That "secret serum" Ebola treatment? GMO.

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Monday August 04, 2014 · 3:30 PM PDT

2014/08/04 · 15:30

This morning I checked in at some of my regular reading sites, and I found one headline about the "secret serum" that has been obtained and used on the American Ebola patients. First, I rolled my eyes about headline writers, but then I actually did read the article. At CNN, it is described this way on the site, but differently in the crawl:

Experimental drug likely saved Ebola patients [warning--auto-launch video over there]
photo secret_serum_zps0a476a2a.jpg

A representative from the National Institutes of Health contacted Samaritan's Purse in Liberia and offered the experimental treatment, known as ZMapp, for the two patients, according to the source.
The drug was developed by the biotech firm Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc., which is based in San Diego. The patients were told that this treatment had never been tried before in a human being but had shown promise in small experiments with monkeys.

mem from somerville

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Friday August 01, 2014 · 4:03 PM PDT

2014/08/01 · 16:03

Well, the newest minion into the hall of fame is none other than Neil deGrasse Tyson! That's right, despite having no relationship with Big Ag, Monsanto, or a job associated with them in any way--Neil is being called an ignorant shill all over the place. Let's take a look at some of the examples:

At SFgate, in response to: Neil deGrasse Tyson tells GMO-haters to ‘chill out’, we have the erudite "eru" with this claim:
photo Neil_shill_zps6aec414c.jpg

mem from somerville

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Wednesday July 16, 2014 · 6:10 PM PDT

2014/07/16 · 18:10

Salem is a delightful short trip up the street from me. It's a place with a legendary history and a bit of an issue with witch hunting, a quirky and delightful present (you should visit, but not on Halloween), and apparently a kick-ass mayor. I was unfamiliar with Mayor Kimberley Driscoll before today, but I like her very much.

Over the past few days there was some local drama about the rental of Salem city property to a local college, and this arrangement was being terminated. Gordon College had rented some facilities from the city. They are "an explicitly Christian institution" according to a letter they posted. I don't know anything about their denomination or alignments.

mem from somerville

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Tuesday July 15, 2014 · 6:42 PM PDT

2014/07/15 · 18:42

College Humor has a new video out, part of their ongoing "If Google was a guy" series. They have you imagine a pre-internet time where a guy in an office would answer people's questions. In the new one, there's a segment where an average American searches for information on vaccines.

It's even funnier in the longer form video, where he goes on to shout,

"JUST BECAUSE I HAVE IT, DOESN'T MEAN IT'S TRUE!"

Poll

31 votes Show Results

Science policy: listen to science-based advice from experts on

31 votes Vote Now!

Science policy: listen to science-based advice from experts on

climate

0 votes

vaccines

0 votes

stem cells

0 votes

GMOs

1 vote

tobacco

0 votes

firearms

0 votes

same-sex marriage

0 votes

women's reproductive health

0 votes

causes of AIDS

1 vote

volcanoes

0 votes

all of the above

29 votes

Houston, we have a science problem

mem from somerville

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Friday July 11, 2014 · 3:00 PM PDT

2014/07/11 · 15:00

Hello there Kossacks. Forgive me blogfather, for I have sinned. It has been 2 years since my last diary....

Yeah, it's been a while. I still poke my head in from time-to-time, as my twitter feed is full of old fogies from the early DK days and they reference or write things I'll look at. And I've been thinking about coming back, because we are going to have a race for the Oval Office that will begin to consume much of our remaining oxygen soon.

But it's not looking very attractive to come back here and advocate for science and evidence-based policy. And that, Houston, is a problem. For everyone.

mem from somerville

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Wednesday May 02, 2012 · 5:44 PM PDT

2012/05/02 · 17:44

Yeah, I haven't been around much, but those of you who know my history will remember that I defend science when I see it being abused. It might not surprise you to know that I take a pretty clear stand on teaching evolution. And if anyone ever came to me and demanded that I “teach the controversy", I’d laugh really hard and then move to a country that wasn’t completely insane. So my perspective on what happened with the revision of science curriculum and textbooks in Texas is probably not a surprise if you know that. And I’ll be describing below my view of the new film The Revisionaries with that in mind.

mem from somerville

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Saturday March 17, 2012 · 1:00 PM PDT

2012/03/17 · 13:00

Wandering around the intertubz this week I saw a sentence that I thought was funny:

I was told that Irish Gaelic had over 17 words to describe the potato and different ways of preparing it.

Like someone on the forum said, it sounds a bit like the Eskimo/snow quip that has been discredited.

On the other hand, I can probably think of at least 17 ways that my family has prepared potato dishes. Most of our meals had a potato in some form. Sometimes boiled. Mashed. Roasted. Pan fried. Deep fried. Colcannon. Au gratin....mmmm.... On a trip to Ireland my dad was begging everyone who would listen for boxty.

mem from somerville for Shamrock American Kossacks

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Saturday March 17, 2012 · 9:00 AM PDT

2012/03/17 · 09:00

So, as part of the holiday live-blogging, I would like to offer some tidbits of Ireland. Some are legitimate scholarship. Some are...art. It is up to you to decide which is which.

I'll start with a piece written by an Irish scholar, around the 9^th century. It is actually a story of an Irish pootie. I would like you to meet Pangur Bán. I have long loved the vision of a scholar working on important texts, while his cat works nearby.

The original story details can be found here: Pangur Bán. The original work itself is found in this text. Although there a multiple translations of this text, I prefer the one by Flowers (below).

mem from somerville

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Saturday March 10, 2012 · 5:12 PM PST

2012/03/10 · 17:12

Sure you do. Try it out. Just this once....

One of the issues that arises in trying to discuss science on the intertubz is that there is a lack of understanding both of the underlying science and the awareness about the benefits of the science. I have tried in the past to bring some knowledge about plant science to DailyKos--including posts on ug99, celebrating a World Food Prize winner who is a plant geneticist, and trying to explain the importance of biotechnology and genebanks.

mem from somerville

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Saturday March 03, 2012 · 7:49 AM PST

2012/03/03 · 07:49

Ok, I've been sparse lately, and figured as the actual election got closer I might want to be paying more attention. So today when I heard about this race, I decided I needed to take action.

In the campaign for Jim Webb's seat, there's a candidate that needs our support. As usual, he's taking hits on a bunch of social issues that I know progressives will be astounded to hear about.

Here's Hank's first ad:

Hank For Senate - "The Greatest Land of All"

mem from somerville

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Wednesday February 29, 2012 · 3:40 PM PST

2012/02/29 · 15:40

So says Bill Moyers, in an article today:

Moyers: How Fear of Science Can Destroy Us

We haven’t even turned the page on the controversy over contraceptives, health care and religious freedom when another thorny one arises involving personal conscience and public health....

And he goes on to speak to the issue of vaccination. It's nice to have his voice on this, I think a lot of people consider him to be trustworthy. Read More

{diary deleted}

mem from somerville for Science Matters

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Friday November 18, 2011 · 11:40 AM PST

2011/11/18 · 11:40

{diary deleted due to mistaken posting of a draft}

Newer
Older

RSS

That "secret serum" Ebola treatment? GMO.

Monsanto's Minions

I ♥ the neighbors: Salem's mayor kicks a**, takes names

Science policy decisions: by experts or average Americans?

Houston, we have a science problem

"The Revisionaries", or The Texas Textbook Massacre

I ♥ Práta

Liveblogging St. Patricks Day with the Shamrock American Kossacks: Irish Scholar Sampler

C'mon. Wanna see a plant genome?

Hank for Senate in VA

"Fear of science can destroy us"

{diary deleted}