scientificactivist

You may have noticed a new link at the bottom of each entry that says "Sphere: Related Content" (only on a post's individual page, not on the home page). If you click on it, a window will come up offering links to related blogs and blog posts. On the top left, you'll see relevant blog posts from…

Another example of Bush Administration political interference in science came out in October 2006, when it was discovered that Julie MacDonald, the deputy assistant secretary of the interior for fish and wildlife and parks (a political appointee), had actively censored scientific information and…

In my post earlier today, I stressed the need for the NIH to mandate open access to research publications supported by its funding: As the largest supporter of biomedical research in the US, the NIH has a special obligation to make sure that its (taxpayer funded!) research is published in the…

I've been tagged by Hope for Pandora (who was tagged by DrugMonkey, who was tagged by Writedit) in a blog meme regarding the NIH's request for feedback on its peer review system. I'm not huge into these blog memes, so I'm not going to pass this along to seven others, but I will share a few…

Ira Flatow, of NPR's Science Friday, reports on the Science Friday blog about being the target of an interesting Republican Party scam, specifically one involving the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC): The phone message on my machine from the NRCC office said that the Congressman […

Yesterday, I mentioned the Atlas of Creation a book by Islamic creationist Adnan Oktar (a.k.a. Harun Yahya) sent unsolicited to scientists around the world. My boss also received a copy a few months ago, and yesterday he dug up the enormous volume for me. My first impression was that it was even…

As I've mentioned previously, the Senate Finance Committee is considering a $35 billion expansion to the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP or CHIP), which is currently scheduled to expire in September. Incredibly enough, President Bush has already declared that he will veto such a…

A few months ago, my boss (a professor of structural biology at the University of Oxford) received a strange package in the mail, unsolicited. It contained a rather large and colorful book that was quite stunning in appearance. Inside, though, spread across hundreds of color-illustrated pages,…

Since it's suddenly all over the media that Oxford University is using Facebook to dig up dirt on students, here's the email that I received from the Oxford University Students Union (OUSU) yesterday: It has been brought to the attention of the Student Union that the Proctors have been using…

The Corpus Callosum has more on the currently unfolding CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) fiasco: In the context of the pro and con lobbying over the proposed expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, pharmaceutical companies decided to join the pro side. After all, if…

You may have noticed a little green box (replicated here) on the right sidebar advertising the ScienceBlogs reader survey. I hear that it's not going to be up too terribly much longer, so if you haven't taken the survey yet, please do. Not only will the feedback be useful to the folks here at…

This one is for my readers in Texas, particularly those in the greater Houston area. Chris Mooney, author of The Republican War on Science and blogger at The Intersection, will be in Houston this week to promote his new book Storm World. Here are the details: July 18, 2007 7:00 P.M. Barnes &…

I always find it surprising that something as obvious as the need to provide health coverage to children can be so controversial. In 2004, Arlene Wohlgemuth, the Republican running against Democrat Chet Edwards for US Congressional District 17 in Texas, made as a cornerstone of her campaign her…

I meant to comment on this when I originally read it in the New York Times article on the political suppression by the Bush Administration of former Surgeon General Richard Carmona: Emily Lawrimore, a White House spokeswoman, said the surgeon general "is the leading voice for the health of all…

Add one more to the list. Yesterday, former Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona testified before congress that he was subjected to extensive and systematic political interference in his work by the Bush Administration. From Gardiner Harris of The New York Times: Former Surgeon General Richard H.…

Over at A Blog Around the Clock, Bora has posted an interview he conducted by email with Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on science and science-related issues. The fact that John Edwards participated is a good indication that the 2008 candidates (at least the Democratic ones) are…

Absurdity. Complete and total absurdity. George Bush, a president who has pardoned fewer people than any president in the past century, today commutes the sentence of Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a guilty man who lied about the leaking of sensitive government…

The results of a New York Times/CBS News/MTV poll were released today, and they by and large indicate that young adults today are more progressive (based on stances on individual issues and on personal identification) than their parents' generation. Although this liberalization has been a general…

The current political situation in Zimbabwe has been difficult for many people, but, as with any humanitarian crisis, some members of society are hit harder than others. A friend of mine--Clare Lobb, a current Zimbabwean Rhodes Scholar--recently passed along a plea for help from one of her former…

I'm at a conference right now and unfortunately don't have time to write extensively about this, but for those who were not aware, President Bush vetoed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (S. 5) on Wednesday. There are not enough votes in the House and Senate to override this veto, so it's…

For this round of Ask a ScienceBlogger, the question is "Is sunshine good for you?" It's a beautiful sunny day outside. And, of course, you're stuck in the lab (or the office, classroom, or daily holding tank of your choice). Although you may thumb your nose at those who seem to have nothing…

A piece of global warming denialism was published today in the conservative Financial Post. Normally it wouldn't be that noteworthy, except that it was oddly included in Sigma Xi's daily "Science in the News" digest. The article attacks the idea that there is a scientific consensus (embodied by…

The New York Times is currently offering free Times Select access for university students and faculty. If you have a university email address, click here to sign up.

Last Thursday, President George Bush unveiled a new climate change initiative, and this was further elaborated upon in a press conference by Jim Connaughton, Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (all of this, interestingly enough, as NASA Administrator Michael Griffin bizarrely…

On Tuesday, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger released a revised lethal injection protocol in hopes of reversing a moratorium on capital punishment in the state put in place by a February 2006 federal court ruling. From the LA Times: On Tuesday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's legal affairs…

This week's New England Journal of Medicine is a virtual smorgasbord of articles on HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccination. Although HPV also causes unsightly genital warts, HPV is more or less the sole cause of cervical cancer. I've written quite a bit here about Merck's HPV vaccine, Gardasil,…

The conservative movement has been notoriously effective at co-opting language for its own benefit, either by turning the meaning of commonly used words upside down or by injecting new words and phrases into the national dialogue. The use of some loaded language in a recent New York Times article…

On Friday, Randall Tobias--the Bush Administration's chief promoter of foreign abstinence-only sex education programs--resigned from his position as Deputy Secretary of State after getting busted for frequenting DC prostitutes. If your head hasn't already exploded, check out Timothy Noah's…

In a recent interview published in New York Magazine, writer Christopher Hitchens is asked "Has anyone in the Bush administration confided in you about being an atheist?". His answer: Well, I don't talk that much to them--maybe people think I do. I know something which is known to few but is not a…

On Monday, 23 April, the Texas Senate voted 30-1 in favor of its version of HB1089, a bill overturning Rick Perry's February executive order mandating that all girls entering the sixth grade receive the HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine Gardasil. On Wednesday, 25 April, the Texas House approved…