Archives for January, 2012
Fuel from Seaweed
Posted by Kevin Bonham on January 26, 2012 I grew up on the coast of California, and I loved to surf. At my favorite break, Pleasure Point, the best waves were often at low tide, but low tide also meant seaweed. Lots of seaweed. [Source] The giant kelp of Monteray Bay is an astonishing organism. It’s not actually a plant, it’s a brown…
Vaccinating Against Semen – Immunity as Contraceptive
Posted by Kevin Bonham on January 18, 2012 I promise, this will be my last semen post for a while. I’ve talked about allergy to semen. I’ve talked about allergens in semen. And I’ve talked about autoimmunity to semen. All of these are problems, leading to discomfort or infertility. But what if those problems could be leveraged for our benefit? [Source: These drawings…
Public Parts: A book review
Posted by Kevin Bonham on January 13, 2012 “Reading” books on my iPod is usually great. I can download them from audible, and while I’m tending to the daily monotony that comprises much of labwork (tissue culture, prepping protein samples, running back and forth between centrifuges), I can just pop in my earbuds and keep my brain engaged with something interesting. But never…
Allergies, Asthma and Eczema – New SITN Flash
Posted by Kevin Bonham on January 9, 2012 The latest issue of the Science in the News “Flash” is out now about the connections between atopic disorders – namely allergies, asthma and eczema. Itchy, watery eyes, and a drippy nose. Constricted, swollen airways secreting thick mucus. Itchy, red, dry, cracked skin. These symptoms describe three conditions — allergies, asthma, and eczema, respectively —…
World go Boom
Posted by Kevin Bonham on January 6, 2012 The thing I like most about this mashup is that it’s superficially just a mashup of the most popular music of 2011, but it also manages to be a statement on some of the most important events of 2011: the protests from Egypt and Libya to OWS Maybe it’s hard We will never be never…
Immunity to Spunk
Posted by Kevin Bonham on January 5, 2012 At the risk of seeming like a one-trick pony, and piggybacking on my recent appearance on the Savage Lovecast, I thought I would close the loop on immune reactions to semen. I’ve already written about allergens being transmitted in semen, and about women having allergies to seminal plasma itself. In the latter case, I say…
Confidential to Savage Lovecast Listeners
Posted by Kevin Bonham on January 3, 2012 In case anyone landed here after listening to this week’s Savage Lovecast, I wanted to point you in the right direction. Please be gentle – that was my first time being interviewed for anything like that, so I was a bit of a nervous wreck. For the uninitiated – a couple of weeks ago on…
