Video, Vitamins

A secosteroid transcriptional activator

A new vitamin D review is more serious about the biology and possible outcomes than some others.

The popular press is talking about vitamin D as “The Sunshine Vitamin”, promoting it as capable of reducing the risk of cancers and autoimmune disease. Yet vitamin D is actually a secosteroid transcriptional activator, at the heart of the innate immunity.

This looks trivial but it isn´t if you look at the NEJM paper Continue reading A secosteroid transcriptional activator →

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 25.03.2026
Genetics

Zotero Miniserver

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Here is a proof of principle project that can be further adjusted to your own needs – a simple server script that can look up your most recent Zotero database entries and display them to the world. When run in a DOS or Linux box as ZoteroServer path/zotero.sqlite it will display the most recent entries to clients listening at localhost:8888. The code should be pretty straightforward and may be replaced with even other items.

ZoteroServer.pl
|wj_ZoteroServer.txt|

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 25.03.2026
Allergy

Atopic march to a dead end

“.. or does the theory really have legs?” is the title of a critical editorial in JMCP last month. Although I will co-author a forthcoming paper on allergic rhinitis being a risk factor for later asthma, the situation is far from being understood. “March” implies a command for all to go into one direction which is arguable a poor analogy Continue reading Atopic march to a dead end →

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 25.03.2026
Joke

Why blog writing is something different from writing a paper

This may be obvious, at least if you have read Daniel Gilbert

In 2002, Jane Ebert and I discovered that people are generally happier with decisions when they can’t undo them. When subjects in our experiments were able to undo their decisions they tended to consider both the positive and negative features of the decisions they had made, but when they couldn’t undo their decisions they tended to concentrate on the good features and ignore the bad.

When reading my own writings a second time, I always discover typing errors, crude sentences, and other poor habits – blogs as snapshots of less happier minds?

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 25.03.2026
Joke, Theology

Edge Question wrong

Here comes the second comment on the Annual Edge Question 2008.

When thinking changes your mind, that’s philosophy.
When God changes your mind, that’s theology.
When facts change your mind, that’s science.
What have you changed your mind about? Why?

I would have done it in a different way: Continue reading Edge Question wrong →

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 25.03.2026
Philosophy, Theology

In memory of Peter Lipton

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I have been asked to give an evening lecture about science and religion here at a local congregation. At the first moment, I did not want to do that, but finally promised to take up this challenge – there are so many heroes where I could get some inspiration. I remember having read a wonderful paper by an author but could not recall his name. Continue reading In memory of Peter Lipton →

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 25.03.2026
Joke

thcs n phrmctcl cmpns

Thr r stll tw rmrkbl pcs frm th lst yr hr n my dsk – n s bk rvw by Dr. Jrm Kssrr (th frmr NJM dtr) nd th scnd s bt bk by Dr. Rchrd Smth (th frmr BMJ dtr – s nly Dr. Rchrd Hrtn frm th Lnct s mssng frm ths lst f th mst nflntl mdcl dtrs drng th pst dcd).
Wht mks m wndr tht bth dtrs hv rthr crtcl ccnt n phrmctcl thcs. Dr. Kssrr s wrtng n pn Mdcn Continue reading thcs n phrmctcl cmpns →

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 25.03.2026