Do you remember the part in The Princess Bride when Miracle Max pronounces Westley to be “only mostly dead,” instead of entirely dead? “Mostly dead,” he continues, “means slightly alive.” It’s a little unexpected , because we usually think of “dead” and “alive” as mutually exclusive. But just as Westley can be “slightly alive” even [...]

According to scientists at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, eye movement can teach you a lot more about politics than you might guess. These scientists studied how liberals and conservatives respond to “gaze cues,” and found dramatic differences. The short version: the liberals generally followed the cues, the conservatives did not. Read about the study here. [...]

I usually think of of physical pain and emotional pain as fairly separate phenomena. Physical pain is caused by certain things (like a wound), and cured by certain things (like a pain medication). Emotional pain is usually caused by a totally different set of things (like a bad breakup) and cured by different things (like [...]

I just happened across this video from National Geographic showing how methamphetamines affect the brain, both in the short term and the long term. It gives an informative, concise look into what’s happening in the brain to make the drug so very addictive–and how that addiction can ruin the sense of joy that everyday life [...]

It’s common wisdom that women become emotionally unhinged when it’s their “time of the month,” right? Supposedly, we get weepy, angry, and just generally difficult whenever our periods come along. Is it true? For some women, sure, at least on occasion. Others aren’t as affected. This emotional instability has long been associated with hormonal changes [...]

Perhaps you’ve heard that we humans are special in the animal world because our brains are so very, very big for our size. Not true, as it turns out. Sure, they’re big compared to a bird brain or a dog brain, but in the primate world our brain size is pretty unremarkable–at least according to this [...]

There was a deeply jarring article in the New York Times earlier this week that told the story of an extended Colombian family with unprecedented rates of early-onset Alzheimer’s. How their incredible suffering might hold the key for discovering a cure for Alzheimer’s is the subject of the article. Young people in this family grow [...]

Ben Gordon lost his eyes at age 2. Thanks to a dedicated mother and a good attitude, he learned to “see” using echolocation.

I’d like to share a great educational tool from the Alzheimer’s Association website. It’s a 16-slide Brain Tour that shows the differences between a healthy brain and one with Alzheimer’s. The tour has fantastic roll-over visuals that make it easy to understand what changes in the brain of an Alzheimer’s patient and how it affects [...]

I’ve never really been a “beach person” when it comes to vacations.  For me, a great vacation is about going to new places and immersing myself in different cultures.   Experiencing a new language, finding new ways of seeing, and pushing culinary boundaries are my idea of good fun.  Yes, I’ve gotten lost, had to rely [...]