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
December 30, 2010
There's a very interesting interview with William Greider about Social Security (no, really, it is worth reading). But I think part of the interview highlights why blogs and other non-traditional media forms have such power (italics mine):
TL: How does this play out in day-to-day reporting?
WG: My…
December 29, 2010
Happy Wednesday. Links for you. Science:
An amazing, though clearly little-known, scientific fact: We get more snow storms in warm years!
Farm animals get 80% of antibiotics sold in US
The paradigm is dead, long live the paradigm!
Other:
KRUGMAN AND MINION
Kathleen Hanna and Kurt Cobain
It's Not…
December 29, 2010
I'm not even going to mention why it took fifteen hours to get from DC to Boston. By plane. Except that US Airways sucks. Anyway, you might have heard about the placebo-effect article recently published in PLoS One. I was going to blog about this yesterday, but events overtook my schedule (by…
December 29, 2010
Before Congress took off before the Christmas break, they actually managed to do something productive and pass the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" act, which banned open gays and lesbians from serving in the U.S. military. Unfortunately, the DREAM Act, which would have allowed undocumented…
December 28, 2010
Mary Carmichael has a great video (and associated post) about the rise of genetic denialism--ridiculous arguments that 'genes don't cause disease.'* Carmichael offers two reasons why the argument is flawed; I'll offer a third in a bit, but I do want to note one minor point of disagreement with…
December 27, 2010
Links for you. Science:
Ancient humans, dubbed 'Denisovans', interbred with us
Hub care sites see rise in stomach bug cases
African elephant is two species, researchers say
Other:
What Haley Barbour's amnesia tells us: Like any good Southern conservative of his generation, he ignores the entire…
December 27, 2010
The Fiscal Times, a propaganda arm for Pete Peterson (although how one could tell the difference between The Fiscal Times and the ostensibly non-partisan Washington Post), has an article that purports to describe how difficult it is for the 'average' family that makes $250,000 per year.
If we spot…
December 26, 2010
Links for you. Science:
The Dangers Of Externalizing Knowledge
Risk is the ally of the underdog
The Physiology of Foie: Why Foie Gras is Not Unethical
Other:
I Think That Jason Kuznicki Does Not Understand the History...
Saving Social Security: Stopping Obama's Next Bad Deal
Heh
Today's FCC ruling…
December 26, 2010
Because that's how Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was able to kill a provision that would have helped the State Department prevent child rape. No, really:
Non-governmental organizations, women's rights advocates, and lawmakers from both parties spent years developing and lobbying for…
December 25, 2010
Even though I'm Jewish, I plan to forgo the traditional Jewish Christmas repast of Chinese food and indulge in our family's tradition of a Christmas turkey--the Chinese restaurants are just full of Jews. Eek. So I'll just leave you with two videos--can't believe these are more than two decades…
December 24, 2010
It's my birthday. I'm....eleventy gajillion years old. Sigh. Well, links anyway. Science:
The someecard for all post-docs ...
Mexican Archaeologists Say Tonina Ballgame Court may Be the One Described in Popol Vuh
The Truth About Holiday Weight Gain
Other:
America's self-loving Jews aren't…
December 24, 2010
It's my birthday today, but instead of buying me presents, how about helping ProMED, a non-profit organization that provides important disease and health information to over 155 countries? Here's some more information about what ProMED does:
ProMED-mail - the Program for Monitoring Emerging…
December 23, 2010
Links for you:
Peter Orszag: Everything Wrong With This Town (Comes Back To How Much This Guy Got Laid Here)
Could You Retire Without Social Security? (no)
Moore and me continues
The ghost towns of China: Amazing satellite images show cities meant to be home to millions lying deserted
How Do…
December 23, 2010
It's safe to say that Thomas Watson Sr., the first chairman of IBM (International Business Machines), truly revolutionized computing. While I'm sure Sam Palmisano, the current chairman of IBM, is a smart guy and has done some good things, I haven't heard anyone claim he's a technological…
December 22, 2010
Links for you. Science:
The disposable academic: Why doing a PhD is often a waste of time (nothing regular readers of any science blog aren't familiar with, but interesting to see it hit The Economist)
Finding their place in the sun: Schools in Plymouth, Milton pursue partnerships with solar power…
December 22, 2010
Democrats need a better class of pundits, ones who aren't so enamored of their own cleverness, while at the same time, utterly ignorant of political history. It would help, for instance, when trying to defend the estate tax. Matthew Yglesias, in a fit of contrarianism worthy of William Saletan,…
December 21, 2010
Links for you. Science:
Economy Forces Big Budget Cuts for Science Fairs
Wik-Bee Leaks: EPA Document Shows It Knowingly Allowed Pesticide That Kills Honey Bees
To classify humanity is not that hard
Other:
'Our lives became something we'd never dreamt': The former Israeli soldiers who have…
December 21, 2010
Education 'reformers' constantly talk about how schools need to be run more like businesses. Now, like Comrade PhysioProf, I do think good management is important. But what does good management have to do with business? So asks David Carr (italics mine):
On Wall Street and on Silicon Valley…
December 20, 2010
Almost vacation. Almost. Still have links for you.
Jet-propelled calamari: Rare photos of squid species that can leap through the air to dodge predators
Science, Blinding
QCut
Other:
Global Housing Boom
Matthew Hoh's Afghanistan: An Insider Talks
Why is Obama leaving the grass roots on the…
December 20, 2010
So can the banks. A key impediments to economic recovery is underwater mortgages: people repay housing loans for more than the underlying property is worth. Many Dirty Fucking Hippies sane people have recommended that banks be forced to 'cramdown' these mortgages*. This would make the banks'…
December 19, 2010
I've hit the green gooey phase in my cold (that's actually a good thing). Yippee!! Let's celebrate with some links. Science:
'Rockstars of Science' hurt the cause of science education
How the Republican Party broke up with Science
New Obama Scientific Integrity Memo Is Late And Vague
Yet another…
December 19, 2010
While there's been some discussion of the massive cut, albeit temporary, in the estate tax (arguably the tax cut least likely to produce jobs), the new gift tax rules are even more obscene:
Families would be able to make tax- free gifts to their children or others of as much as $10 million, an…
December 18, 2010
Happy Saturday. Links for you:
Firms See Long-Sought Goal in Sight: Major Pay Cuts
The trace elements of a nation
The Best Sites For Getting Some Perspective On International Test Comparison Demagoguery
Do international test comparisons make sense?
A True Wake-up Call for Arne Duncan: The Real…
December 18, 2010
So Google has released this Ngram thingee that searches for words in all of the archived Google stuff. So I decided to look for the words "MRSA", "staphylococcus", and "Staphylococcus." Here's what I found:
You'll note that both staphylococcus and Staphylococcus surge around the same time as the…
December 17, 2010
Driftglass makes an excellent observation:
What happened this week was that the GOP finally dropped its last fig-leaf and with it, any pretense of a conscience.
In 2004, the Cheney Administration offered the imbeciles, cowards and bigots who despised this country enough to re-elect the worst…
December 16, 2010
Well, technically speaking, it's Fox News, but, really, what's the difference? Fox News has a website, Fox News Latino, that ran with this headline:
Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem Are Having an Anchor Baby.
It's like a nervous tic or something. They just can't help themselves.
And remember, as…
December 16, 2010
I've written before about the municipal and state level fiscal crises that are occurring across the U.S. (and, yes, this was not only predictable, it was predicted). Well, now we have a new crisis: no more BABs. BABs is short for Build America Bonds program, and there are two types of BABs:
1)…
December 15, 2010
I hab a colt. No reason not to give you some links though. Science:
The Desperate Battle Against Killer Bat Plague
Non-GMO foods: nonsense
The Bad Daddy Factor: Drinking, smoking, taking prescription meds or failing to eat a balanced diet can influence the health of men's future children
Other:…
December 15, 2010
No doubt they hate us for our freedoms (or something), but if I were an Afghan, this might just push me over the edge:
Prime among Atmar's concerns was a party partially thrown by DynCorp for Afghan police recruits in Kunduz Province.
...according to the leaked cable, that money was flowing to…
December 15, 2010
In education circles, the education 'reformers' based on the recent release of the international PISA results, which placed the U.S. in the middle of the pack (as one might expect, high performing U.S. states did well). Needless to say, 'reformers' worked themselves into high dudgeon: one…