Code for life

HIV infection animated

Grant Jacobs • May 13, 2018

• hiv,
• molecular animation,
• video

Here’s a great video of HIV infection animated, showing molecular life at play – Molecular life is fascinating stuff. Complex molecules getting around making life happen. I’ve been following it for 30+ years and it continues to amaze me. It’s a realm where chemistry and physics merge to become life. In this case, an HIV infection taking place. There’s a … Read More

Faking HPV vaccine claims, in more ways than one

Grant Jacobs • May 11, 2018

• anti-vaccine,
• HPV,
• India Journal of Medical Ethics,
• Vaccine

When the author and the core claims of the paper aren’t real, you’re faking HPV vaccine claims in more ways than one. A new paper in the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics (IJME) claims that the HPV vaccine causes an increase in cancers in some patients. It’s first problem is that the author is fake. A fake author Yes, you … Read More

New code for controlling new food varieties (FASNZ; GMO, or not)

Grant Jacobs • Apr 09, 2018

• Australia,
• FASNZ,
• food code,
• food regulation,
• gmo,
• New Zealand

New Zealanders and Australians might like to contribute (last-minute!*) submissions to revise Food Standards Australia and New Zealand’s code for controlling new food varieties, FSANZ is seeking input from the community on whether food derived using new breeding techniques (NBTs) should be captured for pre-market approval under the Code, and whether the definitions for ‘food produced using gene technology’ … Read More

A new organ?

Grant Jacobs • Mar 30, 2018

• chopra,
• interstitial space,
• interstitium,
• organ

Media outlets the world over are touting the “discovery” of a new organ in humans. I’m not alone in protesting, I agree.[1] The new organ claim is not made in the research paper Importantly, the research paper doesn’t claim a new organ — that’s a claim made outside of the research paper, made by one of the authors. Read More

More Wellcome reading

Grant Jacobs • Feb 09, 2018

• books,
• Medicine,
• Science,
• Wellcome Book Prize

I know many of my readers are, well, readers. (Ha!) I like book prize longlists, as they give you a selection to browse, all of which will be great efforts. (I’d also encourage browsing around the booksellers’ and publishers’ websites, and bookstores: there are excellent books not on any prize shortlist.*) The Wellcome Trust, one of largest medical research … Read More

Catty lives, scientific and viral (Book review)

Grant Jacobs • Dec 02, 2017

• book review,
• cat zero,
• cats,
• feminism,
• jennifer rohn,
• lablit,
• mystery,
• Science

Book review: Cat Zero. This book purrs. It does that thing that cats do, “playing” with their toy, gently poking at it, softly lobbing it in the air, then, eventually, lunging. I’d recommend it for those who’d like the interplay of scientific lives, permeated with motives and mystery. Jennifer Rohn’s strength is her characters, their changing foibles—sometimes more … Read More

New Zealanders: Prepare to be alerted

Grant Jacobs • Nov 25, 2017

• cell phone,
• emergency alert,
• Mobile,
• New Zealand,
• phone

New Zealanders: if your phone squeals at you sometime between 6 and 7pm tomorrow evening, don’t panic! Tomorrow New Zealand will face it’s first mobile emergency alert test. Compatible phones are listed on the CD website. You don’t have to download an app or subscribe to anything; it’ll just do it’s thing. Mobile alerts give warning … Read More

Regulating GMOs: time to move forward

Grant Jacobs • Nov 23, 2017

• gene therapy,
• genetic engineering,
• genetic enhancement,
• gmo,
• GMOs,
• Vaccine,
• vaccines

It’s time to move regulation of genetic modification forward. The current set-up is temporary and unsound. We use a risk-based approach for almost everything because that’s what makes sense. But New Zealand takes an arbitrary approach to genetic modification. So we ‘ban’ a technique that evidence shows there is no special risk in using. That poor logic plays to a vocal … Read More

Public opinion of gene editing and enhancement

Grant Jacobs • Nov 21, 2017

• embryo modification,
• embryo screening,
• gene editing,
• gene therapy,
• genetic engineering,
• genetic enhancement,
• law,
• legislation

What if we could fix a kid’s genetic disease, cure them for their lifetime? What if we make that for all of their children, forever? Or enhance humans to be genetically better? What’s your opinion of gene editing and enhancement? A survey asked what people thought. Participants gave a green light for adult gene therapy. They were cautious … Read More

Natural Health Products bill gets quietly dropped

Grant Jacobs • Nov 16, 2017

• Homeopathy,
• Natural Health Products Bill,
• natural remedies,
• New Zealand

Today Newsroom reported that the Natural Health Products bill has been quietly dropped. Fellow Sciblogger Mark Hanna offered thoughts on this in an interview. There is a need to address an unregulated market that has problems. In an earlier piece, I offered some thoughts on the draft bill. I felt quite a bit could be added. Claims about … Read More