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Here is what I am reading today:
“Earlier research had demonstrated the capacity of several species of primates, as well as dolphins, to recognize themselves in a mirror, suggesting a fairly sophisticated sense of self.”
“Altruism, the sacrificing of individual gains for the greater good, appears at first glance to go against the notion of “survival of the fittest.” But altruistic gene expression is found in nature and is passed on from one generation to the next. Worker ants, for example, are sterile and make the ultimate altruistic sacrifice by not transmitting their genes at all in order to insure the survival of the queen’s genetic makeup”
Nearly 50 years ago, physiologists described the retina’s tricks for improving contrast and sharpening edges, but new experiments by University of California, Berkeley, neurobiologists show how the eye achieves this without sacrificing shadow detail.
“The study is based on the universal human behaviour to react with instant aggression when another person behaves unfairly and in a manner that is not in the best interest of the group. The researchers had 35 subjects play a money-based fairness game, in which one player suggests to another how a fixed sum of money is to be shared between them; the other player can then either accept the suggestion and take the money, or reject it, in which case neither player receives anything.”
“They found increased brain activation in three brain areas associated with visual processing in Ecstasy users with the highest lifetime exposure to the drug. The findings were consistent with the investigators’ predictions based on results from animal models: that Ecstasy use is associated with a loss of serotonin signaling, which leads to hyper-excitability (increased activation) in the brain.”
“…Airdrie, you were my best friend and my closest connection. I don’t know what we’d have been like without each other, but I think the world would be a poorer place. I loved you deeply, I loved you, I loved you, I loved you.”
3 Comments
luketheorange · May 6, 2011 at 7:05 pm
The ecstasy article starts by saying how the drug can help people with PTSD, but then the article drastically turns to only the negative affects of ecstasy. I found many things wrong with this article even though it’s promising start. firstly the term “ecstasy” is so vague because the drug ecstasy’s main ingredient is MDMA which gives you that basic euphoric feeling, but then it is cut with several other drugs such as speed and cocaine. If i was doing this experiment I would narrow my experiment to only use MDMA. secondly they are saying how they really do not know how ecstasy affects the body long term. I can’t recall any studies on ecstasy, but I know the drug has been popular in America since the early 90’s and even longer in Europe. That is twenty plus years of time that can be seen how ecstasy has affected someone. Even though people were probably not using it for those twenty years consistently. lastly they did not explain with detail how the drug could help with PTSD.
luketheorange · May 6, 2011 at 7:29 pm
“I control therefore I am” article was interesting to read because it is providing evidence for how close we are connected to our cousins. The experiment brings us closer to knowing if we can tell if non-human animals are self aware. To me though, self aware is more than just knowing that this body is mine and I control it’s actions. It is more of a self wonder and self exploration which would be hard to test for. This may just be my definition, but it could be wrong. I also believe that the definition of self is somewhat different for each person.
Annadavis · May 6, 2011 at 7:56 pm
This is going to sound corny to some, and that’s ok. I’m going to share my thoughts anyway. I don’t know how the story went for Dr. Hartline and the horseshoe crabs but it has to be an amazing one. Professor Kramer’s work is beyond my very limited comprehension but it fascinates me none the less. How have they figured all this stuff out?
I think biology amazing, fascinating, awe-inspiring and mind-blowing. I do not consider myself wired well enough to be a biologist at this point in my life and I didn’t feel this way about science when I was graduating high school but I’d love to be wired to be a biologist in my next life.
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