“Peer review” re-viewed
Aug 26th 2005nerd alert
Nice example of the way “politics and personalities” impact the review process: Office of the Special
“Unacceptable” suffering
Jul 19th 2005General
The rich die differently from you and me, but “‘Regardless of wealth, older Americans carry an unacceptable
Peer review
Jul 18th 2005nerd alert
… critics suggest that some reviewers might be unqualified and others are biased due to personal or professional
Holy war, not reasoned debate
May 14th 2005nerd alert
The latest C&E News has an article on a recent meeting in DC (the 30th AAAS Forum on Science & Technology Policy). Most of the article was about how the evil federal government is cutting (or not increasing) funding to NSF, DOE, and other federal agencies for basic research. (Predictably, the AAAS thinks basic research [...]
Perchlorates
Apr 24th 2005nerd alert
The menace of perchlorates grows again. Now 36 states (the AP says) have detected perchlorate in their drinking water. Perchlorate is at least potentially a hazard, because it can interfere with thyroid activity in adults and children, causing problems with metabolism and normal growth. Industrially, perchlorates are used as oxidizers in rocket fuel and fireworks [...]
Chemists who happen to be X
Mar 17th 2005nerd alert
Went to the CSIE seminar today on “building a diverse faculty”. This began, of course, with the assumption that we want a “diverse” faculty, because Diversity Is Good. Period. What struck me as interesting was the combination of two points: First, that men and women don’t have any innate difference in capacity to do science, [...]