Monthly Archives: January 2025

The Tragedy of the Washington Post

Posted on January 17, 2025 by mikethemadbiologist

Somehow, I don’t think a new motto is going to save the paper. Recently, Semafor reported: Washington Post subscribers quit the paper en masse following owner Jeff Bezos’ decision to withhold its endorsement of outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris. But … Continue reading →

Posted in News Media | 3 Comments

Links 1/16/25

Posted on January 16, 2025 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Million year-old bubbles could solve ice age mystery Climate Models Can’t Explain What’s Happening to Earth Evolution and ecology of anti-defence systems in phages and plasmids Evolution of SARS-CoV-2 T cell responses as a function of … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | Comments Off on Links 1/16/25

This Is Why CEOs Get Paid the Big Bucks: The Walgreens Edition

Posted on January 16, 2025 by mikethemadbiologist

In the last year or so, if you live in a city–the actual city, not the metro area–there’s a very good chance you’ve had to deal with your chain drugstore locking various items away behind plexiglass, supposedly to protect the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness | Comments Off on This Is Why CEOs Get Paid the Big Bucks: The Walgreens Edition

Links 1/15/25

Posted on January 15, 2025 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Quantifying the evolutionary dynamics of structure and content in closely-related E. coli genomes Resistance profiles of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales in a large centre in England: are we already losing cefiderocol? Polymerase mutations underlie adaptation of H5N1 influenza … Continue reading →

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In D.C., Homicides Dropped 32 Percent in 2024

Posted on January 15, 2025 by mikethemadbiologist

It’s still too damn high (more about that in another post), but here are the 2024 homicide data for D.C.: area 2023 2024 percent change D.C. total 273 186 -32% Ward 1 28 15 -46% Ward 2 11 11 0% … Continue reading →

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Winners at Capitalism, Losers at Life

Posted on January 15, 2025 by mikethemadbiologist

But it’s all about the price of eggs (boldface mine): A person described as a “top banker” by the Financial Times said the success of President-elect Donald Trump has freed them to spout slurs without fear of repercussions. “I feel … Continue reading →

Posted in Basic Human Decency, Conservatives | 1 Comment

Links 1/14/25

Posted on January 14, 2025 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Adaptation in the Alleyways: Candidate genes under potential selection in urban coyotes Inferring the demographic history of aye-ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis) from high-quality, whole-genome, population-level data Not the “Chinese flu” label thing again…please System to auto-detect new … Continue reading →

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Links 1/13/25

Posted on January 13, 2025 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Parents question federal response after son’s near-death encounter with E. coli (mostly of interest because most people don’t realize the U.S. does have longstanding successful surveillance programs) The Caribbean has been unusually warm. That’s not a … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | 1 Comment

Professional Democrats Do Need to Fix the Things They Can Control

Posted on January 13, 2025 by mikethemadbiologist

When it comes to something like an election, much of the outcome is determined by events and forces that are beyond a candidate’s or party’s control. That said, professional Democrats do have agency and desperately need to make changes in … Continue reading →

Posted in Democrats | 5 Comments

Links 1/12/25

Posted on January 12, 2025 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Tattoo ink induces inflammation in the draining lymph node and impairs the immune response against a COVID-19 vaccine The costs of competition in distributing scarce research funds Ten species comprise half of the bacteriology literature, leaving … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | Comments Off on Links 1/12/25