Mad rantings about politics, evolution, and microbiology. Comment policy: say what you want, but back it up with an email address. I don't like anonymous trolls.
mikethemadbiologist
Posts by this author
April 28, 2011
Links for you. Science:
Electronic faucets hinder, not help, hospital infection controlGenetics journal reveals dark pastTuesday Crustie: What a happy lad since the day he lost his stringsDrama on the sidewalk
Other:
Taxing China's Assets: How to Increase U.S. Employment Without Launching a Trade…
April 28, 2011
I didn't think we would see assaults on unions happening in Massachusetts. I was wrong:
Last night, the Massachusetts House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill (111-42) to strip public-sector workers of their ability to bargain collectively for healthcare. The rhetoric surrounding the…
April 28, 2011
Over the last couple of weeks, Chris Mooney has written several interesting posts and articles about how human cognition affects the incorporation of evidence, especially scientific evidence (e.g., global warming) and what that means for politics. At the back of my mind have been nagging issues of…
April 27, 2011
It feels like spring. It is spring! Let's celebrate with some links. Science:
Great editorial response to the Jumbotron ad (responding to anti-vaxxers)Climate Policy Failure, and Laying BlameIs Reasoning Built for Winning Arguments, Rather Than Finding Truth?The @nytimes missed a great chance to…
April 27, 2011
It only took Ezra Klein about much longer than me to figure this out:
...the position that Obama and the Democrats have staked out is the very position that moderate Republicans have staked out before.
Take health-care reform. The individual mandate was developed by a group of conservative…
April 27, 2011
Joe Nocera knocked it out of the park yesterday, in his column about education:
[NYC Principal] González comes across as a skeptic, wary of the enthusiasm for, as the article puts it, "all of the educational experimentation" that took place on Klein's watch. At its core, the reform movement…
April 26, 2011
Links for you. Science:
Atta texanaBacteria Divide People Into 3 Types, Scientists SayJohn Gillespie, "the evil scientist from America"Could You Be the Worst Labmate in the World?
Other:
The AnniversaryHow Donald Trump's ego killed a pro sports leagueHow You Can Have a Billion-Dollar Income in…
April 26, 2011
I've written before about the problem of the Ph.D. glut, so I was pleasantly surprised (shocked, actually) to read several articles in a recent edition of Nature hitting the same themes. For those who don't think there's a Ph.D. glut, here are some data for you:
Post-doc numbers shouldn't be…
April 25, 2011
Last day of vacation. Links for you. Science:
Vaccine Denialism Finds a Home on Left and RightFalse Balance in Matthew Nisbet's Climate Shift ReportGuest Post: It's Not Just Alternative Energy Versus Fossil Fuels or Nuclear - Energy Has to Become DECENTRALIZEDSome people deserve bad reputations…
April 25, 2011
Given the fundamental problems that New York City's 'proficiency growth' evaluations of teachers have, it's absolutely unclear why Massachusetts, which leads the nation according to the gold-standard NAEP, would want to adopt them (we'll return to this point later). Yet the contagion of stupidity…
April 24, 2011
Links for you. Science:
Six Questions About CRISPRsBottom feeders: A novel way of dealing with an unpleasant problem Humpback Whales May Be Migratory AstronomersA Peculiar Disclaimer
Other:
Suddenly It's Real (on gas prices)Alcohol and Rape: Twice the StandardsAnother Occasional Reminder (about '…
April 24, 2011
A few years back, Dick Cavett made the following observation about the misuse of the phrase "presumption of innocence":
Cast your mind back about a dozen years to Tonya Harding. For the newly born, she was the young skater who hired a goon acquaintance to lurch out of the shadows and whack rival…
April 23, 2011
Yesterday, I described how education reform, which implies (or overtly states) that teachers need better incentives to improve outcomes, makes no sense when Massachusetts is considered. Yves Smith, in a post about the widespread failure of performance pay incentives, makes a very relevant…
April 22, 2011
Links for you. Science:
Researchers argue 'addiction' a poor way to understand the normal use of drugsWhy Do Leafcutter Bees Cut Leafs?Moth Mutation Explains Classic Example of Evolution
Other:
Grifters will always find each other...Doug Smith: A Stiletto In The Back Of Sane Housing…
April 22, 2011
Noahpinion recognizes a problem that probably familiar to readers with kids in high school--the high cost of college:
While college enrollment rates are up a little over 50% since 1980, the price of college is up by over 1000%.
What this points to is a supply shortage...
More people want to go to…
April 21, 2011
Links for you. Science:
Truckloads of hard disksMulti-Drug Resistant Staph in 1 in 4 Meat SamplesIt Works: Taking Cars Out of Times Square Really Improved the Air
Other:
A View From the Shore - My Jewish Secret (yes, there are poor Jews, regardless of what idiot anti-Semites claim)An Idea I Can…
April 21, 2011
When I read this otherwise excellent article by Chris Mooney about why scientific evidence often doesn't persuade people*, I had the exact same reaction Kevin Drum did:
But be prepared to be annoyed when Chris wrenches his spine out of shape bending over backward to find an example of liberals…
April 20, 2011
Links for you. Science:
More on the mega labBats are worth billionsWhat Is This Fallacy Called?Hold Onto Your Floppy Disks, Nerdz!
Other:
BANANA REPUBLICThe Real Housewives of Wall Street: Why is the Federal Reserve forking over $220 million in bailout money to the wives of two Morgan Stanley…
April 20, 2011
ScienceBlogling Tara Smith has a great summary of the recent paper reporting high frequencies of multi-drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus in uncooked meat products (S. aureus is the "SA" in MRSA--methicillin resistant S. aureus, so I won't go through the whole paper here (and Maryn McKenna, as…
April 19, 2011
Superbugs may have found their match in manuka beesThe Psychology of ArchitectureFriday Crustacean Blogging
Other:
The Torture Apologists Who Corrupted America's YouthWhy must you use that word, "Profit?"Obama's "bad negotiating" is actually shrewd negotiatingThe Education KleptocracyEconomic…
April 19, 2011
I'm a bit late to this story, but, if you missed it, the LA Times had a superb article about how IKEA treats and pays workers at its U.S. facilities much worse than at its Swedish factories:
Workers complain of eliminated raises, a frenzied pace and mandatory overtime. Several said it's common to…
April 18, 2011
Happy Patriots Day! Links for you. Science:
Ion Torrent Gives Its DNA-Sequencing Box A BoostHow the War on Science Works--And How to RespondBetter Template Prep for Ion AnnouncedIs Sugar Toxic?
Other:
Behind the Abortion WarStephen Colbert Cracks Himself Up Over Walgreens' Health ServicesDoes…
April 18, 2011
The New York Times' Jonathan Mahler waxes philosophical over the divide in education policy, using the recent dismissal of NYC Chancellor of Schools Cathleen Black, to offer up Compulsive Centrist Disorder-inspired banalities about education:
As is often the case with morally charged policy issues…
April 17, 2011
Links for you. Science:
Study: Fracking for natural gas more hazardous than burning coalWatch Out For That Thagomizer!How new DNA sequencing technologies are unravelling rare genetic diseasesBreakthrough Tools for Understanding the Microbiology of the Mouth
Other:
Our Polarized and Money-Driven…
April 17, 2011
Over the past couple of months, there has been a spate of articles celebrating cities that are getting rid of their urban highways. The Christian Science Monitor had an article discussing New Haven's urban reclamation efforts. NPR reported the following:
How did this happen? After all, this is…
April 16, 2011
I always say, that when it comes to policies, people have to like this crap. That is, your policies have to make people's lives better. And they don't want to hear about the methodological details, the ins and outs. Like most people, when their cars breakdown, they want to take it to the…
April 15, 2011
Going on vacation. But don't worry, the blog will keep rolling on. Science:
Anthrax Redux: Did the Feds Nab the Wrong Guy?Algorithm Finds the Hairy-Nosed Wombat Not Worth SavingSo you want to be a science consultantZOMG! SCIENCE on penicillin
Other:
And Obama SpeaksProfiles in Cowardice: How the…
April 15, 2011
Since I'm going on vacation, I might not get to it right away, but the NY Times has a good article about two studies that appear to contradict each other about various effects to control hospital-associated MRSA infections.
I haven't given the two article an in-depth reading yet, but it seems to me…
April 15, 2011
The NY Times has a good article about how few prosecutions have even been attempted in the aftermath of Big Shitpile (the housing crisis and the following good times). One of the key players was Countrywide, led by CEO Chris Mozilo, which initiated so many bad loans (that were then, through…
April 15, 2011
There's been a lot of back-and-forth in the Democratic bloggysphere about whether the budget deal is a good or a bad deal. While the political maneuvering, framing of issues, and so on matters--matters greatly--the discussion seems to have ignored the actual consequences of many of the stated…