Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
A lipid panel is one of the most basic blood tests in modern medicine. Doctors use it to measure cholesterol levels in their patients, probably millions of times each year. This is not a procedure where some hospitals are really great at lipid panels and some are terrible. There’s just not space for quality variation:…
The best-laid plans of scientists and environmentalists can often go awry—but sometimes they backfire spectacularly. The following cautionary tales are a reminder of just how the road to ecological hell can be paved with good-intentioned conservation methods. Gone Fishin’, No Matter What In 2004 the nation of Kiribati (no, that’s not a Star Trek reference,…
TV’s “Science Guy” Bill Nye speaks during a debate on evolution with Creation Museum head Ken Ham. (AP/Dylan Lovan) He’s not making his popular children’s science show anymore, but Bill Nye the Science Guy is still making a public impact by going after pseudoscience and science denial. He’s railed against the idea of teaching creationism…
Even the most well-defended castle wall can be surmounted if you manage to fool the guards into lowering the gate. Such is the case with HIV and the T-cell. But now we might have a way to hoist the AIDS virus on its own petard. How HIV and the New Would-Be Vaccine Work HIV first…
Coffee is one of life’s rarest pleasures: a delicious drug that’s also good for you. When scientists study the long-term health effects of coffee drinking, they find that, on the whole, the apparent benefits (such as a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes) outweigh the costs (like a heightened risk of certain…
The gamer punches in play after endless play of the Atari classic Space Invaders. Though an interminable chain of failures, the gamer adapts the gameplay strategy to reach for the highest score. But this is no human with a joystick in a 1970s basement. Artificial intelligence is learning to play Atari games. The Atari addict…
HUNTING FOR THE END OF THE LONG TAIL • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015 Today in Tedium: 1995 was the year that Billy Corgan got in our faces and shouted, “Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage!” And since then, we’ve only gotten angrier as a society. All of our…
When I speak about my personal experiences with subtle and covert forms of discrimination, also known as microaggressions (see previous entry), I am often challenged about my interpretations. Is it possible, they may ask, that the behavior exhibited by the person you described had nothing to do with discrimination? Aren’t there many other logical reasons…
A gerbil (Rodrique Ngowi/AP) After nearly eight centuries of accusing the black rat for spreading the bubonic plague, scientists say they have compelling evidence to exonerate the much-maligned rodent. In the process, they’ve identified a new culprit: gerbils. It’s always the cute ones you have to watch out for, isn’t it? According to a study published in the…
The next time one of your friends starts raving about their FitBit, especially if it’s the kind of friend who can’t shut the fuck up about their latest “find” and effectively ruins happy hour for everyone else who just wants to lose their inhibitions at the end of a tough week, feel free to stop…