Monthly Archives: January 2014

Some Relief For Scientific Funding

Posted on January 15, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Following yesterday’s depressing report about funding rates, we come across this synopsis of what the latest budget deal means for scientific research: While the appropriations bill gives the National Institutes of Health $1 billion more than what it got under … Continue reading →

Posted in Funding, I For One Welcome Our Austerity Overlords, NIH, NSF | Comments Off on Some Relief For Scientific Funding

Obsolence in Scientific Subdisciplines

Posted on January 15, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Proflikesubstance notes the following (boldface mine): The question of reducing the number of PhDs produced is a complex one and there’s simply no chance that the overall numbers will be reduced evenly across the board. It seems inevitable that certain … Continue reading →

Posted in Jobs | 2 Comments

Links 1/14/14

Posted on January 14, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Infection: Watching Life and Death Evolve in the World (must-read; generalist level) Financial Conflicts of Interest and Reporting Bias Regarding the Association between Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Weight Gain: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews Colorado fights … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | 1 Comment

Welfare Reform Killed Thousands, But Data Be Damned

Posted on January 14, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

While a popular neo-liberal and conservative nostrum is that the states are the “laboratories of democracy”, much of the time these labs are cranking out crystal meth. Robert Waldmann explains (boldface mine): So what have we learned from a state … Continue reading →

Posted in Basic Human Decency, Conservatives, Democrats | 1 Comment

In My NIH Funding World, R01 Grants Are Getting Crushed

Posted on January 14, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

While funding might seem like a boring part of science, remember that all the cool stuff that gets mangled in the popular press you read about online and so on costs money. When there’s less money, there’s a good chance … Continue reading →

Posted in Funding, I For One Welcome Our Austerity Overlords, NIH, We're Really Fucked | 2 Comments

Links 1/13/14

Posted on January 13, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Which Exotic Species are Really Scary? (only includes charismatic megafauna, however) T-rex Calories Develop Viruses to Fight Resistant Bacteria (the issue isn’t the science, however, it’s the business model, especially patenting phage cocktails) Adopt a National … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | Comments Off on Links 1/13/14

More Big Data Abuse

Posted on January 13, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

I recently wrote about a disgusting abuse of ‘big data’: the formation and selling of a “Rape Sufferers” list. No, really. According to Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller, this seems to be part of a larger and equally nauseating trend (boldface … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness, Statistics | 1 Comment

News Reporting on the ACA and Education: We Get What We Pay For

Posted on January 13, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Over the weekend, some Tea Party-related bullshit ‘horror stories’ were shot down by Maggie Mahar. What’s interesting is how the bullshit was published in the first place (boldface mine): Finally, [reporter] Yamil Berard called me. Now, the truth came out: … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on News Reporting on the ACA and Education: We Get What We Pay For

Links 1/12/14

Posted on January 12, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Engrossingly Gross Photos of Spiders and Insects Eating Each Other Are there any jobs in paleontology? Are We Witnessing The End Of Coral? The Urban Institute on the Probability of Female Survival to Age 50 in … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | Comments Off on Links 1/12/14

The U.S. Political System in One Tweet

Posted on January 12, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

I like Madame Wev’s summation even better than the links she provides: https://twitter.com/Shakestweetz/status/421659026661728258 Says it all, doesn’t it?

Posted in Bloggity Blog, Economics | 2 Comments