Sci has to say she’d have LOVED to take the data for this study. Get to go to Spain, hang out, put some heart monitors on people and watch some fire walking…sounds like a good time. Much more glamorous than my own daily life in the lab. Can I get a little glamour around here? […]
Sigh. When the media runs away with a science story, it really goes whole hog. Coffee’s Bonus Side Effect: Hours Of Hallucinogenic Fun Jezebel. I generally really like your site, and you often look at mainstream science reporting with a suitably skeptical eye. I’m going to assume this was covered ironically. It certainly wouldn’t surprise […]
When we think of demographics that are easily distracted, we tend to think of younger generations, people on their phones over dinner or texting while driving, or only listening to you with one ear while they listen to their ipod with the other. But when we’re talking about cognitive tasks like working memory, the ability […]
People react to stress in different ways. Some people seem to thrive under a constant deluge of deadlines, and galvanize to action in the face of life stress. In others, stress can be a trigger for psychiatric disorders such as depression, leaving them feeling helpless and causing difficulties in their everyday lives. But each person […]
Everyone seems to know that smoking is bad for you. If lung cancer doesn’t scare the crap out of you, emphysema certainly will. And most people now know that it would be better for their health if they quit. Unfortunately, quitting is EXTREMELY hard to do. Nicotine is an incredibly addictive drug, and it, and […]
One of the hardest parts about treating psychiatric illness is deciding which drug to use. Hopefully most doctors are not too swayed by the Paxil pens or Prozac magnets that end up in their offices (though that’s a great way to get those names to the top of the recall list), but often, no matter […]
I’d heard for a long time that various antidepressants (usually the SSRIs or TCAs) caused weight gain. Then again, I’d heard they caused weight LOSS as well. Same thing with sleep, with eating behavior, with anxiety, etc. Some people experience weight gain, some experience weight loss. Some sleep more, some sleep less. Some are more […]
I want to start this post off with a video: This is Mrs. Ida Keeling, a woman who has been breaking running records since she first started training at at 67. She’s now 95 and America’s oldest sprinter. And she is INSPIRING. I hope I’m just like her when I’m old, working out and strong […]
After however long Sci has been in the blogsphere, I think I’ve become inured to the near constant babble of breathless science reporting. Oral contraceptives CHANGE YOUR BRAIN!! You are yourself…ON HORMONES. Cell phones cause brain cancer! TIDAL WAVES of hormones. TSUNAMIS of brain activity! A veritable STORM SURGE of wave metaphors have invaded our […]
Today’s post is actually a TANDEM post. I’m sharing posting on this piece today with the brilliant and totally cool Kate Clancy of Context and Variation. So once you’ve finished here, head over THERE for her half of the take on this paper. Kate showed me this paper, and I was immediately interested by the […]