Code for life

International teamwork: Anthony Doesburg on collaborations

Grant Jacobs • Mar 22, 2010

I’d like to point readers to Anthony Doesburg’s article in the NZ Herald on international collaborations in science. This article introduces a local perspective to the Royal Society of London’s recently announced initiative to ’map and analyse where, why and by whom science is being carried out around the world, and how this is changing’. The results to … Read More

Epigenetics, a confused muddle in the media

Grant Jacobs • Mar 22, 2010

Guardian features writer Oliver Burkeman leads the on-line science section with a piece titled ’Why everything you've been told about evolution is wrong.’ [caption id="attachment_1708" align="alignright" width="206"] DNA (unmethylated). Source: wikipedia.[/caption] It’s caused something of a fuss amongst some in science writing circles, with replies by Adam Rutherford and Jerry Coyne. Read More

Bioinformatics blog carnival

Grant Jacobs • Mar 21, 2010

I have been belatedly alerted to the first edition of the bioinformatics blog carnival. [caption id="attachment_1045" align="alignleft" width="350" caption=""Code Monkey" by Jawbone Len (Source: wikipedia)"][/caption] For the uninitiated, blog carnivals are efforts to promote interest in a particular area through publishing a monthly (fortnightly, weekly) ’carnival’ collecting the better works from a call for submissions … Read More

Medical DIY…

Grant Jacobs • Mar 18, 2010

You know how the classic scene goes. Naïve ambitious husband describes his Do-It-Yourself plans… and ‘skills.’ Wife stands there, wordless, with ever-widening eyes forecasting a disaster. (Source: Wikipedia.) That’s how precisely researchers and medics feel watching non-medics and non-scientists determined to ’do it their way’ on things that affect others’ lives. Sure, a few will … Read More

Simon Singh, leaving job to deal with chiropractic legal case

Grant Jacobs • Mar 13, 2010

Science writer and journalist Simon Singh, who faces a libel suit from the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) for writing that a number of chiropractic claims of treatment of disorders unrelated to the spinal cord such as asthma were ’bogus’ has written in his column that it will be the last. He is resigning his job in order … Read More