Terra Sigillata

Buddhist mindfulness to combat eating disorders

Tue, 13 May 2008 12:03:56 -0500

I'm not sure whether this story qualifies as alternative medicine or religion, or neither. I throw it out to you because I and other sci/med bloggers widely criticize the infiltration of so-called alternative medicine in our academic medical centers.

But here in today's Health Journal section of the Wall Street Journal, Melinda Beck tells us of the application of mindfulness, a practice derived from Buddhism, to overcoming binge-eating disorders. Sure, this may be considered alternative medicine but it's really an application of psychology under the auspices of integrative medicine:

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What Mothers' Day truly means

Sun, 11 May 2008 21:34:57 -0500

I had a lovely chat with PharmMom today and I am truly grateful for her example and all of the opportunities she gave me. Mom, I love you - but I urge you and all of my readers to saunter over to Thesis - With Children written by acmegirl, one of the stars-to-be of the science blogging community.

I cannot add anything more to better express her sentiments about her two mothers than the words written on her blog.

Here's to you AG and to both of your Moms.

Let me go find the Kleenex before I press "publish."

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Scientists running for political office

Sat, 10 May 2008 13:33:17 -0500

Effective science communication and science advocacy in the public arena has been much discussed in the science blogosphere. But is ranting on science and medical blogs the most effective way to promote science, especially in the United States?

I've had some discussions with other scientists, including blog colleague PhysioProf, who submit that the best way for scientists to advocate for science policy is to become politicians themselves. To this end, I read with great interest this morning of an AP story written last night by Seth Borenstein, "A Crash Course in True Political Science":

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Soft money research faculty on the chopping block

Thu, 08 May 2008 20:43:41 -0500

Alison McCook has a lengthy article now up on The Scientist website that illustrates how NIH grant funding shortfalls are coming home to roost, with soft money faculty first to be jettisoned.

In 2007, more than 4,000 NIH-funded researchers were denied grant renewals. For some, that means they have to close up shop.

The article itself is well-done, chronicling the experience of Alan Schneyer, a well-established and productive reproductive endocrinology researcher formerly at Massachusetts General Hospital, whose research program was shut down after three tries for a competing renewal of his NIH grant. However, I'll be equally interested in following the comment thread, particularly for any responses to this anonymous poster's queries:

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When medical experimental therapeutics gets co-opted as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)

Thu, 08 May 2008 11:45:41 -0500

Sorry to get to this so late but I wanted to weigh on an excellent post from my cancer blogging colleague, Orac, the other day on the investigation of CAM therapies in cancer. The post covers a lot of ground, as expected from any of Orac's exhaustive missives, but I wanted to focus on the comparison and contracts between NIH's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and the Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine within the National Cancer Institute (NCI-OCCAM).

I am on record as a strong critic of NCCAM but a supporter of NCI's OCCAM in that the latter is much more committed to real science and issues of cancer patients being preyed upon by unscrupulous marketers. I would argue that each NIH Institute would best have a division like OCCAM to focus on the most widely used alternative therapies within each disease area and dismantle NCCAM.

One of Orac's commenters, factician, commented that she might swallow her ethics and apply for some of this NCCAM funding:

It makes me more than a little bit angry to know that if I were dishonest or incompetent, that I would have an easier time getting money applying to the NCCAM.

But contrary to what you might think, NCCAM funding is not easy money at all. Looking at the NIH IC rankings for FY2007, overall funding success % (not percentiles, which are much lower) is barely 11% for NCCAM while it is about twice that for NCI, NIDDK, etc. In fact, many superb investigators are quite surprised when their NCCAM-directed grants get shitcanned.

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An Open Letter of Thanks and Best Wishes to Jim Neal

Wed, 07 May 2008 10:22:29 -0500

We're not a political blog here but I certainly care about politics as it relates to national science policy and social justice.

Last night, North Carolina's Jim Neal lost in his bid to fight against Sen Elizabeth Dole for her seat in the US Senate. Pam Spaulding at Pam's House Blend has all the details from last night's gathering at the campaign's election hub, including video of Neal's concession speech. However, he and his supporters have everything to be proud about and I wish Mr Neal all the very best in deciding next how he will continue his service to the community.

Many of us who attended the international Science Blogging Conference in North Carolina in January had a chance to meet with Mr Neal, an investment banker who blew off a Friday night to spend it with a bunch of science blogging geeks. Neal is a warm and impressive gentleman with a record of using his business background to fight for social justice, equality, and economic development of science and technology via entrepreneurship.

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Debunking "bunkum"

Mon, 05 May 2008 19:16:57 -0500

I did not know this:

In the spirit of our recent hosting of the Tar Heel Tavern blog carnival and our general posts on debunking alternative medicine, I learned today about the source of these two words with ties to the homeland.

Miss Cellania's always informative posts at mental_floss blog linked today to Neatorama's, 10 Insulting Words You Should Know. The outstanding list, which you should read in its entirety, includes the origin of the word, "bunkum," which is derived from Buncombe County, NC:

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Tar Heel Tavern - NC Primary Edition

Sun, 04 May 2008 23:02:06 -0500

Well, we kept the polls open as long as possible and some bloggers voted early and often while others waited 'til the last minute. We've had some locals and some out-of-staters with recollections of North Carolina. So, without further adieu, the NC primary edition of the Tar Heel Tavern:

NC Politics
Political bloggers in the state were not surprisingly among the first to submit entries. Perennial NC blogging fave, The Olive Ridley Crawl, gives us NC Primary - Vote for a Non Panderer.

Jim Buie submitted several of which I picked Obama, in Raleigh, Shows He's No Elitist Egghead and In NC, Michelle Obama Draws Larger, More Intense Crowd Than Bill Clinton.

We don't have many posts from the western part of the state but here is one on the Hillary Clinton Army arriving in the idyllic mountain town of Boone, home to Appalachian State University.

Quite troubling is a post from Vivian J. Page about an "official" ballot that appears to be circulating the state so authentic that some voters have tried to submit it at precincts offering early voting.

Nick D. at Buckeye State Blog posts on reports of attempts to squelch the African-American vote in NC.

A final post on NC politics comes from a Henderson Times-News review of Rob Christensen's, The Paradox of Tar Heel Politics, which dissects the last 110 years of state history in an attempt to explain why Jesse Helms and Jim Hunt (or Elizabeth Dole and John Edwards) could be elected by the same voters. I just picked up this book the other day and am really excited to be digging into it.

Education in NC
Readers of ScienceBlogs would be most familiar with the fact that NC is home to some outstanding academic institutions, and not just the major research universities and three NCI comprehensive cancer centers. Less widely known is that NC is home to 11 historically-black colleges or universities (HBCUs). The Randolph Community College Library blog explains the Higher Education Act of 1965 that officially classified HBCUs, lists the NC HBCUs, and offers some inspiring facts about these unique institutions.

After this superb introduction, Baltimore blogger, Jonzee, at Keeping Up With Jonzee explains why HBCUs are still necessary, noting that "this comes from a woman who went to a majority, expensive-ass "elite" school." Through her school's HBCU exchange program, Jonzee speaks from her experience at Bennett College in Greensboro, NC.

We've even got science for the kids as detailed by Trperry42 (now at UVa) and their extensive post on the NC Museum of Life and Science.

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Behaviorial pharmacology, behind the scenes

Sat, 03 May 2008 19:34:30 -0500

I was unaware the DrugMonkey and PhysioProf were on the payroll of The Onion.

I'm not a behaviorial pharmacologist but I know quite a few and it didn't keep me from howling out loud at yet another gem from one of my favorite satirical pubs.

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Something to make Bora smile

Fri, 02 May 2008 06:14:38 -0500

Awhile back, I was given a PLoS T-shirt by Bora Zivkovic, science blogger extraordinaire and online community manager for PLoS-ONE, the flagship journal of the Public Library of Science. Every time I wear the dang thing, someone says something to me about the Open Access journal movement. Of course, I live in a rather science-dense town so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I guess I'm just surprised at the kinds of comments I get.

Yesterday I took a brief jaunt to our local indy bookstore. To get some ideas for my Tar Heel Tavern post for this weekend (submit your entries!!!), I was picking up Rob Christensen's, "The Paradox of Tar Heel Politics: The Personalities, Elections, and Events That Shaped Modern North Carolina." I saw a very nice young couple, probably in their early college years. ("Hey honey, here's a book about the genome!")

As I was perusing the stacks, the young man walked by and said:

I respect the mission that your shirt represents.

Not being the typical response I get about my T-shirts, I only muttered some words of thanks as he rushed by quickly. (Note that he said he respected the mission, not that he agreed with it or supported it.)

PLoS has probably given out thousands of T-shirts at scientific conferences - anyone else care to share the responses they get when they wear theirs?

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What's wrong with Rev. Wright?

Thu, 01 May 2008 07:02:38 -0500

I've been away from the computer the last few days and have had to rely on my morning newspaper reading as my sole source of information. So please be sure to let me know if I've been missing anything important.

Yesterday, I came across a very insightful column by Bob Herbert at the New York Times where he muses about what might be going through the mind of Rev. Jeremiah Wright. My local fishwrapper chose to highlight this sentence, one that we may all have on our minds regardless of whether we support Obama, Clinton, or McCain:

The question that cries out for an answer from Mr. Wright is why -- if he is so passionately committed to liberating and empowering blacks -- does he seem so insistent on wrecking the campaign of the only African-American ever to have had a legitimate shot at the presidency.

Note to self: Read Mr Herbert's column more often.

Disclosure: The author, PharmGirl, and PharmKid all support Senator Obama.

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Last call for entries - NC Primary edition of Tar Heel Tavern

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:38:46 -0500

Offer extended through Friday! Friday! Friday! 2 May!!!!
Submit entries to tarheeltavern.abel at gmail.

For the first time since I've lived here, the NC primary will actually matter especially given that Clinton and Obama appear to now be running neck-and-neck in PA.

The Tar Heel Tavern was an early blog carnival, with contributions on numerous topics from the unusually dense NC blogging community. The first THT was hosted by Bora Zivkovic at his old blog, Science and Politics, back on 27 February 2005.

I've offered to resurrect the carnival in time for the NC primary with the topic, "What would you want the rest of the world to know about North Carolina?" I'll be accepting entries at tarheeltavern.abel at gmail through Friday 2 May, with the goal of posting on Saturday 3 May. The carnival is open to anyone in NC or anyone who has ever trained in, lived in, or visited NC in order to be as inclusive as possible. In fact, the Tavern is now open to anyone who wishes to write a post on anything about North Carolina.

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Hot peppers love birds; mammals, not so much

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:20:53 -0500

Well, not only am I weaseling out of posting original content today but I'm going to direct you to an excellent repost by Bora Zivkovic at A Blog Around the Clock.

I am often asked why plants expend the bioenergetic capital to synthesize secondary metabolites. In his post, Bora notes that the synthesis of capsaicin by hot peppers results in selective avoidance by mammals but an interesting co-evolutionary relationship with thrashers.

And in other news, mosey on over to the newest member of the ScienceBlogs community, the superb ERV blog written by Abbie Smith, a graduate student in Middle America studying HIV evolution in patients and crafting some of the most magnificient takedowns of evolution denialists that I have seen on the intertubes. Welcome ERV!

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Co-blogger or not? And, if so, whom?

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 08:18:16 -0500

Here's a Saturday morning open question to the readership:

I'm experiencing some changes in my life that may affect my blogging frequency in the negative direction (but not the quality, of course). I've always blogged intermittently - this has always been a labor of love, intellectual stimulation, and public education rather than ego fodder - but I already feel a little frustrated with myself, for example, in being able to address topics you submit or questions you ask via e-mail.

Several others at ScienceBlogs and elsewhere start team blogs or take on additional bloggers with a similar outlook and/or in a similar discipline to add consistency and richness to their own discourse. Other bloggers bring in like-minded colleagues to help ward off blogger burnout.

From a very practical standpoint, my longtime grad student bud Shelley Batts stopped writing Retrospectacle and teamed up with Steve Higgins at Of Two Minds primarily because Shelley is trying to finish her PhD dissertation this year.

Sometimes a blog, even a science blog or a ScienceBlog™, is just a journal for the musings of the author - so, would you find it of value to have an additional voice here?

Any comments or thoughts from readers, bloggers, or reader-bloggers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks - hope you're having a great weekend.

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Too many women physicians are ruining medicine

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 08:02:30 -0500

Okay, some people are smoking some bad dope.

Whilst helping the PharmKid get down to the car for school this morning, I came upon PharmGirl, MD, in a rage while sitting in front of her laptop. The object of her vitriol was a 17 April article in BusinessWeek entitled, "Are There Too Many Women Doctors?: As an MD shortage looms, female physicians and their flexible hours are taking some of the blame." The article derives from a point/counterpoint pair of essays in the 5 April issue of BMJ (British Medical Journal) entitled, "Are there too many female medical graduates?" ("Yes" position, "No" position - free full text at the time of this posting)

While the BMJ essays primarily address issues in the UK, they are common to the US and many other countries - BusinessWeek's Catherine Arnst describes the long-term problem that underlies concerns about too many women in medicine:

Various studies have projected a shortfall of anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 physicians in the U.S. relative to demand by 2020, and the Institute of Medicine, a federal advisory body, just reported that in a mere three years senior citizens will be facing a health-care workforce that is "too small and woefully unprepared."

One cannot deny these facts. But an argument has been made that the increased representation of women among medical graduates is increasing the number of physicians who work part-time or drop out of the physician pool altogether when having children.

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