Mike the Mad Biologist
Archives for August, 2008
Community-Acquired ST398 MRSA Found in Sweden
Posted by Mike on August 18, 2008 This is not good. A recent article in Emerging Infectious Diseases describes two separate cases of community-acquired ST398 MRSA–and neither case was associated with agriculture. Let me explain what this means and why this is really bad news.
Olivia Judson on the Utility of Evolution
Posted by Mike on August 17, 2008 Olivia Judson, in an excellent op-ed, lays out the utility argument for why students should learn evolution as part of biology:
Clean Wastewater and the Naturalist Fallacy
Posted by Mike on August 17, 2008 In a very interesting NY Times magazine article about wastewater treatment (no, really, it is worth reading), I came across this passage:
Bush Is Restoring Dignity to the White House
Posted by Mike on August 16, 2008 Here’s an image that is…unsettling:
Happy Birthday to Social Security!
Posted by Mike on August 15, 2008 From FDR’s grandson, here’s a video that puts Social Security–and its current politics–in proper context:
Anthrax and the Myth of the Mad Scientist
Posted by Mike on August 14, 2008 Chris Mooney is worried that the latest turns in the anthrax case are reinforcing the notion of the ‘mad scientist’ (and what, exactly, is wrong with a Mad Scientist? Just asking):
Lip Synching Is in the “National Interest”?
Posted by Mike on August 13, 2008 This is creepy (italics mine):
Reed Elsevier Is Stealing My Words
Posted by Mike on August 13, 2008 This displeases us greatly.
Political Reporters, Polls, and Numerical Illiteracy
Posted by Mike on August 12, 2008 As Jesse at Pandagon notes, even though the presidential race is stagnant in that the numbers aren’t shifting much, that’s not the same as the race being in a dead heat. This would be obvious, if your typical political reporter wasn’t a mathematically illiterate moron.
Joe Klein Gets It Right About Privacy and Politics
Posted by Mike on August 11, 2008 Commenting on John Edwards, Joe Klein makes two excellent points: