mikethemadbiologist

Why, yes, I did. And Senator Evan "I'm dumber than a sack of hammers" Bayh illustrates exactly what I'm talking about: Today, MSNBC's Chuck Todd asked Bayh about the poverty data, and whether there is a disconnect between the real economic pain that people are feeling and lawmakers squabbling over…

Not to pick on anyone, but this is what I go through with far too many projects: "My grant is due tomorrow. I just need to know...." And: "I can put you on my grant for a 0.5% FTE..."

If you're Jewish, you'll probably be reading this in a few hours, depending on your time zone. What really bugs me about the theopolitical right is their selective choosing of which parts of the Bible they will take 'literally' and which parts they ignore. They typically ignore this bit by my…

I've decried before the lack of natural history in economics, and I'm thinking Mark Thoma, with whom I usually agree, seems to be doing just that. Thoma on the ongoing recession: There are different types of recessions, and this one can be termed "a balance sheet" recession. It had a big impact…

One of the things never discussed by 'framers' is anger. Anger, especially righteous anger, is a powerful motivation, yet progressives and Democratic political operatives seem oblivious to his. Thankfully, we have Lance Mannion to set us straight (italics original; boldface mine): The Democrats…

A couple of weeks ago I attended the Human Microbiome Research Conference. At that meeting, one talk by Bruce Birren (and covered by Jonathan Eisen) mentioned something that was completely overlooked by the attendees. Now, I don't blame them, since what Birren mentioned was about bacterial…

In light of yesterday's post about teachers and education, I think this column by The Washington Post's Courtland Milloy comes very close to identifying the a key problem facing urban education. Milloy: From a commentary by D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee that appeared in the Feb. 8 issue of…

One of the subtle, but important things that influences national discussions of education is that the Washington D.C. public schools are dreadful. Not only do students do worse than would be predicted based on the poverty rate, but, according to the NAEP, the schools also do a worse job of…

I've been meaning to get to this proposal by Matthew Yglesias about judicial term limits for Supreme Court justices. He argues: The strongest argument I can make in favor is that it would create a less-random relationship between election outcomes and the composition of the judiciary.... ...the…

I found this video of an elephant and her dog. Or is it a dog and her elephant? Does anyone have any idea how these two might view each other? I don't think they view each other as conspecifics. Do they view each other as equals, or does one feel responsible for the other? Either way, I want a…

Links for you. Greenwashing - Is there really a sustainable Orange Roughy fishery? Transplanting Gut Microbes to Treat Disease: Scientists examine new ways to manipulate the microorganisms within us. Surviving antibiotics... Ocean of Pseudoscience: Sharks DO get cancer! Insect brains 'are source of…

Last week, the NY Times' Joe Nocera wrote about net neutrality, a topic I've discussed before. In Nocera's piece is a parenthetical aside that illustrates how those ensconced in large-scale corporate media simply do not comprehend what the net neutrality battle is all about. Nocera: (Which brings…

Gut Yontif! Let's start the New Year, linky style. Science: Do School Lunches Plump Up Poor Kids? And the short answer is, no, we could not still put a man on the moon The Myers-Briggs Personality Test: A critical look at the world's most popular psychological metric, the Myers-Briggs Type…

I've written about the need and potential of thorium-based nuclear power: It's always seemed to me that nuclear power would have to be part of the solution of the global warming problem: even if the planet's population were to remain constant, and even if planet-wide energy use were to remain…

How was your Recovery Summer? At least we don't have a shortage of links! Science: Fat and Health. (the best explanation of BMI I've read yet. My Inner Statistician is very happy: the second paragraph is brilliant) STUPIDITY 1, THE REST OF US 0 Does it matter to your P.I. what you did this…

One of the constant assumptions in the field of antibiotic resistance is that the massive exposure of bacteria to antibiotics, and the evolution of resistance to these antibiotics, didn't occur until after the widespread introduction of penicillin and other antibiotics less than a century ago. But…

Back to work, unless, like me you're on vacation. Still, I have links for you. Science: Ants work with acacia trees to prevent elephant damage Fluoride in Water Prevents Adult Tooth Loss, Study Suggests (but does it make you more susceptible to alien mind rays?) Bella and Tara A complete summary…

I'll be taking a much-needed vacation over the High Holidays, so if you contact me I might not get back to you very quickly (or at all). But don't worry, the blog will keep on blog rollin'.

One of science's saving graces is that a fair number of scientists will publicly admit that they are wrong (and then there's Marc Hauser*...). Last week, at the Human Microbiome Project meeting, Jonathan Eisen gave a talk about the GEBA project which is an effort to sequence the genomes of a…

(from here) Last weekend, Glenn Beck and his Tea Party dupes decided to 'reclaim' Martin Luther King's legacy. In light of that, this speech King gave to striking sanitation workers in Memphis seems appropriate--and puts the lie to Beck's propaganda: My dear friends, my dear friend James Lawson,…

I'm no great fan of DailyKos founder Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, but I'm on his side over his calling his book about movement conservatives "American Taliban." According to progressives such as Matt Yglesias, this title is unwarranted hyperbole*. Tristero explains to boychick Yglesias why the…

A beautiful day here. Why are you reading links? But if you are, I got some. Science: Light Rail and Obesity in one NC City But Science Doesn't Work That Way : Miller and Chomsky (1963) Viking Experiment May Have Found Life's Building Blocks on Mars After All Other: THE AGE OF MAMMON Outside…

Over the last two years, I've noticed that most of the meetings I've attended have had far too many 'grand old man' talks. These are talks where the speaker gives a broad overview of either the field or the speaker's work, with very little or no detail paid to detail. These sorts of talks do have…

Links for you. Science: My E. coli brother's keeper A Message To The Sciency Elite: Step Out Of The Lab And Into The Real World Wild chimps outwit human hunters Other: Why Paul Krugman Is Perhaps The Biggest Economic Optimist There Is My Iraq War Retrospective Brother, Can You Paradigm? How…

Let no one say that the Mad Biologist doesn't address the pressing issues of the day. While at the Human Microbiome Meeting, I'm staying in a hotel. Like other hotels I've stayed in for various meetings, my bed is covered with pillows. Not only were there four humongous pillows that I could use…

One of the common sayings in microbiology that drives me up a wall is the notion that 99% of all bacteria can't be grown in the lab. This false statement stems from the observation that if you take any sample (soil, water, clinical samples) and look under a microscope we see many more bacterial…

Every so often, we hear or read someone who asks, "If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we do X?" But it's not so clear that we could still do it if we wanted to: The Apollo and Gemini programs aren't truly lost. There are still one or two Saturn V rockets lying around, and there are plenty…

Links for you: Problems with the use of Student Test Scores to Evaluate Teachers Left Ed: Arne Duncan Flunks Race to the Top Fed admits: Money is a spreadsheet T-bagging at the Glenn Beck rally in DC What Can Obama Really Do?

There's something that has puzzled me about the recent stem cell decision that led to an injunction that prevents the NIH from spending any funds on research involving human embryonic stem cells. I've read the decision (pdf), and it appears to be incredibly broad and damaging to NIH funding in…

Links for you. Science: Estimate Lowered of Typical Flu Toll Don't Just Sit There! How bathroom posture affects your health. Other: Failure To Rise SMART POLICY, SMART POLITICS.... The Confederate Party has always been about 'Honor' MOVEMENTS ARE ABOUT SOMETHING REAL.... 75 years of unqualified…