mikethemadbiologist

Because it's the sucker's play. So Democratic Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky--a real Democrat, not a Very Serious fiscal 'conservative'--has released her own deficit plan. It's a perfectly good plan: the numbers add up (no magic asterisks, such as 'we will lower Medicare expenses [somehow]'), and…

Gabe Rudy, blogging at our 2 snps, has a really good introduction to sequencing technology and its history. It's worth the read, but I don't entirely agree with the reason given for why ABI SOLiD lost out to Illumina: Coming to market at the same time, but seeming to have just missed the wave, was…

Links for you. Science: You (patent pending) Drug testing and basic statistics HPV Vaccine: Why Are So Few Women Getting Vaccinated? (when HuffPo gets it right, reward good behavior) Other: Vouchers only for the faithful Teachers Take Charge To Save Ailing Public Schools (interestingly, the very…

Or something. By way of Howie Klein, we discover that Blue America PAC, which supports candidates, who among other things, are not global warming denialists, is faced with a nuisance lawsuit. This attack is led by 'Let Freedom Ring, Inc.', a conservative faith-tank. And who funds Let Freedom…

Because that's what it seems they're claiming. I'll get to that in a bit. Rolling Stone invited Matt Taibbi, David Gergen, and Gary Hart to discuss political events of the day. The subject of the Tea Party came up, at which point Taibbi said: To me, the main thing about the Tea Party is that…

Cloudy, gray. Maybe some links will help? Science: The likelihood of pollen from GE cotton causing harm to the environment is about as likely as a poodle escaping into the wild Empiric antibiotics in the ICU Study shows reusable bags contain high levels of lead content Other: Money and the…

Following on yesterday's post about the use of the "OOH! SHINY PEBBLE!" trick by focusing on deficit reduction, we find that, over at TPM, Rotwang nails the deficit reduction misdirection hooey too: I beg you all to not get embroiled in the bankrupt pastime of figuring out how to balance the budget…

A while ago, I discussed the observation that seventy percent of stocks are held for eleven seconds (yes, you read that correctly). It's absurd, since there's no way that the status of the underlying companies has changed (and that information has been made public) in an eleven second time span.…

Just another Manic Monday. Links for you. Science: Time Warp: Recent right-wing rejections of Einstein's theory of relativity echo Nazi dismissals of what they called 'Jewish Physics' (they're not attacking science, they're just trying to defend their culture space) Juiced Serious Fun With…

Last night, I went to the spanking brand new Art of the Americas Wing at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. I can't recommend it highly enough. It's a beautiful space. If you're a regular denizen of the MFA, you've probably seen some of the pieces on temporary exhibit, but it's great to see them…

What I find most disturbing about the Simpson-Bowles report, among many disturbing things, including a number fetish, is that our political discourse, which is usually mostly irrelevant, has become even more so. Why? Because we're focusing on the wrong deficit. While this deficit proposal is…

Yesterday, it was 62 F. In Boston. In mid-November. Let's celebrate with some links. Science: Obesity behaves like a contagious disease agent 30,000 people is not actually that many people The world's best underwater photographs 2010 Other: My Application for Peter Thiel Tragedy of the…

I'll have more to say about the report put out by the chairmen of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, but this section, found on page 6, "Our Guiding Principles and Values", indicates the lunacy and moral bankruptcy of the commission*: Bring spending down to 22% and…

This should be the new Democratic talking point about tax cuts: We need to change the thinking. Taxes are not too high. Incomes are too low. If you are having problems paying your taxes then you need a raise, not a tax cut. Democrats need to practice this response to anyone talking about tax cuts.…

A warm fall day. If you're stuck inside, here are some links for you. Science: Dire Consequences of NIH Cuts Rare Hits and Heaps of Misses to Pay For NDM-1, the supergene: Further (community?) spread Other: Making religion of economics: The arguments of market fundamentalists don't fit the facts…

Certain things make me bang my head against the wall. Politically, one of those things is the complete lack of real concern over the employment deficit by our political betters, especially by Democrats. Here's the latest installment of stupidity (italics mine): To fight the worst recession since…

Links for you. Science: Obfuscatory Vaccination Math New Statistical Model Moves Human Evolution Back Three Million Years Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds Other: Segregation: The Invisible Elephant in the Foreclosure Debate This Is How Michael Caine Speaks Can liberalism save…

Simply put: it's very stinky. We read with interest this post by Jon Walker about the possibility of legalization of marijuana use in Massachusetts (and the near passage in California). While I think the pros of legalization outweigh the cons (although I have no respect for those who pretend…

It's Veterans Day. Here are some links. Science: The American System Humans aren't the only creatures that grow their own food. Leaf-cutter ants, trees, and even protists do it too Energy and science in America are in big, big trouble Other: Donovan McNabb, the Race Card and the Giving Tree…

Certainly, you shouldn't when the topic is education 'reform.' Some snarky bloggers refer to The Washington Post as the Kaplan Test Prep Company, since most of the Post's profits come from the KTPC, not the newspaper (both of which are owned by the Washington Post Company). Well, any claims The…

By way of Oliver Willis, we discover that the Corporate Democrat Third Way propaganda tank has decided that doubling down on failed Blue Dog policies is exactly what it will take to kill off the Democratic Party will resuscitate the Democratic Party's fortunes: The party is about to come to a…

Links for you. Science: An ID anniversary missed The case against evidence: From fingerprints to high-tech CSI, forensic science plays a much smaller role than you would think Great Migrations Other: Huzzah! Take That, Socialism! White House thinks it was the stimulus that killed them (so they're…

...except maybe--and that's a very, very tentative maybe--doing nothing; I'll get to that later. Tyler Durden: ....what will be far more important to end consumers will be the push higher in food and energy costs. The problem, however, is that for the lowest 20% of Americans, as per the BLS, food…

Still at a meeting. But I've got links. Science: Vaccination, Confirmation Bias, and Knowing Your Audience Yes, please, let's have hearings on the evidence of climate change (a bit optimistic, but, if they happen, I hope this is how they play out) Bear versus Bison Other: Why a Soccer Momma for…

By way of John Aravosis, we read this statement by President Obama made during a 60 Minutes interview: Obama also expressed impatience with his liberal supporters for not understanding the deep divisions in the country - and that overcoming them was not simply a matter of a better message. "I will…

If you haven't heard, there's a new antibiotic resistance gene, NDM-1, which stands for New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1. This gene has been found in Gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae (E. coli and Klebsiella), and confers resistance to every penicillin derivative. Like the KPC genes, this gene…

I'm at a meeting today, but no reason not to give you some links: No Half Steps, No Equivocation "Protest works. Just look at the proof" Nov. 2: The Death Knell of Corporate Liberalism Here We Go Again Shirts vs. skins (I, too, have wondered why people think Sestak is so much better than Specter…

A while ago, in discussing deficit 'hawk' conservative Democrat Kent Conrad, I wrote this about so-called moderation: Stupidly, Democrats have never pushed back against the idea that a hard-line deficit reduction hawk is a 'moderate', which I think might be what leads an astute political observer…

ScienceBlogs was screwed up earlier, but we're back in business. Have some free links--they're on the house. Science: Climate change legislation didn't hurt Democrats Same poop, different gut: For physicians and researchers alike, fecal transplants present an opportunity to gain insight into…

Personally, I hate setting the clocks back in winter. Since I basically wake up shortly after it gets light, I essentially lose an hour of sleep: going to bed an hour earlier really isn't an option--it's not like work shifts itself one hour earlier. And in Boston, the combination of being in the…