OAS Wednesday – Activating immunity to suppress autoimmunity.
Posted by Kevin Bonham on May 15, 2013 Every time I see an ad for some remedy that “Helps BOOST the Immune System!” I die a little inside. It’s not just that these products are often homeopathic bull*, but (as I’ve mentioned before), boosting the immune system can actually be a terrible idea. The immune system is a finely tuned instrument, and too much can…
Union of Concerned Scientists Failing on Farming
Posted by Kevin Bonham on May 14, 2013 Ok, this is a little different, but it’s annoying, so I’m going to talk about it. Let me begin by saying I love the Union of Concerned Scientists. They’ve been wonderful advocates on climate change for decades; they are media savvy, they train scientists to be media savvy, and they push the media and policy makers alike to…
List of links/phone #s for people in need of help (or offering help) #BostonHelp #bostonmarathon
Posted by Kevin Bonham on April 15, 2013 Not going to report, since the facts will probably change before I hit publish, but these links should remain useful: Google people finder - for folks that can’t get in touch with friends/relatives Boston Globe-run form for people looking for or offering places in the city Lots of folks offering help on twitter via #BostonHelp Mayor’s…
AskScience Live a Success! (I think) #askscilive
Posted by Kevin Bonham on April 12, 2013 Ever wondered if we could identify someone by their breath? How fast you can propel a rocket using fusion power? If you can shoot at a plane with lasers and cause the pilot to burst into flame? Watch AskScience Live! Despite some technical hurdles with the G+ event, I’d say it went well last night.…
Ask Science… Live! Thursday at 6pm EDT #askscilive
Posted by Kevin Bonham on April 9, 2013 I’m trying something new. For several years now, I’ve been contributing to an online community called r/askscience. It’s a place where curious people can ask questions, and have them answered – often with great, yet understandable detail – by expert scientists that have a passion for explaining their work. It’s an amazing forum, and I’m…
Friday Link Dump
Posted by Kevin Bonham on April 5, 2013 Science – There’s a new flu strain running around in China. As is often the case, Maryn McKenna over at Wired has the most important piece to read. – Allie Wilkinson’s piece in Ars Technica about a climate change’s irreversibility, but not inevitability… it’s a weird distinction, but it makes sense. – Another good post…
Friday Link Dump
Posted by Kevin Bonham on March 22, 2013 My blogging has been slacking, but I’m still reading a bunch that I just don’t have time to comment on. So I’m going to experiment with a link dump at the end of the week. This first one features a couple week’s worth of posts – feel free to start a discussion in the comments…
OAS Wednesday – Location, location, location
Posted by Kevin Bonham on March 20, 2013 For this week’s OAS Wednesday, I thought I’d try to highlight some research that’s in my field. As a result, I will likely be more prone than usual to lapsing into jargon and assuming knowledge that I shouldn’t (or maybe I’ll over-correct and get too simplified). Please let me know if anything needs clarification. In real…
A few pounds of microbes, only ounces of insight
Posted by Kevin Bonham on March 1, 2013 [This is my latest review for Download the Universe] Honor Thy Symbionts, by Jeff Leach. Kindle In 2003, the Human Genome Project–an effort to sequence every gene in a human being–was completed. The success, announced to great fanfare, was supposed to herald a new era in health care. Unfortunately, the promises of personalized medicine, in which treatments…
OAS Wednesday – Semen Boosts the Immune System! Helps HIV
Posted by Kevin Bonham on February 19, 2013 One of the things that bugs me most in pop-sci and woo-woo science is the obsession with “boosting” the immune system. The immune system is in a constant balancing act – tip it too far one way and even normally harmless bacteria become life-threatening. But tilt it too far in the other direction, and you…
