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The Hidden Cost of Anti-Vaxxers: The Price of One Measles Outbreak

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/04/cost-vaccine-refusal/ Before I get to the cost of a measles outbreak, I think Seth Mnookin sets the appropriate frame of reference: I don't know anyone in the world who likes needles or likes watching needles pierce their child's skin. However, the fact that something is scary does not convey a license to blithely deny reality -- which is why I find the actions of parents who have simply decided for themselves that vaccines and dangerous and at the same refuse to acknowledge the potential repercussions of not vaccinating on those around them to be…

Why Biologists' Career Problems Are Unique: Life Outside of Academia

So my post about why biomedical scientists suffer more than others in STEM fields seems to have received some attention. ScienceBlogling Chad Orzel writes: That's true, but here's the thing: it's not unique to biomedical science. The same problem afflicts physics-- every time I post something about wanting to attract more students into physics, I'm guaranteed to get a few hectoring comments about how irresponsible it is to try to recruit students to a field with too many Ph.D.'s and not enough jobs. And it's not like being on the tenure track in physics is all hugs and flowers and adorable…

Data & theory, then, now, and forever

In the 10 Questions for A.W.F. Edwards, a mathematical geneticist, he was asked: Like Fisher you have worked in both statistics and genetics. How do you see the relationship between them, both in your own work and more generally? Edwards responded in part: Genetical statistics has changed fundamentally too: our problem was the paucity of data, especially for man, leading to an emphasis on elucidating correct principles of statistical inference. Modern practitioners have too much data and are engaged in a theory-free reduction of it under the neologism 'bioinformatics'. This elicited a strong…

Is humanity's genetic diversity on the decline?

/. has a post with the title Humanity's Genetic Diversity on the Decline, drawing from a recent paper which found that the mtDNA haplotype diversity in England was lower than 1,000 years ago. The authors were surprised because of course one presumes England is more cosmopolitan today than in the past, and so there would be more diversity. As a resolution to their finds they suggest that demographic dynamics, such as the Black Death with resulted in the death of 1/2 of the English in 1 generation, as well as selection for mtDNA variants (i.e., a haplotype is linked toward some functional…

Because "NBC Analyst and War Profiteer" Doesn't Sound Very Nice

In case you missed it, there's a fascinating, albeit horrifying, article about the intersection of the business interests of retired military officers with their depiction in the mainstream media as unbiased commentators who are putting country first. Here's a sample: The company, Defense Solutions, sought the services of a retired general with national stature, someone who could open doors at the highest levels of government and help it win a huge prize: the right to supply Iraq with thousands of armored vehicles. Access like this does not come cheap, but it was an opportunity potentially…

While I'm Away on Vacation...

...I thought it appropriate to revisit some advice I gave to visitors to Boston last year (with a few changes): Bring a street map. You will get lost. You don't believe me? Then why are you asking me for directions? Your Google search map didn't help, did it? Seriously, the entire city street system was designed by drunken cows, except for Back Bay, where every street is one way--because otherwise the only existing grid in Boston would be too easy to navigate. Most street directions consist of something like "You go straight until you hit a left that curves. Then you take it until you…

A Problem with the NIH Roadmap and Cross-Institution Research

Last week, I attended a talk by Alan Krensky, who is the Director of the NIH Office of Portfolio Analysis and Strategic Initiatives (OPASI). First, OPASI is a superb acronym (Krensky has OPASI--it works better if you actually say it). One of OPASI's tasks is to oversee the NIH Roadmap and other cross-institute initiatives (more about that in a bit). The other priority is to assess how effective various programs are and to use this information to determine what future priorities should be. That sounds dry, but re-read that sentence: when Krensky speaks, you should listen. Much of his…

Stimulus Package to Cities: Drop Dead?

At least when it comes to transportation, it looks that way. The NY Times had an article yesterday about how cities are getting far less of the stimulus package slated for transportation. From The NY Times, here's the issue in a pretty figure: (click to embiggen) The problem--and I say this as a city dweller--is that urban transportation systems, both mass transit and automobile, have reached the breaking point. A while ago, I started receiving email alerts for the Boston T (the subway), largely because I was sick and tired of waiting for 25 minutes for a train to show up after work, when…

Krugman Is Ready to Have His Creationist Epiphany

Over the weekend, I had started writing a post titled "When Will [economist Paul] Krugman Have His Creationist Epiphany?" It was inspired by a comment left on a Krugman post about "the Great Ignorance which seems to have overtaken much of the economics profession -- the "rediscovery" of old fallacies about deficit spending and interest rates, presented as if they were deep insights, the bizarre arguments presented by economists with sterling reputations." While Krugman argues this is due to flat-out ignorance, a commenter made a great point (italics mine): This is a point I've kept making to…

What Are the Causes of the Higher Education Tuition Bubble?

Joseph Marr Cronin and Howard E. Horton describe the extent to which college tuitions appear to have become the next economic bubble: According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, over the past 25 years, average college tuition and fees have risen by 440 percent -- more than four times the rate of inflation and almost twice the rate of medical care. ...the middle class, which has paid for higher education in the past mainly by taking out loans, may now be precluded from doing so as the private student-loan market has all but dried up. In addition, endowment cushions…

Evolution as Policy, Not Symbolism or Critical Thinking

While I'm away, here's something from the depths of the Mad Biologist's Archives: By way of ScienceBlogling Razib, I came across this Reason article by Ronald Bailey summarizing the presidential candidates views' on evolution. Bailey highlights two reasons what lack of support for evolution says about a candidate: The candidate probably is weak on the separation of church and state. The candidate is unable to rationally assess evidence. But I think this misses the point entirely: evolution matters because evolutionary biology matters. Granted this sounds like something Yogi Berra would…

Billionaire Pete Peterson's Quest to 'Reform' Social Security: Follow the (His) Money

Since healthcare is temporarily off the radar screen, despite Republican attempts to have Romneycare declared unconstitutional (how Romneycare would be unconstitutional, but Medicare wouldn't, well, that would be fun...), we can now return to the never-ending attempt by conservatives to gut Social Security. One of the key figures and bankrollers in that attempt is financier Peter Peterson. By key, I mean that he has spent around one billion dollars financing the Peterson Foundation, which advocates various 'fiscal responsibility' measures (i.e., making Granny eat cat food) and slashing…

Oregon Voters Approve First Tax Increases Since 1930, Proving That Democrats Must Move to the Right

Or something. Tuesday, I wrote about the reporting on the Oregon ballot initiatives, but, of course, the ballot initiative itself actually matters. And Oregon voters approved the tax increases (italics mine): Yesterday Oregon voters delivered a huge victory for progressives by approving Measures 66 and 67, raising taxes on incomes over $250,000 and large corporations to generate $733 million to close the state's budget deficit. The Oregon legislature had approved the taxes last summer, but a corporate/teabagger alliance organized to put it to voters in a referendum. One wonders if the…

When Woo-ism Meets Cancer Prevention

Friday, the NY Times described the relatively paltry efforts in cancer prevention, compared to those for heart disease. Not that researchers haven't been busy figuring out how to prevent various cancers: Then, in 1999, he had a chance to do another breast cancer prevention trial, this time of an osteoporosis drug, raloxifene, or Evista, which did not have the cancer drug taint. It was to be compared with tamoxifen. The $110 million study, involving 19,000 women, ended in 2006. The two drugs were found to be equally effective in preventing breast cancer, but with raloxifene there was no…

Orent Is at It Again

Wendy Orent, having decided that Paul Ewald is the end-all and be-all of evolutionary epidemiology, is again repeating the mantra that pandemics will evolve to become less deadly. Never mind that, as ScienceBlogling Greg Laden reminds us, the first wave of the 1918 pandemic was far milder than the lethal second wave. Orent, in The LA Times: As with any new outbreak, unraveling all of this flu's mysteries will take time. But, using the lens of Darwinian evolution, certain aspects are starting to come into focus. For one thing, it's clear that the virus, which originated in Mexico, is most…

A Congressional Candidate We Can Believe in: Tom Geoghehan

I was thrilled to hear that Thomas Geoghehan is running for Rahm Emanuel's open Congress seat. It's an at-large election, so there's a good chance he could win. I've written about Geoghehan before, and his piece about Social Security is worth reading. Why Geoghehan is running: We're deep in an economic crisis unlike any other we've known. It may last years. We need new and creative ways to protect working Americans, especially our older working people who have no real pensions to live on. For years we've heard the doomsayers: "We can't afford Social Security." "We can't afford 'single payer…

Dirty Dancing and the Replacement of Teenage Sex with Premarital Sex

Amanda Marcotte makes a very interesting observation about the continued popularity of the movie Dirty Dancing: I have to say that actually its popularity probably has little to do with its "innocence" and more to do with its lack of it. What immediately comes across is that this is an extremely sexy movie. But it's sexy in a way that you almost never see in movies---from a sex-positive, feminist-minded, heterosexual point of view.... Attention is lavished on Patrick Swayze's body, of course, but it's more than that. Most sex in most movies, at least dramas, is shown as deadly serious, but…

Why Big Sh-tpile Required Fraud on the Court

Have no doubt, despite the claims of propagandists, the foreclosure documentation crisis is not nitpicking. Providing the court with affidavits with unverified information is fraud: were you or I to do this, we would go to jail. One of Yves Smith's commenters describes this in more detail: An affidavit is a legal document which can substitute for live witness testimony in court. All testimony in court is governed by the rules of evidence or by statute. All testimony requires that the witness swears to tell the truth, is competent and has personal knowledge of the facts they are testifying…

Birdbooker Report 49-50: The Darwin Edition

tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books "One cannot have too many good bird books" --Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927). The Birdbooker Report is a special weekly report of a wide variety of science, nature and behavior books that currently are, or soon will be available for purchase. This report is written by one of my Seattle birding pals and book collector, Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, and is edited by me and published here for your information and enjoyment. Below the fold is this week's issue of The Birdbooker Report which…

Friday Fun: Kate Nepveu's stupendously wonderful Lord of the Rings re-read

On Tor.com over the last couple of years, Kate Nepveu has been taking us through a chapter-by-chapter re-read of The Lord of the Rings. In each post she would give a brief summary of the action as well as some commentary. It's been a great project and it's just come to an end in the last week or so. I've really enjoyed following along with the posts, although I have to admit not with the re-read. Last time I re-read the books was timed with the release of each of the films. There's an index of all the relevant posts here. And a little bit from the very first post, way back in December 2008…

Science Marches On (Over Linus Pauling's Dead Body)

Gather 'round, dear readers, and let me regale you with the sad saga of the late, great Linus Pauling. On second thought, calling it "sad" might be a bit excessive. Pauling was the only person to win two individual Nobels, after all (one for chemistry, one for peace). His great achievements are too numerous to fully list here; suffice to say he was a pioneer in molecular biology, genetics, immunology, the nature of chemical bonds and scientific activism. But by his death in 1994, many in the scientific community regarded him as an embarrassment, an out-of-touch quack at best and a dishonest…

Reading Diary: The jazz of physics: The secret link between music and the structure of the universe by Stephon Alexander

The jazz of physics, the physics of jazz, the chemistry of jazz, the jazz of chemistry, the jazz of computer science, the computer science of jazz, the math of jazz, the jazz of math, the jazz of biology, the biology of jazz, the jazz of engineering, the engineering of jazz. And why not the jazz of history and the history of jazz? The sociology of jazz and the jazz of sociology? The jazz of political science, the political science of jazz. The jazz of philosophy, the philosophy of jazz, the literature of jazz, the jazz of literature. And why not the jazz of religion, the religion of jazz,…

Learning from Drought: Five Priorities for California

Droughts – especially severe droughts – are terribly damaging events. The human and ecosystem costs can be enormous, as we may relearn during the current California drought. But they are also opportunities – a chance to put in place new, innovative water policies that are not discussed or implemented during wet or normal years. In the hopes that California’s warring water warriors open their minds to policy reform, here are some of the issues that should be on the table now, in what could be the worst drought in California’s modern history. But here is what I fear, said best by John Steinbeck…

This is not helping

Last week it was the abuse of a 140-character context-free nano-report on an hour-long discussion on the challenges of communicating science. This week it's the credulous coverage of a 50-page report on climate change. Seems that no matter the length of the material at hand, there are plenty of people eager to jump to conclusions without having the decency to stop and think first. At least there was no slander this time. But damage has been done to the credibility of climatology, thanks to that old adage, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Now claims of unwarranted alarms have that much…

The credibility factor

The more peer-reviewed papers a climatologist has published and the more often those papers are cited, the more likely it is that the researcher supports the science underpinning anthropogenic climate change (ACC). That's the conclusion of a paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This comes as absolutely no surprise to anyone working in or following the field. But scientists like to put numbers to things, and the paper, "Expert credibility in climate change" does a pretty good job of doing just that. There's a marvelous, interactive, graphical…

Green tomato muffins, Komatsuna Greens in Ginger Almond Miso Sauce

November 1 begins the rainy season in California and it is time for Kori's newsletter about The Market Garden at the Student Farm. Kori tells us that all over the farm the rains have called forth the hoards of sleeping winter weed seedlings, and the dry, dusty brown is transforming rapidly. It is as though the earth is growing a brilliant green winter coat! Everywhere you look, tiny cotyledons are springing open above the soil surface. Onn Friday they planted four rows of onions, and were hoping that the promised rains would water them in for us. Instead we had such beautiful weather that…

Getting the roles of blogs and journals straight

It isn't at all unusual for the authors of scientific papers to leave a comment at a blog discussing their work — it's happened here quite a few times, and it's a good thing. It's a plus when they confirm what you've said or add more information to the discussion, and it's also wonderful when they correct you on errors. I think most scientists are getting the idea that blogs are tools to help disseminate scientific ideas to a wider audience than the science journals can. They certainly don't replace the journals, but add a way to inject the results into the public sphere, where they can be…

From the DIY Movement to Saving Lives -- Skilled Trades Pack a Powerful Punch! Learn How With Mike Rowe!

Mike Rowe star of TV's Dirty Jobs series and founder and CEO of the mikeroweWORKS Foundation, would like to add "skilled" trades to the well-known acronym of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). "Adding an 'S' to the end of STEM would further get across the vital role that training and jobs in skilled trades are playing in the future of STEM frontiers," says Mike. No doubt, skilled trade professionals such as auto technicians, plumbers, heating/air conditioning technicians, welders and electricians represent some of the most well-paid and in-demand high-tech jobs in STEM…

PZ Myers finally watches a certain DVD!

You may all recall that a certain bad movie was released in mid-April…a movie which I have not yet seen, but which is now available on DVD. I was just at the local gas station/grocery store/video store, and there it was, available right there on the shelf. I considered it for a few minutes, and then, since I was paying for gas anyway, I tossed it on the counter and brought it home. Yeah, I know, I wasted $2.12, but it's about time I got it over with. I'm about to sit down and watch it. I figure one way I can recoup my investment is by live-blogging it. Here's the trailer. That's right, it's…

Lockheed Martin Returns as Presenting Host of Nation’s Largest Science & Engineering Festival Set for April 2014

WASHINGTON, DC – The USA Science & Engineering Festival today announced Lockheed Martin as its founding and presenting host, unveiled a new website, and detailed year-round activities leading up to its return to Washington, DC on April 24-27, 2014. The USA Science & Engineering Festival creates the thrill of hands-on science for America’s youth, getting them interested at an early age so more students will pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. “This nation suffers from a severe shortage of up-and-coming scientists and engineers,” said Dr. Ray O. Johnson, senior…

Confessions of an Original Storm Chaser

Meet Storm Chaser Josh Wurman and Discover first-hand from this original storm chaser what it's like to track and study deadly tornadoes across the Kansas landscape and stare down wicked hurricanes off the Gulf of Mexico! You could say Josh Wurman was born to chase storms. Even as kid he was adventurous with a penchant for science, especially delving into the mysteries and wonders of bad weather. But growing up in the relatively placid climates of Pennsylvania, he really didn't have any meaningful opportunities to experience really severe weather like tornadoes, hurricanes, or even real…

Junior League of Northern Virginia and Children's Science Center Partner to Inspire Children's Interest in Science at Inaugural USA Science and Engineering Expo

Thanks to Junior League of Northern Virginia for helping us get the word out about the Festival! MCLEAN, Va., October 6, 2010 -- The Junior League of Northern Virginia (JLNV) and the Children's Science Center are partnering to exhibit at the Inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival being held October 23-24, 2010 on the National Mall in Washington, DC. More than 100,000 visitors are expected to attend the event. The JLNV supports the Children's Science Center as its signature project and has pledged $250,000 and 2,500 volunteer hours to bring this first-of-its-kind, hands-on children'…

Cloud Seeding and The Brothers Vonnegut

"And yet many people today believe that weather modification is a hoax: the early overselling of rainmaking somehow caused it, down the line, to be grouped in the public mind with conspiracy theories about mind-altering 'chemtrails,' shock-jock speculation that the government manufactures tornadoes, and paranoid fantasies about the 'weather wars' involving earthquakes broadcast via the stratosphere. The reality is far less dramatic." -Ginger Strand, The Brothers Vonnegut In 1945, after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there was much hand-wringing in the…

An ugly debate in Edmonton

Kirk Durston is a cunning wretch. How did he open his part in the debate here in Edmonton? By claiming that atheism was an amoral philosophy that led to the corruption of society, and to prove it, he cited a political scientist named Rummel, who he claimed, had shown that cultures built around a core of atheism had killed the most people in all of history. If you actually go to Rummel's site, Freedom, Democide, War, you'll discover that he said no such thing. His thesis is that democracy is the critical factor in reducing war and the slaughter of civilians. This, of course, I could not do…

Step right up, get very own your DNA profile, only $999

The genie is out of the bottle. Personal genomes are not just for Venter and Watson anymore. Three competing companies, 23andme, Decode, and Navigenics are betting that you want to do a little better than reading your horoscopes and playing with tea leaves. They think that you want to know something about your destiny and take control of your future. And when I look at the 23andme web site, I want it, too. I want it so badly, it makes me drool. But is it really such an unequivically good thing? There's been a long-standing debate between companies and at least some scientists and the…

Freethinker Sunday Sermonette: Fred Phelps comes to town

Everyone knows Fred Phelps is a vile, obnoxious, cruel and probably psychopathic Christofascist (one of the well known subdivisions of the worldwide fascist movement, which includes Islamofascists, Judeofascists, Hindufascists and many other religiofascists; it is an ecumenical movement, which even includes godless fascists like Christopher Hitchens). For those of you lucky enough never to have heard of him, Phelps is pastor of the notorious Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, famous for picketing the funerals of Iraqi war soldiers with the claim that they died because the military…

The H5N1 crystal ball is cloudy

It seems like just yesterday the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization was saying that the current resurgence of bird flu is not as bad as last year when it burst out of Asia and extended itself into 40 countries or so. It wasn't yesterday. It was Monday. Enough time for that judgment to look a wee bit premature. In fairness, FAO cautioned everyone not to let down their guard. Good advice, especially as the first poultry outbreak in Europe this season has now been confirmed in Hungary and the virus has returned to Japan for the first time in three years. We aren't even mentioning China and…

Postmodern Conservatism

This post I first wrote on February 28, 2005, then re-posted here on December 10, 2005. About conservative relativism and the assault on academia: I have hinted several times (here, here, here and here) before that relativism (including moral relativism) is not consistent with the liberal core model (in Lakoffian sense). Instead, postmodernism is used these days as a tactic by conservatives to push their pre-modern views within a modern society. In other words, faced with the reality of a modern world, the only way conservatives can re-intorduce their medieval ideas is by invoking…

Carnival Roundup

Last Carnival of Education (teaching, educational policy) was on NYC Educator and the next one is tomorrow on School Me. Last Animalcules (microorganisms) was on Aetiology and the next will be on July 13th, 2006 on Science Matters. Last Change Of Shift (nursing) was on Emergiblog and the next one will be on July 13th, also pm Emergiblog. Last Friday Ark (animals) was on The Modulator and the next one will be on July 14th, also, as always, on The Modulator. Last History Carnival (history) was on Chapati Mystery and the next one will be on July 15th on Air Pollution. Last Tar Heel Tavern (…

The scientist in the white coat

I am genuinely amused at this caricature of scientists from a creationist site. How many of you believed these things? Everyone is biased. Scientists just happen to be biased in favor of reality, and have a set of tools that help them overcome predispositions that might lead them into error (Non-scientists have the same tools. Creationists just prefer not to use them.) Again, they try to be objective. Hah! Anyone who has done any science at all knows that a good part of the process is spent winnowing out sources of error. He wears a…wait, what? In a list containing such grand and…

Is biotech a security problem?

A Reuters piece under the headline, "Biotechnology Boom Raises Security Fears: Mild Diseases Could Be Turned Into Deadly Ones, Experts Caution" we see the biotech Frankenstein/terrorist bogeyman raised once again by "experts" in the area at a scientific conference in Casablanca. The weekend conference was run by a tiny group (budget of less than $250K) with a big name, the International Council for the Life Sciences (ICLS). Their sole mission is biological biosecurity, so it is understandable that their conclusion is that this is a big problem. But is it? On the surface the proposition is…

Organized public health: bland and toothless

My public health colleague DemFromCT continues his public health interview series on the front page of DailyKos today, talking to Dr. Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association (APHA). Dem clearly likes Dr. Benjamin, which is not a surprise. He is a very likable person. I have been a member of APHA (on and off; I keep forgetting to renew) for over 40 years, have served on one of its top policy boards and been a member of its Governing Council. But in recent years I have had little to do with APHA, and Dem's interview today illustrates one of the reasons.…

Hot air and paper towels in the public bathroom

Like a lot of people I am more inclined to believe research that is in accord with my prior beliefs. Put another (Bayesian) way, I don't have to change my beliefs much on the basis of evidence. That means I don't question the evidence rigorously. So with that warning, here's a story I instinctively believe because it accords with my prior beliefs -- and preferences. It has to do with washing your hands after using a public bathroom. To be clear at the outset: I always wash my hands after using the bathroom. I'm not sure what the actual evidence for disease transmission is but I consider it an…

Palin comparison, VIII: the Bridge to Nowhere and the lying liars

The newsmedia are being tested to see if a bald-faced lie in a McCain ad will pass without comment. So far they are acquitting themselves well. Sarah Palin's lie that "she said thanks but no thanks" to the Bridge to Nowhere (accompanied by the Road to Nowhere), a lie proudly repeated by John McCain although he knows it's a lie and then inserted into a McCain campaign commercial approved by John McCain, is now being called out by just about everyone, including the Wall Street Journal (not to mention Newsweek, the Washington Post, Associated Press, etc., etc.): Despite significant evidence to…

Spoiling the tomato barrel

The US FDA is lifting the warning on eating tomatoes it issued on June 7 because of the country's largest produce-associated foodborne Salmonella outbreak. The source of the Salmonella infections, all said to be "genetically identical" isolates of an uncommon serovar is still to be discovered, although epidemiological evidence associated it with salsa containing fresh tomatoes. Later the possibility that other salsa ingredients such as jalapeno peppers or cilantro might be the culprit has been raised. So far no one seems to know how that thousand plus cases became infected with the Salmonella…

Freethinker Sunday Sermonette: Einstein

A letter written by Albert Einstein to Jewish philosopher Eric Gutkind just sold at auction for $404,000. That's not the news, though. It's the contents of the letter that have surprised some, although it merely reveals what most of us already knew: he was an atheist. That's only pseudo-news, the result of a concerted effort to portray him as some kind of covert advocate of Intelligent Design. I've been reading Einstein's writings and biographical material about him for almost 60 years. I own first editions of some of his earliest published works (pre-relativity). I sent him a birthday card…

Measles, influenza and open source software

Most people in the developed world think of measles as a pesky but fairly benign childhood disease. For the current generation, who has had the benefit of immunization with measles vaccine, it is also a historical curiosity. Not so for the developing world, where measles has been a major killer of children and infants. Africa has become the poster child for failed public health programs so it is nice to be able to say that when it comes to measles prevention, Africa is a special success story: Africa, which has long had the most measles deaths, has seen the biggest drop, 91 percent. In many…

Sing along at WHO

Dr. Margaret Chan, a Hong Kong native, has been at the helm of the World Health Organization (WHO) now for almost a year. The Associated Press (no by-line) has an interesting sketch of her, which includes her penchant for using song as an ice-breaking device in contentious settings. We brought you Ed Hammond's report that she burst into "Getting to know you" at a critical point in the recent tense summit over sharing of bird flu virus in Geneva. AP also reports this event, but remember you heard it here first. IN any event, here is some more of their limning of Chan: Since the karaoke-loving…

Authorship on scientific papers

The academic world has lots of dark nooks and crannies not usually seen by the general public. One of them is the order in which authors are listed on a publication. If you have six people from two or three laboratories collaborating on an important paper, who will be the "senior author." And what does senior author mean? And how do you find the senior author on the list of names attached to the paper? It turns out that different disciplines have different conventions: Authorship practice varies by field, making interdisciplinary collaborations and the subsequent author lists more complicated…

The new adjuvanted bird flu vaccine

The big pandemic flu vaccine news of the moment has to be The Lancet report that vaccine maker GlaxoSmithKline has been able to get excellent antibody production against H5N1 with a new adjuvanted preparation that contains remarkably little viral antigen. This is important because the currently the only FDA approved pre-pandemic H5N1 vaccine uses more than 20 times as much (90 micrograms versus 3.8 micrograms) in an unadjuvanted preparation with much worse antibody response. In today's Lancet, Isabel Leroux-Roels and colleagues report safety and immunogenicity data from a phase-1 dose-sparing…