148 posts · 134,601 views
A neuroscience blog that occasionally dabbles in evolution, academia, matters of aging, and ways to beat the tar out of each other. Sometimes all at once.
Evil Monkey
148 posts
Scicurious
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- June 26, 2009
- 01:21 AM
- 1,475 views
Friday Weird Science: Sex: the good, the bad, and the ugly
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
We know that a lot of organisms, from humans to bacteria to birds to bees, have lots of sex. But what has mystified scientists for years is WHY. I mean, it's fun and all (unless you're a poor beetle girl stuck with this), but what purpose does it serve? On the face of it, in fact, sex seems to be pretty BAD for about half of the population: the women. For example, there's a lizard out there than can reproduce both asexually and sexually. When it reproduces asexually, it producing nothing bu........ Read more »
Zimmer, C. (2009) On the Origin of Sexual Reproduction. Science, 324(5932), 1254-1256. DOI: 10.1126/science.324_1254
- November 24, 2008
- 01:31 AM
- 1,445 views
Wouldn't that dolphin look so much better in my fridge? The beauty is in the context
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
Think of a copper tea kettle (I'm cold, tea is warm...). When you think about it, where is it? It's in a kitchen, right? Possibly on a stove. It's definitely in a context where you would expect it to be. Now take that tea kettle, and put it in your mind somewhere like...a desert. Surrounded by sand and sky. Now you're not thinking of tea anymore. But doesn't the copper gleam a little better? It might be out of context, but the tea kettle looks really...pretty!
Ok, maybe you don't fol........ Read more »
Ulrich Kirk. (2008) The Neural Basis of Object-Context Relationships on Aesthetic Judgment. PLoS ONE, 3(11). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003754
- November 5, 2008
- 06:00 PM
- 1,422 views
Hot Apple Cider...mmm...MY, you're such a nice person!
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
First of all, I just want to say that I am in a wonderful mood today. This day would have to totally kick puppies to ruin my mood. The only dark spot is Prop 8 in California.
But there is something else to make me happy! Check this out! I absolutely wanted one of these when I was a kid. Heck, I still want one.
ANYWAY. Welcome to option number 2 for Things I could Present at Journal Club! I welcome input! This is kind of due...um, ok, tomorrow. And I have to turn in my choice today.
I........ Read more »
L. E. Williams, & J. A. Bargh. (2008) Experiencing Physical Warmth Promotes Interpersonal Warmth. Science, 322(5901), 606-607. DOI: 10.1126/science.1162548
- July 3, 2009
- 01:57 AM
- 1,333 views
Friday Weird Science: Echidnas like it cold and torpid
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
Ok, I'll admit, this post is kind of stolen from the fabulous Ed Yong of Not Exactly Rocket Science, who just won the Association of British Science Writers' Best Newcomer award! Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, Ed. :)
Well, the post isn't stolen, but the subject is. And it's actually been a little disappointing. When I first scanned the title, I thought it said "echinoderm", rather than "echidna", and I thought "Starfish sex!!! w00t1!!!" But no. Instead of talking about t........ Read more »
Morrow, G., & Nicol, S. (2009) Cool Sex? Hibernation and Reproduction Overlap in the Echidna. PLoS ONE, 4(6). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0006070
- September 10, 2008
- 11:40 PM
- 1,270 views
Depression, ADHD, and Cocaine
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
Anyone who read my previous blog will probably know that I've got a couple of big interests: blows to the head, diabetes, sex (who doesn't?). I've also got a really big interest in both psychiatric disorders such as depression and ADHD, and what scientists like to formally call "drugs of abuse" (it just sounds better than saying "yeah, I study crack"). And this paper combines both psychiatric disorders AND cocaine! Depression on cocaine, it's life really sucking in fast forward.
Levin et al........ Read more »
F LEVIN, A BISAGA, W RABY, E AHARONOVICH, E RUBIN, J MARIANI, D BROOKS, F GARAWI, & E NUNES. (2008) Effects of major depressive disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder on the outcome of treatment for cocaine dependence. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 34(1), 80-89. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsat.2006.11.012
- November 26, 2008
- 03:14 AM
- 1,267 views
Holiday getting you down? Pass the Turkey.
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, hands down. Well, ok, I also celebrate a series of personal holidays on the day after Valentine's, the day after Easter, the day after Halloween, and the day after Christmas. Why hinge your emotions on the uncertainty of a holiday when you have the certainty of all the chocolate going on sale the day after? Day after holidays are beautiful things and I encourage you all to celebrate with me (though I warn you, stay AWAY from the Russel Stover "european" ch........ Read more »
Jonathan P Roiser, Jamey Levy, Stephen J Fromm, Hongye Wang, Gregor Hasler, Barbara J Sahakian, & Wayne C Drevets. (2007) The Effect of Acute Tryptophan Depletion on the Neural Correlates of Emotional Processing in Healthy Volunteers. Neuropsychopharmacology, 33(8), 1992-2006. DOI: 10.1038/sj.npp.1301581
- October 24, 2008
- 03:04 PM
- 1,265 views
Prias...pria...priaps...PRIAPISM
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
Does anyone else find "priapism" a horrifically difficult thing to pronouce? This may partially be because it's so...entertaining. Well, ok, it's entertaining for me. I imagine it leaves most guys wincing.
Tran et al. "Priapism, ecstasy, and marijuana: is there a connection?" Advances in Urology, 2008.
So, who knows what priapism is? Anyone? (counts show of hands). Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...... Read more »
Quan T. Tran, Robyn A. Wallace, & Esther H. A. Sim. (2008) Priapism, Ecstasy, and Marijuana: Is There a Connection?. Advances in Urology, 1-4. DOI: 10.1155/2008/193694
- March 6, 2009
- 01:02 AM
- 1,260 views
Friday Weird Science: Feeling down? Have you tried...semen?
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
Sigh. These friday weird science titles just keep getting worse and worse! But there's really no other way to put this paper. And it kind of carries on the depression theme I've had going for the past few weeks. Well, kind of.
Gallup et al. "Does semen have antidepressant properties?" Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2002.
Now, I saw the title of this paper and went "you're KIDDING. They want women to take...WHAT?!" I had this strange image of what the marketing department for "semen pills........ Read more »
Gordon G. Gallup Jr., Rebecca L. Burch, & Steven M. Platek. (2002) Does semen have antidepressant properties?. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 31(3), 289-293. DOI: 10.1023/A:1015257004839
- November 3, 2008
- 10:19 PM
- 1,253 views
Do you love to eat? Or do you not love your food enough?
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
OMG, teh blags aspoloded! And it's all revolving around Dr. Isis. I urge everyone to check out Bora's post, it generated some great discussion and it appears that people are friendly again. And Bora said nice things about me, which I always urge people to read. :)
It's that time again! What time is it? It's time for Sci to give Journal Club. I know, it just happened. But I'm a relatively senior grad student, and our Journal Club is very small, so it happens fairly often. And so, I nee........ Read more »
E. Stice, S. Spoor, C. Bohon, & D. M. Small. (2008) Relation Between Obesity and Blunted Striatal Response to Food Is Moderated by TaqIA A1 Allele. Science, 322(5900), 449-452. DOI: 10.1126/science.1161550
- July 24, 2009
- 01:10 AM
- 1,228 views
Friday Weird Science: Watch out, Cyclists, the Priapism could get you
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
As some of you may know, Sci is a runner. Sci is not a cyclist. She tried. She did. It just...it hurts your BUTT!! Seriously. Nice to go fast, but... Also, Sci hears a little about runners getting hit by cars, but she hears a LOT about cyclists getting hit. Not very encouraging.
And here's another thing that might make you think twice about entering the Tour Du France: Priapism.
De Rose, et al. "Aterial priapism and cycling: a new worrisome reality?" Urology, 2001.
(In Sci's opinio........ Read more »
De Rose, A. (2001) Arterial priapism and cycling: a new worrisome reality?. Urology, 58(3), 462. DOI: 10.1016/S0090-4295(01)01163-3
- January 16, 2009
- 02:55 AM
- 1,221 views
Friday Weird Science: Things you shouldn't do "for kicks"
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
Not only are these things you shouldn't do for kicks, but things that you should NEVER EVER have your friends do to you at a bachelor party. Those people are not your friends.
You'd think that, no matter how drunk you were, you wouldn't agree when someone said "Hey, let's see if we can fit this in your penis..."
Quin, G, McCarthy. G. "Self insertion of urethal foreign bodies". Journal of Accident and Emergency Medicine, 2000 May; 17(3): 231.
Oof. Really, I'm a girl and I'm crossing my leg........ Read more »
G. Quin. (2000) Self insertion of urethral foreign bodies. Emergency Medicine Journal, 17(3), 231-231. DOI: 10.1136/emj.17.3.231
- March 9, 2009
- 02:33 AM
- 1,221 views
Where do you think when you think of yourself?
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
No, not where ARE you when you think of yourself. Where does it happen? What part of the brain? This question has become very important to the world of cognitive neuroscience recently. We used to think of self-reflection as taking place only in the prefrontal cortex. This would mean that only animals with a well-developed prefrontal cortex would be capable of self-reflection. However, another brain area has recently been implicated in self-reflection, the insula.
The insula is hot in neur........ Read more »
Gemma Modinos, Johan Ormel, & André Aleman. (2009) Activation of Anterior Insula during Self-Reflection. PLoS ONE, 4(2). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0004618
- January 7, 2009
- 01:08 AM
- 1,220 views
Pregnant? Still drinking that pot of coffee?
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
As all y'all know by now, I'm an experienced caffeine junkie. Currently, I'm trying to forgo it again (this Diet Coke right here is merely an aberration, do not look at the caffeine behind the curtain...). But really, it's everywhere around us. Somehow I don't think it was QUITE so prevalent until the age of Starbucks. but it seems like now you can't go anywhere without running into a coffee shop or three. In some cities there is literally one on every street corner. And with the crazy live........ Read more »
Olga Björklund, Johan Kahlström, Peter Salmi, & Bertil B. Fredholm. (2008) Perinatal Caffeine, Acting on Maternal Adenosine A1 Receptors, Causes Long-Lasting Behavioral Changes in Mouse Offspring. PLoS ONE, 3(12). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003977
- November 7, 2008
- 03:11 PM
- 1,216 views
And it seemed so promising...
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
Or perhaps I should call this "Friday Weird Science...NOT!" Seriously, I'm pissed. Because when Scicurious sees a headline like this:
The Stink in Farts Controls Blood Pressure
she thinks "SWEET! This will be awesome!" and starts hunting around for the paper. The original article itself was less promising than hoped, but wishful thinking was going strong here. And imagine her surprise and dismay when the real title of the article turned out to be THIS:
H2S as a Physiologic Vasorelaxant:........ Read more »
G. Yang, L. Wu, B. Jiang, W. Yang, J. Qi, K. Cao, Q. Meng, A. K. Mustafa, W. Mu, S. Zhang.... (2008) H2S as a Physiologic Vasorelaxant: Hypertension in Mice with Deletion of Cystathionine -Lyase. Science, 322(5901), 587-590. DOI: 10.1126/science.1162667
- December 19, 2008
- 01:14 AM
- 1,211 views
Friday Weird Science: Sex in an MRI, is that romantic or what!
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
So I was GOING to do a post on Fournier's gangrene, but considering the way it completely grossed out everyone I showed it to, perhaps it's not such a good idea. I'd hate for you all to run screaming. So we're not doing it. If you're REALLY curious, you can look it up, but I am not responsible for any emotional scarring you may suffer having seen the pictures.
And anyway, I found something better to appeal to all of your dirty minds. Courtesy of Coturnix, who I think got it from Pharyngula ........ Read more »
Schultz WW, van Andel P, Sabelis I, Mooyaart E. (1999) Magnetic resonance imaging of male and female genitals during coitus and female sexual arousal. British Medical Journal.
- February 13, 2009
- 01:12 AM
- 1,204 views
Friday Weird Science: Of Testicles and Cocks
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
I love when I can talk about science while using words like "testicles" and "cocks". I really should have gone into something like urology, only then I know people would probably be all serious about it. And where's the fun in that?
Anyway, today's Weird Science comes to you courtesy of Monica, an awesome reader of the blog at Purdue. Monica found this study courtesy of Dr. John Anderson's Endocrinology class (Bio 559) at Purdue, which she says was amazingly awesome. I personally think an........ Read more »
Berthold, AA. (1944) The transplantation of testes. Bulletin of the history of medicine, 399-401.
- February 11, 2009
- 01:05 AM
- 1,193 views
Got PMS? Take Two Antidepressants, and Call Me in the Morning
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
Sci's going to go ahead and admit, the last few weeks have been a little...brutal. Ok, maybe a LOT brutal. Grad school can be tough at times, and involve days that leave Scicurious wiped. But the posts must go on! And so, today your tough little grad student (YTLGS) is fortifying herself with the best cures imaginable, moose munch and liquor, to bring you today's post.
(By the way, being poor, Sci accepts gifts to her blogging muse in the form of Moose Munch, dark chocolate of any kind, ........ Read more »
Mikael Landén, Helena Erlandsson, Finn Bengtsson, Björn Andersch, & Elias Eriksson. (2008) Short Onset of Action of a Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor When Used to Reduce Premenstrual Irritability. Neuropsychopharmacology, 34(3), 585-592. DOI: 10.1038/npp.2008.86
- March 13, 2009
- 02:07 AM
- 1,177 views
Friday Weird Science: Condoms and 'Blunt Puncture'
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
This is actually a Friday Weird Science repost from the old blog. I've had a few requests to do something on condom breakage, though, in the words of Dr. Pal "I think a lot of the time when "the condom broke" they really mean it was in the dresser drawer." It's true, I've never actually heard of a condom busting WIDE OPEN in the middle of sexual intercourse. Condom slippage, I've heard of.
But condoms do break, the question is: why?
White, Hill, Bodemeier. "Male condoms that break in use........ Read more »
WHITE, N., HILL, D., & BODEMEIER, S. (2008) Male condoms that break in use do so mostly by a “blunt puncture” mechanism☆. Contraception, 77(5), 360-365. DOI: 10.1016/j.contraception.2008.01.014
- November 28, 2008
- 06:24 PM
- 1,170 views
Friday Weird Science: The Grad Student 15
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
A somewhat late Friday Weird Science, but I want to point out that Sci was not up at 4am shopping with all the crazies. I don't DO that sort of thing. Online is so much better.
So here I was, rolling myself around the house after a particularly delicious Thanksgiving dinner, and contemplating what offering to place upon the alter of the blogosphere. And then I came upon it. The scale. Normally, I'm not too obsessive about weight, but Sci is running a half marathon very, very soon (I in f........ Read more »
Holly R Hull, Duncan Radley, Mary K Dinger, & David A Fields. (2006) The effect of the Thanksgiving Holiday on weight gain. Nutrition Journal, 5(1), 29. DOI: 10.1186/1475-2891-5-29
- October 10, 2008
- 02:10 AM
- 1,167 views
You think your phantom limb is bad, check out my phantom erection!
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
For Friday Weird Science, there is really nothing better than a good case report. And you guys are getting a GOOD one this week. Partially because it's really good, and partially because I have just returned from the bachelorette party of a dear friend. So you now get to meet FUN Scicurious! And see how devoted Sci is? She's so devoted she's blogging to you in a dubious mental state! It's because I care. And because, though last week I got to say "vagina", this week I get to say "penis". ........ Read more »
Namba, Y, Sugiyama, N, Yamashita, S, Tokuyama, E, Hasegawa, K, Kimata, Y. (2008) Phantom erectile penis after sex reassignment surgery. Acta Medica Okayama, 62(3), 213-216. DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.go.libproxy.wfubmc.edu/pubmed/18596839?ordinalpos
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