March 21, 2011
Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AIWS), also known as Todd’s syndrome, is a disorienting neurological condition which affects human perception. Sufferers may experience visual and other sensory distortions. A temporary condition, it is often associated with migraines, brain tumors, and the use of psychoactive drugs.
It can also present as the initial sign of the Epstein-Barr Virus. Anecdotal reports suggests that the symptoms of AIWS are fairly common in childhood, with many people growing out of them in their teens. It appears that AIWS is also a common experience at sleep onset.
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March 15, 2011
David Goggins is a Navy SEAL, who served in Afghanistan, and an ultramarathon runner. After several of his friends died in the war, Goggins began long-distance running to raise money. In 2005, Goggins entered the 24 hour race in San Diego and was able to run 100 miles in under 19 hours, despite never having run a marathon before. Since then, Goggins competed in many different long distance running events such as the Las Vegas Marathon and the Badwater 135 miler, where he placed highly.
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March 14, 2011
A placebo is a sham or simulated medical intervention. Sometimes patients given a placebo treatment will have a perceived or actual improvement in a medical condition, a phenomenon commonly called the placebo effect. In medical research, placebos are given as control treatments and depend on the use of measured deception. Common placebos are inert tablets, sham surgery, and other procedures based on false information. Since the publication of Henry K. Beecher’s ‘The Powerful Placebo’ in 1955 the phenomenon has been considered to have clinically important effects.
The word ‘placebo,’ Latin for ‘I will please,’ dates back to a Latin translation of the Bible. In 1785 it was defined as a ‘commonplace method or medicine’ and in 1811 it was defined as ‘any medicine adapted more to please than to benefit the patient,’ sometimes with a derogatory implication but not with the implication of no effect. Placebos were widespread in medicine until the 20th century, and they were sometimes endorsed as necessary deceptions.
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March 11, 2011
An antigen [ann-tuh-jen] is a protein expressed by a bacteria or virus that is recognized by an immune system as foreign which can stimulate the production of antibodies and combine specifically with them. Usually an antibody is a molecule, perhaps on the cell surface of a bacterium or virus. Antibodies are always ‘foreign’; except in rare cases the system is tolerant of its own molecules. Autoimmune diseases are caused when this safeguard fails. When an antigen is introduced into the body it causes the production of antibodies. Antigens include bacteria, cells of transplanted organs, plant pollen and toxins.
The first time that a new antigen comes into contact with the body the response of the immune system will be a complete immune response. During this first response, the antigen will cause antibodies to be made. The next time the same antigen contacts the body, a full scale immune response is not needed as the body already has a specific antibody available instantly for that antigen. This means that the body can begin fighting an infection much sooner for illnesses it has encountered before, and takes more time to begin to fight an infection in new illnesses.
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March 8, 2011
The glycemic index or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion and release glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI; carbohydrates that break down more slowly, releasing glucose more gradually into the bloodstream, have a low GI.
The concept was developed by Dr. David J. Jenkins and colleagues in 1980 at the University of Toronto in their research to find out which foods were best for people with diabetes.
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March 7, 2011
Sarsaparilla [sas-puh-ril-uh] is a soft drink, originally made from the Smilax regelii plant, but now often made with artificial flavors. It was popular in the US in the 19th century. According to advertisements for patent medicines of the period, it was considered to be a remedy for skin and blood problems.
In Hollywood westerns from the 1930s to the 1950s, ordering sarsaparilla in a saloon (instead of whiskey) is often met with mockery by the manly cowboys nearby. Sarsaparilla drinks feature widely in American popular culture, particularly in works related to the American West. In the 1957-1961 ABC western television series, ‘Sugarfoot,’ the title character, Tom Brewster, played by Will Hutchins, is a teetotaler who orders sarsaparilla ‘with a dash of cherry’ whenever he enters a saloon.
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March 7, 2011
Spruce beer is a beverage flavored with the buds, needles, or essence of spruce trees. Spruce beer can refer to either alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages. A number of flavors are associated with spruce-flavored beverages, ranging from floral, citrusy, and fruity to cola-like flavors to resinous and piney. This diversity in flavor likely comes from the choice of spruce species, the season in which the needles are harvested, and the manner of preparation.
The fresh shoots of many spruces and pines are a natural source of vitamin C. Captain Cook made alcoholic sugar-based spruce beer during his sea voyages in order to prevent scurvy in his crew. Though spruce has sometimes been used as a flavoring ingredient in beer, such as Alba Scots Pine Ale,[and the Alaskan Brewing Company’s Winter Ale, the only beer termed ‘spruce beer’ is Wigram Brewing Company’ Spruce Beer, which is based on Captain Cooks first beer brewed in New Zealand in 1773.
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March 7, 2011
Brain lateralization [lat-er-uh-luh-zey-shuhn] is the distribution of function into right and left hemispheres. In most brains the left hemisphere is the center of language, logic, and rationality and controls the right side of the body, and the right hemisphere is the focus of creativity, intuition, holistic thought, and controls the left side of the body. In common speech lateralization is referred to as handedness, the preference for using either the left or the right side of the body for certain things.
Lateralization occurs in animals when one side of the brain is stronger (more dominant) than the other. Until fairly recently it was thought humans preferred the left or right sides of their body was because they could speak. However, it was later discovered that many nonverbal species display lateralization. For example, elephants often have preferences for whether they swing their trunks to the left or the right. Honeybees have right antennas that are more sensitive to smells. Parrots can be left- or right-footed, and some are ambidextrous. Chickens and minnows like to look for food with one eye and look out for predators with the other.
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March 4, 2011
Eating Animals is the third book by the American writer Jonathan Safran Foer, published in 2009. It is a work of non-fiction exploring the topics of factory farming and commercial fisheries. He examines topics such as by-catch (fish caught unintentionally in a fishery while intending to catch other fish) and slaughterhouse conditions, learning that Indonesian shrimp trawlers kill 58 pounds of sea creatures for every 1 pound of shrimp, and that in American slaughterhouses, cows are consistently ‘bled, dismembered, and skinned while conscious.’
He also explores the health risks which pervade American factory farming, for example that H1N1 originated in a North Carolina factory farm, and that according to Consumer Reports, 98 percent of American chicken is infected with campylobacter or salmonella at the time of consumption. Foer also examines the cultural meaning of food, beginning with the experience of his own grandmother, who survived the holocaust, with a lifelong obsession over food. He builds on and ultimately criticizes the work of Michael Pollan on our relationship to the food we eat.
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March 3, 2011
Chronotype is an attribute of animals, including human beings, reflecting at what time of the day their physical functions (hormone level, body temperature, cognitive faculties, eating and sleeping) are active. This phenomenon is commonly reduced to sleeping habits only, referring to people as ‘larks’ and ‘owls’ where morning people wake up early and are most alert in the first part of the day, and evening people are most alert in the late evening hours and prefer to go to bed late.
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March 1, 2011
Bone conduction is the transmission of sound to the inner ear through the bones of the skull. Because the skull conducts low frequencies better than air, people perceive their own voices to be lower and deeper than others do. Bone conduction is ears-free, thus providing extended use comfort and safety, has high sound clarity in very noisy environments, and can be used with hearing protection.
However, some implementations require more power than headphones, and the overall clarity is not on par with traditional headphones and microphone due to reduced frequency bandwidth. One example of a bone conduction speaker is a piezo-electric flexing disc about 40mm across and 6mm thick used by scuba divers. Bone conduction transmission is also useful for individuals with impaired hearing.
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March 1, 2011
The anterior fornix erogenous zone (AFE or A-Spot) is a female erogenous zone that when stimulated can lead to rapid vaginal lubrication and arousal, sometimes without any other form of stimulation, with continued stimulation resulting in an intense orgasm. It is located at or near the deepest point on the anterior wall of the vagina, above the cervix, where the anterior wall of the vagina starts to curve upward. The posterior fornix is also believed to be an erogenous zone, called the ‘deep spot.’
Some believe that the AFE is the anterior fornix itself, but some sex experts believe it to be a degenerated female prostate (a theory that many have already applied to the G-spot and the Skene’s gland) or the area where the vaginal nerves connect, which is thought to be near it. One other theory is that it is the vesicouterine pouch, due to its proximity to the supposed location of the AFE zone and the supposed erogenous qualities of the rectouterine pouch. The AFE redirects female ejaculatory fluid, which is expelled from the Skene’s gland during G-spot orgasms, and turns it into vaginal lubrication. Because stimulating the AFE zone causes this mechanism and creates an erotic sensation simultaneously, full arousal occurs very quickly.
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