I recently saw a research finding from 2009 that was pretty interesting. Canadian scientists studied people who self-identified as “morning people” or “night people” and found striking differences in brain activity patterns between the two groups. They noticed that neuronal excitability started high and decreased throughout the day for morning people, and started low and [...]

A new study has found that dogs learn to read the body language of humans in much the same way that human infants do. The study, conducted in Hungary, showed that dogs behaved in a way that is “functionally similar to a 6-month-old, to a 1-year-old,” according to the lead researcher. First, dogs watched a [...]

For the past two holiday seasons we have partnered with OneSight—a terrific charity organization that provides eye care to those in need through outreach, research and education. Our previous holiday donations have allowed OneSight to recycle thousands of pairs of glasses for people in need. This holiday season we hope to match that—or do even better! [...]

We’ve written about the high incidence of debilitating concussions related to sports like football and ice hockey on this blog before. We could easily write about other sports that can injure your head, like boxing or skiing. Many people debate what the best way to deal with sports-related brain injuries might be. One of the [...]

Someone very close to me is absolutely terrified of going to the dentist, so my interest was piqued when I saw a report about a German study on the varying effectiveness of treatments for dental anxiety. The study concluded that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is more effective in treating dental phobia than standardized hypnosis or general [...]

I love to travel, and I somehow manage to squeeze in a lot more trips than most people I know. So when I see hard and fast research supporting the health benefits of vacation, it really piques my interest. I recently read a somewhat unscientific article that talked about why vacation is good for your [...]

Not too long ago, 25 year-old Scott Deutsch had had enough. His beloved sister Marcy (diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder and autism) became the victim of severe cyber-bullying. It drove Marcy to the point at which she began to retreat farther inside herself, eventually even considering suicide. Rather than accepting online bullying for what it was, [...]

I recently read about a study that had some good news in it for me–researchers recently found that people, especially men, who actively watch or participate in sports and cultural activities are happier and healthier than those who stay at home. As an avid participant in athletics (softball, basketball, and golf), watcher of sports (season [...]

While my time in the office is steeped in talk of brain science, when I head home after work I like to decompress by watching some of my favorite TV funnymen like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Imagine my surprise when The Colbert Report cut to snippets from a lecture about the “gut brain” that [...]

I recently read an interesting article in the New York Times about tilapia–the now-ubiquitous fish that graces menus all over the nation. Ten years ago, most of us had probably never heard of tilapia, but this fish has proved a good fit for mass farming and its mild taste pleases many palates. The article’s main [...]