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Links 6/30/11

Links for you. Science: Ion v. MiSeq - Is There a Competition, And If So, Why? Is Drug Resistance in Humans Coming From Chickens? Amazing looking fly (biodiversity is cool) Is Rape Natural? Did the PhD Kill the Masters Degree? Other: 10 Of The Craziest Things Michele Bachmann Has Ever Said At the front lines Why Are Conservatives Scared of Cameron Diaz? "White Hispanics" are white people who trace their origins to Spain, and they're the reason reports of America's coming "white minority" status are 100-percent wrong. Prank Dog (it's a bad title; the dog is actually quite serious...about…

Links 6/15/11

Links for you. Science: E. coli data released under Creative Commons 0 license In Pictures: Spotting weedy seadragons of Australia Beavers get tough defending their turf Aggregative plasmid - new E. coli genome from HPA After David Koch Leaves NIH Board, NIH Hands Down Long-Delayed Classification Of Top Koch Pollutant As A Carcinogen Chemical Free Crazies Other: Building Better Kids: It's the Preschools, Stupid The Giant Banks Are ALREADY State-Sponsored ... So Why Not Create Public Banks to at Least Share the Gains, Help Out Main Street, and Grow Our Local Economies? It's all about sex,…

I'm Not Sure I Call This Honesty: The Boston Street Con Edition

Last evening, I was walking back to my apartment, and I was stopped by a young woman on crutches who said, "I don't mean to bother you, but do you have a moment? I'm trying to get a train from Back Bay Station." Even if I hadn't recognized her, anyone who lives in Boston knows what comes next. "I need twelve dollars to get a train ticket. Anything you can give would help. I injured my foot three days ago, and I even showed the guy at the counter my hospital papers, but I still need twelve dollars." At which point, I responded, "I live right around the corner, and I've seen you working…

"Death to apostates!" 1 out of 33 Muslim university students say

Islam on Campus: A survey of UK student opinions. N = 632 for Muslims. Remember that this is an elite sample of the youth insofar as they're polling university students. You might wonder what exactly Sharia law is in regarding to apostasy. Perhaps these students have a different interpretation than the majority consensus that apostates should be killed. Well.... In other words, 1 out of 33 Muslim British university students believe that apostates should be killed. Little wonder that many Europeans feel a little Islamophobia.... Additionally, * Muslims have far less respect for atheists…

The doctor's long lens of evolution

Interesting report out, Evolutionary biology research techniques predict cancer. Medicine has been around for thousands of years, from the "healings" of shamans to the "theoretical" paradigm of Galen. It seems possible that until the last 100 years or so medical techniques were just as likely (or more likely in many situations) to exacerbate illnesses as they were to help. The medical arts might be an outgrowth of our psychological biases, not materialist considerations (an analogy with financial "analysts" might be appropriate). Purely empirical sciences focused on proximate aspects of…

One book to educate them all

OK, a question. Imagine that you are the only adult left in the world and everyone else is under the age of 6. Assume helper robots obviate the need to micromanage the lives of the children, toddlers and infants in your care. You can choose one book from each of the disciplines of humanity to educate these children. Ignoring your own field of specialization, which book would you choose for "science"? You have 30 seconds! My answer: I initially considered The Principia by Isaac Newton, but upon 15 seconds of reflection concluded that that might be too high of a level and the tome might…

Good teachers don't have it easy

Via Coturnix, here's an extremely depressing resignation letter from a public school teacher. I've seen this kind of thing a few times now: our problem is that the public schools are being treated as little factories, where you push kindergarten kids in at one end, and a dozen years later an adult with an education pops out. A high school diploma is regarded as an entitlement rather than an earned acknowledgment of ability, and what that means is that administrators tend to lower their standards and be extremely lenient about the behavior and skills of both students and faculty. Even where…

Golden-haired Neandertals?

A few weeks ago I posted about Neandertal red-hair, and offered a note of caution: Red hair emerges because of a lack of balance between the production of dark eumelanin and red-yellow pheomelanin. When both are down regulated in terms of production one obtains ash blonde hair. I am not totally clear as to why the authors above assume that pheomelanin production would also not be effected.... John Hawks has a massive post up, The "flame-haired" Neandertals where he says: This is, of course, speculative. Still, if Neandertals were strongly selected for pigmentation variants, we ought to expect…

"Altruism" (by nation)

Some of you know that I have been in a discussion with Right Reason about the relationship between Christianity and altruism. I will address in full this weekend when I have time many of Steve's arguments. Suffice it to say that I think he places more emphasis on the emergence and crystallization of ideas in texts than I do. But, I noted this this post over at The Inductivist which reports data from the World Values Survey: Percent saying serving others is very important to them: Top 10: Puerto Rico 78.8 Morocco 67.8 Venezuela 67.7 Jordan 67.0 Mexico 63.6 Iran 62.1 Nigeria 62.0 Egypt 61.8…

Fastest evolving gene gives us big brains?

Many people have posted on this, so I'm going to give a quick link round up. I linked it early, and then Kawfee Mugg posted a follow up on my other weblog. John-too-good-for-10-assertions then offered up his commentary, and then RPM kicked in his 3 cents. He pointed me to Carl Zimmer's smackdown on the issue. I think the insight this gives us is similar to FOXP2, yes, we are a lot like other animals (whether it is 98% identity to chimp or not is irrelevant), but, in some ways we are a special breed all our own (i.e., in this case, a lot more evolution seems to have occurred on the human…

Abortion and the Swing Vote That Shall Not Be Named

If you ever needed evidence for the idea that voters are not rational but rationalizing, this NY Times story about the role abortion might play in Pennsylvania is a clear example (italics mine): One parishioner ruled out voting for Mr. Obama explicitly because he is black. "Are they going to make it the Black House?" Ray McCormick asked, to embarrassed hushing from a half dozen others gathered around the rectory kitchen. (Five of the six, all lifelong Democrats who supported Mrs. Clinton in the primary, said they now lean toward Mr. McCain.) Mr. Madonna, the political scientist, said of the…

Links 2/2/11

How many links would a linkbot link if a linkbot could bot links? Dunno, but here are some links. Science: Development of resistant Staphylococcus aureus over time One of the first published accounts of sexual selection in koalas: What does it take for koala boys to get lucky? Do Not Eat the "Paleo" Diet ("In the reality based community, we know that dinosaurs and humans were separated by 60 million years, and we don't adopt people as lifestyle gurus who believe otherwise.") Nabokov was right - so was Stephen Jay Gould wrong? The Enema of Your Enemy is Your Friend Other: Too young not to…

The 'Piggy' MRSA: It's Here...

So while I was at the American Society for Microbiology meeting this week (and my talk went fine, thanks for asking), I saw a poster by one of ScienceBlogling Tara's students, Abby Harper, about MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in pigs. In the past, I've talked about how, in Europe, there is a strain of MRSA that is sweeping through pigs in Europe, ST398. Essentially, this is a silent epidemic sweeping through pigs (it doesn't seem to cause that much disease is pigs; it's primarily a commensal). In agricultural communities, it seems to be spreading from pigs to people.…

Falsification, Likelihood, and Intelligent Design Creationism

Steven Novella at NeuroLogica Blog has a great post explaining why ID can't meet the criterion of falsification. How does one conclusively disprove the existence of the Great Vorlon? I would add two points. First, a good trick that intelligent design creationists play is that they subtly make their 'hypothesis' (such as it is) the null hypothesis. That means evolution by natural processes must always make the affirmative case, or overturn intelligent design creationism. Because ID creationism is so well established. Or something. I call bullshit. Second, it always interests me how, when…

Tuesday Links

Merry Tuesday. Links for you. Science: Report: Bill Nye "The Science Guy" Exposed as Godless, Soulless Blasphemer in Texas The price and privilege of beefcake Bonus Dinosaur of the Week--Paleontology and The Excavation Process. Other: The Stay-In-School Conspiracy Theory Casual Fridays: We believe we're the thriftiest people we know Why Health Care Reform In The U.S. Is Doomed Hiding Truths from the Goyim--and Ourselves Sick and Wrong: How Washington is screwing up health care reform - and why it may take a revolt to fix it Moyers Special Comment to Obama: "Mr. President. We need a fighter…

Now I'm winning polls where I don't even try

There was another poll out there that I studiously ignored, because I was on it: Which miracle do you think Americans would most support? One of the possible answers was "PZ Myers publicly converts from atheism to follow the One True God." I think it was a very poor choice, because one of the ways that could happen, which would require no miracle at all, is brain damage. Alas, I have won. Now I have to be a little concerned that devout Christians will be after me with a baseball bat. So here's an important caveat: traumatic brain injury or organic deterioration do not count. You're going to…

Saturday Links

Saturday links. With Extra Bonus Video! Science: The Spotless Garden Australia uses cat food in fight against cane toads The Mushroom that Sleeps with the Fishes The Basques may not be who we think they are Climate change affecting Kenya's coffee output What average genetic variation can tell us (or not) Other: Mule Variations Our Towns: It Won't Line a Bird Cage, but It's Still News Could It Be That the Best Chance to Save a Young Family From Foreclosure is a 28-Year-Old Pakistani American Playright-slash-Attorney who Learned Bankruptcy Law on the Internet? Wells Fargo, You Never Knew What…

Thursday Links

Happy Thursday. Links for you. Science: Casey Luskin embarrasses himself again AIDS Does Not Exist (denialism) Too clever by, hmmm, about 5% a year A Tale of Two Flagella Rare self-rolling giant snow balls found in UK Other: Hang 'em High: Never, it seems, have punters been more valuable to NFL teams. So who are these guys--and why hasn't a single punter been voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Republicans, Heritage, and the false case against fiscal stimulus (warning: thinking cap required) Think Again: Money for Nothing? Faculty Protest Texas Football Coach's Raise Gruber Doesn't…

How Compulsive Centrist Disorder Cost Democrats the VA Governorship

If you haven't heard by now, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds got clobbered by the Republican candidate. One of the things that hurt him was the poor turnout by independents and Democrats compared to the 2008 presidential election. And why did they stay home? Consider the answers to these three questions posed to VA Democrats who voted for Obama, but not for Deeds: And: And: If the Democrats don't stop acting like Republican-lite, like Herbert Hoover (although that's an unfair comparison to Hoover, who, while ideologically hidebound, had saved millions of lives from famine…

Links 1/2/10

It reached 56F yesterday. In January. In Boston. Let's celebrate with some links. Science: A stunning year in climate science reveals that human civilization is on the precipice. The first anniversary of 'Climategate', Part 1: The media blows the story of the century U.S. Science-Funding Boost Faces Uncertain Future (it's remarkable just how much the Republicans don't want to fund the COMPETES Act) Few health benefits from genomic discovery Other: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Test Scorer What If Israel Ceases to Be a Democracy? America's cracked political system: US politics, often…

How That Amazing Old Spice Commercial Was Made -- In Just One Take!

tags: Old Spice commercial, manmercial, television, Superbowl, advertizing, technology, computer-generated imagery, CGI, wow, I'm on a Horse, Isaiah Mustafa, funny, humor, streaming video Daily, men ask themselves, What do women want? We want a gorgeous bare-chested man with a beautiful voice on a horse, that's what! And this is exactly what Old Spice gave us with bare-chested Isaiah Mustafa, a TV actor and former NFL player, in their "manmercial" that first aired during the Superbowl. But how was that amazing commercial made? Maybe you think it was stitched together from a lot of separate '…

Carnivalia

Here's the latest carnivalia for you to read and enjoy; Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People), inaugural issue. This is THE science blog writing carnival that celebrates the best science, nature and medical writing in the blogosphere. Circus of the Spineless, 37th edition. This newly revived blog carnival focuses on invertebrates, as its name suggests. This issue is particularly fun, with a nice mix of science, photoessays, video and images. Review Bloggers, 38th edition. This is a collection of reviews about all sorts of things, from books to baby toys. Carnival of Homeschooling,…

Welcome ScienceBlogs Brasil!

Image: (Royalty-Free) Corbis. ScienceBlogs' newest member, ScienceBlogs Brasil, was just launched with 23 Brasilian science blogs, many award-winning. These science blogs are published in either Portuguese, the official language of Brasil, or English, and frequently, in both languages. So if you speak Portuguese or if you are Brazilian, please do add this site to your list of bookmarks. I am sure you will discover some science blogs there that you will love as much as those you've already been following for years. Here's five blog entries that have been translated from Portuguese to…

Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America's Public Universities

tags: education, academic achievement, university, college, Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America's Public Universities, William G. Bowen, Matthew M. Chingos, Michael S. McPherson, book review The second book review I've ever published in Nature Magazine appeared last week, roughly the same time I was on a trans-Atlantic flight from NYC to Frankfurt, Germany. Due to my lack of wireless and jet lag, I've neglected to mention this until now. This review discusses a book that I think is very important for everyone involved in higher education to read and think about: Crossing…

TEDTalks: Nalini Nadkarni Explores Canopy Worlds

tags: TEDTalks, ornithology, dodo bird, Adam Savage, streaming video A unique ecosystem of plants, birds and monkeys thrives in the treetops of the rainforest. Nalini Nadkarni explores these canopy worlds -- and shares her findings with the world below, through dance, art and bold partnerships [18:15] TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on…

Flu Wiki på norsk

One of the remarkable things about The Flu Wiki is how it has taken root in other places. There are now several non-English versions of it, including français, español, Türkçe and norsk. In a recent comment our Norwegian colleagues asked we remind you they are there. I went and took a look at the Flu Wiki.no site and if you are in Scandinavia join in. The Swedes and Danes won't have any trouble with the language (my Swedish isn't great and even I could read the Norwegian) and while facility with English is widespread in the Nordic countries they also have their own issues and local…

Welcome to the Revolutionary Minds Think Tank

Since 2006, the Seed Revolutionary Minds series has identified over 50 individuals who are breaking the barriers between science and art, architecture, design, and communication—the interpreters, the game changers, the re-envisionaries. Earlier this year, we posed three questions to these Revolutionary Minds, asking them to reflect on the role of science in relation to pressing global issues and how a cross-disciplinary approach to problem solving might advise them. We will post their responses here, over the course of the next three months, and invite additional responses from…

Around the Web: The market for new PhDs, Canadian science communication and more

The Ph.D Bust: America's Awful Market for Young Scientists—in 7 Charts The Ph.D. Bust, Pt. II: How Bad Is the Job Market For Young American-Born Scientists? Tenure Track as Alt-Ac Ph.D. Job Woes How Many Ph.D.'s Actually Get to Become College Professors? Government vs. the Public: Mind the science gap #CanComm, Conferences, and the Search for Allies What I learned about Librarianship from the Signage on the Underground The human in digital humanities Why the Web will gut paid e-books and apps, and why free can pay for authors and publishers The publishing industry has a problem, and EPUB is…

Friday Fun: How to tell if you’re a troll

This one is both kinda funny and kinda sad, from the "so funny it cycles around the funniness circle to not really funny anymore" file. It's basically a bunch of survey questions that someone can take to figure out if they're a troll. And they're a pretty good indicator. Do you dare? Do I dare? Have at it: How to tell if you’re a troll Here are a couple of the questions. You'll have to check out the link for the possible answers and the scoring system. 1. You read something on the internet you disagree with. How do you respond? 3. You read a new book recommended by others but you don’t…

Friday Fun: 8 Unexpected Downsides of the Switch to E-books

Given all the fuss and bother going on in the library world these last few days about ebooks, I thought this one would be a pretty fine choice to highlight today. I just love me some Cracked! 8 Unexpected Downsides of the Switch to E-books You Can't Hide a Gun in a Kindle You Need Physical Books for Physical Tasks No More Flipbooks and Mustaches in Textbooks It May Change the Perception of the Necronomicon and Other Mystical Books Book Burnings Will Have Less Visual Impact How Will People Open Secret Passageways? Seriously, if you can't pull a cleverly titled book out of a bookcase to get…

Around the Web: Scientists & social media, Radical scholars, Coming to blows over books and more

Social Media for Scientists Part 1: It's Our Job Social Media for Scientists Part 2: You Do Have Time Social Media for Scientists Part 2.5: Breaking Stereotypes Social Media For Scientists Part 3: Win-Win The economics of science blogging The three things I learned at the Purdue Conference for Pre-Tenure Women: on being a radical scholar Coming to blows over books Where should our information literacy standards come from? Asked and Answered: Here's What I Think the Aaron Swartz Case Means Are Teaching and Research Distinct? Doing Science in the Open Joe Murphy as Apple Advertisement - We've…

Around the Web: Libraries leveraging Twitter, But reference is dead, Watch your internet profile and more

How Libraries Can Leverage Twitter Geeks Are the Future: A Program in Ann Arbor, MI, Argues for a Resource Shift Toward IT "A New chapter for our Unwinders Management Book - Evaluating Candidates from their Internet Profile" Legislative Alternatives to the Google Book Settlement What Are Digital Literacies? Let's Ask the Students If You're Not On Facebook, It's Time To Get Over Yourself Archive Watch: British Library Purchases Poet's 40,000 E-Mails Video-Game Rooms Become the Newest Library Space Invaders Hard economic lessons for news For-Profits and Satellite Radio Byliner Launches With…

Best Science Books 2010: USA Today, Chicago Sun-Times, AAAS

Another bunch of lists for your reading, gift giving and collection development pleasure. USA Today The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot Chicago Sun-Times The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot American Association for the Advancement of Science The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe by Loree Griffin Burns & Ellen Harasimowicz. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science by Sean Connolly I'm always looking for recommendations and notifications of book lists as they appear in…

Around the Web: Digital thesis deposit, Digital professoriat, New business models and more

Growing Concern Over Digital Thesis Deposit An Open, Digital Professoriat 10 New Business Models in 2010 -- A Primer on Innovation Could chess-boxing defuse aggression in Arizona and beyond? What shops have to do when their products go digital A manifesto for the simple scribe - my 25 commandments for journalists What the powers-that-be think about DRM, and an explanation of the cloud Digital music sales: Growth is slowing, industry group says Heads they win, tales we lose: Discovery tools will never deliver on their promise and The games we play U.S. Department of Labor and Department of…

More Photos of Strange Scientific Equipment

The Dot Physics game inspired us to put up this photo from the Institute's new calendar,* which features images of (mostly) old scientific equipment. In case you haven't guessed, it was called a "tamnun" (Hebrew for octopus) or, more formally, a Multi-Counter Gamma-Ray Goniometer. It was developed (and patented) at the Institute in the 1970s for use in Tandem Accelerator experiments. The multiple movable arms are meant to grip up to six gamma-ray detectors at precisely calculated angles. Patent notwithstanding, it does not appear to have been a huge seller, and even the old-timers here were…

This sounds like one of those “militant atheists” I've been hearing so much about

On 13 November, at 7pm, Sunsara Taylor will be speaking at Blegen Hall 10 at the UMTC campus. This is part of a national college speaking tour that draws from and promotes Bob Avakian's new book, "AWAY WITH ALL GODS! Unchaining the Mind and Radically Changing the World", and here's what she'll be talking about: Freethinking activist Sunsara Taylor will explore the questions: Is believing in gods actually harmful? How has Christianity for centuries served as an ideology of conquest and subjugation? Why is the "Bible Belt" in the U.S. also the "lynching belt"? In the intensifying conflict…

The Buzz: Zombie Epidemiology

In the event of a zombie epidemic, scientists have settled on an unambiguous plan for survival: be aggressive. Mathematicians from the University of Ottawa and Carleton University modelled the outcome of responses to zombie infection including quarantine, development of a cure, and "regular, impulsive" slaying of undead to reduce their numbers. The results of their analysis are summarized in a paper published in Infectious Disease Modelling Research Progress, and reveal that only a swift and forceful attempt at eradication offers any hope to human civilization. We wonder if ScienceBlogs'…

The Buzz: Common Primate Ancestor Discovered?

A paper published May 19 in PLoS ONE has the blogosphere in a frenzy over a 47 million-year-old primate fossil unearthed in Germany that might be the ancestor of all modern day humans, monkeys and apes. Scientists discovered the fossil—they're calling it Ida—in 1983, but only recently has it been restored. Ida was once a lemur-like animal and belongs to a newly classified genus and species, Darwinius masillae. The most intact primate fossil discovered to date, the find will have particular meaning to evolutionary biologists who have long searched for a "missing link," though ScienceBlogger…

The Buzz: Oprah and Jenny Team Up to Spread Woo

The billionaire media icon Oprah Winfrey sealed a contractual deal with notorious anti-vaccination supporter Jenny McCarthy Monday that will enable McCarthy to spread her belief that vaccines cause autism across several platforms. This viewpoint is vehemently opposed in the scientific community, as it remains virtually unsupported after years of rigorous scientific investigation and, if heeded as true, has lethal consequences in the form of diseases like measles, mumps and rubella. With support from Oprah, McCarthy is slated to host a syndicated talk show and maintain a blog. According to…

The Buzz: The Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Protection Act

A proposed law to protect native species and habitats from invasion by nonnative animals is scheduled to be heard April 23 in the U.S. House of Representatives, and ScienceBloggers are voicing strong--and contending--sentiments about the bill. House Resolution 669, the Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Protection Act, would prevent the importation and trade of invasive animal species, but ignores invasive exotic plants that can cause "tremendous economic, environmental, and habitat damage," in the words of GrrlScientist. She raises a number of other objections to the bill, but Mike Dunford of the…

The Buzz: Science Not Serving Senator Harkin

After complaining during a U.S. Senate hearing that the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine he spearheaded wasn't yielding results that validated such practices, Senator Tom Harkin (D–IA) is facing the backlash of his statements from ScienceBloggers. Many of the alternative medicine practices Harkin advocates have already been subject to the thorough scrutiny of the NIH and other scientific institutions, which failed to find convincing evidence that these practices are beneficial compared with placebos and with established medical practices. Many have questioned whether…

Chris Mooney on the Colbert Report

ScienceBlogger Chris Mooney appeared on The Colbert report yesterday to discuss the Bush Administration's 'war on science.' According to Chris, the scientists won the war on science when President Obama was elected. */ The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Obama's New Science Policy - Chris Mooney Colbert at ChristmasColbert Christmas DVD Green ScreenBill O'Reilly Interview "The Bush Administration was systematically undermining scientific knowledge on a lot of different issues that have a lot of different policy implications," Mooney said in the interview. Colbert,…

I Am a Scientist, and I'm Voting For...

No one is in a better position to understand how policy affects science than working scientists themselves. Scientists & Engineers for America Action Fund and ScienceBlogs asked several well-known figures in science—including recent Nobel Prize winner Martin Chalfie and "father of the Internet" Vint Cerf"—who they plan to vote for in the upcoming presidential election. They've recorded YouTube videos explaining their answers, which you can see on the AVoteForScience YouTube channel. But we are also asking for contributions from you—whether you're a post-doc, chair of your department,…

Lego My Scientist

Alan Saunders, a.k.a. Kaptain Kobold, is a 42-year-old computer programmer and former biology student from Staines, England. He uses Lego blocks to depict famous scientists at work. "I have no idea why I started making Lego scientist scenes," says Saunders, who's married with two children, one cat, two guinea pigs, "and couple of cockroaches." His children like the scientist figures, though they have no idea yet who they are. At top right, Gregor Mendel cultivates his pea plants. Next, Charles Darwin stands in a "family portrait" with a yellow Neanderthal, an angry-faced Lucy, and an…

Ixnay on the Ears-Bay...

A leaked memo from an official in the U.S. Department of the Interior warns government officials traveling to other countries to avoid discussing topics "involving or potentially involving climate change, sea ice, and/or polar bears." While the Bush administration continues to debate whether or not to list polar bears as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act, emissaries of the U.S. government are advised—at least in meetings with the officials of countries bordering the Arctic Circle—to avoid the controversial issue altogether. As an Independent (UK) article reposted at ClimateArk…

Robotic Creations That Are Changing Our World

She has developed some of the world's most famous robots - humanoid creatures like "Kismet" (a robotic head that has been widely featured in international media) and "Nexi," a mobile dexterous social robot that learns from and interacts with people in an intelligent, life-like and sociable manner. But Cynthia Breazeal, associate professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she founded and directs the Personal Robots Group at the Media Lab, says she has much more ground to cover in the growing field of social robotics. "My research explores…

An introduction to Entrez

Have you ever wondered how to find things in the NCBI databases? Maybe you tried to find something but didn't know how it was spelled. Or maybe you tried to use a common name like "pig" or "deer" to find information in a database, not knowing that all the organism names are in Latin. Or perhaps you're wondering just what kind of information is stored for different kinds of records and if you could search for this information. I wrote a book that covered this topic quite thoroughly, a couple of years ago, for the NCBI structure database. Now, I've decided to make some movies, too. This…

MCR-1 and a Post-Antibiotic Future

The first observation of a bacterial gene called MCR-1 in the United States has scientists worried, if not surprised. The gene provides resistance to colistin, an antibiotic with nasty side effects used to combat multidrug-resistant bacteria. On Aetiology, Tara C. Smith writes "colistin has seen a new life in the last decade or so as a last line of defense against some of these almost-untreatable infections." But now, bacteria wielding MCR-1 threaten to leave humans defenseless. On The Pump Handle, Liz Borkowski explains "MCR-1 is of particular concern because it’s carried on a plasmid, a…

A lesson in dealing with missionary zeal

The New Zealand department of conservation maintains a network of huts in the backcountry — these are little shelters with a radio for emergency calls and a mattress so hikers can wait out a spell of bad weather. It's all very sensible. Until the evangelicals discovered them. Now there's a missionary campaign to put a bible in every one of them, too, since, as the founder of this plan says, "I realised then this was a captive audience." I think I'm going to have to move to New Zealand now. The response by hikers to this effort is classic pragmatism. They think it is a fine idea. "Given the…

Congratulations to Oklahoma City Community College!

GenomeWeb reports that OKCC and the University of Utah's Genetic Science Learning Center received NIH funds for genomics and bioinformatics education projects, respectively. Congratulations are certainly due to the University of Utah. For a community college, on the other hand, to get NIH funding is very unusual and OKCC should be commended. From GenomeWeb: The NCRR said it will fund the Oklahoma City Community College $540,000 for the "Biotechnology/Bioinformatics Discovery" program, which focuses on professional development in life sciences informatics teaching techniques, particularly…