Author Archives: Melissa Lau

August 06

The Appeal of a Limitless Mind

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Editor’s Note: With the much-anticipated debut of the Limitless TV show closing in, it’s clear that cameos of Bradley Cooper (and animated sequences of NEURONS FIRING!!!) will be spicing up the Fall TV lineup. From the trailer, it looks like the show will be just as exciting and scientifically questionable as the movie—giving NeuWrite the perfect opportunity to re-post our original musings on Limitless, […]

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April 16

Hacking the Neuronal Recipe

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  Whether it’s Outback’s Bloomin’ Onion or In-N-Out’s secret sauce, the Internet is awash with bloggers’ attempts to recreate iconic foods.  Regrettably, as the occasional DIY fail can attest, not all reproductions are indistinguishable from the original. But this isn’t the case for neuroscientist Kristin Baldwin. She and her team have successfully decoded one of […]

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November 26

More Breast, Please

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Golden, browned skin… tender, succulent flesh… an enticing, irresistible aroma—there’s not much else that people require of their Thanksgiving turkeys!  In fact, that beautifully roasted bird on your table is the culmination of a centuries-old undertaking, starting with the first domestication of turkeys by Mesoamerican civilizations in 800 BC.1,2  Since then, generations of selective breeding […]

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October 30

True Blood: Sucking the Magic Out of Vampires

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Blessed with charismatic looks, viciously sharp fangs, and an immortal existence, vampires have simultaneously delighted and horrified for centuries—now, with the recent folkloric addition of skin that sparkles like diamonds, mere mortals don’t stand a chance!  And yet, while the modern-day vampire embodies all that is dangerous but sinfully irresistible, the science behind vampire mythology […]

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September 26

The Appeal of a Limitless Mind

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With its slick visuals, wry narration, and unflinching action, the movie Limitless is undeniably fun—just throw in the hunky Bradley Cooper, and you’ve got instant box office gold.  Somehow, the only thing Hollywood forgot to include is more accurate neuroscience…

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