Waiting for the Greek Festival to begin in San Luis Obispo!
Here are a few intriguing stories that I found to be worthwhile reading:
Judge says brain scans not acceptable for detecting lies
“In the first decision of its kind, a federal magistrate judge has ruled that functional magnetic resonance imaging shouldn’t be permitted in the courtroom as a new type of lie detector. U.S. Magistrate Judge Tu Pham yesterday released a 39-page opinion asserting that the technology is unreliable and has not been accepted by the scientific community. Scientists who felt fMRIs weren’t ready to be used in court as lie detectors are relieved by the ruling which, while not binding on other jurisdictions, is likely to have an impact.”
to feel more alive, spend more time in nature
“Being outside in nature makes people feel more alive, finds a series of studies published in the June 2010 issue of the Journal of Environmental Psychology. And that sense of increased vitality exists above and beyond the energizing effects of physical activity and social interaction that are often associated with our forays into the natural world, the studies show.”
binge drinking rots teens brains
“Post-mortems of binge-drinking adolescent monkeys have produced the best evidence yet that heavy drinking at an early age can do lasting damage to the brain. The worst damage was to stem cells destined to become neurons in the hippocampus, the brain area responsible for memory and spatial awareness.”
value of more choline for pregnant nursing women
‘”We found that supplementing the maternal diet with additional choline resulted in dramatic improvements in attention and some normalization of emotion regulation in a mouse model of Down syndrome,” said lead author Barbara Strupp, professor of nutritional sciences and of psychology.’
