Science as Art

One of the things I love about being a neurobiologist is just how stunningly beautiful so many neural systems can be.  Truthfully, there are many of these types of images that can be found throughout biology and really in all branches of science, however, this one comes from a blog I recently discovered that appears to be dedicated to all things neurosciencey.  My thanks goes out to the Neuroimages blog, where you can see lots more like this one...

... it's a mouse retina in case you were curious.

The worst supplement ever, and no, this is not a made up news story

I don't think (or at least I hope) you don't need a scientist to tell you: "DON'T EAT THE PILLS MADE FROM DEAD BABIES!"  Similarly common sense should tell you that these "supplements" (made by microwaving dead human stillborn infants and then grinding them into powder) will almost certainly NOT increase your sexual stamina or cure whatever ails you (which I am not basing on any scientific studies, just the fact that every supplement that has ever claimed to cure everything has turned out to cure nothing).  BUT, in case you do need some science to help you determine whether or not you should go ahead and try these things anyway, the BBC reports that harmful, antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been detected in confiscated samples.  Something to think about the next time you order some poorly labeled "herbal" stamina-boosting pills from the internet or tell someone that their baby is "cute enough to eat".

Are anti-smoking ads really effective?

If you've seen these commercials anywhere, you have probably had a strong reaction to them (good or bad).  Personally, I think they are great, and I would have guessed (gut feeling only, not scientifically based) that they would not only be effective, but more effective than milder commercials.  Of course, it would seem that people are terrible at guessing which anti-smoking ads are most effective, so perhaps I am wrong...
Your brain knows which ads are winners, better than you do: Study on smokers' brains may mark dawn of new age in advertising
Although, another recent study suggests that just about any anti-smoking messages that get out there are effective  to some degree...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120419132503.htm
So, I look forward to seeing this and hopefully many other anti-smoking ads during my (far too regular) tv viewing.

Best Illusions of the Year

A little while back I posted that I was reading a very interesting book called Sleights of Mind by Stephen L. Macnik and Susana Martinez-Conde.  In the book, the authors describe an online contest to determine the best new illusions every year.  The contest is in its 7th year, and recently, the winners were announced.  Personally, I liked the "Grouping By Contrast" and the "Mask of Love" illusions the best, but then, to each his own I guess.

The Mask of Love: Do you notice anything unusual about the mask in the center?  Look closer and you may see a photograph of two faces rather than one, a man and a woman kissing.

A new class of antidepressants has been identified...

They're called books...  Okay, that's a bit of media sensationalism there, but according to a recent study in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine adolescents who reported reading more print media (books, magazines, newspapers, etc.) were less likely to be diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD), while adolescents who spent more time spent listening to music had an increased likelihood of a diagnosis of MDD.  The study took advantage of a fairly new technique known as ecological momentary assessment, which basically allows researchers to take a bunch of individual "snapshots" of people's behavior as if they were animals in the wild.  Rather than invite people to come into a university lab or office and fill out a survey where the subjects might over- or under-estimate how much time they spent on a given activity, study participants agree to be called randomly on their cell phones and answer a small, instantaneous survey.  In this particular study, researchers called more than 100 adolescents over a period of about 2 months, calling each participant 60 times and asking whether they had, at that moment, been watching television, playing video games, surfing the internet, listening to music, or reading a book (or magazine, etc.).  The results suggest that the more time adolescents spent listening to music, the more likely they were to be diagnosed with MDD.  Conversely, the more time they spent reading books or other print media, the less likely they were to get such a diagnosis. Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean that books have any antidepressant properties (or that music will make you morose or melancholy), rather it is likely that adolescents who are depressed are more apt to spend their time listening to music and less likely to spend it reading books.  Still, it will be interesting to see what comes from this line of research.
And, in case you were wondering, time spent watching tv, surfing the web, or playing video games did not appear to strongly correlate either way with MDD diagnoses.


Primack BA, Silk JS, Delozier CR, Shadel WG, Dillman Carpentier FR, Dahl RE, & Switzer GE (2011). Using ecological momentary assessment to determine media use by individuals with and without major depressive disorder. Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine, 165 (4), 360-5 PMID: 21464384

You might think that Charles Darwin was obsessed with money and beer

Since he is on a 2 pound coin in England and the 500 Sucres Note in Ecuador (at right) and since there is (apparently) a Darwin beer:
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Darwin's+ale+is+top+of+the+hops;+SCIENTIST+CELEBRATED.-a0193457529
 I can think of no better tribute to one of the greatest scientists of all time... though, to be fair, I suppose we need some Alfred Russel Wallace guineas and maybe a ginger beer in his honor?

Random roundup

Whenever I find interesting things on the web, I try to leave the tabs open on my browser until I get the time to go back and post or write something up on the blog.  Lately, I have been keeping so many tabs open it has been causing the browser to freeze and crash, so I figure I'll put up a handful of the links and maybe I'll be able to surf the internet unhindered again...


Gonorrhea can acquire human DNA...  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110213174143.htm that’s right, when someone gives you gonorrhea, they’re really just giving you a piece of themselves.

Finally, science explains why Santa Claus is so jolly:
http://neuroskeptic.blogspot.com/2011/01/fat-genes-make-you-happy.html

A fairly long list of science jokes can be found here... http://blog.the-scientist.com/2010/07/06/a-biologist-a-chemist-and-a-physicist-walk-into-a-bar/comment-page-1/#comments 

My favorite so far: The artist, architect, and scientist are discussing the merits of having a wife versus a girlfriend. The artists says, “A girlfriend is preferable, because of the mystery and romance”. The architect says, “A wife is preferable, because you can build a lasting foundation for a good relationship”. Finally, the scientist says, “Having both is preferable!”. The other two say, “Both?”. “Yes, because the wife thinks you are with the girlfriend, the girlfriend thinks you are with the wife, and you can go into the lab and get some work done.”

More evidence that women don’t suck at math and science... apparently we just keep telling them they do, and for some reason, they listen...

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/11/25/15-minute-writing-exercise-closes-the-gender-gap-in-university-level-physics/

Like the comedian Kyle Kinane so eloquently stated: “This is America, which means that I have a God given right to be loudly opinionated about something that I am completely ignorant of.” http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/10/19/when-in-doubt-shout-%E2%80%93-why-shaking-someone%E2%80%99s-beliefs-turns-them-into-stronger-advocates/