General biology
tsmith | March 31, 2006 So far this week, I've mostly been talking in generalities--the introductions to the topic, or how the animals we eat or other types of human behavior can put us at greater risk for the emergence of such diseases. Today I want to talk about a more specific example: an ongoing outbreak of a virus called chikungunya.
Chikungunya (from the Swahili word for "stooped walk," or "that which bends up" depending on who you believe, referring to the posture of a person suffering from the disease) is an arbovirus: a virus that is transmitted by insects. In this case, the insect in question is the…
tsmith | March 30, 2006Saw this awhile ago on Science and Politics, but it keeps getting pushed down the line of my entries. See what a panel of high-schoolers has to say about creationism, intelligent design, and evolution. I guess it should be considered a small victory that at least the word "evolution" isn't forbidden.
*sigh*
tsmith | March 28, 2006I'd like to continue the overview of emerging infectious diseases (part one is here) by discussing some reasons why diseases "emerge." Obviously, this will be somewhat of a simplification; many diseases may emerge due to a combination of the topics mentioned below, or may have factors involved that I don't mention, so these should be considered broad categories rather than an all-inclusive list.
So, one reason: climate change. An obvious example of this are diseases borne by arthropods, which live in a fairly narrow range of temperatures or environments. Global warming or cooling may…
tsmith | March 27, 2006Part One: Introduction to Emerging Diseases and Zoonoses
Part Two: Introduction to Emerging Diseases and Zoonoses continued
Part Three: Bushmeat
Part Four: War and Disease
Part Five: Chikungunya
Part Six: Avian influenza
Part Seven: Reporting on emerging diseases
Part Eight: Disease and Domesticated Animals
Part Nine: The Emergence of Nipah Virus
Part Ten: Monkeypox
Part Eleven: Streptococcus suis
Part Twelve: Salmonella and fish
Part Thirteen: new swine influenza virus detected
Part Fourteen: dog flu strikes Wyoming.
Part Fifteen: Clostridium species.
Part Sixteen:…
tsmith | March 26, 2006Over at Good math, bad math, Mark has a bit more on mathematical modeling. Before anyone screams "witch hunt," please note:
I'll leave the science debate over at Aetiology, where it belongs. But there's definitely a mathematical aspect to this. Professor Culshaw lends her authority as a mathematician to the HIV denialist folks. Does her math support what she's saying?
Alas, no.
Professor Culshaw is not a bad mathematician - quite the opposite. What I can read of her publications shows very solid mathematical work, done extremely well.
The problem is that when she tries to apply the…
tsmith | March 24, 2006Actually being at a conference soaking up so much of this stuff means, alas, not nearly as much time as I usually spend during the week actually reading the new literature in many of the areas I write about. Over at Effect Measure, as usual, they help to make up for that, by commenting on two new papers in Science and Nature that give one potential reason why human-to-human transmission isn't occurring yet--but Revere notes it's not quite that simple.
(More after the jump)
The reason, the researchers propose, is that the cells bearing the type of receptor the avian virus is known to favor…
tsmith | March 20, 2006Yesterday, as mentioned previously, was Dunk Malaria day. I'm on the road today in cold 'n' gloomy Atlanta so pardon the delay, but coturnix has a collection of posts here regarding the topic. Just spent much of the morning hearing about new strategies to control vectors (aimed mostly at dengue, but some ideas could extend to malaria as well) and learning about new malaria drugs (and resistance to old ones), so perhaps I'll be able to put up an overview later in the week. I'm away until Friday, so blogging this week will likely be rather sporadic.
tsmith | March 18, 2006I swear this really wasn't my intention, but I dunno--I'm a bit obsessed with these critters. I mentioned them here just last weekend. Yesterday, Josh over at Thoughts from Kansas blogged more about botflies, linking a video that had been passed around the Panda's Thumb email list (and that even grossed out "Parasite Rex" author Carl Zimmer). Josh also has a bit of background on the flies and, well, more nasty stories to boot.
tsmith | March 16, 2006Over at Immunoblogging, Joseph has a multi-post series on the evolution of the immune system that I've been meaning to highlight, since obviously the claim that there's no research done in this area plays a large part in IDists' claims. So, some background reading on a few of the issues:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
and a bonus (if a bit older) post on Toll-like receptors here, along with a newer overview here.
Additionally, at the new Good Math, Bad Math, Mark discusses Dembski's use of the NFL (No Free Lunch, not the sporting league) theorem and creationist use of probability. Check '…
tsmith | March 16, 2006Following up a bit on my hobbit post from last week, SciAm Observations has a new post (part one of what I assume will be at least a series of two!), describing a bit of the back-n-forth at a recent American Association of Physical Anthropologists meeting in Alaska. You can also listen to the author (Kate Wong) in a SciAm podcast here, describing the background on H. floresiensis and the conference.
tsmith | March 14, 2006I mentioned yesterday that Mike had a post on the war on epidemiology. That might sound a bit strange--doesn't have quite the ring to it as Chris's book. But, never fear, epidemiology is indeed under attack--or, at least, it's being redefined by young earth creationists.
In a pair of articles published in the esteemed journal, Creation Research Society Quarterly, Jeffrey Schragin has put forth his argument that "the Bible's epidemiology is scientifically sound" and that the "Creation Health Model (CHM) offers a more comprehensive understanding of health and disease than standard molecules…
tsmith | March 12, 2006Recall a few weeks ago, when I was discussing how a change in regulation in a single gene in Streptococcus pyogenes led to a huge change in phenotype? (I know you do--you probably have it memorized.) A new study shows a similar phenomenon's occurred during human evolution, and probably is the cause of much of the differences between humans and apes:
Scientists have known for three decades that humans and chimpanzees share 99 percent of the same genes, but they have been at a loss to explain what causes the two to be so obviously different physically, behaviorally and mentally.
Now a…
tsmith | March 11, 2006Via Pharyngula, I found this site: the Schoepenhauer Awards. Man, I'm in love. Not only do they profile the intestinal roundworm, but they also discuss the Tasmanian tiger (one of my favorite extinct animals); the candiru, a parasitic catfish that enters body openings you'd rather not think about; the scabies mite; and liver fluke.
Finally, they even have an entry on one of my favorite organisms, the human botfly.
tsmith | March 8, 2006Homo floresiensis (aka "the Hobbit"> was one of those discoveries that made a huge splash, created a lot of controversy, and has been out of the news for awhile now. Wondering what's going on, and what's ahead? Sciam Observations has a bit of an update--and expects more later this year. This is one area where I wish I had more of an inside track.
tsmith | March 6, 2006I meant to plug this last week: RPM at Evolgen has a post on microbial diversity in the gut, referencing a new Cell paper.
I was going to write up this paper on MRSA within amoebae, but haven't had time. I still might do a more extensive commentary, but Joseph has a few words on it.
tsmith | February 14, 2006PZ and Ed have both mentioned this NY Times article suggesting that Ohio's about ready to cut out its cancer that are the Jon Wells-inspired "critical analysis of evolution" from their lesson plan. Richard Hoppe of Ohio Citizens for Science has been following the story over on Panda's Thumb--for example, here and here most recently). I'll be in Ohio later this week; hopefully some celebratin' will be in order. Keep your eye on it.
Also from over at PT, Reed shares an interview with Massimo Pigliucci, who's been holding Darwin Day celebrations since 1997 and helped to popularize them.…
tsmith | February 12, 2006As PZ mentioned, today would be Charles Darwin's 197th birthday. To celebrate, Mike over at The Questionable Authority is putting together a mini-carnival of posts on evolution. Specifically, he asked how those of us who are scientists use evolutionary theory in our work.
Personally, I'm a bit of a hybrid. I'm a microbiologist by training (my PhD is in microbial pathogenesis and gene regulation), but I loved epidemiology as an undergrad, and so did post-doctoral work in that area--and now am officially titled and "infectious disease epidemiologist". But, I'm still a lab rat rather than…
tsmith | February 11, 2006Told you this week's interview would be a good one. Generally journalists are the ones telling the story, but this week, Carl Zimmer's in the spotlight, discussing science writing (and blogging), education, transitional fossils, and, of course, parasites. Check it out.
tsmith | February 2, 2006Carl Zimmer has a new post up on zombie cockroaches and the wasps that love them. This is seriously incredible stuff.
The wasp slips her stinger through the roach's exoskeleton and directly into the cockroach's brain. She apparently using sensors along the sides of the stinger to guide it through the brain, a bit like a surgeon snaking his way to an appendix with a laparoscope. She continues to probe the roach's brain until she reaches one particular spot that appears to control the escape reflex. She injects a second venom that influences these neurons in such a way that the escape reflex…
tsmith | January 25, 2006Day 1: History of Pandemic Influenza.
Day 2: Our adventures with avian flu.
Day 3: Challenges to pandemic preparedness
Day 4: 1918 influenza virus reconstructed
Day 5: How ready are we, and what can YOU do?
Many more influenza posts can be found at this link.