Science Education Thursday

As graduate students at Penn, we are required to complete yearly bioethics training. Due to this training, I attended a symposium last night entitled "Vaccine Mandates and Children". It was a pretty interesting discussion since the majority of people attending seemed to be pretty educated on vaccines and scientific theory. But there were the requisite crazies there too, which made me want to write a little bit about how science works. In general, scientist do experiments in order to answer some type of question. For example, if a gene is thought to be involved in some process, scientists can knock down or knock out the function of that gene in order to determine if it's involved in a certain process. Really, any type of science involved hypothesis (question) driven work, including population trends, clinical trials (does this drug treat the problem it says it does?), etc. Once we have gathered enough information, a "story", if you will, we begin the process of publishing our work in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The peer review process is extremely important because it involves prominent scientists who are experts in the field you are publishing in. They read your paper, critique your data, and send you feedback as to whether the journal should publish your work, or whether you should do more experiments to prove your point. Sometimes, you might miss a control, your interpretation of the data can be explained in several different ways, etc. This part of the process of publishing papers is so important because otherwise, science would not be regulated. As such, scientists self-regulate themselves, push each other to do better experiments and create an open dialogue about science and experiments. Without this regulation, scientific papers would merely be opinion of the writers of the paper, with no input from the scientific community. Once papers have been reviewed, the paper is sent back to the authors with important changes to be made, or it can be accepted or rejected on first submission. More often than not, papers are sent back to the authors for some changes and extra experiments. Once your changes have been made, your paper is sent back to the journal and sent out for re-review. If the reviewers are satisfied with the changes you have made, your paper will usually be accepted for publication. If not, it can again be rejected and new experiments may be suggested. Why I'm telling you this is because it's an important part of science that is not usually discussed. If you see a news story about an article in the New England Journal of Medicine you can be assured that article was peer-reviewed and passed the test for having proper controls, had a logically designed set of experiments, and the sample size was large enough to draw conclusions about the larger population. However, when a study was published in a journal that does not peer review articles, or worse, is published in a book (also not peer-reviewed) then you can be assured that the study was not done properly. The reason I am stating these things is because the unsubstantiated link between vaccines and autism came up last night (of course). People are refusing to vaccinate their children because they think vaccines cause autism. The link has never been proven, even though large studies have been carried out in multiple countries looking for a link, correlation, anything. The few people at the talk last night who still believed this cited a study that was not peer reviewed, was not published in a peer reviewed journal, had multiple, fundamental flaws, but was able to draw a link between autism and vaccines. Basically these people were citing faulty research. Just because someone with the title of "Dr." publishes a study does not mean you should entirely trust everything they say in their study. However, when articles are peer-reviewed, you can at least be assured that prominent scientists agree with the findings, the proper controls were done, and the proper number of experiments were carried out. It's unfortunate that the internet allows for people to get a hold of faulty research, so please, please do your research yourself.
Vaccines do not cause autism. More than likely, autism is caused by a combination of genes and the environment we live in. The first few weeks of pregnancy are extremely important, basically when all the "good stuff" happens. Like the formation of the brain, the nerves, your internal organs. If you face an environmental insult during this time period, or in later stages when the "fine tuning" is occurring, we have no idea what effect this has on a developing fetus. More than likely, this is when autism is started, but we have no way of assaying its development until a later time period, when language skills are developing and interpersonal interactions are becoming more obvious. The truth is that vaccines have saved lives and that having even a few un-vaccinated individuals in a classroom can nucleate an outbreak of a disease that should be preventable. The truth is that children should be vaccinated and parents that refuse to vaccinate their children are putting the rest of the human population at a huge risk for outbreaks of eradicated disease that can kill people.

Haiku Good Friday

Working today, blech!
Too bad grad school doesn't stop
for religious days.

***

Sun shining, wind blows
Ready for spring to grace us
Rebirth, regrowth, redemption.

***

Circle of life is
Never easy to deal with.
I don't understand.

Coloring Rocks

Dennis

My Dad's crazy little brother is dying. He's in the last few weeks (?) of terminal prostate cancer. He's only 63, just became a Grandpa literally 2 weeks ago and he's decided to stop chemo and get ready to go. He's lived an insane and crazy life, most of it before I was born. I've loved hearing the stories about him and it's hard to believe he's had the balls to do some of the things he's done. Like crash a plane with his daughter in it and walk away. Like skydive something like over 200 times (and on the 200th time, he broke his leg!). Water-skiing, snow skiing, white water rafting, hiking, camping, biking. Just living, you know? And now it's time for him to go. I have mixed feeling about this whole thing. I am really far removed from everything, so I can kinda pretend it's not happening, although I know it is. He's been so sick and so far from what he normally was that his passing might be a blessing. At the same time, I don't want my cousin to lose her father at age 30 and I don't want her son to grow up without knowing the ridiculously crazy, insane, out of this world Grandpa he has. I don't want my Dad to lose his little brother. I don't want my Grandpa to lose his son. I don't want my Aunt to lose a husband. I don't want him to go because I don't know where he'll go. I don't want to go home in two weeks and have to deal with this whole thing. I want to to deny that it's happening and pretend it's not going on. I just wish there were such things as miracles.

Tuesday Politics

I've been hearing a lot of reaction to the whole Spitzer governor prostitute scandal thing lately and some things have started to bug me. A lot of people are blaming his wife for "driving" him to a prostitute. Is this ridiculous? Blame the wife for not doing something right (not wearing enough leather was one man's comment) and therefore nobody blames the man for going out and sleeping with "Kristen". What an absolutely outrageous double standard. If the wife was caught cheating, would it be the husband's fault? For one thing (and I realize this is a little cheesy), this man took a vow to be true to his wife and his family "until death do they part". I realize that marriages and relationships go through their ups and downs and I realize that people do cheat. But I think that this man is entirely responsible for his actions. Nobody (presumably) was holding a gun to his head while he made an appointment with the prostitute. He made a conscious choice to do that action and therefore I think the responsibility is entirely his. And to suggest anything otherwise is speculation and not supported by the facts.
On another note, is it now required to divulge every single unfaithful event in one's life upon entering politics? The newly appointed governor of NY just admitted to an affair, as did his wife. Do I care? Nope. Not in the least. They worked it out. It was part of their relationship, not part of how someone in government operates. For that matter, what is everyone's obsession with sex? I mean, how many of those old, fuddy duddy senators and reps are having affairs? And who cares?
So sick of this entire thing...especially bringing up the Monica Lewinsky thing in relation to Hillary. As if she had anything to do with it!
And that, folks, is my opinion of the day...

Oh Girls!

Letters to Jerks.

Dear Jerk,
I realize that this past weekend and today are some kind of holiday for drunkards and generally I have no problem with that. I do, however, have a problem with your drunken ass trying to molest me in broad daylight as I am walking down the street. I am not some dumb drunk New Jersey chick who thinks you're "hot". I never want to be groped by some drunk ass guy who just drove into the city from suburb-nowhere and thinks that "Irish Pub" is a great place to hang out. Go home. We certainly don't need the likes of you around here.
Love,
ceedee


Dear Other Jerk(s),
Let me introduce myself. I'm a pedestrian. That's ped-es-tri-an. Try to sound it out now. I walk most places because I don't have a car. Try to follow me now. When it's snowing, I walk. When it's raining, I walk. When it's blustery and cold, I walk. I don't have a heater or warm car to return to after a long day of work. I walk. Got that so far? So, here's the deal. When you drive into the city, there are more pedestrians here than in your little land of suburbia. You have a watch out for us because, unlike you, we are not surrounded by 2 tons of metal. There are these little areas called crosswalks that have been painted into the ground to designate areas where you should not place your car. It's because we have to cross the street and we need a place to walk where we won't get hit by cars. When you pull into these crosswalks, you see, we can't cross the street. Or, we have to wait until traffic is lighter to go around your giant vehicle. Get a clue, would you? Oh, and while you're at it, right hand turns on red are illegal in the city because of pedestrians. Start learning how to drive and pay attention to us pedestrians (and cyclists, too) because we don't have the same protection you have. And chances are that the 30 seconds you would save by making that right on red has no effect on your life. Chill out.
Love,
ceedee


Phew...that makes me feel better!

Haiku Welcome Friday

Welcome to the world
baby boy! You are so new
and little and cute.

***

We have been anxious
waiting for your arrival.
You are so much loved.

***

I promise I will
try to make this world the best
place for you to grow.


Welcome, Sayer! I love you already.

Courtesy of My Dad

Weather Woes

It's been quite the rollercoaster weather lately. It's now near 60 degrees (and it's 11am!) and let me tell you, it brings out the weirdos. Because of an early trip to the Dental School this morning, I was able to walk through campus to observe the native Penn students in the wild. Wow, what weather does to these kids. I am so glad I went to college in a place where the weather never changed too much, I never needed a jacket (although sometimes I wore one just for fun), I could wear whatever shoes I wanted (mostly flippers) and we could always go out on Fri/Sat night without a coat and without freezing too much. Here, the kids run the gamut. I saw boys in shorts and t-shirts and flip-flops, girls in mini-skirts, flippers and trench coats (stripper?), girls in short skirts, uggs-like boots, and puffy coats. There was a fair representation of jeans and t-shirts and many variations, but few were dressed appropriate for the weather. I have what I like to call the "winter fear". I am afraid to go without a coat because I think the weather might change at any minute (the weather people are often wrong!). So, I am without hat and scarf (they're still in my bag, tho) and I am wearing my winter down coat (not the knee length one, tho) mostly unbuttoned, jeans, t-shirt and sweater. It's cold in my lab, so I usually bundle up, even in the summer. On campus, it was so funny to see what people were wearing. There were the requisite sweats-tucked-into-uggs, clutching some book or notebook, looking terrified and rushing toward the library (midterms for freshmen). There were the girls in high heels, cute-I-just-bought-this-from-Bebe-outfits, the interesting spring "must haves" and the popped collars, argyle sweaters, and striped button down shirts that go with attending an Ivy League school. So silly...What are YOU wearing?

The Sad Story Update

If you read my previous post about The Sad Story, then you will recall that a friend of mine was suing a company and we were waiting to hear how things turned out. Thankfully, the jury found the company responsible and awarded him $85 million. They found the company completely at fault and he will now be getting about $18 million (settlements are weird). Good news.

Freezing Recommendations Haiku Friday

Have you listened to
the Juno soundtrack? So good.
And mellow fun weird.

***

Do you drink hot tea?
I really love Harney Tea
from Connecticut.

***

Yoga is great for
warming up in the cold air.
Stretch and warm muscles.

Did you know?

there are 11 planets?

Two Review Tuesday

Last night we partook of the meal that is Buddakan. This restaurant is also in NYC and I think Atlantic City. It's one of those "Asian Fusion" types, but i must say it was delicious. It's located in the heart of Old City, where a lot of people want to be seen. We went with a group of grad students from Penn and a visiting professor from the University of AZ in Tucson. The meal was delectable, the conversation was fascinating and it gave me a lot of enthusiasm for science, which is great because most of the time it frustrates me to no end. Anyways, all around good experience, and great meal. I highly recommend it.
This past weekend we also took the opportunity to watch Pretty in Pink starring Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy and Jon Cryer. I love, love, love this movie. Not only for the nostalgia it brings me back to, the quirky costumes or the fact that I could never believe Molly Ringwald is from "the wrong side of the tracks". It's more for the simplicity of the movie. The sheer fantasy of it all. Nobody's in some twisted love triangle, no on is sleeping with someone's mom, etc. It was a great flashback, and one I highly recommend.

Let's Talk about Sex

This abstinence only education stuff is bullshit. When are people going to realize there is nothing wrong with sex, and when educated, children will make their own decisions regarding sex? There is this pervasive idea that anything having to do with sex education will encourage kids to have sex. You know what the problem is, though? It's kids going through puberty and wondering what the hell is going on with their bodies and their minds and ending up in bed together. If these kids were educated about sex, their bodies, whats going on inside, then maybe they'd be able to make an educated decision to have sex on their own terms using proper protection. These smear campaigns by these religious fascists are f-ing ridiculous. Birth control pills have a 99.9% effective rate. Other forms of hormone administration are even higher - the patch and the ring, for example because you don't have to take them every day at a particular time. Condoms are 85% effective if you don't know how to use them. They are well over 95% effective if you are educated in how to put one on. And Plan B, the emergency contraceptive pill, is available from pharmacies if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. The truth of the matter is that kids will have sex, whether you educate them or not. We are all animals and kids are becoming sexually mature at younger and younger ages. It's best to be up front with kids, be honest with them, share your experiences (OK, not all your experiences) and let them make the decision for themselves. Provide them an open environment for discussing sex and then you know what? You gotta let the birdie fly from the nest. That's it.

Haiku Snowy Friday

Finally snowing
today! how pretty the snow
is in the city!

****

So glad I don't have
to drive. Just walking in the
crunch crunch crunch slosh slosh.

****

Introduced Moue to
the snow. She liked it falling
but not the wet part.

V-Day (belated)

I was watching the Today show on Valentine's Day. Jane Fonda and Eve Ensler were on to discuss the Vagina Monologues, the performance Ensler wrote about women, vaginas, domestic violence, etc. I have yet to see a performance, but I hear it is very good. They were discussing how they are having a huge performance of VM at the Superdome in New Orleans in April to "take back the Superdome". They want to highlight all the need that still exists in NO. And then they proceeded to call New Orleans "The Vagina of America". They even went so far as to say it was wet down there. I kid you not. Look, I am all for vaginal education, women being comfortable with their bodies, discussion of domestic violence topics and how to get out. I am all supportive of women's rights, discussion of health topics, prevention of STDs, etc. But, I gotta admit, calling entire cities "vagina" went a little too far for me. Too much?
Too much.

Haiku WTF Friday

Seriously sick
of all the shootings all around.
It needs to stop now.

****

My hometown is not
that kind of a place. I learned
tolerance above all.

****

We are different
yet made of the same. We need
to come together.

PS: I love you Oxnard and you will always be my home. And NIU, we are all Huskies today.

Candy

Your Candy Heart Says "Hug Me"

A total sweetheart, you always have a lot of love to give out. Your heart is open to where ever love takes you! Your ideal Valentine's Day date: a surprise romantic evening that you've planned out Your flirting style: lots of listening and talking What turns you off: fighting and conflict Why you're hot: you're fearless about falling in love

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

The Sad Story

I have a friend, we'll call him "M". M is one of those people who are ridiculously smart, articulate, funny, all around great person. He methodically reads all the science he can get his hands on and I would not be exaggerating if I called him a genius. Of this I am certain. One day, M was running from the coffee shop to catch the bus at 19th and Walnut. He fell at least 20 feet into a manhole, the cover of which had been removed by some drug addict looking for money for scrap metal. M's fall literally shattered his vertebrae (the bones protecting your spine) in his lumbar region (the region below your ribs and above your butt. He was pretty banged up and bruised and was rushed to the hospital immediately. They were able to stabilize his back and perform some surgery to fuse the shattered vertebrae to healthier vertebrae. He was not paralyzed, but he was in a lot of pain. He suffered several setbacks, like blood clots in his lungs (very bad) and pneumonia and lots of other things. He was on pain meds to kill the pain, laxatives to keep his bowels moving because the pain meds kill your digestive tract, heparin to prevent blood clots, etc, etc. He began to experience more and more pain after the surgery and doctors determined that his healthy vertebrae that were holding up his shattered vertebrae were actually collapsing on themselves and needed to be shored up. He then underwent an over-8-hours-long surgery to fuse his vertebrae to more vertebrae from the back and from the front. That's right, they opened up his stomach, pulled out all his internal organs to access his vertebrae from the front. Then they sewed him all up and thought that should do it. He's been on copious amounts of pain meds ever since. He was taking some opiates (like percocet, oxycodone, etc) when they stopped working as well (he developed a tolerance for the drugs). He has now graduated to fetanyl pops, which are cherry flavored lollypops with enough opiate in them to kill a horse. I kid you not.
M was an extremely promising MD/PhD candidate at the time of his fall. He had completed the first year of med school, had nearly completed his PhD at the time of his fall. He had published a really nice paper in a high profile journal that he was really proud of and he was doing some experiments to follow up on that paper. Everything changed in that instant. He was unable to finish the work for his PhD, and thus was awarded a PhD without having a formal public defense (his situation did not allow him to stand and address people for the hour-plus time needed to defend). He will likely never complete medical school and likely would be unable to practice medicine in his impaired state. More than likely he will not be able to work at all because normal, everyday tasks, like sitting at a desk, riding in a car, etc are extremely challenging. He got married about a year ago and was unable to go on that dream honeymoon because he couldn't sit on a plane for too long. Right now, he is going through a trial, trying to sue the company responsible for maintaining the manhole covers here in Philly. The company apparently did a cost analysis of a locking mechanism for the covers and determined that it was too expensive. My boss just went to testify, telling M to his face in court that he will likely never be able to work in this business and that he saw no way for him to complete medical school. Both M and his wife were visibly crying. I can't imagine going through this all. My heart goes out to them and it makes you realize how precious every second of life is. I just hope that the jury makes the right decision because M will have medical bills for the rest of his life, however long that may be. In this case, that company who decided manhole cover locks were too expensive should have thought about the price a person would pay if the manhole cover were gone. But nope....it's all about the cost effective strategies. Assholes. And I know my friend M may never get his life back, but hopefully a settlement will ease the pain of the medical bills.