Monthly Archives: December 2011

Links 12/31/11

Posted on December 31, 2011 by mikethemadbiologist

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 | Comments Off on Links 12/31/11

Top Ten Mad Biologist Posts for 2011

Posted on December 31, 2011 by mikethemadbiologist

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 mikethemadbiologist

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 | Comments Off on David Brooks: On the Wrong Side of History

Links 12/30/11

Posted on December 30, 2011 by mikethemadbiologist

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 | Comments Off on Links 12/30/11

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 mikethemadbiologist

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 mikethemadbiologist

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 →

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

Posted on December 29, 2011 by mikethemadbiologist

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 mikethemadbiologist

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 | Comments Off on Links 12/28/11

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

Posted on December 28, 2011 by mikethemadbiologist

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 mikethemadbiologist

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 | Comments Off on Links 12/27/11