Author: Andrew Thaler

Marine science and conservation. Deep-sea ecology. Population genetics. Underwater robots. Open-source instrumentation. The deep sea is Earth's last great wilderness.

This week in spam

Posted on By Andrew Thaler 1 Comment on This week in spam
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Spam. Those horrific comments that try to sell you everything from free drugs to naked celebrity pictures (actually that’s pretty much all they try to sell). Almost all our spam gets caught by the filters, so our readers don’t have to suffer through them, but we do. Over the last several years, spam has been evolving, nearly to the point of poetry. I thought I’d take this opportunity to share with you some of the very best spam from the last week (stripped of links, of course).

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The Glorious Gam

Posted on By Andrew Thaler 2 Comments on The Glorious Gam
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More than a year ago, my office-mate Kevin introduced me to the world of Science Blogging. Behind the bit-thin veneer of a Google search lay a sprawling and vibrant community of scientists, educators, and communicators. A community I had been completely unaware. After a year on the inside, I’ve come to understand just how powerful these communities can be.

Many of you have heard about the Concordia, the sailing vessel that capsized last week with a classroom-at-sea aboard. While exploring the reports and blogs about the incident, I realized that another, equally awesome network of bloggers exists out there. A network that marine biologists should be engaged in just as much as Science Blogs. These are the Maritime Blogs.

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Why a DNA database is a very bad idea

Posted on By Andrew Thaler 12 Comments on Why a DNA database is a very bad idea
Science

Imagine this scenario: A murder case that went cold 20 years ago is reopened thanks to newly available DNA-based forensics. The state, lets say Arizona, has a large database of DNA. This isn’t the DNA deposited from newborns that David discussed a few weeks ago, but DNA from convicted criminals and really anyone who’s been brought up on charges in the last few years, whether or not they were eventually found innocent. DNA from a piece of evidence in that 20-tear-old case matches DNA in the database, the suspect is brought in a questioned. He has no alibi for what he was doing on day X 20 years ago. Charges are filed, a jury is called, and the suspect is convicted on the strength of a DNA match. Justice is served, right? Maybe, but maybe not.

So here’s the funny bit. The problem with this scenario has nothing to do with genetics, forensic science, or data storage and access. It’s really not even about crime and justice. It’s about your birthday.

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