How To Read A Retraction, Number Fucktillion And One

Here is the text of a retraction of a molecular genetic study asserting that mutations in a voltage-gated chloride channel cause epilepsy:

Re-examination of the families and the molecular genetic data by a neurologist and a geneticist who were not involved in the original study has revealed major differences from the published data in two of the three published pedigrees (presented in Figs. 1a,b of the original publication). The number of clinically affected individuals was much lower than was previously reported, and large parts of the pedigree structures and epilepsy phenotypes are different. Most importantly, re-examination revealed the existence of several asymptomatic mutation carriers, refuting the complete co-segregation of the two mutations with the clinical phenotypes that was originally reported. A detailed description of these differences, including the clinical phenotypes and the genetic reanalysis, is provided in the related Correspondence in this issue1.
We sincerely regret our failure to recognize that important family data were false before the original manuscript was published, and we apologize for any inconvenience that may have arisen as a result of our report.
A. Heils did not agree to coauthor this retraction.

Did they fake the shit, or are they just fucking idiots? What’s the dealio with “A. Heils”? Did he/she fake the shit, is an idiot, or what?

Please welcome Small Hyde!

One of our dear blogfriends, Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde, indicates that Small Hyde has arrived!
Congrats to the JekyllHyde family, welcome Small Hyde and best of luck to all in the wonderful months to come.

Repost: Father, Scientist…Mentor

Internet random walk had me returning to this post for some reason recently. It wasn’t Abel Pharmboy’s excellent post on the women in his life, although that is clearly related. I did have the thought “I’ve only written one post tagged with methamphetamine? Really?” at one point along the stroll. Anyway…..
This was originally posted on January 28, 2008.

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It is not news to observe that child issues cause women scientists some considerable career anxiety. When to tell the lab or the PI that you are pregnant? Should you wait to start “trying” until after the job interviews? Until after tenure so as to be taken as a “serious” scientist? How many children are “allowable”? How many pictures of the little darlin’s can go over the bench? Should the “balance” of lab and child rearing be kept as opaque as possible from one’s lab?
In contrast men have a much greater ability to conceal their “dad”-ness from their labs. They should not do so.
The father/PI who is seriously concerned about gender equity in science will go out of his way to exhibit his status. If you agree, there is no need to read below the fold.

In case you thought ARA wackaloonery could not possible get any more bizarre…

First off, if you are not at least an occasional reader of Tetrapod Zoology, I don’t know how you could possibly live with yourself. Fossils and charismatic species galore.
Although I thought I’d heard it all, this recent entry introduces a whole ‘nother brand of nuts.

…philosopher David Pearce is honestly proposing that we should feel ethically compelled to eradicate all suffering and cruelty from the natural world in order to create a sort of global vegan paradise where predators don’t exist. Pearce terms this the Abolitionist Project (for more on Pearce and his ideas see this wikipedia article). His plans are, as discussed in depth on his website, theoretically plausible and involve such things as the use of brain implants, behaviour-modifying drugs, and genetic manipulation. Eventually, the lion will, literally, lie down with the lamb, hyaenas will not feel compelled to eat baby elephants alive, and – I presume – ladybirds will not eat aphids, and so on

>blink<

Hi-larious ciggie ads

Click on over to retrocomedy.com for this collection of cigarette ads.