Category Archives: Science

IS THE “GOLD STANDARD” THE ONLY TEST?

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Philip

IS THE “GOLD STANDARD “THE ONLY TEST? It seems bizarre to conduct an experiment with some 19,000 subjects to test something that everybody has known for years. Yet the Chinese eyeglass experiment is representative of an influential line of thinking. … Continue reading →

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THE CHINESE EYEGLASS EXPERIMENT.

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Philip

THE CHINESE EYEGLASS EXPERIMENT. This paper, “The Unprincipled Randomization Principle in Economics and Medicine” by Stephen T. Ziliak and Edward R. Teather-Posadas describes an experiment by development economists in 2012. The experiment attempted to determine whether wearing corrective eyeglasses might … Continue reading →

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PASSING WARNINGS ALONG.

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Philip

PASSING WARNINGS ALONG. Christopher Solomon describes other research into communications between species: When a red squirrel sees a dangerous raptor it will give a call that is acoustically “almost identical” to a bird call. The red squirrel will also pass … Continue reading →

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THE CHICKADEE’S SONG.

Posted on May 26, 2015 by Philip

THE CHICKADEE’S SONG. There are only two bird songs that I can identify: the cardinal’s and the chickadee’s. And I have learned from Christopher Solomon’s article that the chickadee’s song is a lot more complicated than simply “chick-a dee-dee”. Dr. … Continue reading →

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TUFTED TITMICE—“THE FOREST’S CROSSING GUARDS”.

Posted on May 25, 2015 by Philip

TUFTED TITMICE—“THE FOREST’S CROSSING GUARDS”. Christopher Solomon had an article in the New York Times (May 18) on research into the extent that birds take warnings from the calls of other species. Solomon says : ” Red-breasted nuthatches listen to … Continue reading →

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THE MEERKAT AND JELLYFISH WEB CAMS AT THE MARITIME AQUARIUM IN NORWALK.

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Philip

THE MEERKAT AND JELLYFISH WEB CAMS AT THE MARITIME AQUARIUM IN NORWALK. The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk has been very important to our family. When Annalisa and Nick were younger, a highlight of each summer was the marine study cruise, … Continue reading →

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THE SKITTISHNESS OF MEERKATS.

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Philip

THE SKITTISHNESS OF MEERKATS. Patrick McGroarty had an article in the Wall Street Journal (April 29) about meerkat habituators. Meerkats are notably skittish, and meerkat habituators spend thousands of hours getting meerkats accustomed to human contact. Although scientists who study … Continue reading →

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THOUSANDS OF HOSPITAL DEATHS BECAUSE OF DIRTY HANDS OF DOCTORS AND NURSES.

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Philip

THOUSANDS OF HOSPITAL DEATHS BECAUSE OF DIRTY HANDS OF DOCTORS AND NURSES. I have posted a number of times (for example, here in 2007) about efforts in the last few years to reduce hospital infections by getting doctors and nurses … Continue reading →

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HOW A KIDNEY TRANSPLANT SWAP WORKS.

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Philip

HOW A KIDNEY TRANSPLANT SWAP WORKS. Maria Wallon described the magnitude of the calculations underlying a kidney transplant chain. For a 72 person exchange (and she describes in her article a 70 person exchange that is in process}, there would … Continue reading →

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“THE GREAT AMERICAN KIDNEY SWAP”.

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Philip

“THE GREAT AMERICAN KIDNEY SWAP”. I posted here in 2012 about a use of the economic matching models for which that year’s Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Professors Alvin Roth and Lloyd Shapley. That use is in constructing … Continue reading →

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