The Finch and Pea

Mandating open access science publishing

Taxpayers fund a ton of government research — and the results can get stuck behind a paywall that tops $20,000. Should they be able to see them without paying a second time around?

It sounds like a reasonable argument, but scientific journals make the counterargument that they add essential value to published research via their editorial and publication process, and thus they need subscription fees to stay in business.

The red herring in all of this is that the best argument for open access is that the public pays for research and thus deserves access. Continue reading “Mandating open access science publishing”

Bright Club – Scientists, make with the funny, NOW!

My understanding is that doing stand-up comedy is considered one of the most terrifying things a human being can possibly do, after all the things that are actually terrifying. Thanks to Bright Club Cambridge I got to be both terrified and very sweaty last Friday (ventilation por favor?).

You may laugh with me or at me; but only leave a comment if you pick option 1.

*Minor language warning for one or two naughty words.

Useless

Twitter was grumbling this morning about a paper in PLoS ONE titled, “Mapping connectivity damage in the case of Phineas Gage”. Phineas Gage is the legendary railroad worker that had a tamping spike driven through his skull and survived. The authors used a computer to model the damage done by the tamping spike, estimate how that would have disrupted Gage’s neural networks, and look for correlations with his reported behavioral changes.

Sounds gimmicky. Nerds don’t like gimmicks. Words like “useless” and “waste of time” were bandied about. Why study a dead guy instead of living people with brain injuries that you might help?

I am not equipped to pass judgment on the results of this study. I do, however, have experience with the issues raised by experiments that may require human subjects. This study may be fatally flawed, but it was not wasting resources and Phineas Gage was more than a gimmick. Continue reading “Useless”

The Walking Dead’s Bloody Mess 2

*SPOILER ALERT*

Previously on The Walking Dead’s Bloody Mess. . .

. . .we discussed how incredibly unlikely it would be that Rick would be the only available blood donor for Carl among the group of survivors on Hershel’s farm¹. This led us² to wonder what the blood type of his mother, Lori Grimes, might be. It is not at all unusual for a parent to not be a compatible donor for their child, especially for a direct transfusion. Lori is pregnant and her blood type could be important to the health of the wee baby Grimes (WBG). Continue reading “The Walking Dead’s Bloody Mess 2”