Shelley Batts is a Neuroscience PhD candidate at the University of Michigan. She studies hair cell regeneration in the cochlea, and is just embarking on that quixotic quest called 'thesis.' She lies awake at night pondering how science intersects with politics, culture, policy, money, medicine, and religion in an attempt to be more than just a niche scientist sitting in the oh-so-lovely ivory tower. Follow me and my parrot on the quest to get funded, get a PhD, and stay sane.
Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth, are never alone or weary of life. ~Rachel Carson
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Cochlear Hair Cell Regeneration
Interview With Dr. Irene Pepperberg
On Religion and Taking the 'Red Pill'
Neuroscience of Cocaine Addiction
Parrots Have Object Permanance
November 30, 2006
Category: Beating 'Round the Bushes
Instead of firing US officials who speak their mind regarding US foreign policy, why not listen? A senior State Department analyst, Kendall Myers, made several informal statements in an academic forum that might cost him his job. What were the...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 4:16 PM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 29, 2006
Category: Movie Reviews
I absolutely loved Aronofsky's work. Not that there's so much of it, only "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream" plus some student works. But I've heard mixed things about his most recent movie "The Fountain." So: Have you seen it?...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 5:17 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Chemistry
According to CNN, the guards who roughed up a Florida teenager at a military-style bootcamp, who later died, will be charged in his death. This incident, which took place around Pensacola, was a huge scandal for Florida which resulted in...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 8:38 AM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 28, 2006
Category: Memes
What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 2:20 PM • 19 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Stupidity
Thanks to Mustafa Mond, FCD for bringing this to my attention. The notorious peace wreath (reported on below) which was garnering a $25/day fine from the owner's homeowner association will stay put. According to the committee chairman, who was backpedaling...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 12:59 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Global Politics
Had to smoosh it down to fit. Click View image to enlarge it!...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 12:47 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 27, 2006
Category: Health Care
November is Native American History Month, and while walking down the corridors of the UM Hospital this morning, I spied a flier with some disturbing statistics. I had known that Native Americans suffered a large disparity in health, as compared...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 12:02 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Stupidity
No? Me either. But the owner is getting fined $25/day until they take it down. Some hogwash about hating troops and loving the Debil. Its sad when peace and tolerance have become un-American....
Posted by Shelley Batts at 10:27 AM • 15 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Weird Science
You've all heard the old adage "Money can't buy happiness." But honestly, money can buy a Ferrari, and when was the last time you saw someone in a Ferrari who wasn't smiling? Now, I'm surely not saying that money is...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 8:31 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 24, 2006
Category: Friday Grey Matters
African Grey Parrots are so loved, they've even been honored with stamps in many countries! The stamp on the upper left was a 3 cent stamp issued in Cuba in 1967, one of 15 in a collection of birds...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 12:34 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Stem Cells
This recent discovery actually makes a lot of sense: errant stem cells are often the cause of cancers and tumors, and therefore should be better targeted with chemotherapy. Stem cells are the precursors to all tissues, good and bad, and...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 10:22 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 23, 2006
Category: Beating 'Round the Bushes
A reader (hat tip Bob Abu!) sent me this staggeringly good article written by long-time political journalist Seymour Hersh, appearing in the New Yorker, entitled "The Next Act." Specifically, it addresses whether the recently humbled Bush Administration is now more...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 10:30 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Red Herrings
There's a lot of wild turkeys just walking around. And they all look delicious.
Posted by Shelley Batts at 9:15 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 22, 2006
Category: Blogging
Well, I'm not. But I am a B-List blogger, which might get me into some parties on the east side of Detroit. Kineda's blog has a cute little app that measures your Technorati status to tell you what 'list' you'd...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 2:48 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Stupidity
Its on my wishlist. Too bad there's not a Flying Spaghetti Monster one, praise pasta....
Posted by Shelley Batts at 9:43 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Blather
a student group called the Boston University College Republicans (BUCR) has instituted a controversial $250 "Caucasian Achievement and Recognition Scholarship". Applicants must be at least 25% Caucasian, have a 3.2 GPA, and submit an essay on what it means to be a Caucasian-American in today's society.
Posted by Shelley Batts at 8:28 AM • 15 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 21, 2006
Category: Blather
For those friends and relatives who read my blog and are wondering about Xmas or birthday ideas, why just cast thine eyes to my sidebar to note that I have added some links to my Amazon Wishlist, the Alex Foundation,...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 5:36 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Academia
By now, much of academia has heard about the goings-on at MIT. Susumu Tonegawa, head of the prestigious Picowar Institute at MIT and Nobel Laureate, is stepping down from his position following a university review which found he "behaved inappropriately...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 12:38 PM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Demagogues
How did I ever miss Steven Pinker getting wasted with Dr. Steve Steve? C'mon people, you're suppost to tell me about these things! Should I include a question for him regarding his favorite brew? I KNOW I'm going to have...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 10:49 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Law and Ethics
Some fantastic morning reading from a USA Today opinion article entitled '"When Religion Loses Its Credibility," critiques the current religious stance on homosexuality---and wonders, what if religion is yet again proven wrong? This was written by a well-spoken, pro-science Baptist...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 8:05 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 20, 2006
Category: Academia
Today has been an exciting day for me! First of all, although Steven Pinker had to decline my invitation to speak at UM (during the Neuroscience Spring Symposium), he did agree to do an interview here on Retrospectacle. So, similar...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 3:29 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Weird Science
According to a study of dog owners, people who own vicious and dangerous dogs, like pit bulls, have significantly more criminal convictions than the owners of tamer breeds. A vicious dog was defined as a breed that, without provocation, has...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 1:03 PM • 17 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 18, 2006
Category: Science Cartoons
Noah has an unforturnate encounter with a comedic T-Rex.
Posted by Shelley Batts at 9:39 AM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 17, 2006
Category: U of M
This news is of ill portent to UM, and right before the big Ohio State game?? Bo Schembechler, a former head coach here, is a legend to UM football. He used to be a OSU assistant coach, and dying today...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 1:56 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Friday Grey Matters
The wild bird trade, which is where exotic birds are trapped in their natural habitats and shipped away for pets, has devastated many types of parrot species. Thankfully this practice is now illegal in much of the world, however many parrot species have the unfortunate luck as to live in countries where these laws are enforced somewhat less that stringently. Up until now, African Greys have been spared this fate. However, recent data on their populations in the 23 countries in which they reside show their numbers rapidly on the decline.
Posted by Shelley Batts at 10:58 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Red Herrings
This is just plain heart-breaking. Even these Inuit seem sad to kill these poor belugas. About 200 beluga were first spotted in early August by hunters in the Husky Lakes area south of Tuktoyaktuk, a string of saltwater inlets north...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 9:45 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Stupidity
Ted's major at school, from best I could tell, was pretension, with a minor in flatulence. In Ted's dorm room was a beautiful chessboard, which had a desk lamp pointed onto it--lighting it for effect on his desk. The only thing was Ted couldn't play chess. He just liked the way it looked.
Posted by Shelley Batts at 8:07 AM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 16, 2006
Category: Friday Grey Matters
I'm about to send these questions out to Dr. Pepperberg (hopefully for next week's Grey Matters), and wanted some feedback. Also, please suggest questions if you have some! Q. Initially your research background was not in comparative cognition and language....
Posted by Shelley Batts at 1:59 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Panda Fluff
More on bears today: go vote for the name of the newest member of the Atlanta Zoo, a panda cub. I wonder if its part of China's policy that all the baby pandas have to be named Chinese names. Cause...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 10:27 AM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Global Warming
The forests of Siberia are full of insomniac bears, scaring the locals, as the weather has been staying too warm for them to go into hibernation. Usually Siberian bears sleep six months, beginning in October or November, but the Kemerovo region where they live has currently gotten no snow.
Posted by Shelley Batts at 8:55 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 15, 2006
Category: Science Cartoons
Hat tip Ben!...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 8:14 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 14, 2006
Category: The War on Science
A toy company called one2believe in Los Angeles offered to donate 4,000 bible-quotin' Jesus dolls to Toys for Tots, but was told "thanks, but no thanks."
Posted by Shelley Batts at 2:40 PM • 17 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: The War on Science
The Flying Spaghetti Monster would not be pleased to learn that the world's first (and I desperately hope, only) Creationist museum will soon open in a bustling part of backwood Kentucky. This $25 million Disney-fied, anamatronic monstrosity is dedicated to...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 1:20 PM • 18 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 13, 2006
Category: Demagogues
Every spring, the University of Michigan Neuroscience program has a symposium with invited speakers, usually eminent people in the field who have been influential in some regard. This year one of the speakers we've settled on is linguist/philosopher/famous guy Steven...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 2:28 PM • 13 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Animal Behavior
Some news from my old stomping grounds at Mote Marine Lab in Sarasota, Florida. Back in undergrad I worked there with the manatees Hugh and Buffet to test their visual acuity (its bad), now the marine observatory is attempting to...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 9:34 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Pepper
The Queen of England recently visited the frigate HMS Lancaster, however one usual crew member was not on board---the resident pet, an African Grey named Sunny. It was feared that Sunny's foul mouth--who swears like a sailor, literally-- might offend...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 8:24 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 10, 2006
Category: Demagogues
I suppose he was 87, and had been looking 87 for the past 20 years. But still. He did one-armed push-ups on stage. At the Oscars....
Posted by Shelley Batts at 5:27 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: AIDS
I was perusing the blogs that were included in the latest edition of the International Carnival of Pozitivities when I cam across the heart-breaking blog of an AIDS worker in Botswana called Where in the World is Connor MacEachern. From...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 4:41 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Friday Grey Matters
The natural world has been a-buzz lately with new things---new island, now a new parrot? Apparently an Australian bird enthusiast, John Young, has made the claim of discovering a new type of parrot, which he has named the blue-browed...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 2:15 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Red Herrings
A newborn voclanic island has been identified in the South Pacific near Tonga, according to the reports of two vessels that have passed nearby. The crew of the Maiken, a yacht that left the northern Tongan islands group of Vava'u...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 9:42 AM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Carnivals
The 5th International Carnival of Positivities, a carnival about HIV and AIDS founded by Ron Hudson, is up over at A Blog Around the Clock. Quite a few ScienceBloggers, myself included, contributed. Check it out!...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 8:55 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 8, 2006
Category: Stem Cells
Missouri voters have narrowly approved a measure sanctioning embryonic stem cell research in the state. The amendment to the state constitution received 51% of yesterday's vote after supporters waged a $30 million advertising campaign that included celebrities such as Michael...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 1:50 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Can't Spell "Funding" Without "Fun"
Between 1998 and 2003, the NIH's budget doubled to an unprecedented $27 billion. But since 2006, it has flattened out to $28.6 billion. For fiscal year 2007, the budget is expected to take a dive for the first time in decades, a 0.23% cut from last year, which Congress is expected to finalize after the November elections. "It's certainly true that the budget has been flat and, if you consider inflation, there's actually been a decrease," says Norka Ruiz Bravo, head of the NIH's Office for Extramural Research.
Posted by Shelley Batts at 9:13 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 7, 2006
Category: Inner Ear Biology
Check out this really interesting study over at Cognitive Daily, which explores the differences in acoustic and visual processing times. The authors of the study used a very elegant, simple protocol to demonstrate how accurate people are at reporting synchrony...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 3:48 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Red Herrings
According to a suit brought by two cops in New Mexico, they were served hamburgers that had been laced with marijuana. The lawsuit says Mark Landavazo and Henry Gabaldon, officers for the Isleta Pueblo tribal police, were in uniform and...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 2:04 PM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Movie Reviews
I'm sure you've heard about "Borat." Like Snakes on a Plane, its been the object of a huge amount of hype and word-of-mouth style promotion. I went to go see the movie Sunday night, and I gotta say, I thought...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 9:11 AM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 6, 2006
Category: Michigan
Don't forget to vote tomorrow! There are a few ballot initiatives here in Michigan, and here's a bit of info on the proposals so you can be well-informed before the polling starts. PROPOSAL 06-1 A PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO REQUIRE...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 8:49 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Announcements
Great news! I won $1000 in the Blogging Scholarship! Although Stephen Yellin of DailyKos took first place (and $5000), me and Paul Stamatiou both won $1000, and the rest of the bloggers won $100. What a great surprise, as I...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 4:11 PM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 5, 2006
Category: Announcements
Looks like a lost cause, but I always was a sucker for a lost cause. Voting for the Student Blogging Scholarship ends tonight at midnight, eastern time. So, its your last chance to vote for me to get $5000 to...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 2:29 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 4, 2006
Category: Animal Behavior
Although I wasn't initially aware of this myth, a technician in my lab informed me that an oft-quoted scientific myth is that a duck's quack doesn't echo. Now, as a student of acoustics, I found that hard to believe. And...
Posted by Shelley Batts at 10:03 AM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 3, 2006
