Tag Archives: science

An introduction to molecular cancer biology

Posted on August 25, 2012 by Joe

This is something I wrote years and years ago, but which slipped through the great blog reorganisation a couple of years ago, back when I thought I’d be able to find the time for a whole blog about cancer biology. … Continue reading →

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Lies, Damned Lies, and Tissue Culture

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Joe

I originally wrote this in Feb 2008, and later updated it for the old Lay Science. While making sure that this website was up-to-date, it occurred to me that this post would have disappeared with the rest of the Lay … Continue reading →

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Genesis on genetics

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Joe

This is another archival report, originally written for the old blog in 2008. Here’s an interesting one: Genesis chapter 30. If you think Darwin got inheritance wrong, try the Bible. 30:28 And he [Laban] said, Appoint me thy wages, and … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: Won’t somebody please think of the children?

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Joe

In December 2005, an article of massive importance was published in the British Medical Journal. Doctors counted up the number of children being admitted to A&E with musculoskeletal injuries (breaks and sprains — many of which would have been caused … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: Appendix: Bad Science Bingo in the BMA’s “safe cycling” pages

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Joe

This is just a crude brain dump of a post that comes after the serious series — posts one, two, three, four, five, six, seven and eight. Sorry, I just can’t get over these extraordinary pages on the BMA’s website. … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: How did the BMA get bicycle helmets so wrong?

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Joe

In 1958, the UK licensed a drug for treating morning sickness. It worked very well. The studies all showed that pregnant women suffering from morning sickness received much relief with the drug. Three years later it was withdrawn, but not … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: The BMA, the BMJ, and bicycle helmet policy

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Joe

The reason I pick up the bicycle helmet theme again this week is that the BMJ is running a sidebar poll of their readers (or, more accurately, of cycling tweeters and recipients of Robert Davis’s emails ), asking whether it … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: Risk compensation and bicycle helmets

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Joe

Some months ago I left a series on bicycle helmets hanging while I got distracted with other things. We had looked at what the best evidence for the efficacy of helmets in preventing injury in the event of a crash … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: Can drivers be taught a lesson?

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Joe

M’coblogger Ed thinks there is a case for teaching drivers to behave — specifically by appeals to patriotism. Education programmes are a popular idea amongst cyclists, cash-strapped councils, and road safety types. I dismissed them as a solution that doesn’t … Continue reading →

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Model splicing

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Joe

This is another archival repost, written for the old blog in January 2008. The central dogma of molecular biology, first described by Francis Crick in 1958, describes the flow of information between DNA, RNA, and proteins.[1] The central dogma is … Continue reading →

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Scientists bend observation to fit evolution

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Joe

This is another archival repost, originally posted on the old blog in feb 2009, during the Darwin 200 celebrations. I wrote the majority of this post a couple of years ago, when I had the intention to do a regular … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: That’s not what I said, say scientists

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Joe

According to SCIENTISTS, “pollution is not improved by c-charge.”  (“Improved”? These scientists are so sloppy with their language.) Journalists all over the city are this week reporting that the congestion charge has not reduced air pollution problems in central London, … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: Headline figures

Posted on April 16, 2011 by Joe

In rare events like bicyclist injuries, odds ratios can be used as an approximation of relative risk: that is, how much a medical intervention changes the risk of a specific outcome.  An odds ratio of 0.3 is interpreted as a … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: Killer cures

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Joe

I know a lot of you find the whole helmets thing — whether they “help” or “work” or not — tiresome and unimportant.  Well tough.  Bicycle helmets are a medical intervention — a special kind of medical intervention — and … Continue reading →

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Simple rules

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Joe

This is another archival repost, originally written for the old blog in november 2007. The main driving force for creationists is not science, but ethics. Their trump card is that “evolution is immoral”: they cite “might makes right” and eugenics, … Continue reading →

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