November 21-25, 2016 This week, Erik brings his expertise to bear on the placebo and nocebo effects of presidential election results. What are the public health implications of deep disappointment? Of all the factors, low voter turnout may make those effects more powerful. NIH no longer uses chimps for biomedical research. But the transfer to chimp […]
Infant mortality in the Arctic has always been a bit of a mystery. Yes, the usual suspects are present — high smoking rates, overcrowding — but the same is true of many communities in the south where far fewer babies die. Nunavut’s infant mortality rate, for example, is four times that of the rest of […]
November 7-11, 2016 This week, Jenny challenges you to define the distinctively universal smell of a school cafeteria — an entrancing mixture of pinto bean juice, gym-shoe tongue and scorched Teflon. On American election day, bipartisan stress could only be put into trivializing perspective by referring to the wider lens of deep time, says Emma. […]
Our very own Erik Vance has a brand new book out through National Geographic, and it’s called Suggestible You: The Curious Science of Your Brain’s Ability to Deceive, Transform, and Heal. Listen to my conversation with him about such varying topics as the placebo effect, that curse a brujo put on him in Mexico, how […]
I open the lab door, flick on the light switch, and watch a herd of cockroaches scuttle for cover. It’s seven in the evening, when most of the university’s workers have left for the night. Even so, after I lift each rat from its cage, I place it in an unmarked black box, its temporary […]
October 17-21, 2016 Craig opened the week with a brave personal and scientific exploration of sexual assault’s effects on the brain and the psyche. Revelations about Trump’s history with women warrants a revisit to Christie’s post on why harassment goes unreported. Michelle plays detective in the extinction of an Australasian rodent. She finds that sometimes […]
Next week, Ottawa Public Health will table a submission before a Canadian federal task force, recommending that the minimum age for buying legal, recreational marijuana should be 25. Age limits are just one of the myriad decisions we will have to make as the government moves toward fulfilling Justin Trudeau’s campaign promise of legalizing pot. […]
October 3-7, 2016 This week we rounded up a number of posts about bugs and how we love them. I think it says quite a lot about us that we didn’t even come close to exhausting our supply of bug-love posts. Sarah attempted to find things to appreciate about ticks, like the cute way they […]