Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birth-day to me-e, happy birthday to me!
At approximately 11:29AM I will have completed 25 trips around the sun and will begin my 26th. I'm at home for the day celebrating with the family.
To commemorate the event I would like to share with you 'The Great Sperm Race'. After all, if one sperm in particular from my dad hadn't made it to my mom's egg, then I wouldn't be here! Check it out, you have to go through 4 different levels, navigating your special spermatocyte from an original population of 250,000,000 through the vagina, cervix, uterus, and fallopian tubes to the egg. I'm guessing it's a female programmer who originally made the game since they keep referring to the egg as 'the holy grail'.
Remember, don't get eaten by the leukocytes!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Fiery Ice
Grad school is awesome because you get to meet so many talented people from so many different backgrounds. It turns out that my next door neighbor, who is a law student at Duke, is also a man of many other gifts. Not only does he have a healthy interest in philosophy, politics, and religion, but he's also a writer and talented musician.
Ryan was telling me last night that before too long he hopes to get an album out with his band, but in the meantime we're left with the good ole stand by ... YouTube! Check it out and let him know what you think of 'The oceans fiery ice'.
Ryan was telling me last night that before too long he hopes to get an album out with his band, but in the meantime we're left with the good ole stand by ... YouTube! Check it out and let him know what you think of 'The oceans fiery ice'.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
From slugs to turtles
In line with the slug post from the other day, my lab mate, who works on turtle sex determination, sent me a link to this video on YouTube that someone sent to her. Turtles determine whether or not to become male or female based on the incubation temperature of the egg. It's still an enigma as to how the temperature tips the scales on the balance to signal the embryo to develop as male or female; my lab mate is currently working hard to figure that out.
This video has nothing to do with turtle sex determination, and everything to do with turtle sex. Enjoy.
This video has nothing to do with turtle sex determination, and everything to do with turtle sex. Enjoy.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
The Pope is a Moron
Last week, Pope Benedict XVI (of the Catholic Church) visited Africa and commented on the HIV epidemic that currently plagues the continent. He announced that:
People often ask me what harm religion really causes the world. Religion kills. The Pope has blood on his hands because of teachings like this. There is a body count stacking up from followers who will adhere to what he says. He has the power to change behaviors and thus save lives, by endorsing the use of condoms if sexual intercourse occurs, yet he chooses not to.
These political cartoons summarize my sentiment:
Oh, and by the way. That whole abstinence thing as a way to prevent STDs, etc? It's a load of crap. Here's a study from 2005 demonstrating (in over 10,000 young people) that kids who take abstinence pledges get sexually transmitted diseases at the same rate as those who do not make pledges. There's no statistically significant difference. They speculate that it's likely pledgers who end up having sex are more likely not to use condoms, so they jack the rate up higher, per capita.
Religious conservatives need to stop lying about abstinence programs. They don't accomplish what they claim, and they put teens and young adults at higher risk by not promoting condom use. If only there was an STD that just affected religious people ...
You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, it increases the problem.What a moron. This is even more moronic than usual. Typically we just get the abstinence mumbo-jumbo. Now he's making another claim: that condoms increase the problem. Nothing could be further from the truth. Condoms do a very good job, though not perfect, at blocking infection from an HIV-positive individual who has sexual intercourse with someone who is HIV-negative.
People often ask me what harm religion really causes the world. Religion kills. The Pope has blood on his hands because of teachings like this. There is a body count stacking up from followers who will adhere to what he says. He has the power to change behaviors and thus save lives, by endorsing the use of condoms if sexual intercourse occurs, yet he chooses not to.
These political cartoons summarize my sentiment:
Oh, and by the way. That whole abstinence thing as a way to prevent STDs, etc? It's a load of crap. Here's a study from 2005 demonstrating (in over 10,000 young people) that kids who take abstinence pledges get sexually transmitted diseases at the same rate as those who do not make pledges. There's no statistically significant difference. They speculate that it's likely pledgers who end up having sex are more likely not to use condoms, so they jack the rate up higher, per capita.
Religious conservatives need to stop lying about abstinence programs. They don't accomplish what they claim, and they put teens and young adults at higher risk by not promoting condom use. If only there was an STD that just affected religious people ...
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Like father, like son
Just because Kent Hovind is serving a 10 year jail sentence for tax evasion doesn't mean his creation ministry is bunk. Creationism is screwed up all on its own - the jail sentence is just a bonus in his case. However, Kent's son, Eric Hovind, seems to have every intention of taking the dummy baton and trying to place first in the race for the youngest and most stupid creationist.
Unfortunately his youth and slightly better use of graphics may make his pitch a little easier to young people in the church. If only we could get those young people to watch Bill Nye instead.
Unfortunately his youth and slightly better use of graphics may make his pitch a little easier to young people in the church. If only we could get those young people to watch Bill Nye instead.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Pop off already
Peter Popoff. Do you know who that is? His website is definitely something worth gawking at; go ahead and take a peek if you like. If you haven't heard of him, I'm sure you've heard about one of his colleagues in the profession - the profession of faith healing.
There are a few very twisted characters who have claimed to be faith healers: Benny Hinn, Oral Roberts, and (my personal favorite) Pat Robertson. Books have been written about the swindling these scumbags have carried out on poor, simple-minded folk. They claim to heal the sick using divine powers. Usually it's cases of arthritis or fatigue ... or interestingly cancer - these are either subjective pain symptoms which can be temporarily ameliorated by adrenaline rushes, or they can't be seen and causative effect be established. Instead of trying to write at great length about it, I'd rather share with you some of the story of Peter Popoff.
James Randi (one of my heroes) fought the good fight and exposed Peter Popoff for the charlatan that he was back in the 1980s. Take a look here:
Now, you might watch this and think about how great the world is that we have protectors who can dispel the archaic mysticism of witch doctors. But you'll be sorry to see what 'Rev.' Popoff is up to these days.
Who can use protectors (like James Randi) when people are foolish enough to get involved with the snake oil salesman all over again? And why is Entertainment Tonight doing the current expose? Where is the FTC?
And people say that nothing bad can come from believing in a god. All evidence is to the contrary. When your worldview is not based on evidence, but on feelings, then you use feelings to justify all sorts of things, and other people will use your feelings against you.
There are a few very twisted characters who have claimed to be faith healers: Benny Hinn, Oral Roberts, and (my personal favorite) Pat Robertson. Books have been written about the swindling these scumbags have carried out on poor, simple-minded folk. They claim to heal the sick using divine powers. Usually it's cases of arthritis or fatigue ... or interestingly cancer - these are either subjective pain symptoms which can be temporarily ameliorated by adrenaline rushes, or they can't be seen and causative effect be established. Instead of trying to write at great length about it, I'd rather share with you some of the story of Peter Popoff.
James Randi (one of my heroes) fought the good fight and exposed Peter Popoff for the charlatan that he was back in the 1980s. Take a look here:
Now, you might watch this and think about how great the world is that we have protectors who can dispel the archaic mysticism of witch doctors. But you'll be sorry to see what 'Rev.' Popoff is up to these days.
Who can use protectors (like James Randi) when people are foolish enough to get involved with the snake oil salesman all over again? And why is Entertainment Tonight doing the current expose? Where is the FTC?
And people say that nothing bad can come from believing in a god. All evidence is to the contrary. When your worldview is not based on evidence, but on feelings, then you use feelings to justify all sorts of things, and other people will use your feelings against you.
Monday, March 9, 2009
The real life of fictional characters
One of the biggest problems with the christian god of the contemporary era is that he/she/it is boring. Always lovey-dovey and only associated with nice things. I much prefer the sordid tales of the greek and roman gods of old. They blessed others when in good moods and cursed them when having a bad day - a much more normal response to living, normal like the way humans actually behave.
I can't help but share this brilliant rendition of the real life of some of our favorite fictional characters ... in rehab! The infamous Bo Burnham:
I can't help but share this brilliant rendition of the real life of some of our favorite fictional characters ... in rehab! The infamous Bo Burnham:
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Huge teratoma of the WHAT?!
Just published in the Journal of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery is an article entitled "Huge teratoma of the face". That's right - the face.
It looks to be about as painful as it sounds too. Below and on the left is a picture of the 4-month old infant with the rapidly growing tumor (right before surgery); on the right is a picture of the girl at seven years of age (way after the surgery).
As the authors state:
A teratoma is the kind of tumor that I study in mice. We have a mouse model for testicular teratomas. These mice have a mutation in a particular gene that renders the protein made from that gene to not work. This causes misregulation of the germ cells (the cells that colonize the gonad and eventually give rise to sperm in the testis). In this particular mouse, the misregulation leads to a teratoma.
Teraomas have long fascinated biologists by their ability to grow incredibly fast and show amazing signs of organization and differentiation. They are thought to arise from very powerful, or pluripotent, cells such as germ cells. In this case, instead of colonizing the gonad, a germ cells got off course and wound up in the head and neck region. Normally if this kind of misguidance happens the cell can't survive and dies off. But sometimes (rarely) it doesn't die off, and instead begins to grow and develop outside of the proper environment. Overall, teratoma formation is a relatively rare sort of tumor, especially in the face.
Nevertheless, this demonstrates the power of the cells that make up your germline and give rise to your gametes. Remember that gametes (spermatocytes and oocytes) combine to give rise to the next generation. That power is harnessed very carefully by nature, and sometimes things go wrong. This study is a case in point.
It looks to be about as painful as it sounds too. Below and on the left is a picture of the 4-month old infant with the rapidly growing tumor (right before surgery); on the right is a picture of the girl at seven years of age (way after the surgery).
As the authors state:The case we report was entirely benign, did not relate to vital structures and had no intracranial extension.This made it possible to surgically remove the tumor without there being permanent damage to any vital function. As you can see from the images below, even the bones of the face were distorted by the growing mass.
A teratoma is the kind of tumor that I study in mice. We have a mouse model for testicular teratomas. These mice have a mutation in a particular gene that renders the protein made from that gene to not work. This causes misregulation of the germ cells (the cells that colonize the gonad and eventually give rise to sperm in the testis). In this particular mouse, the misregulation leads to a teratoma.
Teraomas have long fascinated biologists by their ability to grow incredibly fast and show amazing signs of organization and differentiation. They are thought to arise from very powerful, or pluripotent, cells such as germ cells. In this case, instead of colonizing the gonad, a germ cells got off course and wound up in the head and neck region. Normally if this kind of misguidance happens the cell can't survive and dies off. But sometimes (rarely) it doesn't die off, and instead begins to grow and develop outside of the proper environment. Overall, teratoma formation is a relatively rare sort of tumor, especially in the face.
Nevertheless, this demonstrates the power of the cells that make up your germline and give rise to your gametes. Remember that gametes (spermatocytes and oocytes) combine to give rise to the next generation. That power is harnessed very carefully by nature, and sometimes things go wrong. This study is a case in point.
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