Code for life

Published review of Wilyman’s anti-vaccine thesis says fail

Grant Jacobs • Mar 06, 2019

• Judy Wilyman,
• review,
• thesis,
• University of Wollongong,
• Vaccine

A few years ago several of us at Sciblogs took objection to one of the trashiest theses we’ve seen. (Which we, naturally enough, trashed.) Now there’s a review of the thesis published in the scientific journal, Vaccine. The review looks a thorough job… and the conclusions don’t look good. Essentially the author’s review of Wilyman’s anti-vaccine thesis review says … Read More

Autism revisited: genetics, environment, not vaccines

Grant Jacobs • Mar 05, 2019

• autism,
• copy number variation,
• de novo mutation,
• gene,
• genetics,
• MMR vaccine,
• Vaccine,
• vaccines

Researchers are pounding the trail of the genetics of autism. There is also more evidence that vaccines don’t cause autism. More interesting is what does cause autism. (Those looking for the vaccine bit should track down to the section, Another nail on the coffin.) Not the Rain Man People with autism or autism spectrum disorder find social communication and … Read More

A summary of the evidence for the main vaccine concerns

Grant Jacobs • Feb 19, 2019

• aluminium,
• autism,
• Evidence,
• GBS,
• Guillain-Barré syndrome,
• HPV,
• measles,
• MMR,
• summary,
• Thimerosal,
• Vaccine

Vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks are happening everywhere. Measles is on the rise worldwide, including in Europe and the USA. Over 900 have died in Madagascar alone since October 2018.[1] Most will be infants. Japan’s rubella epidemic has prompted traveller warnings. 367 cases have been reported this year. Venezuela has considerable problems, not helped by diphtheria coming back. Read More

Not cow farts

Grant Jacobs • Feb 09, 2019

• cattle,
• cow,
• cow fart,
• methane

You may have heard or read media outlets talking of cow farts.[1] This tweet from  University of California at Davis animal biotechnology/genomics scientist, Alison Van Eenennaam might help – I’m sure I’ve been guilty of lazily using it. Eructation is a very polite and fancy way of saying burp. As the dictionary puts it, “a belch”. (Yes, … Read More

Taming inaccurate health and science news: could editors help?

Grant Jacobs • Feb 07, 2019

• accuracy,
• fake news,
• Health,
• media,
• medicine,
• news,
• newspaper,
• scicomm,
• Science,
• science communication,
• Social media

A recent study found most of the 10 most popular ‘health’ articles of 2018 were inaccurate. Similar but less skewed results were seen for the top 100 articles. I dislike pointing fingers. For these things, they tend to point at journalists and social media. Instead, I’d like to highlight something less talked about when discussing inaccurate health and science news: … Read More

The loose boobies of deathly cold, humour, entertainment, and science communication

Grant Jacobs • Feb 02, 2019

• Entertainment,
• humour,
• loose boobies,
• polar vortex,
• scicomm,
• science communication

Last night a clever tweet written by art+science fan ‘girlyratfish’ (@girlyratfish) amused me: – Her riff of the TV news image uses a clever analogy to explain why climate change has affected the polar vortex. It reminded me of an issue in science communication: how do you reach those who never watch or read science … Read More

For new parents or parents-to-be facing vaccine opinions

Grant Jacobs • Jan 29, 2019

• Anti-Vax,
• decisions,
• parents,
• parents-to-be,
• vaccines

For new parents or parents-to-be the wildly different opinions about vaccines must be very confusing. This one’s for you. It’s also for people who pass on vaccine messages to their parent or parent-to-be friends. (If you’re concerned about the apparent length of this article, the main body of the article is short.) Half of all parents with small children  … Read More

A gene drive in mice – but only for females

Grant Jacobs • Jan 24, 2019

• chinchilla,
• coat colour,
• gene drive,
• melanin,
• mice,
• tyrosinase

What if you could change a gene in a population by introducing laboratory-prepared animals then just letting nature take it’s course? A gene drive is the informal name given to a process where a genetic variation is set up so that it will be inherited more often in the offspring than it would by chance.[1] In a gene drive each generation … Read More

Strongest opponents of GM think they know best but actually know the least

Grant Jacobs • Jan 17, 2019

• Dunning-Kruger,
• GE,
• gene therapy,
• genetic engineering,
• GM,
• gmo

A study just out shows that the strongest opponents of GM (genetic modification) think they know the subject well, but in fact know the least. What does this means for science communication? Especially contentious topics. Doubly so where deliberate misinformation is being offered. Similarly are their lessons for politicians? In New Zealand politicians seem too timid to try correct … Read More

Tired of flipping USB plugs over?

Grant Jacobs • Jan 10, 2019

• flip,
• logo,
• USB,
• USB plugs

If you’re anything like me, flipping USB plugs over is irritating. It’s not as if it takes much time, just that you have to do it at all. Here’s a tip I stumbled onto a few years ago: (advertising) logos face up. When you put the cable or device in, keep the advertising logo face up. I can’t guarantee that … Read More