July 20

Genomes, Circuits, and the Roundworm: C. Elegans as a Model Organism

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A nematode can do much to help our understanding of human biology.

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July 13

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

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What’s one part beach, four parts science, and too much fun? If you answered “Brain Camp,” you nailed it.

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July 06

A nerve-racking issue

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[En español] In 1936, a scientist named Gerhard Schrader was hired by the German government to end a bothersome and destructive beetle pest that was devastating German farms. Mixing different molecules (because that’s what we scientists do) he came across the recipe for the deadly nerve agent tabun. Even though his purpose was to create […]

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June 29

Feelin’ the Beat (Frequency)

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What do you think when you read the word interference? If you’re like most people, you probably think it’s negative. Colloquially, interference tends to be obstructive or destructive, like interference keeping your radio or TV from picking up a station, or pass interference in football. I’m NeuWriting to inform you of a recent study in […]

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June 22

Psychopathy, qu’est-ce que c’est

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Psychopathy, qu’est-ce que c’est A thought experiment Imagine that you are a respected scientist trying to better understand psychopathy.  What might be different in the brain of a psychopath?  As you look through brain scan after brain scan of psychopathic individuals—many of them convicted killers—you see a pattern.  In brain regions important for impulse control, […]

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June 15

Your Brain, the Liar

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Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality? Thinking machines, like those portrayed in HBO’s Westworld, use new information from their environment to update their beliefs about the world and take action to further their goals. For all such machines, the success of that process of integrating new input is limited by their hardware, […]

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June 08

Apply now for ComSciCon at UCSD!

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Applications for ComSciCon-SD close in one week (on June 15th)!  Apply today. A scientist and a non-scientist walk into a bar.  As the night proceeds, the non-scientist asks the scientist the oft-dreaded question: “So, what do you do?  What is your research about?”  What likely follows is a confused and confusing garble of jargon and […]

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June 01

Highs and Lows

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Have you ever heard about the distinction between Type 1 and Type 2 fun?  Don’t worry, this isn’t some scientific attempt to quantify fun and render it anything but.  Type 1 fun is basically anything you do that is actually fun.  Playing with puppies, hanging out with friends, annoying your significant other – that sort […]

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May 25

Cranium-bound Ultrasound: A Novel Brain Stimulation Method

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      Over the last few years, the application of ultrasonic stimulation has been heading towards a rather intimate part of the human body: the brain. Researchers have engineered a way to transmit ultrasound through the skull to influence brain activity, remarkably without the necessity of brain surgery. While non-invasive brain stimulation has been […]

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May 11

Identity Crisis

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Who are you? How do you know? I’ve been thinking a lot about identity this week. It all started when I received a letter from the IRS that began “Dear TAXPAYER” and essentially asked, “Are you who you say you are?” (Yes, it’s me! Please send me my tax refund!) To validate my identity, I […]

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