Smelov’s investigation of HPV on toilet seats in international airports

Lead author Smelov and colleagues write, in this letter to a medical journal, about a careful investigation that may (and may not) have small or nonexistent implications: “Are human papillomavirus DNA prevalences providing high-flying estimates of infection? An international survey of HPV detection on environmental surfaces,” Vitaly Smelov [pictured here], Carina Eklund, Laila Sara Arroyo […]

Politicians’ Christmas Lottery Windfall

Christmas randomness can pay off for politicians, implies this new study: “Politicians’ Luck of the Draw: Evidence from the Spanish Christmas Lottery,” Manuel Bagues and Berta Esteve-Volart, FEDEA Working Paper #2011/01, January 2011. The authors, at Universidad Carlos III and FEDEA, Madrid, Spain and at York University, Toronto, Canada, explain: “It is well known that […]