Peezus has another post today pontificating away on how scientists are doing research all wrong.
Not like him, of course.
http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/ ... /#comments
It's in connection with a nice piece of research by a set of research groups working in collaboration on a specific question regarding the development of the pancreas. They were looking into a condition called 'pancreatic agenesis' - essentially failure of the pancreas to develop in babies. Rather than a single gene being responsible, what they discovered was that alterations in a regulatory segment of DNA was important - and this segment of DNA was located far from any coding genes.
I actually know one of the scientists mentioned in the article linked from Pharyngula - I worked with him in Oxford in the early 90s (he was the other researcher who was threatened with violence - and presumably the end his career, by the same group leader who threatened the same thing to me.) So I'm glad for him to have this success, he certainly deserves it. It is not easy to succeed in such a competitive field but this guy has gone on to do some great independent research.
Myers, on the other hand, dropped research at the very first opportunity.
He feels confident, however, to take pot-shots at real scientists who do real work.
And why?
Because he feels that the press release that publicizes this story isn't specific enough about the definition of 'junk DNA' and therefore this might provide ammunition to creationists who have taken to making stupid claims about 'junk DNA'.
Speaking as someone who has worked in the field of non-coding DNA for almost two decades, I can tell you for certain that PZ Myers is regarded with as much respect and authority in that field of research as Justin Vacula. In other words he is a complete unknown.
He hasn't published a single paper on the topic. He rarely writes about it - and when he does it is sub-wikipedia standard waffle.
Myers might be good at his own narrow field of expertise (developmental biology) but the more I see him stray outside that into things I know about he just demonstrates his own ignorance.
Who the hell does he think he is, lecturing experts in the field that they need to read the textbooks he recommends!
What an arrogant fuckwit.
His displeasure with the press release seems to be based in the idea that it might provide unwittingly giving succour to creationists.
This was a European research collaboration and the press release was for UK based news media.
We don't do creationism here - at least not in a significant way.
I have never heard a single scientist working in genomic research talking about creationism.
Frankly almost no scientist in Europe gives a flying fuck about the US creationism problem. Sort it out yourselves.
So what if US creationists misinterpret a small press release from the UK.
If that press release generates additional publicity and more grants for the UK team then it has succeeded in the only job it was meant to do.
PS, Peezus, go fuck yourself.