Author: Mike White

Genomes, Books, and Science Fiction

University scientist job description

Some more musings on the odd notion that a university PR officer would act as a gatekeeper between journalists and scientists:

Academic scientists are typically (but not always) university employees, however they are generally hired as more independent actors than a scientist at a corporation or government agency (as demonstrated by the fact that most research universities have a tenure system).

In addition to teaching and various administrative duties, the job description of a university scientist is primarily the following:

1) Conceive of a research plan

2) Get that research funded

3) Carry out the research

4) Communicate the research

These tasks are generally distributed among the PI (professor), graduate students, and postdocs, with the key to the balance of power among these people being that the PI is generally the only one eligible to apply for lab-wide funding, and the PI has hiring/firing/graduation power. These scientists are carrying out the four primary tasks on their own, not under the supervision or control of some university manager or officer.

University scientists are not like corporate scientists or government scientists. There is no reason why scientists and journalists cannot communicate directly with each other.

Melville on Science vs. Creation Myth

From Melville’s under-appreciated Mardi:

On a quest for his missing love Yillah, an AWOL sailor pretending to be a demi-god travels the (imaginary) Mardi chain of Polynesian islands via canoe fleet, in the company of fellow demi-god King Media and his entourage. After viewing some fossils, the group’s resident philosopher, Babbalanja is asked how the islands were created. A scientific explanation being unsatisfactory to the group, Babbalanja presents an alternate hypothesis:

Media said:—”Babbalanja, you love all mysteries; here’s a fitting theme. You have given us the history of the rock; can your sapience tell the origin of all the isles? how Mardi came to be?” Continue reading “Melville on Science vs. Creation Myth”

The Conundrum of the Layman

Brad DeLong quotes a blogger reflecting on the disadvantages of the non-scientist when trying to decide whether to believe a scientific theory:

For Jason Kuznicki says he does not grok relativity:

“I’ve read several books about evolutionary theory, and they seem convincing to me. I’ve read Darwin. I’ve read Gould. I’ve read Dennett. In college, my physical anthropology textbooks made sense to me, although I admit I’ve forgotten their authors’ names. I haven’t read Dawkins, but I suspect I can do without him. I’m already quite convinced.

Now this is not always the case when I read about science. I’ve also read several books about relativity, and I’m not convinced. The stuff just makes no sense to me, and I sort of have to shrug and give up. Where my rational side agrees that evolution is correct, I’m taking relativity on the authority of others. You don’t really want to hear what my rational side says about relativity. It’s too embarrassing.

I strongly suspect that most non-scientists who say otherwise about relativity are either talking out their asses or else have turned relativity into a sort of well-boundaried micro-religion… They can’t explain it, but fie on you if you don’t believe. Now, plenty of people do not, in fact, believe it, and not because it is nonsensical to them, but because they have never tried to understand it — what they’ve heard about it gives them the howling fantods, and they give up before they try.”

Continue reading “The Conundrum of the Layman”

Non-coding DNA function… surprising?

The existence of functional, non-protein-coding DNA is all too frequently portrayed as a great surprise uncovered by genome sequencing projects, both in large media outlets and in scientific publications that should have better quality control in place.

Eric Lander, writing a Human Genome Project 10th anniversary retrospective in Nature, explains the real surprise about non-coding DNA that was revealed by big omics projects.

Despite ravings about the newly identified mysteries of the ‘dark genome’, it remains a fact that functional, non-protein-coding DNA has been known for more than half a century, well before such interesting things as micro RNAs, ribozymes, and long ncRNA were discovered. The diversity of functional (and dubiously functional) RNAs has been genuinely interesting, but, in my humble opinion, not nearly as surprising as the discovery made about the relatively small slice of the human genome that shows strong evolutionary conservation (and is therefore most likely to be functional). Lander writes:
Continue reading “Non-coding DNA function… surprising?”

Robert Burton on how to respond to reviewers

Apparently feelings about reviewers haven’t changed in almost 400 years:

Menac’d by critic with sour furrowed brow,
Momus or Zolius or Scotch Reviewer:
Ruffle your heckle, grin and growl and vow:
Ill-natured foes you thus will find the fewer.
When foul-mouth’d senseless railers cry thee down,
Reply not: fly, and show the rogues thy stern:
They are not worthy even of a frown:
Good taste and breeding they can never learn;
Or let them clamour, turn a callous ear,
As though in dread of some harsh donkey’s bray.

From the magnificent The Anatomy of Melancholy.