neurotopia
Posts by this author
October 26, 2007
It's not a good millenium to be a monkey.
GENEVA (AFP) - Nearly a third of all non-human primates could be wiped out, threatened by illegal wildlife trade, climate change and destruction of their habitat, a new report warned on Friday.
Twenty-nine percent of all monkeys, apes and gorilla species…
October 1, 2007
Recently Orac took apart the findings of another acupuncture study. Those who administer acupuncture typically insinuate that a mysterious vital energy known as "chi" travels along meridians in the body, and that normal flow of chi is necessary for good health. Orac pointed out that this recent…
September 8, 2007
Usually when one sets up a parody website, they at least have the courtesy to indicate someplace on the site that it is in fact a parody. Unfortunately I was unable to find such a disclaimer on this one, and since there are actually people sick enough to use the internet for buying and selling…
September 7, 2007
...but for those who suffer from it, "in your head" can be more debilitating than other chronic, painful illnesses. A massive WHO survey study of 60 countries reported that 3.2% of people had depression over the course of a year. Interestingly, though...
This was a bit lower than for asthma (3.3…
September 5, 2007
Ha ha, fooled you!
The Discovery Institute has just issued this on their blog, the inaccurately named Evolution News and Views:
According to CSC senior fellow and leading ID theorist William Dembski, what follows is:
"[A] big story, perhaps the biggest story yet of academic suppression relating…
August 29, 2007
A few weekends ago I attended my second kalis Ilustrisimo seminar, sponsored by Guro John Jacobo of SWACOM. Master "Topher" Ricketts and his son Bruce led the seminar and it was one hell of a good time, despite being in a sweaty gym in Baltimore on a 95 degree day. (That kinda added to the…
August 29, 2007
Finally we get some data on changes in AD pathology with statin use! Statins are taken for lowering cholesterol, but they have other beneficial effects such as modulating inflammatory responses. Thus, they could prove beneficial in the treatment of AD given the disease has a significant…
August 27, 2007
Anger abound in the blogosphere at the PRISM organization, or Partnership for Research Integrity in Science and Medicine. As one could guess from reading the braintrust of a guy who worked with ENRON jailbird Jeff Skilling, SPECTRE PRISM is long on rhetoric and completely lacking in data.
When I…
August 16, 2007
I'm on a environmental tox kick lately. The latest foray into endocrine disruption in the news is polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs. PBDEs are used as flame retardant compounds, and like my earlier ruminations on bisphenol A, they're in everything. Unfortunately, there's evidence that…
August 3, 2007
The LA Times has an interesting story about a statement regarding the use of bisphenol A, a compound that has many uses in the plastics industry and also happens to have estrogenic effects.
The scientists -- including four from federal health agencies -- reviewed about 700 studies before…
July 21, 2007
I realize this post lacks purpose. I'm just excited...
July 18, 2007
Yes, that title is a bit ostentatious. But the foods we eat contain many compounds that can be beneficial to brain health. One strategy for optimizing our brains for long-term peak performance is to identify these compounds and discover how they are beneficial. Head-healthy chemicals have…
July 13, 2007
Put a fork in 'em. The ultraconservative in centrist's clothing is toast.
July 12, 2007
Kinkade, the self-professed "painter of light", is known to be a rather boorish businessperson, to put it politely. I have long been uncomfortable, however, looking at the hackneyed Hallmark "art" he produces, but I could never understand why. Could it be that Thomas Kinkade, aka painter of light…
July 11, 2007
It looks like somebody either never heard of Dover, or refused to learn from their lesson. It seems the local ID supporters of Chesterfield County aren't happy:
So far, the official actions of the CCSB have been limited to issuing a rather vague and confusing statement. ID proponents had hoped to…
July 10, 2007
I just noticed a comment in my Undergraduate Research Changed My Life post from a friend of mine; Camilo at Mercurical tagged me with the "8 Things" meme.
Ok ok ok. I should just jump on this bandwagon as well. After all, Wilkins is doing it, and Tara at Aetiology issued a blanket tag for…
July 10, 2007
The Alliance for Science, a wonderful group of which I am a member, has a link about a survey that examines public perception of the new Creation Museum. Having recently visited the Propoganda Ministry Museum myself, I was very underwhelmed. I will report my experiences there in a future post…
July 9, 2007
I recently posted three "Basics"-style blurbs about menopause and hormone therapy (HT). If you missed it, they are here, here, and here. The field has gone through a lot of upheaval since the WHI studies in 2002, and I would just like to share my thoughts on how to approach where we stand now.…
July 9, 2007
I'm pretty hyped to see The Simpsons Movie, so of course I have to jump on the "make your own avatar bandwagon". Here's me, rendered as a Simpson's character...
July 9, 2007
My dad passed away on June 21st at 1:28 pm. I haven't posted anything about it yet because I had to take some time to clear my head.
Part of my sporadic posting has been due in large part to his health issues, as he has been steadily spiraling downward in his battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for…
July 6, 2007
I've been reading the Brian Herbert/Kevin J. Anderson prequels and sequels to the late Frank Herbert's Dune series. Dune is arguably the most influential sci-fi series ever, and in my opinion one of the best ever written, even Frank Herbert's later books in the series which people tend to shun.…
July 5, 2007
This is the third part in an overview of menopause and hormone therapy. Parts one and two are here and here. This time around I describe changes in cognitive and behavioral profiles for women and animal models of menopause. I may decide to expand on a handful of studies at a later date, but for…
July 4, 2007
This is the second of a series that examines menopause, hormone therapy, and consequences of each. Today's installment looks at the makeup of common hormones on the market, physiological consequences of hormone loss and replacement, and the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) studies. A slight emphasis…
June 13, 2007
I thought I'd hop on the Basics bandwagon. Here's an oldy of mine with some menopause and hormone therapy background. WARNING: rampant pharmaceutical company sexism ahead. Do not attempt to communicate or reason with Zuska for at least 4 hours after reading. Rumor also has it that Tara is…
May 1, 2007
Lots of talk today about the joys of undergraduate research sparked by a recent study (the results of which can be found here). Chad has a post or two that I like on the matter. I thought I would throw my personal two cents in the ring as well, since undergraduate research has factored heavily…
April 11, 2007
It has come to my attention that Kurt Vonnegut has passed away.
His death was reported by Morgan Entrekin, a longtime family friend, who said Vonnegut suffered brain injuries as a result of a fall several weeks ago.
I need not delve into Vonnegut's literary exploits. Suffice to say he led an…
March 15, 2007
Yet again, another Jesus flare-up. Rob Knop posted his personal religious views and the prophetical shit hath hit the fan. I swear the science and spirituality debate is like a bad case of hemorrhoids.
Some of us just never had these problems that result from self-identification. I stress the…
March 2, 2007
Welcome to the latest edition of the Tangled Bank! We appear to have a smaller bank than normal this week, perhaps everybody is exhausted after the Valentine's Day festivities. As for me, well, 2006 ended on an extremely bad series of notes and that has unfortunately spilled over into 2007, but…