Archive for January, 2008
Summarily Flogged by a Chimp
Posted by docbushwell in Hootworthy on January 30, 2008
From Lumosity Brain Games:
Are you as smart as a chimp?
Ayumu is a 7-year-old chimpanzee… Can you beat Ayumu in this memory test?
Inoue and Matsuzawa from Kyoto University used the ‘limited-hold memory task’ to show that their chimps can out-perform college students. Watch Ayumu, then take the test… to see if your memory is as good as a chimp’s!
The chimp handed me my ass in this test.
Fun With Bible Quotes, Part 67
Posted by jim in Fun Is Where You Find It on January 30, 2008
The other day I was having a conversation with a buddy of mine about politics. And of course, what mixes better with politics than religion? There was a mention of the stances of various presidential candidates with regards to homosexuality, and I said that in Leviticus it states that if a man lies with another man as he lies with a woman, it is an abomination and he should be stoned to death.
It turns out that I was wrong…
Reflecting on a retrospective — with a jolt
Posted by kemibe in Lost in Space on January 28, 2008
When it comes to unknowingly beating long odds, what happened tonight is as freakish as it gets for me.
As many have probably seen or heard already today, the Space Shuttle Challenger was lost in the worst space disaster in human history on this date in 1986.
Some of you may have been taking in the Refuge for long enough to remember my series of posts about this event one year ago, where I remarked on having been an astronomy and space-program buff as a sophomore at Concord (New Hampshire) High School, where Christa McAuliffe — chosen to be the first civilian in space — was one of the seven astronauts killed. What I envisioned late last January as a couple of lengthy posts about the Challenger from both scientific and personal perspectives rapidly expanded into a colossal multi-day wordburst that I have to say I was pleased with, even if this nominal series didn’t seem to garner much attention from the regulars. It didn’t need to; it served its purpose for me and a few of my longtime friends — and, I think, for this blog — well.
These days I keep another blog (really more of a verbal and audiovisual sump) where I’m in the process of, among other mindless things, counting down a list of my favorite fifty songs of all time that I made around New Year’s Day; I write a little bit about each song and the artist(s) who performed it and embed YouTube videos wherever possible. The list might have been a lot different if I’d made it a two years, two months, or two weeks earlier or later than I did, but it is what it now is, and I found myself about to post #24 earlier this evening when I got a phone call.
A Brief History of Slime (4): Accepting the reality of doping is “jaundiced”
That is the position of a blogger named Strbuk on “Trust But Verify.” He writes:
“Dr. Joan Bushwell” is aware of many of the facts, and still takes a jaundiced, damning view of Gatlin and Landis. She’s coming from the point of view that everybody at the top dopes. Perhaps there are openings at USADA.
Forgive me for taking the “jaundiced” view that an athlete who has already admitted to taking a banned stimulant (with the caveat that he had a legitimate prescription) and submits a urine sample that indicates excessive serum testosterone levels upon the testing of both its “A” and “B” samples, and even cooperates with authorities[PDF] — albeit while blaming the test result on a malevolent masseur — is probably guilty of cheating.
A Brief History of Slime (3): Gatlin gunning for right to run in Beijing
In the spring of 2006, American sprinter Justin Gatlin was on as majestic a roll as anyone could imagine. Having already won the Olympic 100-meter title in Athens in 2004 and the World Championships crown in both the 100 meters and the 200 meters in Helsinki the following year, Gatlin, just 24, matched the world record in the 100m in May in a meet in Qatar with a time of 9.77 seconds.
Gatlin exemplifies getting the job done despite a seemingly inefficient style. 6′ 1″ and rangy, Gatlin’s long and powerful stride comes equipped with a hitch-and-stutter which, at the world-class level, should have stymied any shot at at records and Olympic medals. But, save for the possible exception of Asefa Powell, Gatlin was unquestionably the fastest man in the world when it counted for two years.
As often happens nowadays, though, Gatlin’s explosive emergence and run of dominant performances would end in not in a loss to a rival but in the loss of his eligibility to face them. At the time he equalled Powell’s world record, Gatlin had already submitted a urine sample at a meet in Kansas that would result in a positive test for excessive testosterone levels and earn him an eight-year suspension from international competition as well as the erasure of his record-tying mark.
Elite Kenyan marathoner killed as rioting continues
Posted by kemibe in We're Doomed on January 22, 2008
Ongoing tumult in Kenya in the wake of President Mawi Kibaki’s recent re-election has claimed the life of Wesley Ngetich, two time-winner of Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota and the runner-up in the 2006 Houston Marathon.
The 34-year-old Ngetich, whose personal best was 2 hours, 12 minutes and 10 seconds, was reportedly shot in the chest with an arrow in his hometown of Trans Mara and was pronounced dead at a local hospital. He was slated to run the P.F. Chang Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in Phoenix on Jan. 13, but was unable to leave Kenya owing to the violence.
An estimated 650 people have been killed and 250,000 displaced from their homes in widespread rioting since Kibaki was re-elected amid accusations that his party, which has controlled the Kenyan government for 40 years, rigged the voting results. Among them was 1988 Olympian Lucas Sang, who was murdered when Eldoret Village — the Rift Valley home to many of the nation’s great distance runners — was beset by a mob wielding machetes and rocks.
Ngetich was married with three young children. He lived on a 60-acre farm in the very southwestern part of the country, where he raised corn and beans and had seven cows. He was nowhere near the bulk of the hostilities, most of which, predictably, have occurred in the slums of the capital city, Nairobi. It is difficult to imagine anyone with concerns further removed from the fighting between Kibaki’s tribal allies and that of opposition leader Raila Odinga.
The Streets of Philadelphia: a ground-floor view
Posted by kemibe in The Running Ape on January 21, 2008
Novel running program moving city’s homeless forward
Every once in a while, I’ll conceive of some sort of wildly useful scheme to help the downtrodden help themselves, the kind of no-lose proposition that warms the hearts of politicians and participants alike, and will muse, “There has to be a real need for that, but who the hell could possibly put it into play?”
In other words, the kind of thing someone else can do while I sit here and consider how much good might result.
Fortunately, there are people out there who are movers as well as dreamers. One of them is Anne Mahlum, the founder of a remarkable program called Back On My Feet. The Web site’s own description of BOMF is succinct and complete:
A Brief History of Slime (2): anabolic steroids
Athletes seeking to gain an edge through doping have made use of a wide variety of drugs, almost all of which, not surprisingly, enjoyed therapeutic uses in the medical world before finding a home in sports. Although “renegade” agents have been employed, or tried (for example, sodium bicarbonate ingestion to forestall lactate accumulation in largely anaerobic events), the commonly used performance-enhancing drugs (PED) can be divided into four basic classes: anabolic steroids, non-steroid hormones, stimulants, and blood-boosters. I’ll review the first of these here.
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A Brief History of Slime (2): anabolic steroids
Athletes seeking to gain an edge through doping have made use of a wide variety of drugs, almost all of which, not surprisingly, enjoyed therapeutic uses in the medical world before finding a home in sports. Although “renegade” agents have been employed, or tried (for example, sodium bicarbonate ingestion to forestall lactate accumulation in largely anaerobic events), the commonly used performance-enhancing drugs (PED) can be divided into four basic classes: anabolic steroids, non-steroid hormones, stimulants, and blood-boosters. I’ll review the first of these here.
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“Miracle” Heater
Posted by jim in Ninnytechnology on January 21, 2008
Our Sunday newspaper magazine section features a two page ad for a new “miracle” heating device that looks like a fireplace and features a “hand-crafted Amish mantel”. Check this out:
The HEAT SURGE miracle heater is a work of engineering genius from the China coast, so advanced you simply plug it into any standard wall outlet. It uses less energy than it takes to run a coffee maker. Yet, it produces an amazing 5,119 BTU’s. An on-board Powerful hi-tech heat turbine silently forces hot air out into the room so you feel the bone soothing heat instantly. It even has certification of Underwriters Laboratories coveted UL listing
The ad goes on to state that this device is so efficient that you can leave it on all day to keep you toasty warm, and for only pennies! Amazing! My, my, coveted UL listing!! Wow!!
Bullshit.
“Miracle” Heater
Posted by jim in Ninnytechnology on January 21, 2008
Our Sunday newspaper magazine section features a two page ad for a new “miracle” heating device that looks like a fireplace and features a “hand-crafted Amish mantel”. Check this out:
The HEAT SURGE miracle heater is a work of engineering genius from the China coast, so advanced you simply plug it into any standard wall outlet. It uses less energy than it takes to run a coffee maker. Yet, it produces an amazing 5,119 BTU’s. An on-board Powerful hi-tech heat turbine silently forces hot air out into the room so you feel the bone soothing heat instantly. It even has certification of Underwriters Laboratories coveted UL listing
The ad goes on to state that this device is so efficient that you can leave it on all day to keep you toasty warm, and for only pennies! Amazing! My, my, coveted UL listing!! Wow!!
Bullshit.
A Brief History of Slime (1): liars, cheats and thieves in global athletics
Citius, altius, fortius.
– Henri Didon, Dominican priest; Olympic motto
Bigger, better, faster, more!
– thoughts ricocheting in the minds of teenagers everywhere
With former U. S. Sen. George Mitchell’s investigation of the use of steroids and other drugs in Major League Baseball and the sentencing of American track and field superstar Marion Jones (below) to six months in prison sounding like twin dolorous alarms in the minds of sports fans and others over the holidays, the profile of illegal substances in professional athletics has never been higher. And there’s no end in sight, of course — Barry Bonds, the gloriously unpopular San Francisco Giants outfielder who broke the all-time major-league home-run record last year, was indicted by the federal government on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in November, both stemming from his association with the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO) and his alleged use of anabolic steroids, notably “the cream” and “the clear.”
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Obama, Reagan and Change
Posted by jim in We're Doomed on January 18, 2008
Suppose you’re driving down the highway at 70 MPH due west to a destination some 100 miles distant. Which of the following constitute “change”?
Speeding up to 85.
Stomping on the brakes.
Leaving the highway to travel due north at 30 MPH through a freshly mowed field.
Swinging the car around and proceeding due east at 70 MPH.
Abandoning the car and continuing west by somersaulting head-over-feet down the median.
Of course, all of these constitute “change”. And that brings us to this little video of Barack Obama referring to Ronald Reagan as an agent of change in a way that neither Nixon nor Clinton were:
There’s been considerable uproar on the left side because of this, including the following diatribe from John Edwards:
Discovery Institute “Destroyed!”
Posted by in Hootworthy on January 17, 2008
Luskin’s latest “overrun” by angry “dinosaurs.”*
* Refresh (within the link) by clicking “Go” in top menu bar. Select the web site of your choice for mayhem and destruction here.
ETA: This comes with sound effects! Be sure to turn on the volume your computer’s speakers. Up to 11.
Al Franken’s TV Ads
Posted by jim in Hootworthy on January 16, 2008
Check out Al Franken’s ads for his Senate bid. It would be nice to have an intelligent, thoughtful (and humorous) voice in Washington. If he lived in New York State I’d vote for him.
Judah Folkman: 1933-2008
Posted by docbushwell in Better Living through Chemistry, The View from Pharma-dur on January 16, 2008
Judah Folkman, a most extraordinary scientist, died Monday at age 74. Orac (Respectful Insolence) posted a fitting tribute which I highly recommend. See also Alex’s (Daily Transcript) entry and this New York Times article.
Thanks to the intricate academic vascular network between Harvard and Boston biotech, Folkman visited the company in Cambridge MA for which I previously worked. His seminar enthralled us and exemplified his ability to communicate so effectively. Folkman’s persistent championship of the anti-angiogenic drugs born of his research illustrates his belief in his work and also the challenges of bringing novel chemical entities into the clinic. Development of orally administered small molecule antagonists of angiogenesis followed the entry of Avastin, Genentech’s monoclonal antibody therapeutic, into the clinical sphere. Astra-Zeneca’s Iressa and Pfizer’s Sutent, which interfere with angiogenesis through inhibition of key receptor tyrosine kinases (epidermal growth factor receptor for Iressa; multiple tyr kinases for Sutent), were discovered by building upon Folkman’s pivotal discoveries. See this diagram from Nature Reviews Drug Discovery for the simplified sites of interaction for these drugs. Thanks to Dr. Folkman, angiogenesis remains a continued source of interest for the discovery of new chemotherapeutics.
Folkman was interviewed by NOVA in 2001. A film clip may be found within that site.
Folkman was one of those scientific giants who was also a charismatic and accessible man. His passing is a tremendous loss to the biomedical community, but he has left us with a rich legacy.
Diabolical Interpretation
Posted by docbushwell in We're Doomed on January 14, 2008
Two juicy grubs were found wiggling recently in the Chimp Refuge inbox: one on an offensive vanity license plate and the other on severing appendages for the Lord.
After reading my post on Air Guitar Hero Cranks It to 11, correspondent J.M. of California passed along this tale of hilarity.
Hook, Line and Pat Condell
Posted by jim in Hootworthy on January 14, 2008
Here’s a lovely new item from Pat Condell entitled “Hook, Line and Rapture”:
My favorite bit involves Pat talking to God in a dream about a bible: “I said ‘What bible? That’s just a blank sheet of paper.’ and he said ‘Yeah, this is the non-fiction version’”.
Casey Luskin “channels” Dr. Evil “again.”
Posted by in We're Doomed on January 11, 2008
So I dusted off the Pitiful and Laughable Intelligent Design Creationist Dissemblers links today and found a classic Luskinism in which Casey takes Nature to task for its brown-shirted propaganda campaign to defend evolution at all costs (scroll down to sidebar for link).
Friday Flower Porn: Sexing Up Plants with Erasmus Darwin
Posted by docbushwell in Botanical Pornography on January 11, 2008
Finally, the much anticipated return of Friday Flower Porn! For you debauched botanical voyeurs, I have two offerings for you today: a purple posy and turgid Darwinian prose.
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You are currently browsing the archives for January, 2008
- Doc Bushwell is a biochemist and a medical writer who serves as a slavering minion of the dark lords of Big and Little Pharma; Jim is an engineering professor with a fondness for running shoes and drumsticks; and Kevin Beck is a self-exiled member of the clan who refuses to stay gone.
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