Status quo ante bellum

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20170102_Commentary__Good_math_skills_begin_at_home.html This is an opinion in the Inquirer about how using math terms to your preschooler may influence their math abilities later on in life. It references an international study (PISA) in which US students (sophomores in HS) rank 31 out of 35 nations in math abilities.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160105-the-man-who-studies-the-spread-of-ignorance A selection of the Best of 2016 from the BBC about "the man who studied the spread of ignorance". Robert Proctor, a science historian at Stanford researched tobacco industry practices to confuse smokers about the connection between smoking and lung cancer. He coined the term "agnotology" and defined it as the study of willful acts to spread ignorance in order to sell a product.




http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/31/business/scientists-loved-and-loathed-by-syngenta-an-agrochemical-giant.html  This is a New York Times article about scientists working for agrobusiness companies like Syngenta and Ciba-Geigy whose work was compromised by, in some cases, contractual stipulations of non-disclosure of adverse results.  One scientists researching BT corn's effects on the lacewing, a beneficial insect, warned against it and was harrassed even after she left the employ of the company.



http://www.sciencealert.com/it-s-official-a-brand-new-human-organ-has-been-classified From Science Alert, a new organ has been declared. It is the intestinal mesentery. Work has been cited in the Lancet Gastroenterology and Herpetology (I mean Hepatology- checking on your attention) done at University Hospital in Limerick, Ireland. According to ScienceAlert, Leonardo was one of the first to describe the mesentery and now it has been elevated to the status of organ,


http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/02/science/dinosaur-eggs.html?_r=0 This is a report of studies of fossilized dinosaur eggs looking at unhatched embryos which reveal that dinosaurs had longer incubation times than birds. This study was published in PNAS and was done at Florida State University. This identifies a difference between birds and dinosaurs when many similarities (warm-bloodedness, feathers) have been identified. Embryonic tooth age was studied. I am currently reading a book on the Evolution of the Human Head and it was interesting to read about tooth age in this article.


http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/05/well/eat/feed-your-kids-peanuts-early-and-often-new-guidelines-urge.html?_r=0 This is a report of a 2008 British study of British-Jewish and Israeli-Jewish children consuming peanuts. It was determined that the allergy rate for British-Jewish children was ten times greater than Israel-Jewish children, the latter having been fed Bamba, a peanut-based snack, since infancy. The new guidelines for early peanut consumption to prevent later severe and possibly fatal anaphylaxis, were published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.This is meant to promote a reeducation campaign among parents of allergy-prone infants.

The Solipsist re-emerges from her semester

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/12/upshot/the-power-of-simple-life-changes-to-prevent-heart-disease.html This was a column in the NYT (Science Times) reporting on a study published in NEJM about lifestyle changes and how they are effective against heart disease even if you have a significant number of risk factors working against you. It is a summary of four studies. A risk score was generated using SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) which might predispose an individual to get heart disease. Researchers used some simple lifestyle changes and examined what the effects were on the actual incidences of coronary events. The result showed that lifestyle changes were even effective in those individuals deemed to be at high risk for a cardiovascular event.

Adios Fidel

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/23/well/move/born-to-move.html?_r=0
This is an article from the NYT about an article in the American Journal of Human Biology summarizing a study done at Yale and the U of Arizona about the Hazda, a hunter-gatherer people. 46 people from this tribe agreed to wear a chest monitor. One conclusion from the study is that we were "born to move" not stare at or swipe screens.




http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/02/opinion/sunday/octopuses-and-the-puzzle-of-aging.html?_r=0
This is a column in the Sunday Review section of the NYT about our lifespan. The writer/researcher uses the example of octopi, which have a lifespan of only two years. Nautiluses who are also cephalopods. live for 20 years. Why is this?

Maybe Snow Flurries

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/opinion/climate-change-in-trumps-age-of-ignorance.html?_r=0 An article in the NYT  by Robert Proctor of Stanford about the election of a president with no interest in the growth of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

Dedicated to Susan Lindquist

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/science/susan-lindquist-scientist-who-made-genetic-discoveries-using-yeast-dies-at-67.html?_r=0 This is the obit of Susan Lindquist, a personal hero of mine, who did extremely important work on protein folding and diseases resulting from improper protein folding. She used yeast cells to stdu neurodegenerative diseases.





http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2016/10/30/new-study-further-proves-why-anti-vaccination-thinking-is-deadly/#5ef6918c5de2  This is an article from Forbes about a new measles study on SSPE (Subacute-Sclerosing Pan Encephalitis) which someone who has had measles can contract and is fatal 100% of the time. Normally it shows up in 1 out of 100,000 but it has increased in infants and children who contract measles before vaccination. This is another effect of the anti-vaxx movement.




http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/47392/title/FDA-Approves-Clinical-Trials-to-Test-Cuban-Cancer-Vaccine/  The FDA is poised to begin clinical trials of the Cuban NSSLC lung cancer vaccine. It is to be combined with an FDA approved immunotherapy called Opdivo. The vaccine is called CIMAvax.




http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/47289/title/Immune-System-Maintains-Brain-Health/ This is an article from The Scientist about the immune system and the brain. Findings have shown that mice without T-cells don't perform cognitive functions as well as those with intact immune systems. This work was done in 2004 at the U of Virginia and has heralded a wave of research on the connections between immune cells and the brain.Michal Schwartz at the Weitzmann Institute has founded a company to test antibodies against T-cell checkpoints as therapy for Alzheimers Disease.




http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/11/video-how-cram-your-entire-genome-tiny-nucleus Video from Science magazine showing compaction of DNA into nucleus.

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/11/watch-these-ticklish-rats-laugh-and-jump-joy  This is an article from Science magazine about research that shows that rats are ticklish. There is a tickle center in the mammalian brain that when stimulated causes rats to "chortle". This work was done at Humboldt University in Berlin and published in Science.
https://youtu.be/KnHtxknPVvg

Working Title

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n17/steven-rose/how-to-get-another-thorax
This is an article from The London Review by Steven Rose on Epigenetics, which has to do with influences beside the genotype on phenotype, such as environmental influences. This topic is quite controversial as there are strict "fundamentalists" who believe in the overriding nature of the gene. Epigenetics might explain differences between genetically identical twins. Epigenetics is also providing a way for Developmental Biologists and strict Geneticists to have a conversation. Siddhartha Mukherjee wrote a piece in the NYer on Epigenetics that is inciting many corrections and responses. In any case, the issue is by no means settled.


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/science/ancient-dna-human-history.html?_r=0
This is an article from the NYT about an article published in Nature recounting the discovery of a single mutation in the DNA indicating that all non-Africans trace their lineage to a single population emerging from Africa from 50,000 to 80,000 years ago. This would have been one dispersal, although there were more, but these are our ancestors. Three research teams sequenced the genomes of 787 people, including Basques, African pygmies, Bedouins and others.


http://healthjournalism.org/blog/2016/09/confusion-persists-over-timing-of-flu-shots-for-older-adults/
This is an article from the American Society of Health Care Journalists about the timing of flu shots for older adults (65 and older). It also addresses the different vaccines that are available. It may be more advantageous to wait until the flu season starts to get full protection.




http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/health/birth-of-3-parent-baby-a-success-for-controversial-procedure.html?_r=0 This is an article from the NYT describing  the birth of a 3- parent baby. What this means actually is that the genetic material of a donor is in the genetic make-up of the offspring in addition to the genetic material of the two conceiving parents.  The mother had mutated mitochondria so the nuclear DNA of the mother was moved to the egg of a healthy donor after removing the donor's nuclear DNA.  This method was tried in China 30 years ago.




https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2012/may/24/why-women-leave-academia  Article in the Guardian Professional about the consequences of women leaving academia for industry. At the start of their careers 72% of women want to pursue an academic career but by the the end of their first year the numbers have decreased to 37%. By the third year 21% of men can be compared to 12% of women seeking academic jobs.

Whither Goeth Hermine?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/04/opinion/sunday/youre-how-old-well-be-in-touch.html?_r=0  This is a column in the Sunday Review opinion section of the NYT about age discrimination in the workplace. According to this article 20% of Americans 65 and older are working. Why are people over 50 unable to find work? The column says a network of attitudes and institutional practices is to blame.




http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/04/technology/goodbye-ivory-tower-hello-silicon-valley-candy-store.html  This NYT article is about economists moving from academia to private companies to help analyze data and improve sales.


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/03/business/is-epipen-a-brand-name-or-a-generic-drug-mylan-casts-it-both-ways.html An article in the NYT about the profiteering in selling the Epipen by Mylan pharmaceuticals, which has exclusivity.  Mylan has been saying it is a generic, resulting in Medicaid overpayment. Mylan has raised the price six-fold since 2007. Shares of Mylan have dropped 15% in the weeks since the attention to Epipen's overpricing has been publicized.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/04/business/at-mylan-lets-pretend-is-more-than-a-game.html



http://healthjournalism.org/blog/2016/09/modifying-use-of-some-prescription-drugs-may-reduce-fracture-risk-in-older-adults/ The JAMA Internal Medicine published a study about how changing the drug regimen of older adults may lessen the likelihood their sustaining fractures. The study was done at Dartmouth U. 21 drug classes were associated with increased fracture risk.


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/science/south-african-mine-life-on-mars.html?_r=0 This article from the Science Times is about microbes in a South African mine. A Princeton-led team is examining a methane-fed community of microbes which could be similar to the community on Mars. There is a theory that life originated on Mars then traveled to earth by way of meteorites. This is called the earth's deep biosphere.