mikethemadbiologist

The discussion of education in the U.S. typically is very weird: it's one of the few areas where advocates routinely claim how poorly they're doing. Some of that is an attempt to gain additional funding and support, but a lot of it seems to be propaganda that has taken on a life of its own (and,…

It's a very Schlumpy Saturday here. Time for links. Sciencey stuff: We're losing the rhetorical battle of global warming Climate change makes birds shrink in North America Your Chilean Sea Bass Dinner Deprives Killer Whales Giant meat-eating plants prefer to eat tree shrew poo Libel laws silenced…

Admittedly, that would be a great name for a band, but, by way of Yves Smith, I came across this hysterical video of zebra finches (it gets really good past the one minute mark):

Thank the Intelligent Designer it's Friday. Links for you. Science: Reviewer Blues Broad Director wins prestigious medical prize Dengue virus returns to Florida after decades Humans found to have sixth taste - fat Body mass index (BMI) as a measure of obesity and health: a critical appraisal…

I don't know what's worse: that Republican congressman Paul Ryan is viewed as intelligent, or that if the Democrats lose the House, he could be driving economic policy. Not surprisingly, Congressman Ryan has proposed a tax plan that would lower revenues overall (Republicans talk about lower…

Readers will know that one of my pet peeves that I inflict upon you, dear readers, is my dislike of misinterpreting data. In the healthcare debate, one of the key studies that many have relied on, including the Obama Administration, is the Darmouth Atlas of Health Care Studies. A major finding of…

Working on a grant, only to have the lead PI pull it, is always fun. Anyway, more time for links: MIT's levered wheelchair extends freedom to Third World Who's Accountable When Kids Don't Learn If you thought they'd stop at harassing women having abortions, you were naive Cell phones, Facebook,…

And how is it different than genome sequencing? So recently, I've been hearing people outside of the field of genomics refer to "deep sequencing." I'm not sure what that phrase means: I would like to think that, in a philosophical sense, all of the sequencing we do is "deep" (dude). We certainly…

Brown University president Ruth Simmons has recently come under fire for serving on the board of Goldman Sachs. More than establishing any possible perfidy on the part of Simmons, this just shows how utterly useless boards of directors are. Other than hiring and firing the CEO (or, in the non-…

One of Massachusetts Republican Senator Scott Brown's campaign gimmicks was to drive everywhere in a pickup truck, thereby 'proving' that he's a regular guy (never mind that he's very wealthy). One wonders what would have happened to Scott's image had the Coakley campaign stumbled across this…

I've argued many times on this blog that an influenza vaccination policy, as opposed to the non-policy we currently have, would focus on vaccinating the people who are likely to spread the disease. Or as Yogi Berra might have put it, you can't get the flu from someone who doesn't have it. So who…

Florida Governor Charlie Crist has been trying to run as a moderate in his re-election campaign (he's even toyed with running as an independent). He is to the left of the Republican Party on several issues: if nothing else, he thinks the stimulus was a good idea. He's also more gay-tolerant than…

Merry Tuesday. Links for you. Science: 95 per cent chance that Man is to blame for global warming, say scientists 6 reasons why the iPad could be the 'Star Wars' of tablet computing Natural Advantage Other: What Adam Smith Actually Identified as the Appropriate Roles for 18-century Governments…

I knew when I posted about deficits I would catch some grief (you should see my email. Actually, you probably shouldn't. And why do I get many more emails than comments?). Before I get to addressing some of the comments, I want to bring up why I discuss this stuff (other than I find it…

I'm conflicted about Nicholas Kristof's recent op-ed about antibiotic resistant organisms. On the one hand, Kristof is one of the only national columnists to raise this issue at all. On the other hand, I found his most recent column somewhat confusing--and I'm an expert in this area (I also think…

Well, I suppose the snarky response is that your household doesn't have direct control over multiple battle carrier groups. Joking aside, the fixation on reducing budgets is essentially the economic equivalent of flat-earthism. James Galbraith, in a must read piece, spells out why public deficits…

One of the infuriating things about the collapse of Big Shitpile is that there hasn't seemed to be much you or I can do about it (and that wanker Bernanke is useless). Until now. Move Your Money has developed a nice online tool to find local banks and credit unions. Recently, after using their…

If those who are upset about runaway government spending were serious, they would look at defense spending, which has increased in nominal terms by 75% percent. Consider what even a small level of war department waste would buy for us: With a price tag now approaching $330 million per plane and a…

Thursday means links. Or something. Science: The Upside of Type I Diabetes An 60,000-year old artistic movement recorded in ostrich egg shells Animal Experimentation and Simulation Other: THE MARK OF QUALITY Top Treasury Official Leaves For Lobbying Firm The Enthusiasm Gap Effective Government…

By way of Brad DeLong, I came across this post by Adam Samwick that expresses puzzlement over why Republican healthcare obstructionism hasn't hurt Republicans (or so it would seem; italics mine): You don't succeed as a political party by denying other political parties the opportunity to craft…

Happy Wednesday. Links fahr ya. Science: Thoughts on how to pick a graduate school Answering "scientific" arguments of animal rights extremists New players in sequencing debut at AGBT Do Scientists Want to Bridge Science and Society? The Genetics of Human Adaptation: Hard Sweeps, Soft Sweeps, and…

We are saddened to report, by way of Blue Gal and Tom Watson, that faux conservative blogger and brilliant satirist Jon Swift passed away. I corresponded with him a few times, and I always found him to be a complete delight (not to mention a riot). My favorite Jon Swift: Jon Swift's Complete…

ScienceBlogling Razib has an excellent post, "Why it matters if liberals are much smarter", about the recent work regarding IQ, political orientation, and religious beliefs. Razib's point about the tails of the distribution is key: to the extent that the extemes of high (and low) IQ matter, a…

It would appear that the Coalition of the Sane is beginning to reassert itself--if only by a one percent margin (italics mine): The surprising result of the night came from the State Board of Education District 9 Republican primary, as Thomas Ratliff defeated incumbent and former SBOE Chairman Don…

Juan Cole, who has himself been a target of political campaigns regarding Middle East foreign policy, lays out why climatologists haven't been as successful as they could be in persuading the public (hint: It's not framing). First: Very, very wealthy and powerful interests are lobbying the big…

Merry Monday. Lots of links for you. Science: Newsweek in 1995: Why the Internet will Fail. Pound for pound, bats can drink you under the table The truth matters Rising Threat of Infections Unfazed by Antibiotics The Attack on Climate-Change Science: Why It's the O.J. Moment of the Twenty-First…

I came across this post, "10 Ways Social Media Will Transform Events in 2010", and, after reading it, I was reminded of Ray Bradbury's quote, "I don't try to predict the future, I try to prevent it." Anyway, the post is about how social media and other technologies will change meetings. First,…

Or as I like to say--people have to like this crap. Two events over the last month, the reappointment of Bernanke to Fed Chairman and some Senate Democrats' new-found opposition to using reconciliation to pass healthcare reform with a public option, highlight one reason why Democrats lose…

It's a slushy Saturday. That means lots of time to read links. Science: Don't Become a Scientist! They really do hate us: "small dog" haplotype from the Middle East A Look into Obesity and Gut Microbiota Splash Down: Pacific Biosciences Unveils Third-Generation Sequencing Machine Anthrax Case…

Many of my ScienceBloglings have rightly called out animal rights terrorists who target researchers' children. They are absolutely right to do so. The one issue I have is that I often read something along the lines of "Terrorism is wrong, regardless of if you're for or against animal rights..."…