Tara C. Smith
Associate Professor, lab rat (microbiologist/infectious disease epidemiologist) and occasional blogger, full-time nerd.
tsmith
Posts by this author
February 9, 2006
Welcome to the introductory edition of Animalcules!
Our first, and most pressing, issue is the name. As was pointed out in the comments here, there's already a monthly column in Microbe (formerly ASM News) called "Animalcules." But I still like the name, so I was thinking of incorporating…
February 8, 2006
I know, not exactly a novel finding. But I somehow continue to be amazed at the level of utter stupidity displayed by some of those in the public eye. Now, admittedly, I'm not much of a celebrity-watcher. I don't care much who they're sleeping with, what drugs they're on, or how much their new…
February 8, 2006
So far, just in poultry.
PARIS -- A "highly pathogenic" strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in poultry stocks in Nigeria-- the first reported case of the disease in Africa, the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health said Wednesday.
Nigeria reported the outbreak in Jaji, a…
February 7, 2006
Just what the world needs, right?
There are already carnivals for medical-type follk, general science folk, the godless, philosophers. There are already carnivals about birds, cats, dogs, general multicellular animals, invertebrates. But something is missing. Oh, yes. Those poor little…
February 7, 2006
My 6-year-old daughter has glasses, and yesterday afternoon I took her to the optometrist for her yearly checkup. After initially being a bit skeptical about getting the eye drops to dilate her pupils so her retinas could be visualized, she was won over after seeing the cool pictures of her eyes…
February 7, 2006
This week's Grand Rounds--a carnival of medical-themed blogging--is up over at Science and Politics.
February 6, 2006
In the comments to my interview with DarkSyde, another parent and I discussed "alternative" medicine and some of the autism literature. Today over on Respectful Insolence, Orac has an excellent post on how using data from the VAERS database isn't the best way to accurately gauge adverse effects.
A…
February 6, 2006
So, I watched the SuperBowl last night (mandatory, I think, 'cause Ben Roethlisberger's from my tiny little hometown) and saw this FedEx commercial, which has humans living amongst T. rexes and pterodactyls. Can't wait to see this posted on Answers in Genesis as more proof that people are…
February 5, 2006
This is obviously more Chris's area more than it is mine, but Time's cover story this week is on, essentially, the Republican war on science (the actual "war," not Chris's book of the same title).
Boehlert [Republican chairman of the House Science Committee] does not see a larger problem of…
February 4, 2006
In my piece with DarkSyde yesterday, I mentioned a bioterrorist attack with Salmonella that took place in Oregon in the 1980s. This is an organism that you've all certainly encountered (though hopefully didn't get sickened by), and it's certainly not one that's commonly thought of as a potential…
February 3, 2006
So, I keep getting damn spam comments. I'd intentionally left things pretty simple for commenters 'cause I know what a pain it can be to have to register for something different at every blog just to comment, but something's going to have to change. Some options are to do what Ed's done and…
February 3, 2006
I've noted previously that infectious causes of so-called"chronic" diseases--illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, and autoimmune disease--are an interest of mine. The Guardian has a nice overview of infectious causes of cancer--and why one can't simply "catch" cancer as you catch a cold. It's…
February 3, 2006
...check out this post by DemfromCT (one of the founders of the Flu wiki). He discusses a topic near and dear to my heart--preparation for an influenza pandemic. And like I've pointed out, he agrees that we're not ready.
February 3, 2006
It's time for Science Friday again over at DailyKos. Previously, DarkSyde has interviewed Chris Mooney, PZ Myers, Ed Brayton, Wesley Elsberry, the gentlemen over at Real Climate. Obviously he was running out of the big boys*, so today's Science Friday features little ol' me. I'm humbled to be…
February 2, 2006
Carl Zimmer has a new post up on zombie cockroaches and the wasps that love them. This is seriously incredible stuff.
The wasp slips her stinger through the roach's exoskeleton and directly into the cockroach's brain. She apparently using sensors along the sides of the stinger to guide it through…
February 2, 2006
Quarantines were briefly discussed in the comments on this thread. A recent study in the journal "Health Affairs" carried out jointly by researchers at Harvard and the CDC determined attitudes about quarantine in Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the U.S.
One thing to note: remember quarantine…
February 1, 2006
I've been meaning to post on this, 'cause it just irks me. I'm sure many of you likely saw this study:
Political bias affects brain activity, study finds
Democrats and Republicans alike are adept at making decisions without letting the facts get in the way, a new study shows.
"We did not see any…
Inexperienced religious groups receive AIDS funding--but don't worry, it's not politically motivated
February 1, 2006
Religious groups getting more AIDS funding,
Bush administration earmarked $200 million for less-experienced groups.
Aargh.
Franklin Graham just got federal AIDS money. His group, Samaritan's purse, has a mission described as "meeting critical needs of victims of war, poverty, famine, disease…
February 1, 2006
The Discovery Institute's Wedge document has been quite a boon to those seeking to show that their motivations are political and religious instead of scientific, though the DI has said it's not a big deal. Today, the Seattle Weekly has run a story on it, including the history of how it came to be…
February 1, 2006
Tangled Bank is up over at Adventures in Ethics and Science. Alas, I have a meeting in 10 mins. so I'll have to read through it later. Might also want to check out this week's Grand Rounds over at Barbados Butterfly.
January 31, 2006
I've mentioned previously that not only do I live in Iowa, I live waaaay out in rural Iowa--gravel road, mile-away neighbors, the whole shebang. I realize that's the worst nightmare of many people--living in the boonies in a "red state," but it definitely has its perks at times. This morning, my…
January 31, 2006
...Orac's headin' over to Scienceblogs.
January 31, 2006
As mentioned over on Gene Expression, Radio Open Source has called for Blogs of the Union (BOTU), in preparation for tonight's State of the Union address. I thought about it quite a bit last night, but couldn't get anything down without being too depressed (and depressing). So instead, I'll just…
January 31, 2006
Oh man, Answers in Genesis shills to the most amusing people. I subscribe to their newsletter--partly to keep tabs on what they're up to, partly for the entertainment value. They must sell their mailing list, because yesterday in the mail I received the most amusing brochure. It proclaims, "…
January 30, 2006
Okay, not to overwhelm with Streptococcus biology, but I mentioned this new paper in the comments to this post, and had to share a bit of the results, because 1) it's just cool, and 2) it directly stems from some of the research I did for my dissertation. (Always a bonus when someone else can…
January 30, 2006
Well, it's official. H5N1 has killed humans in Iraq. As usual, EffectMeasure has the scoop.
January 30, 2006
I wrote up a critique of an article DI mouthpiece Casey Luskin wrote regarding avian influenza back in October. I don't know whether Luskin ever read my post; at the time, trackbacks to the DI site weren't working. But I'd guess I'm not the only one who pointed out the abundant mistakes in his…
January 29, 2006
I meant to get online yesterday, but hubby had to work all day so it was just me and the kiddos--so we just played all day and I didn't bother to get to a computer. Anyhoo, I've missed a few things. I know this was linked on a few other of my virtual neighbor's websites, but in case you didn't…
January 27, 2006
Just a reminder about this upcoming event at Iowa State University:
Why Intelligent Design Is Not Science
Robert M. Hazen is the Clarence Robinson Professor of Earth Science at George Mason University, and a scientist at the Carnegie Institution of Washington's Geophysical Laboratory. He received…
January 27, 2006
Speaking of chronic diseases caused by microbial agents, one of the earliest characterized of these is the group A streptococcus (Streptococcus pyogenes). In addition to causing acute diseases such as strep throat and scarlet fever, a wide range of post-infectious sequelae (complications that…