Stacey Smith
I'm a graduate student studying the molecular and biochemical evolution of HIV within patients and within populations. I also study epigenetic control of ERVs.
sa smith
Posts by this author
June 4, 2008
This is a repost from the old ERV. A retrotransposed ERV :P I dont trust them staying up at Blogger, and the SEED overlords are letting me have 4 reposts a week, so Im gonna take advantage of that!
I am going to try to add more comments to these posts for the old readers-- Think of these as '…
June 3, 2008
Alls quiet on the intertubes tonight.
And I had a really bad day at work today (one of those days where nothing worked *rolleyes*) so Im too grumpy to write a nice post. I just wanna make some cocoa and take some Tylenol PM.
And Ive been on SciBlogs for about a month now.
And one major element has…
June 2, 2008
Guess you all have heard by now Yoko lost (EMIs suit is still pending). Ah well, Yoko is appealing, this will go on forever, but this case reminded me of another part of Yellow 'Inner Life' that I wanted to blog about.
See, what I found odd about EXPELLEDs use of 'Imagine' is that it is completely…
June 1, 2008
Yes.
I went to see 'It.'
'It'. The Movie everyone has been talking about for months.
ERV readers might not think It was a movie I would be into, but it was awesome!!!
'The Fall' was really really good*.
Ive been looking forward to it ever since PZ brought it to my attention a few months ago. Im…
May 31, 2008
So almost exactly a year ago, Michael 'LiLo' Behe released his prized pig book, 'Edge of Evolution', where he stated, with utmost certainty, that HIV-1 'has not evolved'.
Yeah, that hasnt worked out too well for him.
Anyway, unlike Ivory Handed Creationists who dont lower themselves to doing…
May 29, 2008
If youll recall one of my first posts on SciBlogs, I urged everyone not to give up on an HIV-1 vaccine. Ya, we are sucking right now, but if we can get over our 'AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!' response to HIV-1, refocus on the basic virology of HIV-1, we can get this mo-fo.
The first step in the right…
May 29, 2008
We must keep this from the serfs, lest they gain literacy and threaten the landed gentry!!
Worried that some of us would start thinking Christians have a monopoly on teh stupid, Muslims in Indonesia have bravely stepped up to defend their faith against Evil Atheists like Richard Dawkins... By not…
May 28, 2008
This is a repost from the old ERV. A retrotransposed ERV :P I dont trust them staying up at Blogger, and the SEED overlords are letting me have 4 reposts a week, so Im gonna take advantage of that!
I am going to try to add more comments to these posts for the old readers-- Think of these as '…
May 28, 2008
The judge is supposed to rule on Ono/EMIs suit some time this week. This reminds me of one of the best scenes from one of the best movies with the best music:
The Good-- David Bolinski. Dude just trying to defend the honor of his company after William Dembski and his grimy 'Christian' bandits…
May 27, 2008
When I first joined SciBlogs, there were several new readers who didnt get 'the joke':
If were made in Gods image, Gods made of gag, pol, and env.
Short explanation: Genomes are full of crap. Crap DNA. No, no not super special DNA front loaded by The Lord to be [insert stupid creationist claim…
May 26, 2008
Thanks to everyone who sent me links to a new article so neat it got Slashdotted:
Imaging the biogenesis of individual HIV-1 virions in living cells
Researchers tagged a major structural protein of HIV-1 called 'Gag'** with a fluorescent protein. If you only put the instructions for Gag into cells…
May 26, 2008
This is a repost from the old ERV. A retrotransposed ERV :P I dont trust them staying up at Blogger, and the SEED overlords are letting me have 4 reposts a week, so Im gonna take advantage of that!
I am going to try to add more comments to these posts for the old readers-- Think of these as '…
May 25, 2008
During last weeks Battle of the Titans, I got several comments and emails from readers with the same question:
Where do these kooks come from? How do you go from being a PhD, or MD, or DDS, and turn into a complete whackjob?
Well, I cant say what Horowitzs deal is. That is the job of a mental…
May 23, 2008
I cant take this, guys. I cant take this anymore. Im physically ill from laughing so hard over the past couple of days, and THEYRE STILL GOING AT IT!
Duesberg was back on that radio show again this morning, fighting by himself.
I have a years worth of blog fodder in the 30 minutes Duesberg gets…
May 22, 2008
AAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
Will update later, just finished listening to the 'debate' between HIV Conspiracy Theorist Lenny Baby, and HIV-doesnt-exist Dramatic Duesberg.
Will add real comments and hopefully an mp3 tonight, but OMFG THIS WAS THE BEST DEBATE EVER!!!…
May 21, 2008
With a guest appearance by Eugenie! I didnt know she was there until I clicked on "Feeding and Gloating for More: The Challenge of the New Creationism, Jerry A. Coyne, The University of Chicago" (having a little trouble with a few minutes of that vid, but might just be me).
From RNA to Humans: A…
May 21, 2008
OMG YOU GUYS.
OMG.
IM SERIOUSLY YOU GUYS!
Sometime, tomorrow, they say at '11' in the morning (Central Time? Mountain Time? Moon Man Time?), there is going to be a Denier fight between my HIV boyfriend Lenny Horowitz, and creepy Uncle Duesburg.
O.M.G.
Im still unclear about all the details that…
May 20, 2008
Poor Arnie is an apartment dog. He has no backyard to run and play in, so whenever we go to my parents house, he spends the entire time in their backyard chasing possums and squirrels and rabbits and whatever else he can stir up.
But in OK, my only option is making sure he gets long walks and runs…
May 20, 2008
I always joke to summer students and rotating grad students:
Your lab notebook. Keep it up to date. If you get hit by a bus tomorrow, I expect to be able to pick up exactly where you left off.
Heart attacks happen. Car accidents happen. Random acts of violence happen. But we stand on each…
May 19, 2008
Just a few days ago, PZ wondered how in the hell Granny Spice, worst writer on the planet Earth, nay, the entire Milky Way, got nominated for some Christian writing award.
I know why.
You all wont believe me until you read this yourself, but Denyse O'Leary is not actually the worst writer ever.…
May 19, 2008
Page 3.14 has a poll up now on the UK refusing to ban everyones favorite science experiments, MANIMALS! What 3.14 doesnt mention is that Parliament (is that what they call it?) debated another topic today I find equally creepy: Saviour Babies.
Even with todays genetic counseling and genetic…
May 18, 2008
Sciencewoman has been covering the Intel Science and Engineering Fair, and YAAAAY!! Three chickadees won the top prizes! Sweet!
While the fact three girls won did get a nod from a random troll, it hasnt really been the main topic of the discussion. More people have been wondering "How the hell…
May 18, 2008
If you are looking for a 'hero' to look up to in the viral evolution world, you probably couldnt find a better choice than Louis Villarreal of the University of California, Irvine. I mean, he is like *the* definition of someone who came from a tough background, had to struggle through school a bit…
May 18, 2008
I make fun of OK on my blog regularly. Sometimes it feels like Im living on goddamn Mars, surrounded by Martians (aka 'Baptists') speaking gobbledy gook and creepy red dirt and forever-gusting wind that will drive you insane...
It doesnt help when dipshits like Sally Kern proudly drag Oklahomans…
May 17, 2008
God put proteins that kinda sorta might look like Chinese characters in cells so that PROVES DESIGN AND JESUS.
hehehe.
ID Creationists are hard at work proving design (unlike real scientists that state a hypothesis and accept data whether its for/against their original idea). The stagnant cyber-…
May 16, 2008
Lots of new readers since the move to SciBlogs-- So while Im still out of town, here is a repost of my presentation to Americans United this past March!
Posted below the fold for slow loaders :P
May 15, 2008
This is a repost from the old ERV. A retrotransposed ERV :P I dont trust them staying up at Blogger, and the SEED overlords are letting me have 4 reposts a week, so Im gonna take advantage of that!
I am going to try to add more comments to these posts for the old readers-- Think of these as '…
May 14, 2008
So Bush is trying to do something good. Kind of. He established a fund in 2003 called 'PEPFAR' to pledge funds to Africa to help fight HIV/AIDS. Of course there are lots of strings attached, like ABSTINENCE ONLY education WHOOOO!!! *rolleyes* But whatever. Hes a Republican theotard-- and I…
May 14, 2008
I wasnt going to talk about this until later, but a commenter/troll left a comment on my last post:
Umm, Do retroviruses have any clinical relevance whatsoever?
Top ten killers in USA per CDC:
Heart disease: 652,091
Cancer: 559,312
Stroke: 143,579
Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 130,933…