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- August 17, 2011
- 05:01 AM
- 383 views
And then the smokers came for your sperm...
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
Today was a lovely day. The weather was perfect, a good day in lab, a good run, a delicious veggie burger, a good beer. Life was pretty much perfect as I sat down in a mood to blog. ...and then I read this paper. And it was like this: (You know, if only they could [...]... Read more »
Marchetti, F., Rowan-Carroll, A., Williams, A., Polyzos, A., Berndt-Weis, M., & Yauk, C. (2011) Sidestream tobacco smoke is a male germ cell mutagen. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(31), 12811-12814. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1106896108
- August 12, 2011
- 12:39 AM
- 370 views
Friday Weird Science: Nutty Semen
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
Sci will be honest: I hate Brazil nuts. I have no idea why anyone eats them, they always taste all sour and gritty and WEIRD. The taste just kind of lingers in your teeth. But what if it didn’t just linger in your teeth? What if it lingered in your…semen? Ah, Sci, you say. You’re [...]... Read more »
Bansal AS, Chee R, Nagendran V, Warner A, & Hayman G. (2007) Dangerous liaison: sexually transmitted allergic reaction to Brazil nuts. Journal of investigational allergology , 17(3), 189-91. PMID: 17583107
- August 10, 2011
- 02:04 AM
- 372 views
Another reason those Antidepressants might not be working: taken Aspirin lately?
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
A few days ago I talked a little bit about the interactions between stress and neurogenesis, and the way that this might impact symptoms of depression. But it turns out that there’s even more to the way stress affects the body than impacting neurogenesis, and the long term effects could in turn affect the way [...]... Read more »
Warner-Schmidt JL, Vanover KE, Chen EY, Marshall JJ, & Greengard P. (2011) Antidepressant effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are attenuated by antiinflammatory drugs in mice and humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(22), 9262-7. PMID: 21518864
- August 5, 2011
- 12:19 AM
- 357 views
Friday Weird Science: For a highly symmetrical butt, you might want to consider soccer instead of tennis.
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
Ah, the things that people will research. I have to say this kind of research could either really awkward, or really thrilling, depending. So now, my friends, it is time to stare at some butts. Some very, very athletic butts. Stare carefully now, you're looking for SCIENCE. (source) Sanchis-Moysi et al. "Iliopsoas and Gluteal Muscles [...]... Read more »
Sanchis-Moysi, J., Idoate, F., Izquierdo, M., Calbet, J., & Dorado, C. (2011) Iliopsoas and Gluteal Muscles Are Asymmetric in Tennis Players but Not in Soccer Players. PLoS ONE, 6(7). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0022858
- August 1, 2011
- 07:45 PM
- 386 views
Don't put down the Fritos: Salt cravings and your crack habit.
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
One of the interesting things about being a scientist is reading how science is interpreted in the mainstream media, and then comparing the headlines back to the science that was, you know, actually done. When I was a young, and highly naive little scientist, I would read the headlines and go "oh, wow, they found [...]... Read more »
Liedtke WB, McKinley MJ, Walker LL, Zhang H, Pfenning AR, Drago J, Hochendoner SJ, Hilton DL, Lawrence AJ, & Denton DA. (2011) Relation of addiction genes to hypothalamic gene changes subserving genesis and gratification of a classic instinct, sodium appetite. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(30), 12509-14. PMID: 21746918
- July 29, 2011
- 12:18 PM
- 472 views
Friday Weird Science: Knights in Shining Armor, Not as sexy as you might think
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
This new article has gained substantial attention on the interwebs, and who can blame us? After all, knights, shining armor, it's what lots of people like to pretend to be (or pretend to be rescued by, goes both ways). Picture it if you would: a damsel in distress, inches from death in the maw of [...]... Read more »
Askew, G., Formenti, F., & Minetti, A. (2011) Limitations imposed by wearing armour on Medieval soldiers' locomotor performance. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.0816
- July 22, 2011
- 08:27 AM
- 514 views
Friday Weird Science: The Lion Eats Tonight
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
A weemahway, A weemahway... You think too hard about this paper, you'll get this song in your head for the next few days. Don't say I didn't warn you. Humans. We have a lot of fears, many of them somewhat justified. Heights, spiders, the scream mask. The dark. In Westernized countries a lot of these [...]... Read more »
Packer, C., Swanson, A., Ikanda, D., & Kushnir, H. (2011) Fear of Darkness, the Full Moon and the Nocturnal Ecology of African Lions. PLoS ONE, 6(7). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0022285
- July 21, 2011
- 12:59 AM
- 393 views
You ARE what you eat. At least, your brain is. Anyone surprised?
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
A tweet via @Vaughnbell yesterday shared this paper, and I just couldn't let it go by. Sigh. So very much to blog, so very little time. I don't know how you all feel about breakfast, but for Sci, it's a little essential. I NEED it. If I don't get breakfast by 10am I am a [...]... Read more »
Taki, Y., Hashizume, H., Sassa, Y., Takeuchi, H., Asano, M., Asano, K., & Kawashima, R. (2010) Breakfast Staple Types Affect Brain Gray Matter Volume and Cognitive Function in Healthy Children. PLoS ONE, 5(12). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0015213
- July 15, 2011
- 02:12 AM
- 415 views
Friday Weird Science: They totally knew Lady Gaga was coming.
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
One of my favorite types of posts is the type where I get to throw in a ton of music links. This one is no exception. Put on your headphones! I saw this paper covered in an article on Jezebel before I left for vacation, and there just wasn't time to cover it then. The [...]... Read more »
Berns, G., & Moore, S. (2011) A neural predictor of cultural popularity. Journal of Consumer Psychology. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcps.2011.05.001
- July 13, 2011
- 07:59 AM
- 616 views
The Opposite Side of Dopamine: The D2 Receptor
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
When most people think of dopamine, they think of things that can get you high. Things that feel good. Cocaine. Sex. Food. We imagine floods of dopamine in our brains as the pleasurable feelings take hold. As more and more media outlets cover neuroscience, we get the idea that serotonin means happiness, but dopamine means...pleasure. [...]... Read more »
Bello EP, Mateo Y, Gelman DM, Noaín D, Shin JH, Low MJ, Alvarez VA, Lovinger DM, & Rubinstein M. (2011) Cocaine supersensitivity and enhanced motivation for reward in mice lacking dopamine D(2) autoreceptors. Nature neuroscience. PMID: 21743470
- July 6, 2011
- 01:52 AM
- 362 views
REPOST: Oral Contraceptives and Weight Gain, Myths and Truths and Anecdotes
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
And lions and tigers and bears! Sci is reposting this one in particular because I keep seeing it come up. Again and again I read articles on how combined hormonal contraceptives don't cause weight gain. And again and again I see women posting everywhere on the internet not to trust those dang scientists! I gained [...]... Read more »
Gallo MF, Lopez LM, Grimes DA, Schulz KF, & Helmerhorst FM. (2008) Combination contraceptives: effects on weight. Cochrane database of systematic reviews (Online). PMID: 18843652
- July 1, 2011
- 01:44 AM
- 533 views
Friday Weird Science REPOST: Curing your snoring problem with quick and easy digeridoo lessons!
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
Thanks again to NCBI ROFL, who finds these hilarious things and posts their abstracts for all the world to see, and for Sci to giggle over and then run around trying to find hilarious pictures of didgeridoos. So, let's talk about your snoring problem. And then let's talk about your musical stylings on the didgeridoo. [...]... Read more »
Puhan, M. (2006) Didgeridoo playing as alternative treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: randomised controlled trial. BMJ, 332(7536), 266-270. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.38705.470590.55
- June 29, 2011
- 01:31 AM
- 667 views
REPOST: Dopamine and Reward Prediction, or your brain on Rickroll
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
Today Sci is going to blog a paper that she has been meaning to blog for a long time. It's one of those papers that people who do certain kinds of science snuggle with when they go to sleep at night. (Sci and this paper) But the real reason that Sci loves this paper is [...]... Read more »
Schultz, W. (1997) A Neural Substrate of Prediction and Reward. Science, 275(5306), 1593-1599. DOI: 10.1126/science.275.5306.1593
- June 24, 2011
- 01:23 AM
- 497 views
Friday Weird Science: Antidepressants affect sexual behavior...but HOW?
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
I was very pleased to run across this paper a few weeks ago. I answer a LOT of questions about psychiatric drugs (on blog and IRL), and one of the most frequent ones is "DO antidepressants hurt sexual activity?" and "HOW?" As for whether they DO, well, yes. The most popular class of antidepressants, the [...]... Read more »
Hueletl-Soto, M., Carro-Juárez, M., & Rodríguez-Manzo, G. (2011) Fluoxetine Chronic Treatment Inhibits Male Rat Sexual Behavior by Affecting Both Copulatory Behavior and the Genital Motor Pattern of Ejaculation. The Journal of Sexual Medicine. DOI: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2011.02339.x
- June 13, 2011
- 12:59 AM
- 310 views
If you walk over a bed of hot coals, your mom might be worried about you. It’s science.
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
Sci has to say she’d have LOVED to take the data for this study. Get to go to Spain, hang out, put some heart monitors on people and watch some fire walking…sounds like a good time. Much more glamorous than my own daily life in the lab. Can I get a little glamour around here? [...]... Read more »
Konvalinka, I., Xygalatas, D., Bulbulia, J., Schjodt, U., Jegindo, E., Wallot, S., Van Orden, G., & Roepstorff, A. (2011) Synchronized arousal between performers and related spectators in a fire-walking ritual. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(20), 8514-8519. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1016955108
- June 10, 2011
- 02:24 AM
- 354 views
Friday Weird Science's Fightin' Fish: Is an antidepressant making your grumpy guppies zen?
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
I thought of making this a normal science, but really it's just too weird for that. I mean, what happens when you combine this: (Source) and this? (Source) Well...so far, probably nothing. But wouldn't it be fun to watch them fight... Holmberg et al. "Does waterborne citalopram affect the aggressive and sexual behaviour of rainbow [...]... Read more »
Holmberg, A., Fogel, J., Albertsson, E., Fick, J., Brown, J., Paxéus, N., Förlin, L., Johnsson, J., & Larsson, D. (2011) Does waterborne citalopram affect the aggressive and sexual behaviour of rainbow trout and guppy?. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 187(1-3), 596-599. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2011.01.055
- June 3, 2011
- 09:43 AM
- 599 views
Friday Weird Science: Forget cancer, what are cell phones doing to your SPERM!?
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
You know, we keep hearing about things that cell phones may or may not do things. To the bees. To the risks of brain cancer. To your perceptions. To I don't know what. But it's time we focused on the IMPORTANT things, my friends. What does a cell phone do to your SEMEN? I mean, [...]... Read more »
Gutschi T, Mohamad Al-Ali B, Shamloul R, Pummer K, & Trummer H. (2011) Impact of cell phone use on men's semen parameters. Andrologia. PMID: 21486411
- May 27, 2011
- 03:30 AM
- 466 views
Friday Weird Science: Is that a Cell Phone in your Pocket or are you just happy to see me?
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
Ever since doing a couple of pieces of cell phones and things like sperm, I've become curious about what other studies have been done on the effects of cell phone use and keeping a small, highly addictive electronic object on your person (even though, sometimes, I end up very wrong). Not surprisingly, there's a large [...]... Read more »
Rothberg, M., Arora, A., Hermann, J., Kleppel, R., Marie, P., & Visintainer, P. (2010) Phantom vibration syndrome among medical staff: a cross sectional survey. BMJ, 341(dec15 2). DOI: 10.1136/bmj.c6914
- May 25, 2011
- 12:23 AM
- 476 views
Are Cell Phones Killing the Bees?
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
Sci has been really interested in the latest literature on cell phones. Partially because some of it involves holding a cell phone over a petri dish filled with sperm, I will admit. But it's also just one of those things that really interest people. We're using these super cool little gadgets that can access the [...]... Read more »
Favre. (2010) Mobile phone-induced honeybee worker piping. Apidologie. info:/
- May 6, 2011
- 08:58 AM
- 540 views
Friday Weird Science: I hope you like your sperm, and your cell phones, "neat"
by Scicurious in Neurotic Physiology
Ok, really today's post isn't about that. But it's definitely the one major thing I took away from this paper. This post is actually about the effects of cell phones on semen. But refer to your semen as "neat" once, and well, it sticks with you. (These scientists like their semen the way they like [...]... Read more »
Agarwal, A., Desai, N., Makker, K., Varghese, A., Mouradi, R., Sabanegh, E., & Sharma, R. (2009) Effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic waves (RF-EMW) from cellular phones on human ejaculated semen: an in vitro pilot study. Fertility and Sterility, 92(4), 1318-1325. DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.08.022
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