Saudi Arabians in sidewalk skiing craze – video | Sport | guardian.co.uk

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Chris

The source of innovation throughout the ages: Kids with plenty of resources and too much free time.

 

Saudi Arabians in sidewalk skiing craze – video | Sport | guardian.co.uk.

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Can Cholesterol Drugs Undo Exercise Benefits?

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Chris

This is a dramatic difference:

The unmedicated volunteers improved their aerobic fitness significantly after three months of exercise, by more than 10 percent on average. But the volunteers taking the statins gained barely 1 percent on average in their fitness, and some possessed less aerobic capacity at the end of the study than at its start.

It looks like taking statins takes away pretty much all benefit from exercise.

via Can Cholesterol Drugs Undo Exercise Benefits? – NYTimes.com.

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No Benefit Seen in Sharp Limits on Salt in Diet – NYTimes.com

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Chris

No Benefit Seen in Sharp Limits on Salt in Diet – NYTimes.com.

I have been saying this for decades. There evidence that low sodium diets can help some people with high blood pressure and heart disease, but little evidence that it can help those without those conditions.

 

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Photos that mimic human attention

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Chris

This guy has an interesting photo technique: creating photos that are generally still photos, but have one person who is in motion. The funny thing is that it doesn’t seem that odd to look at. And the reason is that these photos mimic how we perceive the world when we we focus our attention on someone. If we are looking at one person in a crowd, then the rest of the crowd might as well be stock still or not even exist, as far as our brains are concerned.

The other interesting this is that, by reversing the situation and creating a tableau that mimics our attentive experience, the artist is putting our brains in a state in which we focus attention even more closely on the one person in motion.

One – www.nicolasritter.com.

Posted in Brain Hacking, Current History, Play, Publishing and Journalism, Science and Medicine | Leave a comment

How Exercise May Help Memory

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Chris

The take home message is that both aerobic and resistance training are good for the brain in different ways.

How Exercise May Help Memory – NYTimes.com.

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Brain scans decode dream content

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Chris

This is some pretty cool stuff. Perhaps in the future people will be able to record dreams and sell them for others to experience, like DVDs.

Brain scans decode dream content | Mo Costandi | Science | guardian.co.uk.

Posted in Science and Medicine, Sleep | Leave a comment

Exercise May Help Protect Children From Stress – NYTimes.com

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Chris

via Exercise May Help Protect Children From Stress – NYTimes.com

There was no difference in the cortisol levels at home between children who were active and those who were less active. But when the researchers gave the children a standard psychosocial stress test at a clinic involving arithmetic and storytelling challenges, they found that those who had not engaged in physical activity had raised cortisol levels. The children who had moderate or vigorous physical activity showed relatively no rise in cortisol levels.

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How to Prevent Stress from Shrinking Your Brain | Psychology Today

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Chris

Good light roundup of reasons why stress shrinks the brain and how to fight against that. I would add anti-inflamatories to the mix.

How to Prevent Stress from Shrinking Your Brain | Psychology Today.

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Toxic Sugar?

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Chris

Apparently Mark Bittman from the NY Times has bought Lustig’s thesis that “sugar is toxic” because an increase in a society’s sugar consumption is correlated with diabetes. So  I guess that food is toxic because overeating and obesity is also correlated with diabetes.

Let’s stick with real definitions, as long as we are trying to be scientific. Overconsumption of sugar may be bad for you, but that doesn’t make sugar a “toxin.”

Its the Sugar, Folks – NYTimes.com.

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The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food – NYTimes.com

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Chris

I don’t entirely blame the food companies–they are in fact giving people what they want, and it seems a stretch in a capitalistic society to ask them to promote food people don’t want. Nonetheless, they should use some of that vast technology and PR expertise to develop and promote healthier foods alongside their unhealthy foods.

 

The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food – NYTimes.com.

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