- March 14, 2010
- 11:50 PM
- 7 views
Science blogs and public engagement with science: practices, challenges, and talking out of your ass
by Isis the Scientist in On Becoming a Domestic and Laboratory Goddess...
This week a couple of my Sciblings have been abuzz about an article published in some journal I'd never heard of... a minor impact journal...the Journal of Who Gives a Fuck Science Communication. Bora has a great break down of some of the major criticisms. Drugmonkey, one of the subjects of the "analysis" in this article, is also displeased and critical of the author's conclusions.I've
since read the offending article and can only tell you this - I have no
idea what the balls the aut........ Read more »
Inna Kouper. (2010) Science blogs and public engagement with science: practices, challenges, and opportunities. Journal of Science Communication, 9(1). info:/
- March 14, 2010
- 05:24 PM
- 13 views
If graves could talk, Patrick Wall’s would be screaming (oh, and genes affect pain)
by Lorimer Moseley in BodyInMind
In 1986, Pat Wall and Steve McMahon commented on the folly of talking about nociception as though it is pain -
‘the labelling of nociceptors as pain fibres was not an admirable simplification but an unfortunate trivialization’ and
‘…pain is an integrated package of analysed results related to meaning, significance and imperative action’ [1]
Almost 25 years have [...]... Read more »
[1] Wall, P., & McMahon, S. (1986) The relationship of perceived pain to afferent nerve impulses. Trends in Neurosciences, 254-255. DOI: 10.1016/0166-2236(86)90070-6
[2] Reimann, F., Cox, J., Belfer, I., Diatchenko, L., Zaykin, D., McHale, D., Drenth, J., Dai, F., Wheeler, J., Sanders, F.... (2010) Pain perception is altered by a nucleotide polymorphism in SCN9A. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0913181107
- March 14, 2010
- 02:59 PM
- 17 views
The Cocaine Conundrum
by Dirk Hanson in Addiction Inbox
Effective treatment remains elusive.
For addiction to cocaine, amphetamine, and other stimulants, the treatment picture has been complicated by the lack of any truly significant anti-craving medications. (See post, “No Pill for Stimulant Addiction"). The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has yet to approve any medications for the treatment of either cocaine or amphetamine addiction.
Take the case of cocaine. Partly the problem stems from the direct effect cocaine has on dopamine transm........ Read more »
Hiranita, T., Soto, P., Newman, A., & Katz, J. (2009) Assessment of Reinforcing Effects of Benztropine Analogs and Their Effects on Cocaine Self-Administration in Rats: Comparisons with Monoamine Uptake Inhibitors. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 329(2), 677-686. DOI: 10.1124/jpet.108.145813
- March 14, 2010
- 02:20 PM
- 19 views
Maintaining change
by Adiemusfree in Healthskills: Skills for Healthy Living
I’m sure we’ve all seen it. The person comes into a pain management programme, gets excited, does really well during each session, enjoys the company and makes huge gains – then the programme ends and — FIZZLE! It all stops.
Some critics suggest that any change obtained during a short-term programme (such as a three-week [...]... Read more »
Christiansen, S., Oettingen, G., Dahme, B., & Klinger, R. (2010) A short goal-pursuit intervention to improve physical capacity: A randomized clinical trial in chronic back pain patients. Pain. DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2009.12.015
- March 14, 2010
- 07:59 AM
- 4 views
Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, Diet Coke & Health. Part I.
by Laika in Laika's Medliblog
At Medical and Technology of Joseph Kim, the upcoming Grand Rounds host, I saw the blog post “Need your help on Facebook to get Diet Coke to Donate $50,000 to the Foundation for NIH”.
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute has started a national campaign in the US, The Heart Truth®. They issued a challenge in [...]... Read more »
Litsa K Lambrakos, Pamela Coxson, Lee Goldman, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo. (2010) Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and the Attributable Burden to Diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease. Circulation. info:other/
Malik VS, Schulze MB, & Hu FB. (2006) Intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain: a systematic review. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 84(2), 274-88. PMID: 16895873
Wolff E, & Dansinger ML. (2008) Soft drinks and weight gain: how strong is the link?. Medscape journal of medicine, 10(8), 189. PMID: 18924641
Forshee RA, Anderson PA, & Storey ML. (2008) Sugar-sweetened beverages and body mass index in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 87(6), 1662-71. PMID: 18541554
Gibson S. (2008) Sugar-sweetened soft drinks and obesity: a systematic review of the evidence from observational studies and interventions. Nutrition research reviews, 21(2), 134-47. PMID: 19087367
Janssen I, Katzmarzyk PT, Boyce WF, Vereecken C, Mulvihill C, Roberts C, Currie C, Pickett W, & Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Obesity Working Group. (2005) Comparison of overweight and obesity prevalence in school-aged youth from 34 countries and their relationships with physical activity and dietary patterns. Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 6(2), 123-32. PMID: 15836463
- March 14, 2010
- 12:40 AM
- 38 views
Say Hello to My Little Friend
by Kevin Zelnio in Deep Sea News
What looks like a worm, is completely symmetrical in cross-section, and in the words of Dr. Peter Holland:
“It has no mouth, no gut, no brain and no nerve cord. It doesn’t have a left or right side or a top or bottom – we can’t even tell which end is the front!” (quoted from Physorg)
Its [...]... Read more »
Jimenez-Guri, E., Okamura, B., & Holland, P. (2007) Origin and evolution of a myxozoan worm. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 47(5), 752-758. DOI: 10.1093/icb/icm026
- March 13, 2010
- 05:45 PM
- 38 views
Brain scans read memories
by Mo in Neurophilosophy
FORMATION of a memory is widely believed to leave a 'trace' in the brain - a fleeting pattern of electrical activity which strengthens the connections within a widely distributed network of neurons, and which re-emerges when the memory is recalled. The concept of the memory trace was first proposed nearly a century ago, but the nature of the trace, its precise location in the brain and the underlying neural mechanisms all remain elusive. A new study by researchers from University College London ........ Read more »
Chadwick, M. J., et al. (2010) Decoding Individual Episodic Memory Traces in the Human Hippocampus. Curr. Biol. info:/
- March 13, 2010
- 04:16 PM
- 62 views
The most hated journal in science?
by Andrew Sun in On The Road
Enserink, M. (2010). Elsevier to Editor: Change Controversial Journal or Resign Science, 327 (5971), 1316-1316 DOI: 10.1126/science.327.5971.1316A non-peer-reviewed journal called Medical Hypotheses is facing possibly its end as reported by Science, because it contains science related contents that are not...... Read more »
Enserink, M. (2010) Elsevier to Editor: Change Controversial Journal or Resign. Science, 327(5971), 1316-1316. DOI: 10.1126/science.327.5971.1316
- March 13, 2010
- 03:37 PM
- 27 views
Taking an Artificial Leaf Out of Nature’s Book
by calvinus in Post Tenebras Lux
Solar cells can be thought of as an artificial leaf, turning sunlight into energy. Mimicking the surface of lotus leaves takes this analogy one step further.... Read more »
Zhu, J., Hsu, C., Yu, Z., Fan, S., & Cui, Y. (2009) Nanodome Solar Cells with Efficient Light Management and Self-Cleaning. Nano Letters, 2147483647. DOI: 10.1021/nl9034237
- March 13, 2010
- 03:02 PM
- 25 views
Soft, wet and rather tough
by Lars Fischer in EuCheMS 2010 Blog
Hydrogels are the only materials that have the potential to be used as a replacement material for functional tissues like cartilage, sinews or muscles. However, while the biological wet and soft materials have impressive mechanical properties and are generally very tough, conventional hydrogels are rather brittle and tend to disintegrate under duress. With one exception, [...]... Read more »
Gong, J. (2010) Why are double network hydrogels so tough?. Soft Matter. DOI: 10.1039/b924290b
- March 13, 2010
- 02:08 PM
- 32 views
Evolving from Promiscuity to Monogamy
by Johnny in Ecographica
...despite the fact that promiscuous mating systems are the prevailing strategy in nature, environmental factors can push typically promiscuous species towards monogamy... case in point, a report published in the April issue of The American Naturalist details how the ‘mimic poison dart frog’ (Ranitomeya imitator) parted ways with promiscuity to adapt a lifestyle as the first scientifically recognized genetically monogamous amphibian. ... Read more »
Brown, J., Morales, V., & Summers, K. (2010) A Key Ecological Trait Drove the Evolution of Biparental Care and Monogamy in an Amphibian. The American Naturalist, 175(4), 436-446. DOI: 10.1086/650727
- March 13, 2010
- 12:29 PM
- 27 views
High Arctic soil carbon underestimated
by Phil Camill in Global Change: Intersection of Nature and Culture
Most people have heard about the potential positive feedback of soil carbon on climate: As temperatures warm, soil microbes are more active and permafrost begins to thaw–both of which can hasten decomposition and the release of CO2 to the atmosphere. This, in turn, has the potential to accelerate warming.
A lot of us who study climate [...]... Read more »
Burnham, J. H., and R. S. Sletten. (2010) Spatial Distribution of Soil Organic Carbon in Northwest Greenland and Underestimates of High Arctic Carbon Stores. Global Biogeochemical Cycles. info:/10.1029/2009GB003660
- March 13, 2010
- 11:06 AM
- 28 views
The evidence is: status, communication training, and intrinsic rewards are positively associated with scientists communicating with the media
by Christina Pikas in Christina's LIS Rant
Myths abound about how scientists do not talk with the media or communicate with the public and if they do so, it is only because they are required to by funders' "broader impact" requirements. The evidence, however, does not support this view. This article is another in a series of communications based on a multi-national study of how scientists in several fields communicate with the media. (you might have seen [1] or [2]). This article only uses data from US scientists who were re........ Read more »
Dunwoody, S., Brossard, D., . (2009) Socialization or rewards? Predicting U.S. scientist-media interactions. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 86(2), 299-314. info:/
- March 13, 2010
- 09:35 AM
- 26 views
AMS Climate briefing rundown
by Callan Bentley in Mountain Beltway
Yesterday I attended a climate change briefing hosted by the American Meteorological Society (in conjunction with NSF, AGU, AAAS, and the American Statistical Association). It was in the Hart Senate Office Building, but I didn’t see any senators at the briefing.
It was an interesting format: 3 talented speakers giving 3 “fifteen-minute” presentations (really more like [...]... Read more »
Solomon, S., Plattner, G., Knutti, R., & Friedlingstein, P. (2009) Irreversible climate change due to carbon dioxide emissions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(6), 1704-1709. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0812721106
- March 13, 2010
- 06:10 AM
- 31 views
On emerging viruses
by iayork in Mystery Rays from Outer Space
Investigators face a daunting black box with emerging viruses: the challenge of developing a universal therapeutic agent to combat a genetically proficient virus that quite likely has many more options for emergence than we have yet considered.
–Graham, R., & Baric, R. (2009). Recombination, Reservoirs, and the Modular Spike: Mechanisms of Coronavirus Cross-Species [...]... Read more »
Graham, R., & Baric, R. (2009) Recombination, Reservoirs, and the Modular Spike: Mechanisms of Coronavirus Cross-Species Transmission. Journal of Virology, 84(7), 3134-3146. DOI: 10.1128/JVI.01394-09
- March 12, 2010
- 10:01 PM
- 50 views
Move over cows! Methane outgassing in the Arctic Sea
Methane! Move over cow flatulence and burping, methane is leaking from under the Arctic in a big way. Methane, that innocuous-seeming molecule with 4 hydrogens and a carbon, is actually a more potent greenhouse gas than the carbon dioxide molecule of greater fame–up to 25 times more potent actually. However, atmospheric methane concentrations are much [...]... Read more »
Shakhova, N., Semiletov, I., Salyuk, A., Yusupov, V., Kosmach, D., & Gustafsson, O. (2010) Extensive Methane Venting to the Atmosphere from Sediments of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf. Science, 327(5970), 1246-1250. DOI: 10.1126/science.1182221
- March 12, 2010
- 09:20 PM
- 66 views
fMRI becomes big, big science
by Tal Yarkoni in citation needed
There are probably lots of criteria you could use to determine the relative importance of different scientific disciplines, but the one I like best is the Largest Number of Authors on a Paper. Physicists have long had their hundred-authored papers (see for example this individual here; be sure to click on the “show all authors/affiliations” [...]... Read more »
Biswal, B., Mennes, M., Zuo, X., Gohel, S., Kelly, C., Smith, S., Beckmann, C., Adelstein, J., Buckner, R., Colcombe, S.... (2010) Toward discovery science of human brain function. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(10), 4734-4739. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0911855107
- March 12, 2010
- 08:30 PM
- 50 views
Self-Knowledge - Emotional Intelligence For Personal Growth Part IV
by David Johnson, MSW, LICSW in Dare To Dream
This is the fourth in a series of articles on emotional intelligence for personal growth.
Self-knowledge is something we all strive towards. But how many of us have done a complete review of our emotions and how they influence our thoughts and behavior? Most people find that pretty hard to do, especially since they struggle to put their feelings into words. We talk about "will power" as the ultimate motivation. It might surprise you to find out that motivation is really emotion.
Emotion in it's........ Read more »
Choi-Kain LW, & Gunderson JG. (2008) Mentalization: ontogeny, assessment, and application in the treatment of borderline personality disorder. The American journal of psychiatry, 165(9), 1127-35. PMID: 18676591
Dolan, R. (2002) Emotion, Cognition, and Behavior. Science, 298(5596), 1191-1194. DOI: 10.1126/science.1076358
Kahneman, D. (2003) A perspective on judgment and choice: Mapping bounded rationality. American Psychologist, 58(9), 697-720. DOI: 10.1037/0003-066X.58.9.697
Waller, B., Cray, J., & Burrows, A. (2008) Selection for universal facial emotion. Emotion, 8(3), 435-439. DOI: 10.1037/1528-3542.8.3.435
Westen, D. (1998) The scientific legacy of Sigmund Freud: Toward a psychodynamically informed psychological science. Psychological Bulletin, 124(3), 333-371. DOI: 10.1037//0033-2909.124.3.333
- March 12, 2010
- 06:59 PM
- 38 views
Obesity, more and more reports and resources!
by PhD Blogger in Exercise Psychology
There are it seems more reports and strategies concerning obesity than just about anything else. The strange thing is I have yet to read a bad strategy or poorly presented report, most of the papers are excellent. Its the scale and complexity of the problem that seems to be defeating us. The best report on the causes remain in my view the UK Government Foresight report, available on this site. There is also the recently published Scottish report Preventing Overweight and Obesity in Sc........ Read more »
TRUST FOR AMERICA’S HEALTH. (2009) F as in Fat:HOW OBESITY POLICIES ARE FAILING IN AMERICA. Web, 1-108. info:/
- March 12, 2010
- 06:45 PM
- 30 views
Thymus Transplant Extends Life in Old Mice
by Reason in Fight Aging!
Amidst the preprint list of the Rejuvenation Research journal, I see an interesting paper I'd somehow missed: life span can be extended in old mice by transplant of a young thymus. Noninvasive Neonatal Thymus Graft into the Axillary Cavity Extends the Lifespan of Old Mice: Neonatal thymus grafts exert a rejuvenating action on various immunological and nonimmunological functions found altered in old mice. Commonly, half of a thymus is grafted under the kidney capsule. The invasiveness of the surg........ Read more »
Basso, A., Malavolta, M., Piacenza, F., Santarelli, L., Marcellini, F., Papa, R., & Mocchegiani, E. (2009) Noninvasive Neonatal Thymus Graft into the Axillary Cavity Extends the Lifespan of Old Mice. Rejuvenation Research, 2147483647. DOI: 10.1089/rej.2009.0936
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