When I started college, my best friend and I started a regular workout schedule to evade the infamous freshman fifteen. The odds were already out of my favor when I started to work at the dining hall right next to my freshman dorm. We were not as intense as Olympic runner Allyson Felix pictured above. […]
Search Results for: exercise
July
15
Brains love bone juice
posted by Ricardo Lozoya
Skeletons as a hormone-secreting organ In the early 2000s, researchers in Dr. Gerard Karsenty’s group were studying a protein secreted by bones named osteocalcin (OCN) to see if it played a role in bone mineralization (i.e. how our skeleton attracts the minerals needed for its structure). Even though they found that OCN isn’t involved in […]
May
26
Why does breathing slowly make us feel better?
posted by Seraphina Solders
You’ve heard it before – during moments of overwhelm, take slow, deep breaths. But how exactly does controlling our breath influence our physiology and ultimately impact our mental well-being?
March
03
Why does diabetes make my foot go numb?
posted by Ricardo Lozoya
Context–what is diabetic neuropathy? Worldwide, about 1 in 10 adults have diabetes, with that number expected to rise in the coming decades [1]. In this disease, the body becomes unable to properly produce or respond to insulin, leading to high blood sugar levels and abnormal energy processing [2]. Thankfully, many medications, lifestyle interventions (e.g. exercise), […]
February
24
The Neuroscience of Stress
posted by Desi Chu
Not to brag, but I would consider myself to be an expert in stress – not the study of it, but because of how often I’ve experienced it throughout my adult life (yay, grad school!). If you’re reading this article, I’m guessing you can think of a time when you’ve experienced stress, whether that’s cramming […]
October
29
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
posted by Margot Wagner
What is anxiety? Many of us know how it feels; our heart rate increases, our minds race, our palms get sweaty. Maybe it’s before giving a speech or taking a big exam. Maybe it’s because we have so many work deadlines that we’re convinced our bosses think we don’t sleep. Anxiety is an incredibly common […]
April
09
Why do many pandemics start with bats?
posted by Susan Lubejko
We are in the midst of an unprecedented global health crisis. The new disease COVID-19 has changed many aspects of how we can lead safe and healthy lives. COVID-19 is caused by the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus previously unknown to humans. As health scientists race to find the best testing and preventative strategies, […]
March
26
How is your brain coping with social distancing?
posted by megkirch
[En español] Amidst an ever-growing national and global crisis unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic, you’ve probably already heard about (and are hopefully practicing) social distancing. The Center for Disease Control defines social distancing as “remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintaining distance (approximately 6 feet or 2 meters) from others when possible”. […]
December
12
A Switch in the Brain for Compulsive Drinking
posted by Joydeep De
Most of us have drunk some form of alcohol in our lives. Many of us drink alcohol often. But we might know of only a few people who are pathologically addicted to alcohol. Are we, individually, differently prone to compulsive alcohol use? A recent paper, published in Science, attempts to answer this question using rodents. […]
September
12
Your Mind on Trial
posted by Timothy Sheehan
The British television series Black Mirror has, at times, been disturbingly prophetic. In season 2’s The Waldo Moment, a crude comedian runs for Parliament to disparage the system only to find himself a front-runner. In April 2019 Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian who had previously played the role of Ukranian President on a popular TV show, […]
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