Bloggity Blog
mikethemadbiologist | April 29, 2007Here are some links for you. Let's blind you with some science:
I argue that there's a difference between ecological interactions and natural selection.
At Effect Measure, revere describes the politicization of the CDC and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. On a related note, see here too.
Here's how starfish eat.
The other stuff:
Massachusetts' economy is roaring. It must be all of the gays and libruls...
Matt Stoller and Ezra Klein rip into Doug Schoen, a 'Democratic' consultant who argues that the Democrats should sound like Republicans. Because everybody really…
mikethemadbiologist | April 22, 2007Here's some links for you. Merry Spring!
Here's an excellent interview with Joe Felsenstein.
Climatologist James Hansen offers five concrete steps to deal with global warming.
While we're on the subject, here's a refutation of the global cooling argument.
A topic near and dear to my heart: it's the boring, unsexy diseases that kill people.
Revere gives us a Google mashup of infectious disease outbreaks.
The other stuff:
The politics of haircare.
On a more serious note, could you ever imagine the U.S. healthcare system treating a family with a sick child as well as this. Of course not...…
mikethemadbiologist | April 15, 2007Happy day before Patriots' Day. Tomorrow, I'll be watching the Boston Marathon (I don't really have a choice; it goes right past my building). Anyway, here's some science and other links for you:
There's a humongous fungus among us. And it could create real problems for food production.
One from the archives about molecular tests of natural selection.
Don't know what squamatology is? Mark H has the answer.
I happen to think Chris Mooney's and Matt Nisbet's op-ed in the Washington Post was on target.
From the potentally goofy files: are cell phones destroying bee colonies?
The other…
mikethemadbiologist | March 25, 2007Here are some Sunday links for you (with extra linkyness since there won't be one next week). First, I blind you with science:
E. coli, chimps, and antibiotic resistance. Oh my!
A crocodilian with a fish tail! Watch the creationists deny that this is an important fossil...
Speaking of fossils, the Hairy Museum of Natural History has an interesting post about a Long Lizard with very Short Arms.
ScienceBlogling Nick reports on the sanity the British government is showing towards drugs and alcohol.
Darksyde has a good post about adult stem cells.
Over at Effect Measure, is an ongoing series…
mikethemadbiologist | March 18, 2007Happy Belated Evacuation Day! Here are some links for you. The sciency stuff:
There's been some interest in a guy named Michael Egnor who said some silly things about evolution. The Mad Biologist chimed in too. Afarensis used Egnor's IDiocy to have a very nice discussion about tooth decay.
Octopus eyes: learn all about 'em.
RPM discusses a new phylogenetics term: the clan.
Are drug prices too high? ScienceBlogling Abel Pharmboy wonders what we can do about that.
Revere defends open-access publishing.
Here's a neat post about Soay sheep, one of the cooler ecological model systems out…
mikethemadbiologist | March 15, 2007Seriously. Lindsay of Majikthise is holding a fundraising drive. Not only is the commentary good, but she actually goes out and does very good investigative reporting. So go give her some money!
mikethemadbiologist | March 10, 2007Merry Daylight Savings Time! Here are some links for you. First, the science stuff:
I have some thoughts on the possible approval of cefquinome use in cattle.
Also, I have some interesting factoids about MRSA for ya.
There's a new strain of norovirus in town.
From the Neisseria gonorrhoea files (that would be the 'clap'): it doesn't matter if the bacterium is sensitive to antibiotics if you can't detect it.
Mark H tells us why polar bears are white.
The other stuff:
In Slate, Jacob Weisberg has four points about Iraq that no politician is willing to utter.
Sisyphus Shrugged notes that…
mikethemadbiologist | March 7, 2007Thanks to everyone who bloglinked to me--I added you last night. If you're interested in trading links, or if you already link to me, let me know below. So stop by these joints and say hello:
Jon Swift
Divine Afflatus
cannablog
Independent Bloggers' Alliance
The Thermal Vent
The Burned Over District
Mixter's Mix
Lab Cat
If I Ran the Zoo
Rev. BigDumbChimp
... ponderings of a fool
Drinking Liberally in New Milford
Scientia Natura: Evolution and Rationality
Middle Raged Punk
Primordial Blog
mikethemadbiologist | March 6, 2007I'm at a meeting (out of town), so I won't be able to add people to my blogroll until Wednesday, but thank you to everyone who linked to me, the anti-Kos. If you don't know what I'm talking about, click here. The Mighty River keeps blogrollin' on.
mikethemadbiologist | March 4, 2007This is what happens when you leave posts in the Blogerator: someone beats you to it (hat tip: skippy). Unlike certain famous* bloggers, whose initials are Kos, I don't like to purge live blogs. Instead, I've been inspired by skippy. I would like anyone who links to this blog, and to whom I don't link in my blogroll, to leave your blog's title and url, so I can add you to my blogroll. Since blogging will be light for a couple of days, I'll leave this up here.
*I'm not famous, just Mad.
mikethemadbiologist | March 2, 2007There's a very interesting Boston Globe story about Paul Levy, the CEO of Boston's Beth-Israel Deaconess Hospital. He's not only a CEO, but also a blogger. His blog, Running a Hospital, is, well, self-explanatory--I guess you can blog about work...if you're the boss. Levy appears to have started a minor kerfuffle because he has been posting his hospital's catheter-associated ICU infection rates.
Some of the other hospital heads are bothered that Levy is doing this. Personally, I think patients should be informed about infection rates when choosing a hospital, since hospital-acquired…
mikethemadbiologist | February 28, 2007Moselio Schaechter, former American Society of Microbiology president, has a blog, Small Things Considered. It's pretty good. But the promo letter ASM sent around had one annoying thing (italics mine):
Microbes have entered the blogosphere courtesy of past ASM president Moselio Schaechter, professor emeritus at Tufts and a visiting scholar at the University of San Diego.
Actually, microbes have been in the blogosphere for some time now. Tara immediately comes to mind, along with the regular contributors to Animalcules (not to mention the Mad Biologist, who has a thing or two to say about…
mikethemadbiologist | February 27, 2007Thanks to YouTube, bloggers regularly post video. Sites like Flickr allow the posting of pictures. But there's one thing that I haven't seen--or more accurately, heard.
Are there any bloggers who incorporate music (or other sound files) into their blogging? I don't mean an mp3 that can be downloaded, but music that starts playing when you access that post. Think of it as a post-appropriate soundtrack.
Just wondering. And you heard it here first (I think...)
mikethemadbiologist | February 25, 2007Here are some links for you; science first:
Whenever I hear creationists talk about 'information theory', it's always pretty clear that they don't know what they're talking about. ScienceBlogling Mark smacks once such creationist around.
Conservapedia mistates mutation (I know, dog bites man).
Well, it's related to squid: cool footage of an octopus munching some seafood.
The other stuff:
While I disagree with the title of PZ's post, he's absolutely right in calling attention to the Cult of Anointing, something I have noted before too.
Steven Perez wants his CNN back.
Are we headed for a…
mikethemadbiologist | February 7, 2007I hate being right, but I knew the Mighty Conservative Wurlitzer was going to slime Amanda and Shakes. Before I get to a detailed discussion of the NY Times article about the whole blogger kerfuffle, I have a very simple question.
What if Amanda and Shakes, rather than being campaign bloggers, had taken important administrative, behind-the-scenes jobs with the Edwards campaign?
Seriously, both parties have had all sorts of people as campaign workers. So why are bloggers a big deal? If they were doing a bad job, then they should be fired because of their shoddy work. But many campaign…
mikethemadbiologist | February 5, 2007Never doubt the prognostication of the Mad Biology. A couple of days ago, I wondered if the Mighty Conservative Wurlitzer would unleash its awesome fury against the Edwards campaign bloggers. Turned out I was right. First, there was some hardhitting investigative reporting from the National Review bloggysphere that yielded...nothing. But then Michele Malkin got in on the act.
For those of you who don't who Michele Malkin is, one of her claims to fame is authoring a book that defends the racially-motivated interment of Japanese-Americans during World War II (because if it's ok when FDR did…
mikethemadbiologist | February 4, 2007There's a Super Bowl to watch, but here are some links anyway. First, the science stuff:
The terrifying predations of the Short Big-Eye.
Public health notice: you're supposed to wash your hands with alcohol gel, not drink it.
Russia has a outbreak of smelly, yellow snow. Maybe a giant dog was involved?
The IPCC global warming report summary is available (pdf).
Here is what an intelligent design curriculum is all about.
I can't stand the irresponsible use of antibiotics, but, please, use them when needed.
If you missed it, here's a post about a potential treatment for methicillin-resistant…
mikethemadbiologist | February 4, 2007...panda cuteness. In honor of Amanda of Pandagon becoming a famous and financially compensated blogger, I present you this photo montage:
Edwards blogging headquarters
Staff photo
Check out the panda on the right. What's he doing?
Let's hit the bar
Office cubicle action photo
Office cubicle action photo
Campaigning is hard
mikethemadbiologist | February 2, 2007I'm thrilled that two of my favorite bloggers, Amanda of Pandagon and Shakes, are going to be part of the blog campaign for John Edwards. It's about time that they're recognized for their great work. While they, and others, have addressed the issue of what working for the Edwards campaign will mean for their blogs, there's another issue that hasn't been addressed:
What does being linked to (and with) a political campaign do to one's 'regular' blogging?
I ask this because Amanda and Shakes are both fearless writers: they tackle really difficult subjects, and they often use scathing language…
mikethemadbiologist | January 28, 2007Here are some weekend links for you. First, lotsa science:
Here's a post of mine about group selection.
Also, I'm mentioned in an article about the rapid diagnosis of influenza.
If you're sick, you should wash your hands. Of course, you could do us all a favor and not show up to work sick...
Josh and revere both discuss the for-profit publishers' battle against Open Access scientific publishing. Matt has more.
Tara gives us the history of the petri dish (and bonus information too: replica plating).
Afarensis talks about the absence of children in archeological analysis.
Sandra tells us…