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Proponents of such programs, including President Obama, have contended secretly collecting our internet and phone metadata-when, where and with whom we connect-is about our protection. I must say that as an evolutionary epidemiologist I find it a fascinating defense, if only because there have been several efforts aimed at producing geographies of deadly influenzas for which it has been nearly impossible to get governments worldwide, including the U.S., to provide the locales and dates of livestock and poultry outbreaks.

Disease isn't synonymous with its etiological agent or the map of its victims, whether or not either is placed within a... context that acknowledges the functional ecologies humans, livestock and wildlife share. [This] misses the structural factors underlying pathogen emergence and by virtue of that omission the pathogens' likely reemergence. Every one of the new potentially human-specific influenzas, for instance, have evolved out of industrial poultry and livestock. "

Fully funded -- no need for scientists to chase grants No responsibilities besides research -- no teaching load, no administration All scientists have to be hands-on -- at the bench A focus on a fairly narrow set of difficult, high-payoff research challenges No tenure -- senior scientists have a five year term and then may or may not be re-signed (My favorite) Research groups can have no more than 6 members. This means that they cannot possibly have all the skills they need inside their team and so will have to get out of their own lab and get to know the other people in the place so they can get the help they need. All of this is nestled in a facility with amenities intended to increase mingling, interaction and ultimately collaboration.