neurotopia
Posts by this author
August 14, 2006
Your results:You are Spider-Man
Spider-Man
95%
Hulk
85%
Superman
80%
Green Lantern
80%
The Flash
75%
Iron Man
60%
Supergirl
58%
Robin
58%
Batman
55%
Catwoman
55%
Wonder Woman
48%
You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility.
Click here to take the…
August 14, 2006
As every Evil Monkey knows, you've bestowed upon a student from UVA a great honor.
S.R. Sidarth, a senior at the University of Virginia, had been trailing Allen with a video camera to document his travels and speeches for the Webb campaign. During a campaign speech Friday in Breaks, Virginia,…
August 10, 2006
I'm taking a bit of a hiatus for a few days. This week has been absolutely bonkers, plus my hard drive died on me. I'll try to post some life updates and then get back to science bloggin'!
August 7, 2006
Getting back in shape is harder with age! While I've been having good luck at my gym lately, becoming proficient at the finer points of slipping, bobbing and weaving, my stamina isn't what it used to be. Ergo I've spent a lot of time running hills and let's just say in this weather, it ain't a…
August 6, 2006
Welcome to the 4th edition of The Synapse, a blog carnival for all things mind and brain held every two weeks. A little shorter than normal this round, due to the fact that there's a grant deadline tomorrow and a lot of regulars are busy busy little monkeys, self included.
The neurophilosopher…
August 4, 2006
I've been thinking about other science-type flicks, and for 2nd place I'd like to suggest a couple more:
Gattaca, yes for sure. Wonderful dystopian flick. Absolutely beautiful to watch, a soaring overly melodramatic soundtrack. Crystal clear message about statistical vs individual outcomes, and…
August 4, 2006
I'm stuck today between gloating over the losses for radical anti-science conservative school board members in Kansas primary elections, and Bill Dembski's research assistant Joel Borofsky admitting that the Kansas science standards are a stealth attempt to teach ID and not about "teaching the (…
August 3, 2006
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities notes that the House of Representatives is planning on implementing legislative martial law tomorrow.
What, exactly, is this procedure?
The House leadership is using a parliamentary gambit to evade a longstanding House rule that is supposed to ensure that…
August 3, 2006
Oh well. At least she has good taste in movies. In the meantime, I'll file this under "H" for "scooped".
SEED asks us What movie do you think does something admirable (though not necessarily accurate) regarding science? Real Genius takes the cake. I must have seen that movie 10 times when it…
August 2, 2006
.... will be hosted here. Make sure you get your submissions to me by Saturday night. The cutoff is 11:59pm.
August 1, 2006
Argh. Why the hell am I doing this? What makes me think I'll even get this damn grant? Like Shelley, I'm in NRSA-scramble mode right now. The deadline is August 5th. This is wasted effort. I could be posting juicy research tidbits on SEED but nooooo, I have to try and procure funding.
I hate…
August 1, 2006
The latest soon-to-be casualty to the Bush administration's attempt to break all useful government programs is 1-800-SUICIDE. Given their track record of scrubbing information oriented to LBGT youth (who happen to be a major at-risk category) from other such sites receiving government money, I…
August 1, 2006
We haven't done enough Neuropimping this week. Go visit Encephalon and get your fill of the best neuro on the net in the last couple weeks. Just remember, cash up front.
July 30, 2006
Inspired by Effect Measure, I thought I'd dredge up an old snarky post since the Senate is about to join the House in gutting state food standards.
The bill would stop states from adding warnings that are different from federal rules. States currently add hundreds of extra warnings, indicating…
July 29, 2006
I refuse to see Mel Gibson's snuff film Passion because I'm pretty sure that Gibson has flipped his lid and I have no desire to see a guy in a rubber suit get flogged for 2 hours. The desire to even make such a movie suggests to me a diseased mind, and it seems like I might be getting confirmation…
July 28, 2006
I hate to do it but I gotta take serious issues with some of the things Shelley put forth in her post here.
Unfortunately, NIH training grants (T32 type NRSA) are not an answer to most financial woes. My graduate program had one, and I was on it. At the time, any one student could be carried for…
July 28, 2006
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a devastating disease that claims the upper and lower motor neurons, and ultimately the lives of most patients within 3-5 years of diagnosis, usually from respiratory failure. Patients lose control of voluntary muscles as the pathways that innervate them degenerate…
July 27, 2006
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060726/ap_on_go_ot/top_problems_ap_poll;_y…--
July 25, 2006
Mixing Memory brings up some excellent points regarding mirror neurons in primates, and Frontal Cortex follows up with his thoughts. To both of them I say "bravo, but your skepticism probably doesn't go far enough".
We give Rizzolatti et al too much credit with their conclusions. After all,…
July 23, 2006
This one is a really simple, quick treat that's virtually fat-free. Can't vouch for carbs though.
14 oz can Fat Free Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 1/2 cups Jasmine or Basmati rice
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom, or Seeds from 6 cardamom pods, ground
1-2 teaspoons Rosewater
Directions:
Empty Condensed…
July 23, 2006
I'm not a fan of conservative ideologies. I see them as regressive and stifling. Too often there is a quasi-religious adherence to "free market" as the solution to all life's problems, usually accompanied by the corollary "lower taxes". Whether or not one agrees that these principles are bad…
July 23, 2006
Think that sugar rush is gonna help you beat the afternoon blues? Think again.
Ten healthy adults had volunteered to restrict their sleep to 5 hours on the day before participating in the trial. An hour after eating a light lunch they were given either an energy drink (42g sugar + 30mg caffeine)…
July 22, 2006
I just don't get it. On one hand, Francis Collins is clearly a bright guy and an established researcher. He headed the Human Genome Project, for cryin' out loud. He's an evangelical Christian, which I personally don't care about one way or the other, as long as his beliefs remain his personal…
July 21, 2006
Today's award goes to Ralph Reed, cherubic ex-leader of the Christian Coalition, who lost his bid to be the Republican nominee for the Lt. Governorship of Georgia this week.
Apparently, Mr. Morality is blaming John McCain for calling attention to Mr. Reed's ethical lapses.
The connection was the…
July 19, 2006
The difficulty with treating spinal cord injuries arises from a number of factors. Firstly there is the primary damage to the axons of the spinal cord itself, resulting in mechanical damage that can inhibit neurotransmission and transport of cellular material to and from the distal cord. The…
July 17, 2006
A new website in the fight against the ID movement's attempted takeover of the Kansas state science standards. Check it out. Nick Matzke has more here.
July 16, 2006
Unfortunately I'm stuck with the press release on this one, my government-access VPN doesn't seem good enough to get me this article at home. Face blindness, or prosopagnosia, is a condition where a person is unable to recognize another person by their face and must rely on other features, such as…
July 16, 2006
Shelley mentioned a study last week that suggested more and more young people are getting Parkinson's Disease, and she wondered whether there was any utility in blaming our industrialized society based on the fact that certain compounds we produce can induce Parkinsonian symptoms. Let's start by…
July 15, 2006
If you weren't worried about Iraq, the Middle East, and potential for War Without End, Amen before reading this post, consider changing your mind.
In one of the few comprehensive surveys of how many Iraqis have fled their country since the US invasion, the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants…