Monthly Archives: January 2013

Stanford experiment shows that virtual superpowers encourage real-world empathy

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Chris

  Some might think that giving people the illusion of greater than normal power would make them more egotistical and self-serving, but this Stanford study shows that what people become is more empathetic. This is in line with the idea … Continue reading →

Posted in Brain Hacking, Neuroscience and Psychology, Science and Medicine | Leave a comment

Learning to love cereal was key to the evolution of dogs – The Washington Post

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Chris

How dogs evolved. Interesting science. A team of Swedish researchers compared the genomes of wolves and dogs and found that a big difference is dogs’ ability to easily digest starch. On their way from pack-hunting carnivore to fireside companion, dogs … Continue reading →

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Insight: Evidence grows for narcolepsy link to GSK swine flu shot | Fox News

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Chris

Narcolepsy perhaps caused by a swine flu vaccine–this is one scary vaccine tale that has some scientific backing. Emelie is one of around 800 children in Sweden and elsewhere in Europe who developed narcolepsy, an incurable sleep disorder, after being … Continue reading →

Posted in Current History, Science and Medicine, Sleep | Leave a comment

Add a blog and blogging to your to-do list

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Chris

A really nicely stated case for the benefits of blogging. As I have often said, the internet, which everyone said would destroy writing, is actually going to save it. You need to blog to differentiate yourself well beyond your credentials … Continue reading →

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Notre Dame’s failure of communication

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Chris

The strange, sad story of Manti Te’o gets sadder and stranger, but what seems clear to me right now is that Notre Dame did a very poor job of handling things. They seemed to think the situation was important enough … Continue reading →

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Light-Activated Hydrogel Repairs Cartilage (photonics.com | Jan 2013 | Research & Technology)

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Chris

This may actually be the best solution I’ve seen so far for cartilage repair because it addresses one of the gaps in current care. The article explains the problem with current therapy: Microfracture — a surgery in which tiny holes … Continue reading →

Posted in Diet and Exercise, Science and Medicine | Leave a comment

Zombie consciousness

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Chris

Wish I had time to go to this talk: Thursday Jan 17th, 5 pm: Workshop on Zombies and Consciousness Steven Schlozman, Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School “Is it OK to shoot that Zombie if it isn’t Consciously Human? Is it OK to shoot … Continue reading →

Posted in Neuroscience and Psychology | Leave a comment

Exercise boosts the effectiveness of flu shots

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Chris

Another benefit of exercise: researchers have known that it boost the immune system, and now there is evidence that it makes flu shots (and perhaps other vaccines?) more effective. Those volunteers who had exercised after being inoculated, it turned out, … Continue reading →

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Children’s behavior and bribes

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Chris

In an op-ed piece in the New York Times, Bruce Feiler explores the widespread phenomenon of bribes (rewards) to get kids to do what they should, and the equally widespread belief that using such “extrinsic rewards” will actually undermine kids’ … Continue reading →

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Data visualization

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Chris

I attended a fantastic data visualization workshop at USF over the weekend. It was taught by Peter Aldhous of the New Scientist. We learned how to take Excel spreadsheets of data and turn it into visualizations like the one I … Continue reading →

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