Science for a Brave New World
Is there a certain suite of legislation that needs to be passed now in order to provide a greater assurance of scientific good in the near future?Posted on May 14, 2008 7:20 PM • 1 Comments •
The Scientific Activist
Reporting from the Crossroads of Science and Politics
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An Oxford graduate student by day and a scientific activist by night, Nick Anthis isn't letting his Ph.D. research in protein structure get in the way of defending scientific and social progress.
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Recent Posts
- Science for a Brave New World
- John Edwards Endorses Barack Obama
- Video Primer on Animal Research
- US to Consider No Longer Calling Mandela, ANC "Terrorists"
- McCain's Own Agents of Intolerance
- More Political Interference at the EPA
- The Gas Tax Suspension: Political Pandering of the Worst Kind
- Pervasive Political Interference at the EPA
- China Behaving Badly
- Senate Passes Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
Recent Comments
- Mr. Gunn on John Edwards Endorses Barack Obama
- Mary on Science for a Brave New World
- Nick Anthis on John Edwards Endorses Barack Obama
- Ski on John Edwards Endorses Barack Obama
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- Organic Chemistry on Senate Passes Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
- Tom Holder on Video Primer on Animal Research
- Asia on Video Primer on Animal Research
- James on Video Primer on Animal Research
- brian t on US to Consider No Longer Calling Mandela, ANC "Terrorists"
Most Popular Posts
- Why Are Veins Blue? (17 Apr 08)
- Metric System (Apparently) a Plot by Liberal Communist Anti-American Immigrants (13 Oct 07)
- Bush Administration Muzzled Surgeon General (11 Jul 07)
- A Sun Ray a Day.... (19 Jun 07)
- Study Finds Alcohol and Tobacco More Harmful than Marijuana, LSD, or Ecstasy (23 Mar 07)
- A Shocking Decrease in Funding of NIH Grants (12 Sep 06)
- Psychedelic Psilocybin Psychology (14 Jul 06)
- Cloning - Who Cares? (10 Jul 06)
- An Inconvenient AP Story for Republicans (28 Jun 06)
- Organic People Chemistry (16 Jun 06)
- Oxford Scientists Bite Back at Animal Rights Activists (26 Feb 06)
- NASA Science Censor Resigns (08 Feb 06)
- George Deutsch Did Not Graduate From Texas A&M University (06 Feb 06)
- Caught in the Line of Fire: Animal Rights Activists Take Over Oxford (15 Jan 06)
Useful Resources
News for a Scientific Activist
- Global Warming: Refreshing change - Seattle Post Intelligencer
- The politics and science of obesity - Los Angeles Times
- Inhofe Says Listing of Polar Bear Based on Politics, Not Science - Trading Markets (press release)
- Beyond the Bush formula - Seattle Times
- Fifth Science Centre World Congress in Toronto - Just One Month Away! - Canada NewsWire (press release)
- Science, religion not in conflict, bishops say in stem-cell document - Catholic News Service
- Bush returns to Mideast, seeking peace - Chicago Tribune
- Violence flares as Bush marks Israel's anniversary - Christian Science Monitor
- US House passes subsidy-heavy farm bill - Economic Times
- Science Teachers’ Pay Doesn’t Add Up - Education Week News
Recommended Reading
Donate to the Cause
For additional details on these science-related causes, click here.
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Conservation
Blogroll/Links
Election 2008 The Good Stuff
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Archives
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Other Information
academia:
Integrin Phosphorylation as an Off Switch for Integrin Activation
A tiny modification can make a big difference in proteins involved in cell adhesion and migration.Posted on December 31, 2007 3:30 PM • 0 Comments •
Elsa Murano to Become New President of Texas A&M University
First female President picked as successor to popular President Robert Gates, although selection process remains controversial.Posted on December 9, 2007 8:05 AM • 0 Comments •
Animal Rights Extremists Strike Again
No surprises there.Posted on November 3, 2007 2:09 PM • 16 Comments •
Robert May on the State of UK Science
Too many bureaucrats and businessmen.Posted on October 13, 2007 2:40 PM • 0 Comments •
2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Knockout Mice
Awarded for the knockout mouse to Mario R. Capecchi, Martin J. Evans, and Oliver SmithiesPosted on October 8, 2007 9:21 AM • 2 Comments •
Academic Research: Solving Puzzles or Solving Mysteries?
My message to undergraduate researchers.Posted on September 12, 2007 6:48 PM • 1 Comments •
These Scientists Are PISD-off About PRISM
There's only one way to fight such absurdity... with more absurdity!Posted on August 29, 2007 5:48 AM • 3 Comments •
Now That Is One Ugly PRISM
I've seen a prism distort light before, but I've never seen one distort information like this.Posted on August 28, 2007 5:33 PM • 3 Comments •
Animal Rights Activists Hijack the Brains of Three Respectable Scientists!
...and then publish a scientific paper!Posted on August 28, 2007 6:15 AM • 10 Comments •
General Thoughts on the NIH
Regarding grant success rates, budget constraints, the Roadmap, biodefense, young investigators, and open accessPosted on July 20, 2007 7:29 AM • 4 Comments •
It's OK to Nibble, but Don't Bite Off the Hand that Feeds You
A couple of current American Rhodes Scholars ruffled a few feathers today after writing an unabashedly critical account of their Oxford experiences for their undergraduate alma mater's paper, The Harvard Crimson. Melissa Dell and Swati Mylavarapu write: Take it from...Posted on February 26, 2007 7:45 PM • 9 Comments •
My Second Scientific Paper: Matrix Protease Activity in Tumor Cell Invasion
The second paper from my undergraduate work at Texas A&M University was recently published in Molecular Cancer. The abstract can be found here, and the pdf of the full paper here. Molecular Cancer is an open access journal, so a...Posted on December 19, 2006 7:39 AM • 3 Comments •
Congratulations to Daniel Rhoads
Via A Blog Around the Clock comes news that Daniel Rhoads, who writes the informative blog Migrations (and formerly A Concerned Scientist), has successfully defended his dissertation. So, after a few minor revisions, it looks like it won't be too...Posted on December 3, 2006 2:57 PM • 2 Comments •
Ah, So That's How They Did It!
The first edition of the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) will be released at 11:00 pm EST tonight.Posted on November 30, 2006 5:22 AM • 2 Comments •
The Return of "Ethically Sound" Stem Cells
The "ethically sound" stem cell paper resurfaces this week, as it appears in the print version of the current issue of Nature.Posted on November 22, 2006 6:37 PM • 10 Comments •
The Structure of the Living Cell
Oxford's Iain Campbell discusses the past and future of structural biology.Posted on October 17, 2006 10:20 AM • 4 Comments •
My First Scientific Paper: The Stabilization of Blood Vessels by Protease Inhibitors
My first appearance in the peer-reviewed scientific literature provides an opportunity to learn a little bit about blood vessel development.Posted on October 16, 2006 10:20 AM • 7 Comments •
Medical Doctors Support Animal Research
A new study from the Research Defence Society (RDS) indicates that medical doctors in the UK overwhelmingly support the role of animal research in contributing to important medical advances. The RDS questioned four hundred general practitioners from across the UK...Posted on October 10, 2006 8:09 PM • 12 Comments •
2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Eukaryotic Transcription
The 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Roger Kornberg for his work on elucidating the molecular basis of transcription in eukaryotes.Posted on October 4, 2006 8:23 AM • 2 Comments •
2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: RNA Interference
The 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was announced this morning, with one half going to Andrew Fire and the other half to Craig Mello, both for the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi). The discovery of RNAi added a...Posted on October 2, 2006 9:38 AM • 0 Comments •
More on NIH R01 Grants
Since I reported yesterday on a letter in Science describing the current decline in funding of NIH (National Institutes of Health) R01 grants, several others have chimed in as well. PZ Myers of Pharyngula gave the post a mention,...Posted on September 13, 2006 11:16 AM • 5 Comments •
A Shocking Decrease in Funding of NIH Grants
Success rates of NIH R01 grants are in rapid decline, due to a combination of more applications submitted, fewer grants awarded, and less total funds allocated.Posted on September 12, 2006 8:55 AM • 15 Comments • 1 TrackBacks
I'm Official! (According to Oxford University, at least)
After enduring what was surely the longest transfer viva in the history of man (two and a half hours), I am now an official Oxford D.Phil. student.Posted on August 20, 2006 12:22 PM • 15 Comments • 1 TrackBacks
Fantastical Fridays: The End of the Hard Sciences?
It has been known officially since 2002 that the sciences are hard, and, as much as we scientists love it when our friends and family tell us how smart and wonderful we must be since they could never understand what...Posted on August 18, 2006 8:10 AM • 3 Comments •
From the Archives: Praise for Selling Out
As my own department faces budget shortfalls and considers increasingly extreme measures to improve the situation, I thought it would be appropriate to bring back this post from the archives. The following post explores the results and interpretation of a...Posted on June 24, 2006 11:46 AM • 2 Comments •
A Natural Conflict of Interest as Nature Criticizes PLoS
Today's issue of Nature includes a particularly damning news story about the financial troubles facing the Public Library of Science, a publisher of several prestigious open access journals. In the article, Nature describes PLoS's difficulties and heavily stresses its continued...Posted on June 22, 2006 7:55 AM • 2 Comments •
Cell Jumps on the Interactive Bandwagon
Nature started it with its recently begun open peer review trial, and PLoS got on board with its own announcement of a new interactive journal, PLoS ONE. Now, The Daily Transcript reports that Cell has also joined the latest trend...Posted on June 21, 2006 6:30 PM • 2 Comments •
From the Archives: Science Gets Googly
In February, Nature magazine reported that some researchers were pushing to use the Google PageRank technology to rate scientific journals instead of using the traditional impact factor system. Since the 2005 journal impact factors were recently released, I thought now would be a good time to explore this issue again.Posted on June 17, 2006 2:50 PM • 0 Comments •
PLoS Takes On Science and Nature... and Blogs All About It!
Through its recently announced interdisciplinary journal PLoS ONE, the Public Library of Science appears poised to compete directly with the two leading scientific journals, Science and Nature. Now comes news that PLoS has started a series of blogs to promote this endeavor.Posted on June 14, 2006 7:20 PM • 2 Comments •
Is Oxford Shortchanging Its Students Through Overspecialization?
When an Oxford professor blamed a lack of general knowledge in the graduate community on its makeup of "unexceptional students", I challenged him on whether the real cause was a degree structure that causes the overspecialization of Oxford students.Posted on June 13, 2006 9:21 PM • 6 Comments •
