Monthly Archives: December 2011

Links 12/31/11

Posted on December 31, 2011 by

Links for you. Science: Cocaine and the sexual habits of quail, or, why does NIH fund what it does? Five dangerous myths about vaccines Bacteria 1, F.D.A. 0 (my thoughts here) Two millipede species have set up a 150 mile … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized

Top Ten Mad Biologist Posts for 2011

Posted on December 31, 2011 by

Actually, it’s the top ten since I opened the new digs in September. I will note that most of my traffic comes in through the front page, so thank you to the regular readers. Anyway, these were the top ten … Continue reading →

Posted in Bloggity Blog | 1 Comment

David Brooks: On the Wrong Side of History

Posted on December 31, 2011 by

Charles Pierce skewers David Brooks’ recent column telling those damn kids to get off the lawn! which claims that a different “moral culture” has led to debt, which somehow is also related to out-of-wedlock births. Pierce: Is there any doubt … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Fucking Morons

Links 12/30/11

Posted on December 30, 2011 by

Links for you. Science: A Christmas present for the environment? Has Jesse Bering jumped the shark yet? Anything Boys Can Do… An Idyllic Picture of Serenity, but Only if You’re Not Inside Other: How I became a ‘terrorist’ Below the … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links

In Defense of PLoS Papers About That Hippetty-Hoppetty Music (and What We Can Learn from A Clockwork Orange)

Posted on December 30, 2011 by

A recent PLoS ONE article, “You Know What It Is: Learning Words through Listening to Hip-Hop“, recently received some derision on the intertubes and The Twitter. Here’s a good summary: Paula Chesley, a visiting professor at the University of Alberta, … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Links 12/29/11

Posted on December 29, 2011 by

Links for you. Science: Science and Secrecy – Continued (must-read) The Brain-Eating “Amoeba” Strikes Again A mediocre man’s great son, a great man’s mediocre son US approves new nuclear reactor design Other: Shallow Be Thy Name Whose Tea Party Is … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links

A Modest Proposal: Alabama Whites Are Genetically Inferior to Massachusetts Whites (FOR REALZ!)

Posted on December 29, 2011 by

Every so often, like a bad case of hemorrhoids, the race/IQ/genetics kerfuffle flairs up. Well, the Mad Biologist can settle it once and for all. NAEP math scores have been used as proxies for IQ (pdf, pdf)*. If we look … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Fucking Morons, IQ, Racism | 9 Comments

Links 12/28/11

Posted on December 28, 2011 by

Links for you. Science: Strain Game: Could information about a lab-made virus really help evildoers create a biological weapon? CDC: Whether your food-related illness gets investigated depends on which state you live in (MMWR) Why some viral information should be … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links

Is Economics a Science? And If Not, Then What Is It?

Posted on December 28, 2011 by

A recent guest post at Naked Capitalism by economics student Jake Romero lists “Ten Principles of Responsible Economics.” What intrigued me was principle #10 (boldface original): 10) In theory, economics is a science. In reality, economics is a science the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Philosophy Shit | 6 Comments

Links 12/27/11

Posted on December 27, 2011 by

Links for you. Science: The morning after Little brown bats found that appear to resist disease that has devastated species Frog-hunters of the Western Ghats Did Hunger Drive the Evolution of Homo sapiens? Other: Satyajit Das on What Went Wrong … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links