Leg of Lamb is a special treat that we enjoy on holidays. What is your favorite meal?
Here is what I am reading today:
“Mentally simulating the actions of others is thought to be a key component of empathy. Yet new research suggests that our so-called mirror neurons may also expose hidden divisions. A study published in October in the journal PLOS ONE reveals that these copycat neurons do not reflect all people equally.”
“”Melatonin receptors have been found throughout the body in many tissues including pancreatic islet cells, reflecting the widespread effects of melatonin on physiological functions such as energy metabolism and the regulation of body weight,” according to background information in the article. “Loss-of-function mutations in the melatonin receptor are associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Additionally, in a cross-sectional analysis of persons without diabetes, lower nocturnal melatonin secretion was associated with increased insulin resistance.” A prospective association between melatonin secretion and type 2 diabetes has not been previously reported. Ciaran J. McMullan, M.D., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, and colleagues conducted a study to investigate the association of melatonin secretion and the incidence of type 2 diabetes”
“Dr. Makiko Yamada discussed the research she conducted with her colleagues, starting with the main challenges they encountered in examining the default states of neural and molecular systems that generate the superiority illusion. “Our multidisciplinary approach is quite new to the investigation of the integrated neural and molecular systems of human behavior – that is, combination of three different neural stages: molecular systems, using PET; resting-state brain functions using fMRI; and the degree of superiority illusion using a cognitive task,” Yamada tells Medical Xpress. “Because these three stages have previously been approached separately using different research protocols, it was challenging to link them in the best possible way. In addition, the setup of the experiment is extensive in terms of time, money, and researchers from each required field.””
“Research suggests that human body odor signals quite a bit of information, including sex, age, genetic compatibility, and female fertility status. Which raises the obvious question: Can you smell someone’s personality?! Recent research suggests you actually can (at least for some traits). Agnieszka Sorokowska and colleagues gave 30 women and 30 men 100% cotton white T-shirts (after washing them all in the same washing powder) and asked them to wear them for three consecutive nights on a scheduled weekend. All participants were single and slept alone during the weekend. During the daytime, the T-shirts were left wrapped in their bed linen and after three days the experimenters collected the shirts, placed them in sealed plastic bags, and froze them. Within a week of collecting the T-shirts, 100 men and 100 women each rated three men’s and three women’s thawed samples in non-transparent plastic bags in a closed, well-ventilated room. What did they find?”
“”When we turn on a laser light in the prelimbic region of the prefrontal cortex, the compulsive cocaine seeking is gone,” said Antonello Bonci, MD, scientific director of the intramural research program at the NIH’s National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), where the work was done. Bonci is also an adjunct professor of neurology at UCSF and an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University. Described this week in the journal Nature, the new study demonstrates the central role the prefrontal cortex plays in compulsive cocaine addiction. It also suggests a new therapy that could be tested immediately in humans, Bonci said.”
4 Comments
mparisi · April 4, 2013 at 9:59 am
The article “smelling personality” really interested me. I have always been interested in first impression and the lasting impact that they can have. After vaguely hearing about pheromones, I thought this article was fascinating. Personality is a huge part of compatibility in my opinion, and now with other senses are being proved to attract you to a certain individual. The concept that science can better proved companionship, an often romanticism idea, is fascinating.
mparisi · April 9, 2013 at 8:10 am
The “mirror neurons and hatred” article seems really valuable for day to day life. Sometimes you wonder why certain people are always so unhappy and negative. Other than a difference in lifestyle and attitude, it is interesting to know that people who are surrounded by hatred are biologically “wired” to continue and replicate that hate.
bmgibbs · April 26, 2013 at 10:13 am
I just read the article, “Discovery in Neuroscience Could Help Re-Wire Appetite”, and I am really impressed! Obesity is a huge issue that affects many people here in the United States, and it’s very dangerous to one’s health. This is also personally important to me because my mom is in the overweight/obesity range and has been my entire life. It really affects her health, and a few years ago, she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. My doctors say that means that I am at risk as well. Controlling appetite, exercising, and maintaining a healthy weight are all very important to overall health and well-being. However, for many people this is easier said than done. If scientists were able to develop a drug that could adjust the number of neurons in the brain that regulate appetite, it’s likely that obesity would be reduced drastically. Hopefully, we get to that point some day.
bmgibbs · April 26, 2013 at 10:30 am
The article “Online Learning: It’s Different” really jumped out to me because I know that in today’s technological age, online classes are being more and more widely used. I also have taken an online class in high school, and speaking from experience, I agree with this article’s findings. Online classes and lectures can definitely lead to more distractions among students because they are not being monitored in a classroom. When I did my online class, I found myself getting distracted by the people around me, my cell phone, and even the television when I had it on sometimes . Something should be done to help prevent these distractions or at least give an incentive for students to pay more attention. It makes sense to me that professors giving more frequent tests would make students want to be less distracted. I know that if I knew I was going to be tested soon that I would be more likely to pay closer attention to the online lecture.