The DNA Network

Call for Moderators [Think Gene] Posted: 18 Oct 2008 08:04 PM CDT news.thinkgene.com needs moderators to help us edit and delete links. If you’re interested, please send a brief email to admin@thinkgene.com.

PGP 101 [genomeboy.com] Posted: 18 Oct 2008 05:44 PM CDT This video was posted a few months ago, but typically for me, I am just seeing it now. It is as concise and cogent a description of the PGP as I’ve seen.

A skeptic's song [Bayblab] Posted: 18 Oct 2008 04:57 PM CDT

Twitter and Microblogging for Public Health [ScienceRoll] Posted: 18 Oct 2008 02:05 PM CDT I told you I’m a fan of Patricia F. Anderson. She just published another great slideshow: Twitter is a microblogging tool that is increasingly being used in area relevant to public health. Some of these include disaster management and response, health behavior change, and health information outreach. In addition, it is also being used by professionals and organizations for routine communications. This presentation will provide an overview and introduction to Twitter and its real and potential roles in public health.

I am a good patient, believe it or not [ScienceRoll] Posted: 18 Oct 2008 01:57 PM CDT Here is an article published in the British Medical Journal in 2003 by Alejandro R Jadad, Carlos A Rizo and Murray W Enkin. They mentioned what the good patient of the future would be like: Bring lists of questions to the consultation and will expect answers in clear terms Know how involved they want to be in decisions about their health care; most will choose to share decisions with their healthcare providers Have free access to their health record on paper or through electronic means and will use it or share it as they see fit Request and receive a second opinion whenever they face a major diagnosis or decisions about treatment Use telephone, internet, and other forms of communication to complement personal visits with members of the healthcare team They were absolutely right. The situation is almost the same in 2008. How many e-patients do you think we have now? Not too many, but the number is certainly much bigger than the number of web-savvy doctors. World wide web is for us, not against us… I hope Webicina will help them find relevant and useful web 2.0 content.

Readers’ Poll [ScienceRoll] Posted: 18 Oct 2008 01:28 PM CDT As WordPress just acquired PollDaddy.com, I thought I would create my first poll ever about the professions of the readers of Scienceroll.

"I think the Nazi party is really looking out for the middle class" [Mary Meets Dolly] Posted: 18 Oct 2008 10:35 AM CDT I was on Sacred Heart Radio again this week and I was asked this question: "How does a wrong position on the dignity of the unborn and the elderly taint a person's perspective on other matters related to social justice?" And this was essentially my answer: I rarely use analogies to the Holocaust because I feel they cheapen the horror of what happened under the hands of the National Socialist (NAZI) Party, but I cannot help but seeing one here. Supporting a pro-choice politician is like a German saying they supported the social, economic and environmental policies of the Nazi party even if they didn't like the fact that the Nazi's supported the mass murder of the Jews, Christians and other "undesirables."  Imagine such a German rationalizing, "The Holocaust isn't the only issue on the ballot"  or "I think the Nazi party is really looking out for the middle class."  It is utter nonsense. Abortion is not the only issue that is important, but let us keep this in perspective. The 48 million Americans ripped from their mothers' wombs since Roe vs. Wade is the worst atrocity in human history. Any politician that supports the killing of the smallest and most innocent of our species on such a massive scale cannot possibly make life better for the rest of us humans. The best health care, the best economy, the best social justice system means nothing to the millions of Americans that never made it out of the womb or never will.

Melamine Apology [Sciencebase Science Blog] Posted: 18 Oct 2008 03:12 AM CDT The day after yet more melamine in food warnings, this time in Bangladesh where eight imported powdered milk products have been banned and in Italy, it is reported that the Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, has apologised for the Chinese government’s complacency in the melamine in milk scandal. Tainted baby formula milk has killed at least four babies in China and led to the hospitalisation of tens of thousands; it has also caused undue worry for parents the world over. “We feel that though the incident occurred in enterprises, the government is also responsible,” Wen said in a rare interview with Bruce Alberts, editor-in-chief of Science magazine. The rare one on one interview took place on September 30 and was published in the US journal yesterday. Wen, apparently expressed sorrow and promised new food regulations after the melamine-tainted milk debacle. Previously, the head of China’s food quality watchdog, Li Changjiang, resigned “with state approval” back in September, at the height of the scandal, according to the Xinhua news agency. And, yesterday, New Zealand’s Stuff suggested that organised criminal gangs may have been behind the tainted milk that brought down the Chinese operations of the country’s food giant Fonterra. You can forward this article to friends using the Share button to the right or add it to your online bookmarks at Delicious, Digg, Facebook etc. Grab the Sciencebase feed to be updated via newsfeed or email. Melamine Apology

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