Is our ability to make judgments and focus a matter of willpower or is it like a muscle that can be exercised and strengthened? Could neither be the case? A new study suggests that our ability to make judgments is more chemistry than "strength."
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Renewables
Let’s talk about Puerto Rico
Becoming a master
The greatest engine of social justice, human rights, and equality
Swing, “an intangible rhythmic momentum in jazz,” give the music movement, especially in the back and forth between the soloist and the group. For professional musicians, it is a bit like pornography, meaning they can’t define it but know it when they hear it. A group of physicists thinks they know the why of swing.
This philosophy has deep religious and cultural roots, from monsters and meditation to Marie Kondo’s tidying up. This article by Dr. Kevin Taylor, Director of Religious Studies and Instructor of Philosophy, University of Memphis is re-posted here courtesy of The Conversation.
I’ve been thinking about Elon Musk’s social platform, Twitter, a lot lately. I wondered how one might keep the public square and identify the village idiots more readily. A new study in Nature’s Human Behavior looks at how knowing the identity of a writer alters our perceptions.
Is marijuana really the low-risk drug that many Americans believe it is? Emergency room physician Dr. Roneet Lev says the popular conception of cannabis—as an all-natural treatment for pain, anxiety, seizures, and so many other ailments—is far too simplistic. She joins us on episode 25 of the Science Dispatch podcast.
Ghosts of Science - love science, not the scientist?
Twitter as Townsquare – a broken metaphor?
Twins – Identical or Similar?
Sesame and penicillin
A former boss often used the phrase, “ideas have consequences.”
In the 1960s and 1970s, America saw a rise in junk science and fearmongering. Because of this, three highly respected experts: Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug (the “Father of the Green Revolution”), Dr. Frederick Stare (founder of the Nutrition Department at Harvard School of Public Health), and Dr. Elizabeth Whelan (noted epidemiologist, nutrition expert and author of 23 books)created the American Council on Science and Health.
Obesity is complex!
Disregarding competence for more diverse views
Disneyland’s E-tickets
Are our cars spying on us?
Peer review is a failure
Methane rising
The Trolley Problem has multicultural answers
Heating with Nukes
To reduce your risk of a cardiovascular “event,” your doctor will always recommend maintaining a healthy diet and exercise. But how much does a healthy diet actually contribute to risk reduction; is it worth giving up all the “bad” foods that taste so good? A new study tries to find an answer.
The New York Times devoted most of an opinion column to this ill-posed question. That's because concerning an airborne virus such as COVID-19, there are more relevant questions: How do masks work? When should they be used?
Sepsis, an overwhelming infection, remains among hospitals’ most difficult conditions to identify and treat. Algorithms within electronic medical records have been developed to help clinicians. So how is this real-world A.I. of medicine working out? Just a bit better than a coin toss.
Hands began wringing about global warming and subsequent climate change in the 1980s, and those predictions are now being seen. It’s not rocket science; temperature will increase when heat is pumped into a system limited by greenhouse gases. Electric power generation has been the largest source of heat-trapping gases, and the emerging popularity of electric vehicles promises to increase that share. What exactly are the costs and characteristics of electric generating systems?
Roundabouts vs. traffic lights
Françoise Gilot and Jonas Salk
Where will all the gas stations go?
Those dangerous lithium batteries
Long COVID remains chimeric, more a litany of symptoms than a clearcut “disease.” Perhaps a clustering of symptoms might reveal the underlying picture. Researchers using lots of data and statistical analysis identify some patterns.
Masks were once confined to those celebrating Halloween or as historical notes about historic plagues. But they returned to command our awareness in the Age of COVID. There are differences of opinion on how efficacious they are: the overall benefit versus how much damage they might have done. A new study speaks to their physiologic harms.
The rising tide of nearsightedness.
Given a choice, I would rather shop online rather than in person. How come?
Are big box stores the new main street?
We are not the center of the universe.
Spy vs. Spy
The real Uncle Tom
Education
File this under unintended consequences of regulations
The paternalistic model of the relationship between physician and patient is so done. The new relationship is supposed to be an exchange between almost peers – between you, formerly patients, now consumers, and us, formerly physicians, now providers. But is that really the case?
While largely ineffective medications for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease have gotten a great deal of press, an “orphan” disease – sickle cell disease – is in a similar situation. It is a devastating disease, and there seems to be a gene treatment on the horizon, one that comes with risks and benefits. How do patients calculate what to do?
It seems like a bit of common sense: the higher the viral load – in this case of COVID – the greater chance you have to transmit the disease to another. As it turns out, one of the ways we may characterize “infectivity” is when viral load peaks. Omicron infections peak later, and that has clinical implications.
It's irrelevant whether you like turkey or not because someone is going to be handing you a plate of it very soon. And after the meal, there's a good chance that you'll get sleepy. But will the cause of your drowsiness be the turkey, the booze, or your brother-in-law's tedious commentary about his golf game?
Plant-based foods
Banning Kools
A dress with a mystery
Dishing the dirt on the discovery of DNA
Methadone has been known to be an effective treatment for opioid addiction and dependency since the 1960s. Unfortunately, in this country, since 1972, the federal government segregates people with opioid use disorder from people with other health conditions that doctors treat in their offices by requiring them to travel miles each day to take a daily dose of methadone at government-approved clinics. Congress may soon undertake the first serious reform in how people get methadone in more than a half-century.
Pagination
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