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tqa | July 18, 2007
I like Chuck Schumer. He's a good New Yorker, with a good New York wit, and that - coupled with the fact that he's often right - makes him one of my favorite politicians to watch. Usually, he manages to come up with a pretty good line, but every now and then he winds up way off. Today seems to be one of those times. He's quoted as saying, regarding Iraq:
"This war in Iraq has veered out of control and a great leader would recognize this and change course," said Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat.
For crying out loud, Chuck, it's not like you need the leadership abilities of a…
angrytoxicologist | July 18, 2007I am a Ph.D. scientist in the public health sector with a good amount of toxicology and regulatory knowledge. I'm not going to be dishing about projects I am privy to, but I am much freer to make my opinions known anonymously, than I could do in a completely public forum.
Although other topics will probably be brought up from time to time (friday is no day for science), this blog will be focused on public health and the science behind it and will be written for the non-scientist without dumbing anything down.
I've added some of my previous posts onto this site for you to browse through. If…
tqa | July 17, 2007
In a recent Panda's Thumb comment thread, Pam asked (among other things) about our human species genetic Adam and Eve:
I have been reading for the last few years now, that there is a consensus among the majority, that humans have been genetically traced to a two human ancestory: A genetic "Adam and Eve".
This is a relatively common misconception, and a very understandable one. There have been published studies that have looked at the most recent common mitochondrial DNA ancestor of all humans, and other studies that have looked at the most recent common Y-chromosome ancestor of all…
pharyngula | July 17, 2007Blake Stacey has taken the first step towards becoming another Mike Godwin or Bruce Salem*: Blake's Law has a Wikipedia page.
*Relative obscurity, known only for a kneejerk phrase on the web?
clock | July 17, 2007Jonathan Eisen demonstrates with a personal example.
First he did a keyword search for the topic of his interest and expertise. Then he read a paper that came up in the search. Then he rated the paper and left a brief comment with the rating.
Then he came back to his blog, wrote in more detail and linked back to the paper itself.
In other related news: Pedro takes a quick look at last week's first two days of ratings.
Bjoern looks at competition in science and how Open Access can help alleviate it.
Bill Hooker discovers another Open Notebook Science example - a PhD thesis being written on a…
chaoticutopia | July 17, 2007This song has always brought tears to my eyes. It discussed events that occurred before I was born, but which triggered changes that have been unfolding since, throughout all of our lifetimes. Now, this video has filled in all the holes in my contextual understanding, and made me more emotional about "the Day the Music Died" than ever:
But perhaps the most disturbing discovery was not in the video, but in the comments on YouTube. Most were quite complimentary. A few others questioned the veracity of the chosen images. But this one just about killed me:
i always thght it was a maddona song…
denialism | July 17, 2007No.
It's the same tired junk DNA argument from the ID creationists. But I find this one particularly funny - you'll see why. Luskin says:
It's beyond dispute that the false "junk"-DNA mindset was born, bred, and sustained long beyond its reasonable lifetime by the neo-Darwinian paradigm. As one example in Scientific American explained back in 2003, "the introns within genes and the long stretches of intergenic DNA between genes ... 'were immediately assumed to be evolutionary junk.'" But once it was discovered that introns play vital cellular roles regulating gene production within the cell…
hrynyshyn | July 17, 2007I've only read the introduction to Natalie Angier's The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science but everyone else is blogging about it, and what I've read so far is so damn good that I'm going to add my precipitous two cents now.
Angier has long been a favorite of mine, ever since 1988's The Search of the Oncogene, in which the author immerses herself in a Boston laboratory to shed light on the scientific process -- warts and all -- during what turned out to be one of the biggest breakthroughs in cancer research. Now the New York Times journalist has pulled back to offer…
cmcclain | July 17, 2007 Problems in no certain order...
Number one problem...crude oil is now at $74 per barrel and may top out at $95 per barrel by fall. This week even the National Petroleum Council (NPC) is expected to release a report suggesting the global demand will exceed supplies in the next 25 years. Meaning your gas price at the pump is going to stay this high.
How much oil is left? The U.S. Energy Information Administration's International Energy Outlook 2007 calculates that world proven reserves of oil are 1.3 trillion barrels and projects that world consumption will rise to 118 million barrels…
grrlscientist | July 16, 2007tags: blog carnival, oekologie, environment
The 7th issue of the Oekologie Blog Carnival is now available. This blog carnival links to the best ecology and environmental science posts of the month from all across the blogosphere.
cmcclain | July 16, 2007With new technology comes new opportunities. So you say your a member of the mile high club...but what about the reverse. Don't worry neither am I or most. Why? First...I only have eyes for my wife who has never been in a submersible with me. Second...well frankly I am a big guy and...well I need room to operate. Apparently the recent market of luxury subs removes at least one of these barriers.
Manufacturers of some of the world's most exclusive underwater conveyances are boasting of the sexual possibilities of submersible cabins equipped with "large panoramic viewports" that allow…
tqa | July 16, 2007
Back in the middle of last month, I had a few things to say about Casey Luskin (DI flak) and his understanding of so-called junk DNA. It's now the middle of the month again, and Casey is again talking a lot - and understanding very little - about "junk" DNA. Larry Moran has a post up where he tries to educate Casey about the fact that a hell of a lot of DNA is still, at least as far as we know, junk. I'm going to take a look at something a little bit different - one of the methods scientists use to identify areas of "junk" DNA that have important functions. It's a pretty cool way of doing…
tfk | July 16, 2007A White House spokesman explained that the president will veto a proposal in Congress because it "would dramatically expand the Children's Health Insurance Program, ... encouraging many to drop private coverage, to go on the government-subsidized program."
One can see why the President would not want to help poorer children get health insurance at low cost. We already knew he doesn't care about black people, and had long suspected his antipathy to the poor.
The proposal in Congress would add $25-40 billion to the program, which is administered by the states. The new funding would be…
grrlscientist | July 15, 2007tags: BOOK, new product announcement
A friend sent this new product announcement to me, never expecting that I would enjoy sharing it with you.
Announcing the new Built-in Orderly Organized Knowledge device, otherwise known as the BOOK.
It's a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It's so easy to use even a child can operate it. Just lift its cover. Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere -- even sitting in an armchair by the fire -- yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD.…
tqa | July 14, 2007
...laugh. Or cry. Or both. Or something. I don't know.
Just when it seems like the White House has managed to exhaust the possibilities when it comes to showing their complete and utter lack of regard for American troops, they manage to scrape up something new. The latest entry comes from the aptly named Tony Snow, during yesterday's press briefing:
Q Is the Iraqi government and the Iraqi parliament taking the month of August off?
MR. SNOW: Probably, yes. Just not --
Q They're taking the entire month of August off, before the September deadline?
MR. SNOW: It looks like they may, yes.…
grrlscientist | July 13, 2007tags: books, blog carnival
For those of you who love to read good books (everyone who pops in here, apparently), the 5th edition of the Festival of Good Books is now available for you to enjoy. Incidentally, there are two bird books mentioned there, so don't trip over yourselves in your eagerness to find out what the titles are!
mikethemadbiologist | July 13, 2007We fire him. Actually, we refuse to fund his salary:
There's a reason that Democratic voters aren't happy with Democrats in Congress. We feel as if Democrats in Congress are missing opportunities. Gonzales' crimes are one such opportunity. Rather than have another hearing, or issue another statement calling on him to resign, why not do something about it? Appropriations season is coming up. Cut off all funds to Gonzales' office, or at least his salary. The GOP may filibuster the bill, let them. If it's filibustered, it dies, and so does Gonzales' salary. If the bill passes the Congress, Bush…
grrlscientist | July 13, 2007tags: birds, bed and breakfast, investment opportunity
Image: VivaVictoria [larger]
A reader emailed me with another idea for the house-for-sale with the nesting vultures living in the back yard; why not turn the place into a bed and breakfast for vultures?
There are some religious sects that use vultures as the method for final disposition of human remains. There are problems with this practice because of the differences in metabolism of vultures and humans, and some drug residues are quite toxic to the birds.
An expert on birds would be the ideal caretaker of a site where human remains…
grrlscientist | July 13, 2007tags: personality type, online quiz
Your Personality is Very Rare (INTP)
Your personality type is goofy, imaginative, relaxed, and brilliant.
Only about 4% of all people have your personality, including 2% of all women and 6% of all men
You are Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Perceiving.
How Rare Is Your Personality?
4% of all people have my personality type, including 2% of all women and 6% of all men .. does this mean that there are fewer men than women out there if only 4% of everyone shares this personality type?
cmcclain | July 12, 2007
Not really deep sea so excuse the digression. From TNC/WWF
As demands on oceans grow, it is important to ensure that their resources are being conserved and carefully managed worldwide. A new study led by The Nature Conservancy and the World Wildlife Fund (published in BioScience) -- Marine Ecoregions of the World -- takes an important step toward that goal by presenting the first-ever classification system of the world's coastal waters. This new set of classifications will help conservation scientists recognize gaps in protection and set priorities for action, such as establishing…