and extensive genomic analysis to the avian phylogenetic tree. The results are interesting. This paper is summarized in a number…
In Memorium
Posted by Greg Laden on June 27, 2009 Let us not let the death of Ed McMahon and some other stars overshadow the anniversary of the death of one of the greats. In memoriam, let’s talk bullshit:
Missionaries in Africa: The Last Live Atheist Talk Ever on KTNF
Posted by Greg Laden on June 27, 2009 The long running Minnesota Atheist Talk Radio air’s its very last show tomorrow morning at 9:00 Central Time. Details of how to listen to the show, which will also be a podcast, are here. This week’s show will feature yours truly, and I’ll be interviewed by Stephanie Zvan. The subject will be Missionaries in Africa.…
Which is more evil, cats or dogs?
Posted by Greg Laden on June 27, 2009 cats: Dogs: Bonus cat:
Don’t be a Jew
Posted by Greg Laden on June 27, 2009 Joseph and Mary, and Little Joe and Mary, and Grinker and I, sat around the table where most of the dinner had been laid out. Additional bits and pieces of the dinner would be brought out as needed shortly, but now it was time to pray. So we held hands and bowed our heads, and…
Marriage: Why and how? And an Update on Jason and Jodi.
Posted by Greg Laden on June 27, 2009 In case you didn’t know, the marriage proposal launched by Jodi (asking Jason) and largely organized by Stephanie, has resulted in an answer. Congratulation Jodi and Jason! Not long before this internet round robin was launched, Jodi made a limited distribution, organized by Stephanie, of some background on their situation, and a version of this…
Summer Reading: Tourist Season
Posted by Greg Laden on June 27, 2009 previously reviewed It utterly shocks me every time I make a reference to plastic alligators, Macy’s bags with poisonous snakes in them, a guy named Skink or my favorite Bass Lure …. the Double Whammy …. and people look back at me with blank stares. Like, don’t you get it? “To be or not to…
Hey Jason
Posted by Greg Laden on June 27, 2009 We left it around here somewhere. Maybe here?
The secret inner workings of PLoS ONE revealed
Posted by Greg Laden on June 26, 2009 I have obtained a document that describes the secret, inner workings of the on line publication PLoS ONE. The document also exposes future plans for the enterprise. The link is below the fold.
how cults rewire the brain
Posted by Greg Laden on June 26, 2009 Diane Benscoter spent five years as a “Moonie.” She shares an insider’s perspective on the mind of a cult member, and proposes a new way to think about today’s most troubling conflicts and extremist movements.
Go help Grrrrl Scientist do something really cool
Posted by Greg Laden on June 26, 2009 There are two ways to go to Antarctica. One is like my friend Elle, who is at this very moment in an underground bunker at the south pole with a broken limb and inadequate medial attention, where she is working on a NASA scientific expedition where they thing somehow it is a good idea to…
Jackson Coroner: “Cause of Death” Will Wait Weeks
Posted by Greg Laden on June 26, 2009 The coroner’s preliminary report has come out, and it is vague. Rather than reporting, for instance, a simple heart attack/stroke, the coroner indicates that there is no obvious cause (some physical, visible thing) of such a thing, and that actual ’cause of death’ will be specified only after toxicology screens and other tests. The word…
Why does everything happen in threes?
Posted by Greg Laden on June 26, 2009 I have my own theory, but for now have a look at this discussion at Quiche Moraine.
Robert Full: Learning from the gecko’s tail
Posted by Greg Laden on June 26, 2009 Biologist Robert Full studies the amazing gecko, with its supersticky feet and tenacious climbing skill. But high-speed footage reveals that the gecko’s tail harbors perhaps the most surprising talents of all.
NASA’s Mars Odyssey Alters Orbit to Study Warmer Ground
Posted by Greg Laden on June 26, 2009 PASADENA, Calif. — NASA’s long-lived Mars Odyssey spacecraft has completed an eight-month adjustment of its orbit, positioning itself to look down at the day side of the planet in mid-afternoon instead of late afternoon. This change gains sensitivity for infrared mapping of Martian minerals by the orbiter’s Thermal Emission Imaging System camera. Orbit design for…
Dirty poor people living in slime: Missionaries and American Idol
Posted by Greg Laden on June 26, 2009 Actual missionaries As you may have noticed, I have written a series of posts about missionaries in eastern Zaire in the 1980s and early 1990s, focusing on my own personal experiences. These seven posts represent only a small number of these experiences, but they are more or less representative. They are meant to underscore the…
Attack of the Hound of Malembi. Or, “Whose are these people, anyway?”
Posted by Greg Laden on June 26, 2009 As I’ve mentioned previously, the study site I worked in was beyond the Peace Corps Line. It was beyond the Blender Line. And it was beyond the Beer Line. Out here in this arguably very remote area, we were never short of remoteness. Every year the study site become more and more remote, as roads…
Evidence for gene-autism link just published
Posted by Greg Laden on June 26, 2009 The new study identifies 27 loci that have rare copy number variations, where there are more or fewer repeated DNA segments than expected, common to the genomes of several children with autism spectrum disorder. These variations are not present in controls without autism spectrum disorder. The peer reviewed paper is available in the Open Access…
Michael Jackson Thrilled The Kids in Zaire
Posted by Greg Laden on June 25, 2009 I have only one Michael Jackson story.
Michael Jackson Is Dead (LA Times)
Posted by Greg Laden on June 25, 2009 LA Times: [Updated at 3:15 p.m.: Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead by doctors this afternoon after arriving at a hospital in a deep coma, city and law enforcement sources told The Times.]
Blogospherics
Posted by Greg Laden on June 25, 2009 PZ Myers wins creationist contest, gets iPod Billy bass ad for McDonalds should have backfired. Should Congress pass Waxman-Markey?
Michael Jackson Has Heart Attack, Rushed to Hospital.
Posted by Greg Laden on June 25, 2009 Not many details available, but it sounds like he was found ‘not breathing’ and rushed to hospital. UPDATE: The word is that Jackson may have been not breathing and unresponsive at the time the paramedics arrived. He was taken to UCLA medical center. This happened 2.5 hours ago, and there are no other details available.…
Sarah Palin Attacks Blogger
Posted by Greg Laden on June 25, 2009 In an unprecedented move, former vice presidential candidate and intellectual leader of the Republican Party, Sarah “my daughter can have your baby” Palin has ruthlessly attacked a blogger who was being funny. From an official Palin office email: Recently we learned of a malicious desecration of a photo of the Governor and baby Trig that…
, which is now available for the 
