Monthly Archive for August, 2008
Go For The Gold, It May Prolong Your Life
With the Olympics in full swing, I cannot help but marvel at the strength, power, skill, and commitment of the athletes. Many of these men and women seemed destined for sports from an early age, while others trained hard to beat the odds and become world-class athletes. Most of us watching the games from the comfort of our own homes can only envy the athletes; we can only imagine what it must be like to have a gold medal placed around our neck and have our national anthem played just for us. But, alas, the glory fades and the games will come to an end in a matter of a few short weeks. The gold medals will be displayed in trophy cases and the athletes will move on to the next challenge, be it another sporting event, or the next stage in their lives. Whatever they choose to do, we may have another reason to envy them: they will likely live longer than most of us.
When It Comes to Health, Adults Shortchange Kids
The problems of childhood obesity are not exclusive to American soil. Both the U.S. and many European countries face this crisis. Various solutions have been proposed and executed. Everything from promoting exercise to teaching children about the origin of their food to banning candy or sweets on school campuses.Now the European Commission has put forth a new initiative. A recent BMJ article, European Commission plans free fruit and vegetable scheme in schools, highlights the commission’s desire to get kids off to a strong start regarding healthy eating habits.
Is Seeing Into the Future More Than an Optical Illusion?
Most humans do not have the power to predict the future, but we can see it. At least we can see one-tenth of a second of it. The May-June issue of the journal Cognitive Science published a review by Mark Changizi of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, claiming that the human visual system has evolved to allow us to see fractions of a second into the future.When light hits our retina, it takes approximately 100 milliseconds, or one-tenth of one second, for our brain to perceive an image. While it seems insignificant, the delay is consequential when dealing with moving objects.
Malignant Medicine
There is a culture to medicine that I alluded to in my previous post about how everyone in the hospital is your boss. In essence, medicine is a profession like no other where "scutwork," "malignancy" and "bad-mouthing" colleagues is standard practice. In the academic world this continues on in full force even after becoming an attending. In the private medical world it still exists. There is always a "Chief" or "Chair" of the department or division in which you practice. Most professions have hierarchy or levels of the ladder on which people sit. In medicine, I submit that the personalities are very strong due to the history of malignant medicine.
Popular Posts
- The Love Drug
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- Fatty Acids and Suicide Risk
- Mind Games - Science's Attempts at Thought Control
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- Is Giftedness Nothing More than Good Genes?
- The Many Emerging Roles of Astrocytes
- Behind the Masks - The Mysteries of Dissociative Identity Disorder
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Future Posts
- The Brain’s Buying Power
Latest Posts
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- Intelligence – Are You Holding Back Your Brain?
- Childhood Aggression Predicts Health Care Use Later in Life
- The Brain’s Border Patrol – Blood Brain Barrier
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- BED-head and Obesity – Food for Thought
Comments
- Sandi Sarabia: Definitely, what a splendid we
- : This article had great info on
- peter: I also see things the same way
- Scapadas Amorosas: Lets patent it, package, marke
- Emily Haines, MSc, PhD student: Thanks for your comments, Matt
- Emily Haines, MSc, PhD student: Thanks for your comments and s
- Alex: While we have our eyes glued t
- Richard Kensinger, MSW: Carla,You are absolutely c
- Soraya L. Valles: I'm interested in astrocytes.
- Raymond Tallis: Dear Kitty, I have come to you
- Steven: After smoking for 17 years dai
- Matt: I'm just interested in hearing
