Monthly Archives: March 2014

Links 3/31/14

Posted on March 31, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Left to our own devices How malaria defeats our drugs A disturbing example of quackademic medicine at an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center The Drugging of the American Boy Funding: MRC injects funds into medical informatics Other: … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | 1 Comment

The Physiology of Poverty

Posted on March 31, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Poverty has an effect on young children: This might be reflected in various social outcomes. It might also be necessary to control for this when assessing the heritability of various cognitive traits.

Posted in Public Health | 1 Comment

Big Science Stole Your R01: Things Scientists Know Yet Are Not True

Posted on March 31, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Time and time again, we read about the conflict between ‘big science’ and independent researchers. This is often accompanied by the claim that big science is sucking up all the money–if only the centers didn’t take all the money, my … Continue reading →

Posted in Funding, NIH | 3 Comments

Links 3/30/14

Posted on March 30, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Hypothesis Overdrive? (excellent) The pseudo-science of Alcoholics Anonymous: There’s a better way to treat addiction Power Lines Look Like Terrifying Bursts of Light to Animals Whitehead, Biogen team up on drug research (interesting to read about … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | Comments Off on Links 3/30/14

Purple Pane, Pink Rose

Posted on March 30, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Observed on Chestnut Street, Beacon Hill, Boston: The pink glass panes were due to impurities in the glass making procedure, but then came into vogue in the 1800s. They can still be found in Boston houses (one house on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston | Comments Off on Purple Pane, Pink Rose

Inequality Is a Symptom, Not the Disease

Posted on March 30, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Or diseases, plural. Lane Kenworthy notes that the data are mixed when it comes to the effect of inequality: The evidence supports a number of the most prominent hypotheses only weakly or not at all. As best I can tell … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Links 3/29/14

Posted on March 29, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: To Save Drowning People, Ask Yourself “What Would Light Do?” (heuristics are common actually) Flu vaccine production issue may be behind last year’s modest protection Helpful flow chart for my grad students when deciding whether or … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | 1 Comment

Hose and Ice

Posted on March 29, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Wednesday afternoon, the day of the tragic fire on Beacon Street, I saw this: At first, I thought it was another fire, but it turned out to be wind-blown spray from one of the fire hoses: A couple of hours … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston | Comments Off on Hose and Ice

Wham, VAM, No Thank You Ma’am

Posted on March 29, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

File this under ‘why value-added measurement (aka ‘VAM’) doesn’t work in practice’ (boldface mine): Two years ago, I was lauded for my students receiving extremely high state test scores…. Last year, many of my students had had the highest scores … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Fucking Morons | Comments Off on Wham, VAM, No Thank You Ma’am

Links 3/28/14

Posted on March 28, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: JGI Aims to Move Beyond Sequencing, Become ‘Cutting Edge’ Genomics Facility Nothing more obnoxious than a physicist first encountering a new subject (perhaps economists too…) Homeopathy Company Recalls Products Because They Might Contain Antibiotics The Mosquito … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment