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
March 23, 2011
A recent evaluation of M.I.T.'s efforts to redress the underrepresentation of women on its faculty has been discussed widely on the bloggysphere. I don't have much to add, except that this section from the NY Times' coverage leapt out at me:
Because it has now become all but the rule that every…
March 22, 2011
Links for you. Science:
Geographic variation in human penis sizeIgnorance of the way review goes down is a dereliction of duty, NIH. Out of options: A surprising culprit in the nuclear crisis
Other:
How Bill Gates misinterprets ed factsMiss Grundy Was Fired Today. Once deified, now demonized,…
March 22, 2011
If you remember some months ago, NASA scientist Felisa Wolfe-Simon held a press conference announcing that they had discovered a bacterium that uses arsenic in place of phosphorus. The paper, when released, had compromising methodological problems (for good coverage, read here, here, and here; and…
March 22, 2011
By way of Digby, we come across this proposal of how to reach 95% percent renewable energy by 2050. Before I get to some of the issue I have with the study (which is actually pretty good), I want to lay out my general views on energy use.
First, I'm not a 'fan' of nuclear power. While thorium-…
March 21, 2011
It's...snowing. Links for you. Science:
The Lionfish Is Delicious. And it needs to die.Glimpses of the Fourth Domain?Charting the Human Cost of Different Types of Energy
Other:
On Political Talk Shows, Liberals Can't Finish Their--Beyond AusterityThe NYT Gives Voice to the Educated Ignorant…
March 21, 2011
Rightwing wackaloon and Minnesota Congresswoman and possible presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has been traveling hither and yon in New Hampshire, which, according to Bachmann, is where the 'shot heard round the world' was fired. For those who don't routinely wallow in the depths of the…
March 21, 2011
It really does matter: if economists are going to use biology as a model for their discipline, we need them to understand ours, to help improve theirs. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
By way of Brad DeLong, we stumble across this Russ Roberts piece discussing the question of what kind of science…
March 20, 2011
There's a big parade today. But if you're not going, then here are some links for you. Science:
Genome Assembly InformationHerds on the Street: Why messaging traders are like scared fishShark Cleaning Stations IdentifiedFelisa Wolfe-Simon (of arsenic infamy) is no more convincing in person than…
March 20, 2011
Because you can policy wonk all you want, but sometimes you need a little poetry:
March 20, 2011
If you haven't heard, rightwing slime mongerer James O'Keefe struck again and managed to give National Public Radio (NPR) a black eye, although to a considerable extent, this was a self-inflicted wound. Over at Whiskey Fire, Thers makes a very astute observation (italics mine):
The most bizarre…
March 19, 2011
Links for you. Science:
The Electric Taxi Company You Could Have Called in 1900Glimpses of the Fourth Domain?Natural-Born Homophobes?
Other:
Tripped Up At The Finish Line: The Perils Of Unemployment After 50San Francisco to Start Smart Parking Management Trial SoonAnnual Mis-Reporting on…
March 19, 2011
Even movie villians aren't this twisted. And, no, I'm not making this up (italics mine):
Under a GOP-backed bill expected to sail through the House of Representatives, the Internal Revenue Service would be forced to police how Americans have paid for their abortions. To ensure that taxpayers…
March 18, 2011
Woozy is the city of Boston recovering from St. Patrick's Day. Links for you. Science:
Smaller, cheaper, faster: Does Moore's law apply to solar cells?Why are there no (or almost no) disease-causing Archaea?For Whom the Cell Mutates: The Origins of Genetic QuirksHog Farmers Overuse Antibiotics,…
March 18, 2011
Jeremy Yoder has a good takedown of another article by Jesse Bering. This time, Bering argues that homophobia is adaptive. This is the key point:
Bering's post focuses on a series of studies by the evolutionary psychologist Gordon Gallup. Gallup was interested in the question of whether there…
March 18, 2011
By way of John Sides, we come across this analysis of some data from the General Social Survey:
(the five categories of educational status are, from left to right: didn't graduate from high school, high school graduate, some college, college graduate, post-graduate degree)
While connecting the…
March 17, 2011
Let's celebrate St. Patrick's Day with...links? Science:
No Face, but Plants Like Life Too (if plants had vocal chords, they would be SCREAMING)Ocean AcidificationAlien vs. Predator: Biocontrol EditionOlder female elephants are wiser matriarchs
Other:
Tax Haven USA attracts over $3 trillion in…
March 17, 2011
I've written before about the tyranny of double-entry bookkeeping when it comes to budget deficits: decreasing public debt requires either an increase in total private debt or a decrease in the 'trade deficit' (current account balance). Rotten Apple has a very clear explanation of how this works…
March 17, 2011
I think a lot of people misunderstand what the real corrupting force in federal politics is. It's not campaign contributions, but the desire to have a cushy retirement--something I pointed out two years ago:
It's simple: it's about life after politics. One of the dirty secrets about many, if not…
March 16, 2011
Lots of thermonukular links! Science:
Nuclear OverreactorsNuclear energy 101: Inside the "black box" of power plants Sleep is More Important than FoodDTC, FDA, regulation, etc. (I don't agree, but different point of view)Coal Ash Is More Radioactive than Nuclear Waste
Other:
Burning down your…
March 16, 2011
What I've never understood about the idea of tax cuts for the rich to stimulate the economy is that, as one wealthy person told me, "I spend what I'm going to spend, and the rest goes in the bank." Tax cuts don't stimulate growth, unmet demand stimulates growth. Sure, there are some rich people…
March 16, 2011
Over at The Art of Science Learning, Peter Economy writes:
One of my great concerns for this country's future is the underperformance of our youth when it comes to achievement in math and science. In December 2010, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released the…
March 15, 2011
Links for you. Science:
Are Grad Students Smart?Taxonomy: The naming crisisAre antibiotics making our kids fat?Wind Power Without the Blades: Big PicsArsenic life, four months later: pay no attention to the internet
Other:
James O'Keefe and Journalistic MalpracticeA child couldn't paint that - can…
March 15, 2011
The Sacramento Bee has a good interactive feature of how to balance California's budget*. It puts all of the realistic proposals on the table (i.e., idiots who want California to stop giving out so much foreign aid, or some other hooey need not apply). What you'll notice two things very quickly…
March 15, 2011
By way of Observational Epidemiology, we find an interesting NY Times article by Michael Winerip describing a seventh grade teacher's experience with value added testing in New York City. I'll get to value added testing in a bit, but the story also highlights why we need more reporters who have…
March 15, 2011
I'm starting to think that Fox News' primary function isn't catapulting conservative propaganda, but Will Rogers-esque comedy:
One name seems out of place on the graphic [of Japan's nuclear power plants] -- that of "Shibuyaeggman."
It doesn't show up on the International Atomic Energy Agency's list…
March 14, 2011
Links for you. Science:
Everybody Thinks ScientificallyPublication Strategy...If I can't beat 'em, I'll wait 'em out...Can libraries survive in a digital world?Arsenic Author Dumps Peer Review, Takes Case to TED (but bloggers suck. Or something)
Other:
Fareed Zakaria Is Upset Because the…
March 14, 2011
In light of the nuclear power plant partial meltdowns in Japan, there are calls for not expanding the U.S. nuclear power plant capacity, and even shutting down existing plants. What bothers me about this is that there is no discussion of how we make up the energy production shortfall--I'll get to…
March 14, 2011
On what was essentially a party line vote (one Democrat and one Republican each crossed the aisle), the Republicans in the Missouri Senate voted to strip out most of the legislation passed in a referendum that would have regulated Missouri's dog breeding facilities. Missouri has been known as the…
March 13, 2011
I like springing forward in the long run, but hate the day we do it. Oh well. Links for you. Science:
Drug-resistant bacteria: To humans from farms via foodTeaching Ambiguity and the Scientific MethodBudget cuts at the NIH: Department of nose-cutting, face-spiting (for a layman, gets most of the…
March 13, 2011
Last week, I described how the Texas Republican party proposed legislation that would require a woman who wants to have an abortion to receive a vaginal exam (two actually). Well, the Texas Democrats at least fought back (which is more than the national Dems ever do):
Houston state representative…