Mike the Mad Biologist
Archives for December, 2006
Servitude Versus Republicanism: An Argument For Higher Taxes
Posted by Mike on December 19, 2006 Thomas Geoghan has an excellent article about the need to raise taxes. He makes a very important point: how we tax ourselves defines who we are. Geoghan writes (italics mine):
I’m Famous!
Posted by Mike on December 19, 2006 …or at least, I was mentioned in Cell. Currently, we have very few new antibiotics in the pipeline, particularly for Gram-negative bacteria such as Acinetobacter. One of the things I’m involved with is a project to develop a not-for-profit screening library to find new antibiotics. From Cell:
Isn’t This High School Economics?
Posted by Mike on December 18, 2006 Jonah links to a recent paper in the Journal of Political Economy. Here’s the summary (pdf here):
Even George Bush’s Church Doesn’t Want Him
Posted by Mike on December 18, 2006 You might have heard about the $500 million that El Jefe Maximo is trying to raise for his presidential library. Apparently, no price is too great for the rehabilitation of his ‘legacy.’ It was supposed to be housed at Southern Methodist University. One problem, though: the Methodists–Bush’s own church–don’t want to house the library.
Some Sunday Links
Posted by Mike on December 17, 2006 Here are some links for you. First, the science stuff:
Should Antibiotics Be Given a Separate Regulatory Drug Category?
Posted by Mike on December 17, 2006 Well, we do it for narcotics. From Yahoo News:
A Great Description of Science
Posted by Mike on December 16, 2006 While the Republican War on Science isn’t doing as well as it once was, there still is too much politicization of scienctific results. Commenting on a BBC article about the UCS statement about scientific integrity, Jim at TeachtheFacts.org gives an excellent description of science (italics mine):
Norovirus Outbreak in Boston: Wash Your Damn Hands
Posted by Mike on December 16, 2006 In the past week, over 400 students and teachers in the Boston area have contracted norovirus, which causes nausea, vomitting and diarrhea:
Really Tasteless Iraq Joke
Posted by Mike on December 15, 2006 But you know you want to read it anyway. From Iraqslogger:
VRSA Hospital Insurance
Posted by Mike on December 15, 2006 I was recently at a conference (pdf file) where one speaker (Dr. Thomas O’Brien) suggested ‘VRSA hospital insurance’ to prevent the spread of vancomycin resistant Staphylococcus aureus outbreaks (‘VRSA’). Before I get into the plan, let’s talk about VRSA.