Category Archives: We’re Really Fucked

The Unlovely Necessity of Public Health Spending

Posted on March 3, 2016 by mikethemadbiologist

Public health efforts face a very difficult problem: they’re like car insurance. You hate paying it…until you get into an accident, then you’re really glad you have it. With that for prelude, we bring you this story about mosquito control–a … Continue reading →

Posted in Insects, Public Health, Viruses, We're Really Fucked | 4 Comments

Colistin Resistance Is Now Linked to Carbapenem Resistance: We Failed

Posted on January 9, 2016 by mikethemadbiologist

For those just tuning in, a little over a month ago, the microbiology and public health world was rocked by the discovery of plasmid-borne colistin resistance: First, some background: polymyxins, including polymyxin E also known as colistin, are the last … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics, E. coli, Plasmids, Public Health, We're Really Fucked | 5 Comments

Our Long-Term Crisis Isn’t the Gentrified City But the Unsustainable Suburb

Posted on December 2, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

Something that’s lurking in the background of the U.S. economy, and which will erupt with a fury in ten years or so is the need to replace suburban infrastructure: underground wires, pipes, and so on. This is something new that … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Transportation, We're Really Fucked | 1 Comment

Plasmid-Borne Colistin Resistance Has Jumped Species and Maybe Hemispheres

Posted on November 22, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

Friday, I described the discovery of the gene mcr-1, which is a transmissible colistin resistance gene found on a bacterial plasmid (a plasmid is a mini-chromosome that can move from bacterium to bacterium). This is really bad news, since colistin … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics, E. coli, Plasmids, Salmonella, We're Really Fucked | 3 Comments

Last Line of Antimicrobial Defense Is Falling: Colistin Resistance Transmission

Posted on November 20, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

Actually, it’s sort of reached the rout stage. From China (don’t worry, I’ll translate from Science into English; boldface mine): Background: Until now, polymyxin resistance has involved chromosomal mutations but has never been reported via horizontal gene transfer. During a … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics, E. coli, Plasmids, We're Really Fucked | 9 Comments

Block Off All the Roads to Maryland. Do It Now

Posted on May 27, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

This will not help reduce traffic problems in D.C. (boldface mine): On Tuesday, the MVA announced that parallel parking is no longer part of the driver’s license test in Maryland. Officials said other parts of the test — the two-point … Continue reading →

Posted in DC, Fucking Morons, Run Ya Bastids!, Transportation, We're Really Fucked | 2 Comments

Failure Is An Option: Antibiotic Resistance and Global Warming

Posted on May 19, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

A while ago, I argued that many of our supposedly ‘scientific’ or technological problems aren’t anything of the sort: instead, they are largely political failures. Consider the problem of antibiotic resistance: There are a lot of things we could currently … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics, Global Warming, We're Really Fucked | 8 Comments

Remember When I Wrote That Some Antibiotic Resistance Is Annoying But Not Catastrophic?

Posted on April 9, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

Well, I also mentioned that sometimes antibiotic resistance is catastrophic. By way of Scary Disease Woman (aka ‘Maryn McKenna’), here ya go (boldface mine): To investigate the antibacterial resistance to doripenem in China and to understand the distribution trends of … Continue reading →

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“Smartness” and the Geithner Conundrum

Posted on June 14, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

You might think that the word “smartness” would imply that the person possessing smartness is very bright and has used that intelligence and knowledge to successfully solve problems. But, as David Kaib notes, among our supposed betters, smartness means something … Continue reading →

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Job Creation, 21st Century Style

Posted on May 6, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

I suppose someone did get paid to do this: It’s 2014, but it feels like fin de siècle.

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