If youre a long time reader of SciBlogs, you probably remember when James Watson was on the advisory board of SEED. You also probably remember he was removed from that position after he made some idiotic racist (and sexist) remarks.

In a wonderful bit of scientific lulz, Craig Venter recently compared his genome with that of James Watson and made some predictably astute observations about race, genes, and drugs.

‘Individual Genomes Instead of Race for Personalized Medicine‘ (its open access right now!)

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Honest Lovers? Fallow Buck Groans Reveal Their Status And Size During The Rut:

It is known that the phonic structure of calls produced by males during the breeding season may signal quality-related characteristics in many different types of animals. Previous research on mammals has mainly focused on the relationship between the acoustic components of vocalizations and one aspect of male quality: body size.

Digitizing Archives From The 17th Century:

A researcher on a short trip to a foreign country, with little money, but a digital camera in hand has devised a novel approach to digitizing foreign archives that could speed up research.

Should Nurses Replace GPs As Frontline Providers Of Primary Care?:

Should nurses be the frontline providers of primary care, taking the place of general practitioners as the first point of patient contact? Two experts debate the issue on the British Medical Journal website.

Old Before Their Time? Aging Rate In Flies Twice As Fast In Wild Than In Laboratory:

Evolutionary studies of aging typically utilize small, short-lived animals (insects, worms, mice) under benign conditions - constant temperature and humidity, no parasites, superabundant food - in the laboratory.

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The Silicon Valley EAA Chapter has done a yearly rally for, now, 36 years and I have been attending for 10 years or so. Back the major car companies showed up, the most impressive being GM’s presence with the EV1. They’d arrive with one or two tractor trailer trucks with 4 EV1’s and make them available for test rides. I got to test drive the EV1 a couple times due to this, and other car companies showed up back then as well. Needless to say, since GM axe murdered the EV1, that the major car companies did not show up today.

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As expert witnesses go, they don’t come any better than Professor James Hansen, one of the world’s leading climate scientists and Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Yesterday, he was called to give evidence before a UK Court on the threat posed by Kingsnorth coal fired power station to the world’s climate. Six Greenpeace activists are being charged with criminal damage after they took action last October, to highlight the threat posed by Kingsnorth. Hansen’s evidence will be crucial in establishing their defence, since whilst the defendants accept the damage they caused, they say they did so to prevent much greater damage to other property and the planet.     Full Story…

John Stossel of ABC’s 20/20 has never been one of my favorites. He’s one of those folks who often poses as a skeptic by using doubt and mockery indiscriminately. Tonight, though, he got it right. He discusses food obsessions and fads, pointing out the contradictions inherent in food cultists.

One of the worst of the food cult leaders is Viktoras Kulvinskas, a leader of the raw food movement. Stossel’s interview with this wacko is great…he actually calls him out on his bullshit.

Raw foodists believe cooking vegetables even a little destroys their nutritional value. And eating meat is even worse, Kulvinskas said, because you eat the animal’s fear.
“When they go through slaughter, they go through a lot of fear, and that fear is taken into the dietary habits of America.”

[Stossel calls that ridiculous and ask him how he knows. Kulvinskas says he just knows.]

Everyone knows that eating too much meat can be a problem. But does Kulvinskas even make sense? All over the world, as people have gotten wealthier, they are eating more cooked food, more meat and life spans keep increasing.

“That’s correct,” Kulvinskas said, adding that people are “sicker than ever. Living longer doesn’t mean quality of life. It only says that you’re living longer under medical intervention. These are not natural, whole people.”

So living longer isn’t good if you’re not “natural and whole”. WTF does that mean? But maybe he really values quality of life over quantity and is filled with compassion for his fellow humans? Nope.

When questioned about a raw foodie who died from her obsession, he responded, “at least she got detoxified and clean and moved on to another incarnation.”

Do you get why I liken altmed gurus to cult leaders? This guy prefers that his followers die pure and organic than live against his rules. This is typical of cult and other alternative medicine. Irrational ideology trumps logic every time.

Kudos to Stossel for calling out the purveyors of food woo and their manipulation of their victims’ psychopathology (and thanks to Mrs. Pal for making me watch the show).

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There are 9 new articles in PLoS ONE today. As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers. Here are my own picks for the week - you go and look for your own favourites:

Sampling for Global Epidemic Models and the Topology of an International Airport Network:

Mathematical models that describe the global spread of infectious diseases such as influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and tuberculosis (TB) often consider a sample of international airports as a network supporting disease spread. However, there is no consensus on how many cities should be selected or on how to select those cities. Using airport flight data that commercial airlines reported to the Official Airline Guide (OAG) in 2000, we have examined the network characteristics of network samples obtained under different selection rules. In addition, we have examined different size samples based on largest flight volume and largest metropolitan populations. We have shown that although the bias in network characteristics increases with the reduction of the sample size, a relatively small number of areas that includes the largest airports, the largest cities, the most-connected cities, and the most central cities is enough to describe the dynamics of the global spread of influenza. The analysis suggests that a relatively small number of cities (around 200 or 300 out of almost 3000) can capture enough network information to adequately describe the global spread of a disease such as influenza. Weak traffic flows between small airports can contribute to noise and mask other means of spread such as the ground transportation.

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There are 10 new articles in PLoS ONE this week. As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers. Here are my own picks for the week - you go and look for your own favourites:

Targeted Destruction of Photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells with a Saporin Conjugate Alters the Effects of Light on Mouse Circadian Rhythms:

Non-image related responses to light, such as the synchronization of circadian rhythms to the day/night cycle, are mediated by classical rod/cone photoreceptors and by a small subset of retinal ganglion cells that are intrinsically photosensitive, expressing the photopigment, melanopsin. This raises the possibility that the melanopsin cells may be serving as a conduit for photic information detected by the rods and/or cones. To test this idea, we developed a specific immunotoxin consisting of an anti-melanopsin antibody conjugated to the ribosome-inactivating protein, saporin. Intravitreal injection of this immunotoxin results in targeted destruction of melanopsin cells. We find that the specific loss of these cells in the adult mouse retina alters the effects of light on circadian rhythms. In particular, the photosensitivity of the circadian system is significantly attenuated. A subset of animals becomes non-responsive to the light/dark cycle, a characteristic previously observed in mice lacking rods, cones, and functional melanopsin cells. Mice lacking melanopsin cells are also unable to show light induced negative masking, a phenomenon known to be mediated by such cells, but both visual cliff and light/dark preference responses are normal. These data suggest that cells containing melanopsin do indeed function as a conduit for rod and/or cone information for certain non-image forming visual responses. Furthermore, we have developed a technique to specifically ablate melanopsin cells in the fully developed adult retina. This approach can be applied to any species subject to the existence of appropriate anti-melanopsin antibodies.

Toward a Comprehensive Approach to the Collection and Analysis of Pica Substances, with Emphasis on Geophagic Materials:

Pica, the craving and subsequent consumption of non-food substances such as earth, charcoal, and raw starch, has been an enigma for more than 2000 years. Currently, there are little available data for testing major hypotheses about pica because of methodological limitations and lack of attention to the problem. In this paper we critically review procedures and guidelines for interviews and sample collection that are appropriate for a wide variety of pica substances. In addition, we outline methodologies for the physical, mineralogical, and chemical characterization of these substances, with particular focus on geophagic soils and clays. Many of these methods are standard procedures in anthropological, soil, or nutritional sciences, but have rarely or never been applied to the study of pica. Physical properties of geophagic materials including color, particle size distribution, consistency and dispersion/flocculation (coagulation) should be assessed by appropriate methods. Quantitative mineralogical analyses by X-ray diffraction should be made on bulk material as well as on separated clay fractions, and the various clay minerals should be characterized by a variety of supplementary tests. Concentrations of minerals should be determined using X-ray fluorescence for non-food substances and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy for food-like substances. pH, salt content, cation exchange capacity, organic carbon content and labile forms of iron oxide should also be determined. Finally, analyses relating to biological interactions are recommended, including determination of the bioavailability of nutrients and other bioactive components from pica substances, as well as their detoxification capacities and parasitological profiles. This is the first review of appropriate methodologies for the study of human pica. The comprehensive and multi-disciplinary approach to the collection and analysis of pica substances detailed here is a necessary preliminary step to understanding the nutritional enigma of non-food consumption.

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Last week I went to the dermatologist. I have a few moles, and some of them were looking a little funny. The dermatologist did a full skin exam, and agreed that some of my moles looked funny, and she removed them. About a week later a pathology report confirmed that I have dysplastic nevi, and not melanoma. Yay! Sort of. The literature isn’t entirely clear what to make of patients with small numbers of dysplastic nevi—are they at increased risk of melanoma? What is the proper follow up interval? Dermatologists keep a close eye on these buggers, so I’ll be visiting her again in the fall.

But I was curious what would happen if I weren’t a doctor but simply a “regular patient” armed only with google. I was not pleased with the result of my little experiment.

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I find it very interesting that my mind tends to slow down when I’m sick, making for deeper yoga practices and less guilt when less gets done. Taking life at a slower speed seems a bit more acceptable these days. Hmmm…maybe I should carry that over when I’m back to feeling 100%.

Thanks to Hip Tranquil Chick Kimberly Wilson (Kimberly’s awesome bamboo clothing line has just been updated with Fall looks, which you can check out here - I adore her clothes and recommend you treat yourself to at least one of her luxurious and versatile pieces.), I got a great little get-back-into-the-swing-of-things resource from SARK. This little goody comes in the form of a PDF entitled Micromovements. This worksheet helps you tackle big projects by plotting baby steps. I’ve found that the actual catching up isn’t nearly as bad as thoughts of “I have so much to catch up on.” Like I said earlier — my mind slowing down is a very good thing.

My yoga practice has also gotten a boost from one of my very favorite yogis, Eoin Finn. I just love Eoin’s chill, do-good attitude and I appreciate — from the bottom of my heart — his free yoga podcasts/downloadable yoga MP3s. Eoin just released two new practices (I just love the clever titles!) which I’ve been using to supplement my therapeutic practice this week:

1. Eoin’s Yoga for Short Attention Spans is well-rounded 55-minute practice that will challenge your body and sooth your mind. Click here to go to the iTunes Blissology offerings from Eoin.
2. Short, Sweet and Sattvic is a delightful 40-minute routine that’s a bit gentler but no less wonderful. Click here to go straight to iTunes. 

Slowly but surely — and with the help of the excellent resources mentioned above — I’m getting back to life. A little sleep, pacing myself, yoga, lots of water, and proper nutrition and I’m on my way back to being my healthier self.

Namaste!

I find it very interesting that my mind tends to slow down when I’m sick, making for deeper yoga practices and less guilt when less gets done. Taking life at a slower speed seems a bit more acceptable these days. Hmmm…maybe I should carry that over when I’m back to feeling 100%.

Thanks to Hip Tranquil Chick Kimberly Wilson (Kimberly’s awesome bamboo clothing line has just been updated with Fall looks, which you can check out here - I adore her clothes and recommend you treat yourself to at least one of her luxurious and versatile pieces.), I got a great little get-back-into-the-swing-of-things resource from SARK. This little goody comes in the form of a PDF entitled Micromovements. This worksheet helps you tackle big projects by plotting baby steps. I’ve found that the actual catching up isn’t nearly as bad as thoughts of “I have so much to catch up on.” Like I said earlier — my mind slowing down is a very good thing.

My yoga practice has also gotten a boost from one of my very favorite yogis, Eoin Finn. I just love Eoin’s chill, do-good attitude and I appreciate — from the bottom of my heart — his free yoga podcasts/downloadable yoga MP3s. Eoin just released two new practices (I just love the clever titles!) which I’ve been using to supplement my therapeutic practice this week:

1. Eoin’s Yoga for Short Attention Spans is well-rounded 55-minute practice that will challenge your body and sooth your mind. Click here to go to the iTunes Blissology offerings from Eoin.
2. Short, Sweet and Sattvic is a delightful 40-minute routine that’s a bit gentler but no less wonderful. Click here to go straight to iTunes. 

Slowly but surely — and with the help of the excellent resources mentioned above — I’m getting back to life. A little sleep, pacing myself, yoga, lots of water, and proper nutrition and I’m on my way back to being my healthier self.

Namaste!