mikethemadbiologist

For the political articles only, I swear. What I can't figure out is how a writer for Esquire can see through all the bullsht that the supposedly Very Serious People can't. Here's what was the most trechant part for me (italics mine): On May 15, Mike Huckabee, a greasy Rotarian gasbag from…

Former Iraq War supporter Michael Ignatieff wrote a mea culpa of sorts in the NY Times magazine this Sunday. Since that's more than most former war supporters have done, he should get some credit for that. But two things were really troubling about the article. First, Ignatieff viewed Iraq as…

Here are your links, you damn kids. First, science: The Angry Toxicologist doesn't like antibiotics in the salad. The Black Death might be responsible for the relative lack of genetic variation in British populations. ERV not only tears creationist Michael Behe a new one, but tells us about some…

(from here) While reading this NY Times article about houses in Newport, RI, I saw the above picture and thought, "That would be a really nice house to live in." Then my head exploded as I read the caption: Topsy Taylor uses her stone bungalow at a former fishing club on Gooseberry Island, R.I.…

Much has been said about the bridge collapse, but R.J. Eskow says it best (italics mine): It's been said before, but let's say it again: If terrorists had bombed this bridge, or destroyed the levees and flooded New Orleans, life in America would change forever. But since it's only our own…

(from here by way of Mimus Pauly) The Democrats rolled over on FISA legislation, giving Bush even more latitude in spying on his own citizens. As Josh Marshall put it: Bush is getting practically everything he asked for. He should have phrased that as a question because I can't figure out why…

In the back of a book I just finished, I noticed this odd paragraph on its own page: This book was set in Electra, a typeface designed for Linotype by W.A. Dwiggins, the renowned type designer (1880-1956). Electra is a fluid typeface, avoiding the contrasts of thick and thin strokes that are…

Once again, Michigan congressman John Dingell has decided to side with Detroit automakers who continue to resist entering the 21st century. The House has scrapped legislation that would raise fuel efficiency standards...to those less than Europe and Japan: Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of…

Last week, Joe Nocera had an excellent piece in the NY Times about how college loans became so exorbitant. Nocera first relates his own college loan experience--in 1974: ...I was constantly falling behind on my payments. The bank that administered my federally guaranteed loans would send a stern…

Well, Dobzhansky actually said, "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution", but, as I've mentioned before, there's a lot to be learned from the sociopolitcal controversy surrounding evolutionary biology. Over at Pandagon, Amanda writes about Ross Douthat's ridiculous claim…

Once again, Robert Samuelson tries to argue that Social Security is DOOOMMMEEDDD! one Samuelson Unit from now. Samuelson falls back on his old standby--lumping Social Security and Medicare together. Mark Thoma explains: The main problem is rising medical costs, and unlike the misplaced emphasis…

The July 28 edition of the Lancet has a superb editorial about the need for legal and safe abortion in the developing world, particularly in Latin America (I've snipped parts; italics mine): ...Irrespective of an individual's viewpoint, the debate over abortion in Latin America cannot be ignored.…

By way of Amanda, I found this great FAQ about libertarianism. My favorite part where he explains why he debunks libertarianism: As I told creationists who wondered why I bothered, it's interesting to me to study unusual beliefs for the same reason it's interesting for doctors to study pathologies…

Robert Farley takes on two of the major proponents of the Unified Theory of the Surge, Michael O'Hanlon and Kenneth Pollack: O'Hanlon and Pollack insist that this is "a war that we just might win" without pausing to indicate what "victory" means in this context; at best, it seems, we could hope for…

The blogosphere is in a wee bit of a tizzy over a Vanity Fair article that hints Giuliani might be having an(other) affair, this time with advisor and motivational speaker, Starr Shephard. Personally, as long as he's not doing it in public, I don't care who Giuliani is or is not screwing, although…

Massachusetts, which has one of the highest rates of childhood vaccination, is facing an increase in parents claiming religious exemptions from having to vaccinate their children, even though the number of kindergarteners has decreased. But these exemptions aren't actually religious at all: Barry…

By way of Brad DeLong, I came across a post by Tyler Cowen that discusses 'fast track' article review: -sounds like grants to me http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2007/07/academic-journa.html http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2007/07/economic-i… More insidious, in my view, is the…

I've called those movement conservatives who think that successful policy execution--in peace or war--is about "will", as opposed to, let's say, execution, Peter Pan conservatives. Atrios has a very good explanation of why they believe so strongly in will--their own personal experience: I've been…

Romney has been so good for Massachusetts. Imagine what he can do for the country. From the Boston Globe: On all key labor market measures, the state not only lagged behind the country as a whole, but often ranked at or near the bottom of the state distribution. Formal payroll employment in the…

Here are your links. Science goes firstest: Here's one more way antibiotics are misused: treating respiratory viruses. ScienceBlogling Tara describes how epidemiologists realized that we had an XDR-TB problem. Here's how fast a fastball really is. Joe Lieberman was so successful at foreign…

I've been away at a meeting, so I'm just starting to work my way through the comments. While I was away, I posted a picture that I called "LOLGeenomz!!" One comment was so brilliant that it deserves its own picture: Heh.

Thomas Bewick is best known as the eighteenth century's premier woodcut engraver and ornithologist. His ornithology books were so well-written that they were popular for a century after his death. However, he was also a passionate political activist, who had seen what war did to his country and…

Amanda has a very interesting discussion of why Oscar the Cat of Doom--the cat that sees soon-to-be-dead people--can do so. However, the Mad Biologist has an alternative hypothesis: When I shuffle off this mortal coil, I'm going to the bad place for this one....

I don't mean that as snark. It's a serious question. Suburbanization has to be one of the greatest human influences on the environment. So I was intrigued by this statement by Ross Douthat about suburbanization (bold Douthat, italics mine): But I don't think we should make "rebalancing in the…

It isn't always the message, sometimes it's the medium. Or the media actually. Framing only goes so far. Often, getting your message out there comes down to schmoozing, intimidation, and hard work. This applies to politics and science. The Daily Howler rebuts neuroscientist Drew Westen's take…

It's raining cats and genomes: Heh.

A colleague has told me about some interesting data that people are far less likely to request an antibiotic for a chest cold than for bronchitis even though they're the same thing. With that in mind, here's something from the archives. One cause of the evolution of antibiotic resistance is the…

While lots of people swear by the power of tea, I had no idea it was seriously viewed as a something that led to urbanization. From The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson (p. 94-95): The dramatic increase of people to populate the new urban spaces of the Industrial Age may have had one other cause: tea.…

I'm attending a conference about microbial population biology this week, but, thanks to the Blogerator 9000, the posts will keep on coming. Speaking of posts, here are some links for you. Science first: CTX-M-15 ESBLs: another antibiotic resistance problem. Here's a post about the coolest…

The Democrats aren't doing any better funding stem cell research--or any other research. Empty pockets at the Next Hurrah writes: http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2007/07/will-democrats… Inflation in the life sciences this year is estimated at 3.7%; thus, Congress's increase [of 2…