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
January 11, 2010
Merry Monday. Links fahr ya. Science:
Pet frogs linked to salmonella outbreak
Hospitals Could Stop Infections by Tackling Bacteria Patients Bring In, Studies Find
No, I'm not a millionaire either
To Media Covering Science: An Open Letter
How a psychiatrist can write 100,000 prescriptions a year,…
January 11, 2010
This is why I love Boston:
Duty calls for an East Boston resident.
Someone is getting called for jury duty...but it's no human.
A family is trying to figure out how their pet cat was summonsed for jury duty.
And, if you're wondering, the owners do have to appear in court to show that their cat is…
January 11, 2010
It turns your bacteria Jewish*. Seriously, the strong finding of this article was completely ignored. Anyway....
A recent paper describes the effect of circumsion on the bacteria that live on the penis. The authors swabbed uncircumsized and circumsized penises, and then PCR amplified the 16S…
January 10, 2010
I've made this point before--if your mortgage is underwater, you should consider a 'strategic default' (which is what it would be called if you were a business), and, unless you were speculating, it's not unethical to do so. First, you didn't force the lender to give you the money (and to the…
January 9, 2010
Merry Saturday. Here are some links for you. Science:
The Origin of the Future: Death by Mutation?
The price exacted by the anti-vaccine movement
Black men over-diagnosed with schizophrenia, University of Michigan research says
Oppose "Big Floss"; practice alternative dentistry
Big Apple Bugs:…
January 9, 2010
Driftglass has a list of "some expressions to be put down like sick dogs in 2010". My favorite:
"Impactful" -- The go-to word for illiterate executives who dare not admit that they made it all the way into a corner office with ever learning the difference between "affect" and "effect".
Thank you…
January 8, 2010
In fact, I happen to be one of them. Admittedly, my religion (Judaism) and theological beliefs are very different from theopolitically conservative Catholics and Protestants. But ScienceBlogling Chad Orzel makes a really good point about religious scientists (and I thought all he did is teach…
January 7, 2010
Merry Thursday! Links for you. Science:
Vaccines work
Crab that looks like a large strawberry
Using a Virus's Knack for Mutating to Wipe It Out
Helicocranchia pfefferi also known as ocean smiley pig
Other:
The Ruse of the Creative Class
All Together Now: Shut Up You Lefties!
Cut This Story!
How…
January 7, 2010
One of the exciting things about bacterial genomics in that, within a year, we'll definitely be in the era of the $1,500 bacterial genome, although that's probably an overestimate. This cost includes everything: labor, sequencing, genome assembly, and genome annotation. While sequencing is highly…
January 6, 2010
For those who haven't read the Judge Dredd stories (I'm not referring to the movie), they take place in a dystopian future (other than Star Trek, do sci-fi stories occur in any other kind of future...) where the predominant theme is that, due to technological advances, very few people have jobs,…
January 5, 2010
ScienceBlogling Sandra Porter asks a bunch of questions, including:
What do you call a biologist who uses bioinformatics tools to do research, but doesn't program?
My snarky answer is: a biologist.
Since I work at a genome center where I'm up to my eyeballs in computational biologists,…
January 4, 2010
Too bad. You don't really get a choice. Is the beef industry trying to turn its customers into vegetarians? From the NY Times:
Eight years ago, federal officials were struggling to remove potentially deadly E. coli from hamburgers when an entrepreneurial company from South Dakota came up with a…
January 3, 2010
Before I start, let me say that I have no personal animus towards Chris Mooney: my limited interactions with him have been civil, and I agree with him on many things. But this beating up the victim has to stop. Sure, I agree with Mooney that many scientists need to learn how to communicate with…
January 2, 2010
At this point, no one should be surprised that Dick Cheney, along with other movement conservatives, are spouting ridiculous accusations about the Obama Administration's response to the Underpants Bomber. Rachel Maddow (video below) knocks down each false accusation, demonstrating that the Bush…
January 1, 2010
Happy New Year! Time for some links. Science:
First U.S. case of extremely drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis diagnosed
My Statistics Primer Revisited
Acacia plant controls ants with chemical
Aardvark cuteness
What does it mean that a nation is 'Unscientific'?
Other:
Mood: Grouchy?
Kodak, Bill…
January 1, 2010
Who coulda thunk it?
There are two frustrating attitudes held by a fair number of antibiotic resistance/infectious disease specialists about MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus). First, some argue that we really shouldn't be focusing on MRSA, since it's already evolved--the cat is…
December 31, 2009
Add this to the list of symptoms of post-partisanship depression. Do you remember Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH), who was originally nominated by Obama as Secretary of Commerce because he was viewed as a moderate? Well, 'moderate' Gregg (did I mention that he almost joined the Obama Administration were…
December 30, 2009
Merry Wednesday. I work at a civilized place, so I'm off tomorrow...so that means links! Science:
Religiosity vs. health, state-by-state
It's OK! I'm a Scientist!
Ancient whale sucked mud for food
Scientists Harness Bacteria to Turn Microscopic Gears
Other:
IRRATIONAL EXUBERANCE
Protocol Droid…
December 30, 2009
Ever since I was a wee Mad Biologist, I've been told by Very Senior People that 'in five years, there's going to be a massive wave a retirement of older faculty.' This, in my mind, ranks up there with the Friedman Unit (in the next six months, we'll know if we have to leave Iraq, and six months…
December 29, 2009
With Big Shitpile rolling on, there's been a lot of discussion about the ethics of defaulting on a home mortgage. Several people have commented on the hypocrisy of denigrating homeowners for doing the same thing that businesses do, without any moral qualms, so I won't say any more about that here…
December 28, 2009
Last of the annual roundup of 2009.
TEH SWINEY FLOO!, Streptococcus, and the Forgotten Vaccine
If Your Business Model Requires Ridiculous Gouging, Then...
Public Hygiene and Vaccination: They're Not For You, They're For...
Economics: Does It All Come Down to Those Stupid F-cking Natural History…
December 27, 2009
Since it's vacation, here's more of the annual roundup.
David Broder Defines the Banality of Evil
'Counterintuition', the Human Microbiome, and Why Fluency in Math Matters
Behavioral Economics: Not Everything Is Irrational
The Fitness Cost of Resistance Could Be...
"Could You Patent the Sun?"*…
December 26, 2009
Assuming that the House progressives fold, and the healthcare reform legislation resembles the Senate's (and why wouldn't one assumes this), let's not mistake what this is: a victory for conservatives. As I've argued before, this legislation is better than no legislation (probably), and, at this…
December 25, 2009
It's yontif, and we don't blog on yontif, so here are some more highlights from 2009:
On Work and Time in Science
The Gates Arrest: The Police As an Occupying Forceâ
Unscientific America: On Planets and Theories
Some More Thoughts About Unscientific America: What Are We Trying to Communicate?
So,…
December 24, 2009
Since it's my birthday (and we do not work on this holy day), I'm giving links to some posts that got a lot of traffic or links (somebody liked them....). Enjoy:
Scientific Consensus Is a Process, Not a List of Names
To Restore Science to Its Rightful Place, We Need to Redefine Elitism
A Question…
December 23, 2009
A measly $100 million? This was the great principle that Nelson was fighting for:
Nebraska will receive $100 million in assistance for its state Medicaid program under provisions negotiated by Sen. Ben Nelson (D) in the Senate's healthcare reform bill....
Nelson managed to win a share of the…
December 22, 2009
Onward, Anti-Christmasian Soldiers!
(from here)
"Hello, this is Liberal Controlled Media, coming to you with a breaking report on the War on Christmas."
[Camera angle narrows in on anchorman]
"Today, Anti-Christmasian forces launched a decisive assault on the remaining pro-Christmas Arctic…
December 21, 2009
...when the misogynist internet comments start? Anyway, you should go read the article.
December 21, 2009
One of the things often heard is that someone is leaving the city for the burbs because the schools are better (I use the generic city, since, in my experience this attitude doesn't appear to be limited to any particular city). But what if parents aren't choosing better schools, but better student…
December 20, 2009
The snow is about done up here. Time for some links. Science:
MRSA Hospital Infections Can Cost $61,000 Each to Treat
MRSA Infections Nearly Doubled Over Last 10 Years: Study
Wegman's ghostwriter revealed
Why Progressives Would Be "Batshit Crazy" To Listen to Nate Silver On Health Reform
Health…