Speaking of Stupid

Reproductive scientists at UC Riverside just discovered that exposure to cigarette smoke reduces transport of eggs in hamsters. Wow. What a productive use of research time and funding. What we learn from this, I guess, is that if you're pursuing an exciting career in hamster husbandry, and you also smoke, perhaps you should quit.

The co-editor of the journal says this research provides another cautionary note about the harmful health effects of smoking. Thanks. I knew, as has everbuddy for most of the last century, that this stinky expensive habit would give me lung cancer and emphysema, but now that I know it also will keep my hamster dam from producing pups, shit, I'm gonna quit now.

The animal rights hippies will surely use this as an example of why we shouldn't experiment on animals, and while we most certainly should use animals for research, this little project makes it hard to defend the right side of that issue. Next time, let's develop a drug that makes us smokers develop explosive hot diarrhea in the presence of nicotine . . . now that's research I would support.