mikethemadbiologist

I've dropped some hints in the past that my relationship with ScienceBlogs would be...altered. Well, I've decided to leave. Mostly, it had to do with the issue of pseudonymity, although I'm very excited to hang out my own shingle once again. I don't want to rehash the issue of pseudonymity,…

The old saw that 'we hang together or we get hung separately' is a perfect description of how the left has disintegrated into irrelevance. Too often, groups will focus on modest gains for their own narrow constituency, while selling out other allies. Over the long term, each component of the…

Links for you. Science: Underground river 'Rio Hamza' discovered 4km beneath the Amazon What do accommodationists do about creationist politicians? I've Been Told You Can Get Flu From the Flu Shot: False! Federal Work Suspension of Leading Arctic Scientist Ended as Investigation of His…

Recently, The New York Times published an op-ed calling for curricular changes in K-12 math education: Today, American high schools offer a sequence of algebra, geometry, more algebra, pre-calculus and calculus (or a "reform" version in which these topics are interwoven). This has been codified by…

Links for you. Another Scientist Calls Out Sen. Coburn's Misleading, Juvenile "Report" XMRV: ITS EVERYWHERE! UUUUUGH! ITS IN MY RACCOON WOUNDS! AND MY QIAGEN COLUMNS! Coulter Goes All Science-y in Bid to Disprove Evolution Yet another bad day for the anti-vaccine movement 2011 Antibiotics: Killing…

They're getting pretty good at hostage taking, and it worked before. Alex Seitz-Wald reports: Despite the devastation caused by Hurricane Irene this weekend, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) today stood by his call that no more money be allocated for disaster relief unless it is offset by…

Not much of a storm, at least in Boston. Let's celebrate with some links. Science: Teh Wimminz in Academia Thingy Again Racial Disparity in NIH Grants: Solutions from Your Humble Narrator Worst Excuse Ever (to not disclose ties to pharma companies. For Intelligent Designer's sake NIH, even…

Fortunately, Irene just ended up resembling a bad nor'easter, but without the cold temperatures (or snow). We had high winds from about 9:30 - 10:30am, and if they had become progressively worse (as was predicted), it could have been pretty ugly. Didn't turn out that way thankfully. In fact, it…

One of the ludicrous notions that has infected our political discourse is that government jobs aren't 'real' jobs (tell that to fireman when your house is burning down...). But a lot of private sector jobs are heavily subsidized by the government. I'm not referring to private contractors hired by…

Links for you. Science: Something in the water: What drugs are local residents abusing? A researcher's solution to that vexing problem suggests just how much our sewage knows about us Modern Rivers Shaped By Trees: Rivers were wide and shallow until the evolution of treelike plants, which got the…

First, on Saturday, around noon, I observed this on Commonwealth Avenue: Because it's not like it's going to rain for the next 24 hours or anything. Second, we are once again reminded how poorly the Boylston Street Apple store fits with the Boston environment: Although they're protected against…

Admittedly, some boycotts have worked: Glenn Beck seems to have been seriously harmed by the boycotts against his advertisers. But what happens when the corporations you want to boycott have massive market share? The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a corporate-backed lobbying…

Links for you. Science: 'Shrimp On A Treadmill': The Politics Of 'Silly' Studies Evolutionary Diplomacy NHGRI funds development of revolutionary DNA sequencing technologies (lotsa nanoporey stuff being funded) Nat'l Academies Hope to Build a Better Postdoc Does Tenure Matter? Other: The worst…

...I've got water, flashlights, batteries, and my list of who gets cannibalized first when civilization disintegrates. I'm not sure how you prep this for the hurricane though: (corner of Berkeley and Marlborough, First Church in Boston) And I hope these guys survive: (Boston Public Garden)

I've always understood why the very rich would favor economic ideologies that support their self-interest. What I've never quite understood is why so many people who aren't Galtian overlords buy that crap. Lance Mannion puzzles over the same thing (italics original): The Koch Brothers are under a…

Links for you. Science: Blog Debunks 13-Year-Old Scientist's Solar Power Breakthrough When Anthrax first came to North America Eco-labelled fish may be unsustainably fished, or the wrong species If You Are Anti-Science, You Are Anti-Jobs The complexity of cancer Other: Why isn't the climate left…

One of the key differences between those who favor educational 'reform'--that is, those who view education primarily as a personnel issue--and those that oppose it is how each group thinks good schools come to be. Consider this by Matthew Yglesias, an education reform supporter (italics mine):…

Links for you. Science: Why biology (and chemistry) is not physics That's One Gigantic Wasp Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue? When you say flu, what do you really mean? Newly found: the world's oldest fossils! Other: Legal academia and the problem of bad faith Why the World hates economics (the…

Sheril has the details: That's what Florida Governor Rick Scott and the Republican-controlled Legislature just did. Embarrassing for Florida and a travesty for the Everglades. They've dismantled the South Florida Water Management District-the state agency charged with protecting the Everglades. As…

...imaginary jobs that might or might not materialize. As a long-time customer of New Balance shoes (not only do I like the shoes, but they're U.S. made), it looks like a 'free'* trade agreement will kill off 1,000 existing jobs in Maine (italics mine): At the factory here owned by New Balance,…

Links for you. Science: Smart people accept evolution (I have a different take, in that 'smartness'--which to me is actually just educational attainment--mirrors political leanings and socioeconomic status, which themselves are correlated) Evolution doesn't fit our generalities NIH solicits…

By way of Matthew Yglesias, we read that,over at National Review Online, Kevin Williamson claims progressives only care about science as a way to wage culture war (yes, coming from movement conservatives, that's rich): There are lots of good reasons not to wonder what Rick Perry thinks about…

Links for you. Science: Warning: Killer fungi could run amok again Republicans and Democrats Differ on Evolution Sewage Treatment, Coral Disease, and Koch's Postulates Racial Disparity in NIH Grants: Priority Scores Other: The Purpose-Driven Lie Two bad polls for Obama (liberal blogs and the…

It would seem that education 'reformer' and former D.C. schools chancellor is enamored of personal responsibility for everyone but herself. To give you some idea of the kind of person, Rhee is consider this heartwarming tale from her days as school chancellor: Early in her chancellorship, she was…

Erm, better late than never? Links for you. Science: Sentences You Will Probably Never Read in a Published Paper The GOP candidates have no time for your "science," scientists 13-Year-Old Looks at Trees, Makes Solar Power Breakthrough Global Warming is a Litmus Test For US Republicans Other: Does…

There's some good news and bad news regarding E. coli surveillance in meat products. The good news: The pathogenic Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia Coli (pSTEC) serotypes known collectively as the "Big Six" will soon be banned from U.S. meat, a top expert told a meat industry conference…

Links for you. Science: NIH Uncovers Racial Disparity in Grant Awards Otters are back in England Scientists engineer suicide bomber bacteria to kill other bacteria Project Nim - The Untold Story Other: Painstaking, dot-point summary - bond issuance doesn't lower inflation risk What I Learned in…

As some of you might have heard, National Geographic has decided that pseudonymous writers (other than Mark Twain) aren't going to be part of their online presence. I usually don't discuss ScienceBlogs inside baseball stuff, but I'm not getting any response from them (I've received emails telling…

In this case, South Carolina. From Steve M.: I was reminded of this when I glanced at Jacob Weisberg's Jon Huntsman profile in Vogue and my eye fell on this this har-har-har good-ol'-boy anecdote about a Huntsman campaign appearance in Greer, South Carolina: Henry McMaster, the state's silver-…

Links for you. Science: Just What is the Brain-Eating "Amoeba" Naegleria fowleri? OA doesn't cost jobs: it creates them. And saves lives. Why Sequence Microbes? Tests confirm that roaming deer caused fatal E. coli outbreak in Washington County, elsewhere Scientific Literacy by Gender (only ~50% of…