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
June 4, 2011
...well, it still sucks. And JPMorgan Chase isn't helping:
The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services says it wants to know why JPMorgan Chase is charging welfare recipients 85 cents each time they withdraw money from one of its bank machines, according to Rebecca Henrie, a…
June 3, 2011
Links for you. Science:
EHEC Genome AssemblyYou're also too pretty for mathHow many reminders does it take to get to the center of a PI's brain?MRSA in meat: How much? Which? And more bad news.The Antarctic island that's richer in biodiversity than the Galapagos
Other:
Right to Rent Trumps Moral…
June 3, 2011
If you're in Boston this weekend, you should visit the Boston Public Library's Civil War exhibits. While several exhibits will be open only during weekday business hours, the Torn in Two: The 150th Anniversary of the Civil War exhibit is fantastic. There's also a really good exhibit of Homer…
June 3, 2011
...in Europe. I'll get to that in a moment. You've probably heard of the E. coli outbreak sweeping through Germany and now other European countries that has caused over one thousand cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome ('HUS'). What's odd is that the initial reports are calling this a novel hybrid…
June 2, 2011
Links for you. Science:
PNAS: Matthew Schlecht, Freelance TranslatorAds Implant False MemoriesWhy Johnny Can't Innovate: The American Economy's Most Surprising DeficitDo you use the title?
Other:
Steven Pearlstein: Mark them tardy to the revolution (not sure I agree--education is replete with…
June 2, 2011
...you're poor. Previously, I discussed the effects of the de facto privatization of money:
But most of the discussion is over how large the fees should be. That's important, but ignores the larger issue: the de facto privatization of our monetary system. While it doesn't seem obvious, when you…
June 2, 2011
...don't understand fractions. A recent Gallup poll asked people what percentage of Americans were gay and lesbian. The results? 52 percent estimated that twenty percent or more of the population is gay or lesbian:
Keep in mind that most estimates put the lesbian and gay population at around…
June 1, 2011
Links for you. Science:
Does Lack of Income Take Away the Brain's Horses?Rinderpest, or 'cattle plague,' becomes only second disease to be eradicatedStinging Caterpillars of the United StatesDeadly bacteria lurk inside hospital wards
Other:
Is this what ended the American Dream?Standing Up for the…
June 1, 2011
If you haven't heard (wouldn't blame you if you hadn't), in the Alabama State House, a legislator switched parties--from the Republican Party to the Democrats, which, given the trend, especially in the South, over the last few decades is surprising. What's even more surprising is why he switched--…
May 31, 2011
Links for you. Science:
Ancient America: HovenweepUnderwater Hawaii with Octopus Porn - A Photo DiaryA diminutive house guestDuh' science: Why researchers spend so much time proving the obvious
Other:
The story behind the world's oldest museum, built by a Babylonian princess 2,500 years agoHouse…
May 31, 2011
There's been a lot of discussion about the report released by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) alleging waste and fraud by the National Science Foundation (NSF), including posts by Dr. O, Steve Silberman, Namnezia, NeuroDojo, The Prodigal Academic, and Stephanie Pappas. The first thing to realize about…
May 30, 2011
Links for you. Science:
The hot hand in airline pilotsYou're too [pretty/young/female, take your pick] to be a microbiologist!Does Lack of Income Take Away the Brain's Horses?"Phylogeny for the faint of heart" PDFThe Discovery of Arsenic-Based Twitter
Other:
Herman Cain's Enron-esque…
May 30, 2011
And what it might mean for racism in the U.S. Over at VoxEu, there's an interesting post describing the correlation between German pogroms in the 1920s and those in 1349. Yes, 1349--seven centuries earlier. Here's the key result:
The authors note:
Of the 19 pogroms recorded, fully 18 took place…
May 29, 2011
Links for you. Science:
American archaeologists discover 17 buried pyramids in EgyptLess Active at Work, Americans Have Packed on PoundsThings NIH Program Officers probably shouldn't say to applicants
Other:
Why aren't progressives as good at politics as conservatives?The obliviousness of our…
May 29, 2011
This is disgusting:
Following up on their threat, Catholic Charities of Rockford, IL, have voluntarily ended all their adoption and foster care services rather than comply with the civil unions law that will take effect next week. In doing so, the organization terminated $7.5 million in state…
May 29, 2011
Before one worries about how teachers are performing, it would seem that getting children to attend school regularly would be an important first step, which is a reason one Floridian teacher opposed teacher student testing:
When Florida proposed strict accountability measures, teachers, parents and…
May 28, 2011
Links for you. Science:
Why are all my children getting measles, ask Homeopathy fans (snarky)Paying a Painful 75% Secrecy TaxGroups sue FDA to stop Big Ag antibiotic abuse--and it just might workDoes NIH funding = higher prices at Massachusetts hospitals?Jennifer Gardy on genomic epidemiology of a…
May 28, 2011
Given the disastrous presidency of Little Lord Pontchartrain, it's understandable why so many people look back fondly on Bill Clinton's two terms. But it's worth remembering that, in many ways, he really was Republican-lite--and he was proud of it. Dean Baker reminds us (italics mine):
In an…
May 28, 2011
One thing I like about PLoS ONE is that it has interesting, if not always groundbreaking, science. Consider this article, "Propagation of Respiratory Aerosols by the Vuvuzela" (italics mine):
Vuvuzelas, the plastic blowing horns used by sports fans, recently achieved international recognition…
May 27, 2011
Links for you. Science:
Ignorance is bliss (sometimes)Giant water bug photographed devouring baby turtleBiology to the masses
Other:
The financial implications of the US measles outbreaksThe role of bank deposits in Modern Monetary TheoryThe dying of the lightPhilip Pilkington: Beyond growth - are…
May 27, 2011
Whenever I attend ASM, there are always students standing next to unattended posters. It's somewhat depressing: they've cleaned and gussied themselves up, sweated over the details of their posters, and are gamely trying to not look depressed at the complete lack of attention their posters are…
May 26, 2011
I'm back! And that means links. Science:
A map of charismatic canid genomic variation10 Important Differences Between Brains and ComputersGrant Reductions. Sigh.
Other:
Robert Samuelson Is Too Lazy to Look Up Income Data for the ElderlyA Decent Man, SmearedTaxing the richSex, hope, and rock and…
May 26, 2011
A seminal discovery of modern biology was Joshua Lederberg's demonstration that bacteria can swap genes through a process known as bacterial recombination. Not only is recombination the mechanism by which antibiotic resistance genes are transferred, but it's also been turned into a useful tool for…
May 25, 2011
Every so often, a creationist will start babbling about "information theory", and thereby defaming a perfectly legitimate line of research. While I'm at the airport, waiting for my flight back from ASM2011, here's something from the archives, "Creationists, "Biological Information", and Cyber-…
May 24, 2011
When I return from the ASM2011 meeting, I hope to discuss this excellent post by Michael Bérubé about the political centrality of the culture wars. Until then, I'll leave you with the post from the archives, "Abortion Is a Blessing":
Abortion isn't the lesser of two evils--it is a just and good…
May 23, 2011
I find reading economist Brad DeLong interesting since, even though I don't always agree with him on economics, he approaches his subject with the humility that scientific disciplines brutally instill in their faithful practitioners. This was an interesting notion regarding the future of economics…
May 22, 2011
Links for you. Science:
Voracious Feral Camels Are the New Cane Toads (Which Are the New Rabbits...)Filtering Isn't the ProblemDo girls steal some of their mother's beauty? Sex bias in parental investment
Other:
Lowenstein Lets Wall Street Off the HookYale Suspends DKE House For "No Means Yes, Yes…
May 22, 2011
Nicholas Kristof has done some excellent reporting on the issues facing the developing world. But he is a case study in how reporting and analysis are not necessarily part of the same skill set. In Thursday's column, Kristof writes (italics mine):
When I was in college, I majored in political…
May 21, 2011
Hopefully, I'm somewhere in New Orleans, and reasonably sober. Links for you. Science:
How KFC and the Tea Party Kill TigersMonkeys protect Indian government officialsSending data to the cloud? Stick it in the post
Other:
Grifters attract grifters...Misleading advertising or something much worse?…