Because You Asked/When I Was President

When You Were a Tadpole and I Was a Fish

“A of us with backbones are ... the fi sh group,” realized Ray Troll somewhere in his understanding of evolutionary biology. Our hands are but an evolved version of fi ns. When you know this, “Then you start seeing the world in a different way.” This evolutionary connection fueled the artist’s imagination as well as his interest in the natural world and its origins, which rivals only his compul...

Phenotypic resistance in mycobacteria: is it because I am old or fat that I resist you?

OBJECTIVES We aimed to explore the phenomenon of phenotypic resistance to antimycobacterial antibiotics and to determine whether this was associated with cell age or the presence of lipid bodies. METHODS The accumulation of lipid-body-positive [lipid-rich (LR)] cells was followed using cell staining and flow cytometry. LR cells of Mycobacterium smegmatis, Mycobacterium marinum, Mycobacterium ...

“I did it because I trusted you”: Challenges with the Study Environment Biasing Participant Behaviours

We recently replicated and extended a 2009 study that investigated the effectiveness of SSL warnings. Our experimental design aimed to mitigate some of the limitations of that prior study, including allowing participants to use their web browser of choice and recruiting a more representative user sample. However, during this study we observed and measured a strong bias in participants’ behaviou...

Constant Connectivity: Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should

Chest pain in an 18-year-old man: "didn't I tell you I was sick?".

An 18-year-old man presented to our hospital reporting sudden onset right-sided chest pain followed by dyspnea and syncope. On arrival of the emergency medical services, the patient was awake and in respiratory distress. He was afebrile with a blood pressure 95/66 mm Hg, heart rate 121 beats/min, respiratory rate 38 breaths/min, and oxygen saturation of 88% improved to 98% on 4-L oxygen supply....