Posts

October 29, 2012

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4:31 AM | Editor's Selections: The Smell of Fear, Placebo genes, Race and penis size and Mapping the Brain

Here are my medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: The Scorpion and the Frog's Miss Behavior sniffs out a study on the 'Smell of Fear'. Steven Novella discusses recent reports of the 'placebo gene' at Science-Based Medicine. Scott McGreal from Eye on Psych unravels a new study looking at racial background and penis size. And Ferris Jabr discusses how DNA barcoding may help scientists map the brain. This post was written […]

October 15, 2012

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11:31 AM | Editor's Selections: Psychedelic DMT, Facebook stalking and 'Vaccine Injury'

Here are my medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: Eye on Psych takes a two part look at the psychedelic world of Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in 'DMT, Aliens and Reality Part 1 and Part 2. Gaines on Brains discusses the cons of our Facebook stalking ways. And a number of bloggers take those trying to link vaccinations and shaken baby syndrome to task: David Gorski's piece 'The antivaccine lie that just won’t die: The claim […]

October 01, 2012

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12:18 PM | Editor's Selections: Gangam Style, beautiful brains, paradoxical obesity and the IgNobel Prize winners

Here are my medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: Psysociety's Melanie Tannenbaum explores the psychology behind 'Gangam Style'. BrainBlogger, Jennifer Gibson discusses our new found attractions in 'Genlemen prefer brains'. Harriet Hall dissects 'The Obesity Paradox'. And Scicurious talks us through the latest IgNobel winning research: How a dead salmon is changing the face of fMRI […]

September 27, 2012

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12:32 AM | The Stigma of Dementia

Last Friday, September 21st, was World Alzheimer's Day and in keeping with recent tradition it was also the day that Alzheimer's Disease International released their 2012 Report. This year's report focused on the stigma of dementia and included results from an international survey of people with dementia and carers as well as a collection of essays from people in the broader Alzheimer's community, including myself. A reproduction of my essay can be found below and the full World […]

September 24, 2012

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12:26 PM | Editor's Selections: Sleepless surfing, cord-blood neurons, precognition and face-down dreaming

Here are my medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: NeoAcademic, Richard N. Landers, explores the link between a bad night's sleep and wasted hours on the web. BrainBlogger, Katie Pratt talks cord-blood derived neurons. Scott McGreal from Eye on Psych discusses the science behind precognition, but I guess you already knew that... And Christian Jarrett explores that age-old question 'Does sleeping face-down induce more sexual […]

September 17, 2012

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12:13 PM | Editor's Selections: Animal mourning, cricket-fighting, school mentality and depressing donuts

Here are my, mostly animal-based, medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: At The Scorpion and the Frog, Miss Behavior investigates how animals respond to their dead. Decision making in Cricket-fighting (yes it's a thing) is put under the proverbial microscope at Neuroecology. Scicurious' post dives into the benefits of herd, or school, mentality. And Jennifer Gibson talks donuts and depression. This post was written […]

September 03, 2012

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5:55 AM | Editor's Selections: Religious preference, complimentary medicine, gender priming and more

After a few weeks in the proverbial wilderness I return with a super-sized collection of medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: Eric Horow, of peer-reviewed by my neurons, explores the question 'Do children learnt to hide religious preferences?' Recent investigations into the prognosis of cancer patients using complimentary and alternative medicine were digested by both Respectful Insolence and Science-based […]

August 06, 2012

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1:09 PM | Editor's Selections: Inescapable Karma, Neuroscience and Race, and the Chemicals of Love

Here are my medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: Dave Nussbaum discusses the inescapable nature of karma over at Random Assignment. Neuroanthropology's Daniel Lende makes his first attempt at the dissecting the heady topic of 'Neuroscience and Race'. And Yunhan Zhao's guest post, at The Scorpion and the Frog, takes a closer look at chemical underpinnings of that crazy little thing called love. This post was written […]

July 30, 2012

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1:05 PM | Editor's Selections: Brain size, footballers and anxiety

Here are my medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: The Cellular Scale asks 'Do small men think like big women?'. Over at Brain Blogger, Amy Wong explores the risk of head injuries in footballers with a preference for heading the ball. And Maria Konnikova's post on anxiety comes with a warning that it may cause, well, anxiety. This post was written by Andrew Watt for A Hippo on Campus.

July 18, 2012

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1:43 AM | Editor's Selections: Fetal genomics, asexuality and medicinal marijuana

Here are my medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: Neuroskeptic takes a glance into a not so distant future where fetal genome testing abounds, sparking some very interesting discussion. Maria Panagiotidi of Nou Stuff takes a look at those of us who actually do prefer cake to sex in her post on asexuality. And Natalie Jeanne Champagne's post at Psych Central offers a patient's perspective on medicinal […]

July 09, 2012

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10:46 AM | Editor's Selections: Barbecue brushes, Big Food's balanced lifestyle and the invention of Karma

Here are my medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: Maryn McKenna warns of the hidden dangers of that holiday barbecue. Yoni Freedhoff's guest post at PLoS Blogs examines the role of Big Food in the 'balanced lifestyle' in 'Is obesity simply about a lack of "balance"? Why Big Food wants you to be fit'. And Eric Horowitz of Peer-reviewed by my neurons asks the questions 'Why did we invent karma?'. This […]

July 02, 2012

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3:26 PM | Editor's Selections: Llamas, cheetahs and posthmous diagnoses

Here are my medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: That's Basic Science explores the role that Llamas may play in the fight against HIV. Gretchen Reynolds answers the age old question What can runners learn from cheetahs? And Dr Jon Brock discusses the emerging industry of posthumous diagnoses with 'Did Alan Turing have Asperger syndrome?' This post was written by Andrew Watt for A Hippo on […]

June 25, 2012

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9:27 AM | Editor's Selections: Medically unique, the Worse-than-average Effect and the Black Death

Here are my medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: Over at Chronic Health, Lutz Kraushaar asks the question 'Are you a unique medical case?' Jeremy Dean discusses the 'flip-side to the Dunning-Kruger Effect' in his post on The worse-Than-Average Effect. And Michelle Formanek guest-student-author at Aetiology posts on how the 'infamous "Black Death" still plagues the United States". This post was written […]

June 11, 2012

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12:05 PM | Editor's Selections: Ineffectual exercise and autism in the water

Here are my medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: "Exercise doesn't help depression" turned out to be a stunningly poor summation of a recent article in the BMJ. Thankfully both Scicurious and Neurobonkers were on hand to set the record straight. There must have been something in the water as similarly inaccurate headlines arose from a study investigating the effects of anti-depressants on autism genes. Enter a concise […]

June 04, 2012

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3:46 PM | Editor's Selections: Chagas disease, veiled communication, cold-readings and soiled carpets

Here are my medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: Maryn McKenna explores the near silent spread of Chagas disease. Christian Jarrett investigates whether facial veils alter the communication of emotions. Jordan Gaines talks of the neuro-side of psychics and clairvoyants at Gaines, on Brains (which crosses over into an impromptu interview). And The Thoughtful Animal, Jason Goldman, asks whether a soiled carpet leaves our pets […]

May 28, 2012

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6:22 AM | Editor's Selections: Fast-paced risks, a son's potentially cancerous gift, the common sense of science and zombie ants

Here are my medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: Jennifer Gibson takes a quick look at the risky business of our fast-paced lives. Khalil Cassimally explores the link between a son's cells and a mother's cancer. Dr Jon Brock delivers a beautiful review of Jacob Bronowski's The Common Sense of Science (which I now have on hold at the library and am very much looking forward to reading). And over at The Cellular Scale. Zombie […]

May 22, 2012

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2:16 PM | Editor's Selections: Know your neurons, a diff'rent look at kidneys and sympathy for psychopaths

Here are my medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: Ferris Jabr reaquaints us with the familiar and at times not-so-familiar neuronal landscapes in a series of posts over at Scientific American entitled 'Know Your Neurons'. Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. Whizbang takes a Diff'rent Look at pedeatric kidney disease. Mind Hacks' Vaughen Bell talks us through the logical holes created by an article on sympathy for pyschopathy and […]

May 08, 2012

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12:11 AM | Editor's Selections: Cancer screening, 300ft falls and a how to on hiring

Here are my medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: Henry Scowcroft clarifies the current state of blood tests for breast cancer risk at Cancer Research UK. Steven Salzberg reports on surviving falls from great heights at Genomics, Evolution and Pseudoscience. And NeoAcademic Richard Landers gives us an insight into the hiring practices of the future. This post was written by Andrew Watt for A [...]

April 30, 2012

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1:26 PM | Editor's Selections: Smart drinks, neural robustness and Earworms

Here are my medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: Jennifer Gibson, at BrainBlogger, gives us a smart excuse for another cold beer. Wiring the Brain's Kevin Mitchell discusses 'Robustness and fragility in neural development'. And Tom Stafford investigates the psychology behind those annoying earworms over at Mind Hacks. (Alright so this was originally posted at Future but it deserves a look for those who haven't already seen [...]

April 24, 2012

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5:23 AM | Editor's Selections: Facial expressions, chronic stress and a stiff drink

Here are my medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: Neuroskeptic assures us that facial expressions of emotion are still culturally universal. Over at BodyinMind.org, Luke Parkitny discusses the dynamics of chronic stress and cancer formation. And Dirk Hanson investigates why alcohol makes our minds wander in 'Dude, where's my metaconsciousness?' This post was written by Andrew Watt for A Hippo [...]

April 16, 2012

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6:28 AM | Editor's Selections: Social signals, stolen balls, ethnic group suffering and addiction on the streets

Here are my medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: Miss Behavior investigates what happens when we send dishonest signals to those around us over at The Scorpion and the Frog. Maya Kuehn discusses the intergroup dynamics of the Hunger Games with her Psych Your Mind post "Rue and Racism". NeuroDojo's Zen Faulkes investigates the prisoners' dilemma and asks us whether we'd split or steal his Golden Balls. And finally over at The White [...]

April 10, 2012

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1:28 AM | Editor's Selections: Olfaction, origins and autism

Here are my medicine, neuroscience and psychology ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections for the week: Emily Haines covers olfactory losses in Parkinson's Disease over at BrainBlogger. Maria Konnikova explains our love of explanations in Hunter of Myths: Why Our Brains Love Origins. And Kevin Mitchell explores de novo mutations in autism over at Wiring the Brain. This post was written by Andrew Watt for A Hippo on Campus.

April 04, 2012

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1:28 AM | Are melatonin-laced drinks just taking the piss?

At the end of a long day at work there's nothing quite like the salve of a glass of red to ease the troubles from your mind. Or perhaps a scotch is more your thing (neat or on the rocks I'm not here to judge). Then again maybe yours is a gin and tonic, an old fashioned or even just a cup of chamomile. The point is whatever your poison there are few among us who don't turn to a little liquid helper as the day draws to a close. Whether to dull those frayed nerves, to placate our worries, [...]

Bellapart J & Boots R (2012). Potential use of melatonin in sleep and delirium in the critically ill., British journal of anaesthesia, 108 (4) 572-80. PMID: 22419624

Mills MH & Faunce TA (1991). Melatonin supplementation from early morning auto-urine drinking., Medical hypotheses, 36 (3) 195-9. PMID: 1787809

Editorial (2012). Sip carefully., Nature neuroscience, 15 (4) 497. PMID: 22449954

Citation

April 03, 2012

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10:52 PM | Editor's Selections: Choice, Coital conversations and Cleaning

It is with great pleasure that I can announce that I am one of the newly minted Editors for ScienceSeeker.org (along with Sarah Chow, Cristy Gelling, Matthew Francis, Jason Goldman, Mark Hahnel, Peter Krautzberger and Allie Wilson). Each week I'll be selecting 3-4 of the best posts from across the blogosphere covering medicine, neuroscience and psychology for you all to enjoy. To get you all started here are my inaugral ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections: Sam McNerney covers the [...]

March 01, 2012

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10:34 AM | Removing epigenetic memory blockages in Alzheimer's disease

The progressive deterioration of one’s social and cognitive functioning is often thought of as being synonymous with the normal aging process. After all we all forget names, misplace our keys and stumble over our words from time to time. Hell, sometimes it even happens in the absence of that second glass of wine. Yet you only need to look at Christopher Plummer's recent Oscar acceptance speech to realise that a deteriorating mind is not an inherent part of growing old. After all Plummer is [...]

February 09, 2012

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10:35 AM | Why parkin has scientists backing the future of Parkinson's research

Back in the '80s the name Michael J. Fox was more or less interchangeable with that of Marty McFly, the effortlessly cool protagonist from the Back to the Future trilogy who introduced an entire generation of kids to hoverboards, self-lacing shoes and flux capacitors. Not to mention 'Johnny B Goode'. These days however Fox's name is more likely to have us thinking of his fight with Parkinson's disease, which he was diagnosed with back in 1991, or the advocacy work he does for his [...]

Obeso JA, Rodríguez-Oroz MC, Benitez-Temino B, Blesa FJ, Guridi J, Marin C & Rodriguez M (2008). Functional organization of the basal ganglia: therapeutic implications for Parkinson's disease., Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society, 23 Suppl 3 -59. PMID: 18781672

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January 28, 2012

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4:20 AM | Taking the sacred path to decision making

They say that when in polite company one should never discuss religion or politics. An old adage which is perhaps even more pertinent when you find yourself dining with boors. After all there are few topics of conversation with the innate ability to turn a soiree into a shouting match as those we hold sacred. Whether it be our views on life or what follows afterwards, there's just something about those consecrated concepts that doesn't allow any room for compromise. But what is about these [...]

Berns, G., Bell, E., Capra, C., Prietula, M., Moore, S., Anderson, B., Ginges, J. & Atran, S. (2011). The Price of Your Soul: Neural Evidence for the Non-Utilitarian Representation of Sacred Values, SSRN Electronic Journal, DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.1817982

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January 20, 2012

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1:43 AM | Happily dreaming of a slimmer waistline

It's fairly easy to spot someone who hasn't had a great night's sleep. The bleary eyes. The birds-nest hair. Not to mention the constant growled demands to be left alone unless you come bearing coffee. When we find ourselves in this position it's fairly clear that those eight hours a night are important for our sanity. Very important indeed. So why is it that a lack of sleep can leave us feeling so lacklustre? The wrong side of bed You're probably well aware of the fact [...]

Benedict, C., Brooks, S., O'Daly, O., Almen, M., Morell, A., Aberg, K., Gingnell, M., Schultes, B., Hallschmid, M., Broman, J. & Larsson, E. (2012). Acute Sleep Deprivation Enhances the Brain's Response to Hedonic Food Stimuli: An fMRI Study, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, DOI: 10.1210/jc.2011-2759

Yoo SS, Gujar N, Hu P, Jolesz FA & Walker MP (2007). The human emotional brain without sleep--a prefrontal amygdala disconnect., Current biology : CB, 17 (20) -8. PMID: 17956744

Citation

January 14, 2012

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5:04 AM | Why endorphins lead to a queue of men at the bar

There's nothing quite like a stiff drink at the end of a long day to calm those shattered nerves. Whether it's a wine or a scotch, a gin and tonic or a vodka and orange, there's just something about the cortical balm that is alcohol that makes all our worries fade away. But what is it about this fermented solution that has us all at merlot? That leads us all to imbibe over 10 litres each year? Well according to a new study, published in Science Translational Medicine, it's the release [...]

Mitchell, J., O'Neil, J., Janabi, M., Marks, S., Jagust, W. & Fields, H. (2012). Alcohol Consumption Induces Endogenous Opioid Release in the Human Orbitofrontal Cortex and Nucleus Accumbens, Science Translational Medicine, 4 (116) 116-116. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3002902

Citation

January 10, 2012

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2:00 PM | Separating face from fiction with the fusiform gyrus

"You've got a face, I've got a face. It's all gonna be alright." But is it Noel Fielding? Is it really? And how do you know it's a real face anyway? After all you might simply be looking at that rocky outcrop in the picture which bears resemblance to a face. Or maybe you're looking at a piece of toast branded with the face of Jesus or Erik Estrada. Alright so we can probably give Noel the benefit of the doubt when it comes to his ability to visually descriminate human faces from [...]

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