scientificactivist

Mandatory sentencing laws are disliked by many, and for good reason. Judges often criticize these laws for taking away their judicial sovereignty, while others decry the inherent disparity in which they affect minorities and those of lower socioeconomic status. They often lead to inordinately…

The UK's National Health Service (NHS) is a matter of British pride, despite some minor shortcomings. Strong on preventative and routine medical care, the NHS has on the other hand been criticized for its long waiting lists required for more involved procedures. The BBC reports today, though,…

The "liberal media" is at it again, and by "liberal" I don't mean it in the political sense. No, I'm talking about the media relying on liberal (sloppy) oversight/editorial practices. After CNN slipped up Monday by broadcasting a graphic with the question "Where's Obama?" overlaid on a photo of…

The Scientific Activist received a shout out yesterday in the latest issue of the Ventura County Reporter in Sandra Sorenson's article stressing the continued importance of blogs and how they likely contributed to Time Magazine's recent Person of the Year announcement: However you view Time…

This doesn't have anything to do with Christmas, but it's pretty damn funny. Enjoy!

The second paper from my undergraduate work at Texas A&M University was recently published in Molecular Cancer. The abstract can be found here, and the pdf of the full paper here. Molecular Cancer is an open access journal, so a subscription is not required to read the paper. It's also an…

Last month, I wrote a post about a research group at Texas A&M University that reported genetically engineering "edible cotton seeds" by using RNAi technology to stably and specifically knock out production of the gossypol toxin in the seeds of the plant. I thought that the paper was…

Via A Blog Around the Clock comes news that Daniel Rhoads, who writes the informative blog Migrations (and formerly A Concerned Scientist), has successfully defended his dissertation. So, after a few minor revisions, it looks like it won't be too long before we'll have to call him Dr. Rhoads. In…

Anyone who has tried to replicate an experiment based on the description published in a paper knows that this can be difficult, frustrating, and often close to impossible. The protocols in the Methods section can be incomplete, even inaccurate, and sometimes lead the hopeful reader down a trail of…

In this week's edition of PNAS, crop scientists at Texas A&M University report the engineering of cotton strains with edible seeds. Now, when I think of cotton, I generally think of clothes, especially the kind that really seem to like getting wrinkled in the drier. Not counting the unrelated…

Back in August, I and several others in the scientific community expressed skepticism over Nature paper (subscription required) describing a new technique billed by the media as generating "ethically sound" stem cells. The technique involved removing a single cell from an eight-cell blastula and…

Since we had an interesting discussion here back in September about the rapid decline in success rates of NIH R01 grants, I should point readers over to Effect Measure for some informed commentary on a recent article in Science (subscription required) from NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni. The…

One of the most significant anticipated results for many--particularly within the scientific community--of a Democratic victory on Election Day was going to be a new-found ability to hold in check the Bush Administration and its penchant for political interference in science. It appears that the…

There really aren't that many blogs out their written by scientists about the science that they do, and this seems particularly true in my area of study, NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance). I have been able to find a few, although none of them focus specifically on biological or macromolecular NMR…

As the Republicans try to pick up the pieces of their Election Day loss last week, one of the things they have to do is select their new Congressional leadership. Most of their choices haven't been too surprising, including their choice for House Minority Leader, John Boehner (R-Ohio). As House…

Living successfully with other people demands sacrifice. From going out of your way to pick your little brother up from school to paying taxes toward government health care programs, there is an expectation in any society that its members will sacrifice some personal gain for the greater good.…

Four days after the Democrats' impressive Election Day victory, the commentary keeps streaming in, almost to the point of overkill. Today's Guardian, though, ran a particularly poignant piece from Martin Kettle: Every poll for months had signalled a serious Republican defeat. Reporting from…

Chris of Mixing Memory points us toward a good comparison of the Democratic victory in 2006 to the Republican victory in 1994. In short, the comparison--located at a Columbia statistics blog, Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science--shows that the Democrats won a greater…

With the election results almost completely finalized, it's time to reflect on what they mean. Make no mistake about it, Tuesday demonstrated a true mandate for the Democrats. The Democrats achieved a majority in both the Senate and the House, picking up 6 seats and 29 seats, respectively. The…

It's official now. Republican candidate for the Virginia Senatorial seat, George Allen, has conceded the election, making Democrat Jim Webb the official winner. This means that the Democratic takeover of both the House and Senate is now complete and official. Although Allen would have been…

(I think that I'm done updating this post for now, as the results show no indication of changing significantly. I'll have more to say about the election tomorrow.) A Democratic majority in the Senate is all but certain, as Montana and Virginia both appear to have gone to the Democrats. This means…

It has just been announced that unpopular Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is "stepping down". This is no doubt a positive step for the Bush Administration, the nation, and the world as a whole, but it comes as too little too late, as the disastrous Iraq war has already cost the lives of…

As I wake up this morning, I see that things have changed slightly, and I probably should have been even more optimistic last night. The Democrats and Republicans both have control of 49 seats each, and Democrats need to win the remaining two races in Virginia and Montana to gain control of the…

Some quick election updates: The Democrats take the House, and they stand to pick up a few extra seats in the process. The senate is still uncertain. If the Democrats win three out of four key races, they could still pull it out, but it isn't looking too hopeful. Rick Santorum is history. Enough…

Here's some election news from back home in Texas--specifically, from the district where my mother lives, just south of Austin, Texas. From the Burnt Orange Report: This just in from Hays County. Former Republican [State] Rep. Rick Green who was taken down by Patrick Rose in 2002, apparently got…

There is so much to say about the importance of today's election, but not a great deal that hasn't already been spelled out time and time again. Most importantly, if you haven't already voted, go vote today! Hopefully you'll have time to research the individual races and find out where the…

This won't be news to anyone from Texas, but our governor, Republican Rick Perry, is a walking disaster. From The Dallas Morning News: SAN ANTONIO - Gov. Rick Perry, after a God and country sermon attended by dozens of political candidates Sunday, said that he agreed with the minister that non-…

If George Bush is driving our nation down a one-way road to hell, it's the Republican-controlled House and Senate that are enabling him to do this. On October 17th, Bush signed into law the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which had previously passed the Senate and House on the 28th and 29th of…

Fellow ScienceBlogger Shelly Batts of Retrospectacle was chosen this last week as a finalist for a blogging scholarship being offered by Scholarships Around the US. She's a hell of a blogger, and I think she deserves our support. If you agree, you have until midnight (Eastern Time) TONIGHT to…

There's a hot congressional race going on right now deep in the heart of Texas in District 17, which stretches from just north of Houston to just south of Fort Worth and includes my alma mater, Texas A&M University. The contest pits incumbent Democrat and local guy Chet Edwards against…