Now on ScienceBlogs: Tactics and tropes of the antivaccine movement
What We're Talking About Tuesday, January 24, 2012
On Aetiology, Tara C. Smith shares the results of her latest study into methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. She and her team "looked at not only conventional meats, but also 'alternative' meat products" labeled "raised without antibiotics" or "raised without antibiotic growth promotants." Smith writes, "In our previous paper, we found MRSA on 1.2% of 165 meat samples. In the current study, we found a higher prevalence—6.6% of 395 samples were contaminated with MRSA." She believes the current, higher number more accurately reflects the prevalence of MRSA in pork, due to a new sampling method (and not a rise in contamination). Overall, the study "didn't find a statistically significant difference in MRSA prevalence on conventional versus alternative pork products," and of the several strains isolated, "76.9% were resistant to two or more antibiotics and 38.5% were resistant to three or more antibiotics tested." In short, make sure to fully cook your ham. Meanwhile, on Uncertain Principles, Chad Orzel explains how to visually present the kind of numerical data gathered in the MRSA study. Orzel asks, "Are you just comparing two numbers? Looking at how some property changes over time? Trying to characterize a distribution of numbers?" There's a graphic out there for everyone.
aetiologyJanuary 20, 2012
"We carried out analyses on all the MRSA and found that the most common type of MRSA was ST398, the 'livestock' strain that we previously found on pig farms in the U.S. We also found two 'human' types were common: USA300 (a 'community-associated' strain) and USA100 (typically considered a 'hospital-associated' strain). In the simplest analysis of these findings, these molecular types (a combination of 'human' and 'pig' strains) suggests that MRSA on raw pork products may be coming both from farms and from food handlers. However, in real life, it's not quite so straightforward. USA100 types have also been found in live pigs. So has USA300. As such, the source of contamination and relative contributions of live pigs versus human meat handlers currently isn't certain."
uncertain principlesJanuary 19, 2012
"There are a whole host of different options when making a graph, as even a casual glance at Excel will show you. Some of these are versatile and powerful, some are only useful for such a ridiculously narrow range of purposes that I've never seen one used effectively. And, of course, if you look into data visualization, you'll find a whole community of people who are really hard core about this stuff, crafting wholly original graphics specifically designed for each new data set they work with."
Multiple wavelengths reveal a supernova could have carved out the Eagle Nebula on Starts With a Bang!
“Yes, you can use modern scientific software to make a scatter plot with fifteen different quantities, two separate vertical axes, with three inset plots and a 3-D surface map on the side. But nobody will ever be able to make sense of that unless they already understand the data as well as you do.”
(Also on FtB)...
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USA Science and Engineering Festival: The Blog
Ahh celebrities. From music and acting to the world of supermodeling and sports -- they are respected, admired, even worshiped, for their talent and magnetism. But herein lies the danger when these stars publicly espouse or endorse viewpoints and products in health and medicine without first thoroughly exploring the scientific validity of such claims.
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Orac 01.20.2012
ERV 11.26.2011
Orac 01.14.2012
Orac 01.24.2012
Jason Rosenhouse 01.02.2012
usa science & engineering festival 01.20.2012
aetiology 01.19.2012
casaubon's book 01.19.2012
starts with a bang! 01.18.2012
the pump handle 01.18.2012
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