Monday links, science, medicine, and a bit of something extra
Max Kozlov for Nature: Inside the new political screening that’s stalling NIH grants. The plot to murder American science in the style of Rasputin (poisoned, shot, shot again) is well under way, and this is the slow-release poison. Choke off funding, dissuade people from thinking about federal funding, see the number of scientists drop for years to come.
Vinay Prasad: Marc Tessier-Lavigne and Jose Baselga. To be clear, there are many things wrong with American science and Prasad in his review of the book How To Rule the World presents some good examples, but you don’t treat a serious diagnosis by killing the patient.
Catherine Ruth Pakaluk for The NYT: Life Is Better With Siblings. Sure is — just ask Jennifer Connelly from The Labyrinth! Joking aside, this is a serious case for large families and one with which I largely agree, though the double-digit census of children in some of the families mentioned gave me pause.
[Note:
The old George Carlin bit about idiots and maniacs applies.
] Regardless, for most people the right number is greater than two, and for almost everyone it is certainly greater than zero.