Illumination 2.0

In the ongoing war on glyphosate, Carey Gillam posted a link on Twitter highlighting a newly-published article.  The article comes from a team of Brazilian scientists that fed developing male rats massive amounts of soymilk, and then massive amounts of soy milk spiked with gigantic doses of herbicide (not just glyphosate).  They then analyzed factors potentially related to reproductive toxicity. Did they really see it?  What did it take for it to be seen?  When people draw conclusions without actually reading the papers, the interpretations can be deceptive. The referenced work is Nardi et al.  2017.  The paper seems a little odd out of the box.  As a scientist, I don't know the rationale of pounding animals with massive doses of chemistry just to see what happens. It almost seems a little like it was done to secure the headline that Gillam and others seek.   To make this relevant, I'm ~100 kg. To achieve the amounts used in this this experiment I'd have to drink

A few weeks ago when the internets exploded with  news of a March for Science  in DC,  I wrote that I would not be joining . My feeling is that such things are important, but not for me. I’m using other channels on a daily basis to help broaden the understanding of science issues and improve trust in scientists. I’ve been doing that for years. This sentiment brought me angry emails and hostile tweets. Not many, but a enough to realize that my inflammatory statements like, “Not the most effective use of my time in supporting science” are not always well received with a group poised to descend on the nation’s capital. My point is a simple one. Protests and marches are fine, but are rather empty if we don’t follow up with sustained commitment to standing up for science. So as you start to put ink to poster board for that April 22 march, know that  science needs your help now. Right now.  Actually yesterday.  Your comments are needed in support of sensible Gene Editing regula

A month or so ago Cleveland Clinic physician Daniel Niedes posted an inflammatory column in the local news about the dangers of vaccines, including their links to autism, etc.  The article was widely disseminated in social media under the mantle of the Cleveland Clinic, using its reputation and name to promote blatantly false claims that imperil public health.  Turns out that a rogue physician that somehow drank the pseudo-science Kool-Aid decided to spew scientifically false and dangerous opinion has vetted fact from the prestigious institution.  He was apparently reprimanded and the school took a strong, scientific stance regarding the use of vaccines as an important tool in public health. Not to be outdone, Harvard Public Health has a similar problem . Apparently an Adjunct Professor in Denmark associated with Harvard Public Health is exploiting the reputation and name of this prestigious institution to promote an agenda, and using a EU Parliament document as the vehicle.   T

Today's podcast is about Brassica oleracea a species with many forms.  Broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale and kohlrabi are all members of the species.  That's right, these very different forms have almost exactly the same genetics, with minor differences.  The differences were all installed by domestication.  Humans found a trait that they liked, and over the course of years they had a distinct form of the plant.  Brassica oleracea is the species of plants that have many derived forms, all a product of human selection. In this case, can we say that any of these crop plants are "natural"?  This week's discussion is led by Dr. J. Chris Pires and his students from the University of Missouri.  It is a lot like the story of dogs, where they all descend from a common grey-wolf ancestor.  Today's podcast is with Dr. J. Chris Pires and his graduate students Makenzie Mabry and R. Shawn Abrahams. 

# allarewelcome I'm proud that my laboratory has always welcomed exceptional scientists from all over the world. We have benefited from the expertise of international experts that  brought their time, talents and friendship to make beautiful contributions to our scientific mission. 

It is heartwarming to see a little discontent inside scientific community.  To those of us with careers in the discipline, the daily assault on reason is part of the experience, and the scourge of fake news and evidence denial are well known.  We’ve watched it for decades with the frustration that empirical evidence and inconvenient truths were cast aside in policy discourse and public discussion, propagated by a complicit media.  Willful ignorance has spawned a hot planet, expensive ballot initiatives for warning labels on safe food, calls to teach about a 6,000 year old planet in science class, and outbreaks of diseases long believed to be defeated. And that’s the tip of a melting iceberg. Scientists, nice to see you raise a fist, but think before you fight. Scientists themselves have even ventured into the public discussion only to be falsely maligned everywhere from crank websites, to conspiracy radio shows, to the Old Gray Lady herself.  The outrage from the broader co

The latest email grab by US-RTK asked for all of my email correspondence with a handful of journalists.  As a scientist that appreciates interaction with the public, journalists offer a pipeline to deliever science to those that wish to understand it. I'm grateful to have reputable contacts in the media to help share science. This organization is funded by borderline hate groups that seek to erode trust in scientists that convey a message counter to their beliefs and agenda. Climategate 101.   They always claim that this is about unveiling corporate tentacles in shaping science, which they never found after seizing 30,000 of my personal emails. Because it didn't happen. Now they want emails from journalists. Journalists?  That's some conspiracy!  And as always, in full compliance and ultimate transparency, my university harvested the requested emails from university archival severs and handed them over tout suite !  Scientists and journalists work together to