medicine & health the science of healing, from lab to clinic
From Flickr, by FotoEdge
May 11, 2008
Effect Measure
Now keeping us safe is illegal, too Protecting the cattle industry, one Bush appointment at a time.
Dr. Joan Bushwell's Chimpanzee Refuge
Florida, vanity, and lying healthcare dispensers If there's one part of the country that may be as obsessed with its collective personal appearance as Los Angeles, it's Florida -- specifically its larger cities and metropolitan areas, especially those in the state's southern coastal areas: Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West...
May 10, 2008
Respectful Insolence
More of the consequences of not vaccinating... ...more outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases like pertussis: Erik Ferry thought little of the sniffles and cough his 12-year-old daughter came down with in February. But the coughs became more frequent and violent, and the bug hung on for days, then...
The Loom
Sex In A Blender: The Microcosm Edition of Bloggingheads As long as I can remember, I've been a fan of George Johnson's writing about science. He has always kept focus on the deep mysteries of existence, even while writing in a deliciously clear style. So it was a real...
May 9, 2008
The Loom
New Scientist: Microcosm is "exciting," "original," "powerful" From the new issue: "It is a powerful account of the dynamic, complicated and social world we share with this ordinary yet remarkable bug. Evolution and genetics glitter among the pages, as do the lives and experiments of the scientists...
The Loom
Time change for Coast to Coast: 1 am EST Sunday I'll be talking on Coast to Coast at a slightly less wee-hours time: 1 am on Sunday....
Effect Measure
A death from rabies [clarified 5/11/08] A terrible way to die but it can be prevented.
Dynamics of Cats
flu like illness on Canadian train Passenger train halted and quarantined in northern Ontario...
The Loom
Microcosm Winner #5: What's Your Favorite E. coli Trick? At last we come to the fifth winning question about Microcosm, from Ceph. Once again, thanks to the ~240 people who entered the contest. I hope my answers to these five questions give you a sense of what my...
The Loom
Microcosm Winner #4: What Does E. coli Have to Say About Creationism? Here's the fourth winning question about Microcosm, from Sigmund: Creationists often point to the bacterial cell and say something to the effect of "the cell is so complicated it is highly improbable that it could have spontaneously formed - therefore...
denialism blog
Journalist becomes the story: Discover Magazine luvs teh denialists. HT erv. This is truly annoying because it is so patently wrong. It's wrong in lots of different ways, but I'll help point out some of the major flaws. What happens when journalist becomes the story, rather than reports it?...
The Loom
Microcosm Winner #3: How Long Has E. coli Been So Sexy? Now we come to the third winning question about Microcosm. Kenatiod writes, Long ago, in bacteriology class, the teacher (an ex-nun at an ex-Catholic college) was telling us about the type "F" pili that are used to pass DNA so...
The World's Fair
World Death Rate Holding Steady at 100% Some stunning research results. A lot to ponder. More to come.
Developing Intelligence
Single Unit Recordings Show NoGo Selectivity in vlPFC Our ability to suppress unwanted thoughts and behaviors is thought to be related to a process known as "inhibition," whereby ventrolateral regions of prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) actively suppress inappropriate representations. A 2001 study by Sakagami et al. recorded firing data...
The Loom
Microcosm Winner #2: Why Are Some E. coli Good and Some Bad? Here's the second winning question about Microcosm, from Kevin: E. coli is a bacteria commonly found in the intestines of some animals. What distinguishes the common and harmless strains from those that can cause illness and death? A lot of...
Respectful Insolence
Your Friday Dose of Woo: The secret life of plants Last week's woo was pretty darned hard to top, don't you think? It had it all, after all: Boner potentiation, penis enlargement, magnets, near infrared, and more. The only thing it lacked that would have made it absolutely perfect woo...
The Loom
Microcosm Winner #1: Why E. coli? If you're just tuning in, on Tuesday I offered five free signed copies of my new book Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life to readers if they sent in a question. I was quite stoked to see...
May 8, 2008
erv
Message to Conventional Media: Ur doin it rong! HIV Denier gets a seven page spread in Discover Magazine
Respectful Insolence
A (kind of) new cancer research blog Although there are a lot of medical bloggers out there, there's always room for more good blogging, particularly if it's related to basic and translational research. That's why the Cancer Research UK Science Update blog is worth checking out. It's...
denialism blog
What's in store for Burma? As the death toll in the immediate aftermath of Cyclone Nargis becomes clear, new dangers loom. Complete breakdown in essential services and sanitation will conspire to kill thousands more via disease unless the world moves quickly (and maybe, even if...
Effect Measure
Childhood vaccinations: how long do they last? For many of us, long ago and far away. Still effective?
Pure Pedantry
Running Outside Burns a Smidgeon More Calories Thank you, NYTimes, for clarifying something I have always wondered about: how does running outside compare to running on a treadmill? A number of studies have shown that in general, outdoor running burns about 5 percent more calories than treadmills...
Terra Sigillata
When medical experimental therapeutics gets co-opted as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) Or, when is CAM not CAM?
Mike the Mad Biologist
The Silly Distinction Between CA-MRSA and HA-MRSA It's all just MRSA.
Respectful Insolence
When popularity outpaces science in surgery Why the popularity of new surgical procedures all too often outpaces the science supporting them.
“My first thought was that you wanted to make GINA irrelevant by use of genetic engineering. Then I realized you were talking about something even more radical—universal health insurance in the US.” Dianne on GINA--why we should make it irrelevant
