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Stop eating your pet's food

Apparently people are eating their pet's food, and they're getting salmonella poisoning in return...

A scientific reference manual for US judges

Science and our legal system intersect frequently and everywhere - climate, health care, intellectual...

Rainbow connection

On the way to work this morning, I noticed people pointing out the train window and smiling. From...

Neutrinos on espresso

Maybe they stopped by Starbucks for a little faster-than-the-speed-of-light pick me up....

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Becky JungbauerRSS Feed of this column.

A scientist and journalist by training, I enjoy all things science, especially science-related humor. My column title is a throwback to Jane Austen's famous first line in Pride and Prejudice

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Comparative Effectiveness: What Is It And Why Should We Care?

Comparative Effectiveness: What Is It And Why Should We Care?

Mar 02 2009 | comment(s)

The hot buzz word in the health care reform sector is "comparative effectivness research," and the lay press is picking up on the partisan rumblings in Washington over this provision in the recent stimulus legislation. But what is CE research, and why should we care about the minutiae involved in the bickering of a bunch of Washington politicians?

In fact, we should care very much, as it could change the way physicians practice medicine and consumers use health care.

Congress advocates for FDA regulation of dietary supplements

Congress advocates for FDA regulation of dietary supplements

Mar 02 2009 | comment(s)

Three Representatives and one Senator are calling for additional FDA regulatory authority to ensure better oversight of dietary supplements, after a GAO report released today detailed FDA's lack of ability to identify and properly act on safety concerns regarding dietary supplements.
311 days left in the IYA

311 days left in the IYA

Feb 23 2009 | comment(s)

We're 54 days into the International Year of Astronomy, and what better way to celebrate than to peer at the heavens through your very own Galileoscope? Orders begin shipping in April.

Until your telescope arrives, grab a pair of binocs and check out the Green Comet. No, not a new summer blockbuster superhero franchise, but the comet Lulin. (I assume Bruce Willis and his team are standing by in case NASA calls.)
Putting Man Before Descartes: Thought Experiment

Putting Man Before Descartes: Thought Experiment

Feb 19 2009 | comment(s)

Rene Descartes, father of modern philosophy and analytical geometry, is perhaps best known for his simple statement: Cogito, ergo sum. I think, therefore I am (or I am thinking, therefore I exist).
New hypothesis on cause of Alzheimer's

New hypothesis on cause of Alzheimer's

Feb 19 2009 | comment(s)

A new hypothesis, published in today's Nature, suggests that Alzheimer's may be caused by a normal prenatal developmental process gone awry in the adult brain.

Before you cast aside years of beta-amyloid research or proclaim a cure is imminent, relax - the results are only from lab and mouse studies. The research indicates that beta-amyloid precursor protein "and DR6 are components of a neuronal self-destruction pathway, and suggests that an extracellular fragment of APP, acting via DR6 and caspase 6, contributes to Alzheimer's disease."

Playboy, Barbie And The Average Woman

Playboy, Barbie And The Average Woman

Feb 18 2009 | comment(s)

Can you connect the dots? Playboy playmates, Barbie, and Wired Magazine.

Give up? Wired featured a charticle in the February issue on the BMI of Playmates, starting back in 1953 with Marilyn Monroe to the recent January 2009 cover girl, versus those of the average woman. No surprise, the bunnies are trending toward Barbie (who turns 50 this year), while the average woman is slowly crawling up the BMI scale.

BMI graph