Category Archives: Environment

December 09

Mal de Débarquement: The Science of Land Sickness

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Recently I was lucky to spend seven days on a catamaran out at sea with a small group of (COVID-vaccinated) friends. We traveled around the Gulf of California, witnessing truly amazing sights like manta rays jumping out of the water, sea birds diving into the water, and turtles floating along in the swell. This was […]

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January 07

Un-Consciousness

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When you hear the word “consciousness”, what did you think it is? All of what you experience and what you believe it is? Let me demonstrate something to you before you make up your mind. Imagine a day at work, where you: Had someone tap you repeatedly to get your attention, but only felt it […]

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December 31

Life After Death(?): From Strokes to Sci-Fi

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Death is not a singular event, as implied when we refer to the “time of death” or “moment of death”. It is a relatively long, drawn out, active process: these terms merely simplify and provide a hard boundary. Not everything in the brain (or the rest of the body) dies at the same time, at […]

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December 17

The Big Sleep: How We Hibernate

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As December deepens, we rapidly find ourselves coming up on the first day of winter. Though winter officially begins on the 21st, many animals began their preparations for the season far earlier this year. Any birdwatcher could easily tell you that most birds migrated south a long while ago, and any hiker could tell you […]

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February 06

What’s my (brain) age again?

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What does it mean to age? Is it a purely time-based process, with each passing moment bringing our bodies along an invariant trajectory of decline? Or is it a function of our behavior, dependent on our daily activities and the damage inflicted upon ourselves over time? Clearly, there is a bit of truth in each […]

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June 27

NeurosciANTS

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[En español] You probably walk past thousands of ants every day and give them no more than a passing glance, but the ecological impact of an entire ant colony is comparable to that of enormous animals like elephants. Together in colonies that can surpass 300 million individuals, ants have a profound effect on the landscapes […]

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August 02

Snake Eyes: The Fear That Built Your Brain

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Indiana Jones is a quintessential American hero, his fedora, satchel, and whip instantly recognizable around the world. He lives a double life, a scholarly professor of anthropology in public and a globetrotting treasure hunter in private. He defeats the Nazis and always gets the girl, displaying daring and fearlessness, with one notable exception. He has […]

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January 18

I Feel Your Pain – The Social Transmission of Pain in Mice

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We all know that emotions are contagious.  Your trip to the DMV might see you infected with that peculiar emotion – something halfway between apathy and misanthropy – that is endemic to the DMV.  On the other hand, your ray-of-sunshine coworker just may brighten up your day (unless you happen to work at the DMV). […]

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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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May 05

Hello Darkness My Old Friend: How Echolocation Lets Bats Rule the Night

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When I asked my boyfriend, a 15-year-old stuck in 28-year-old’s body, who would win in a battle between Batman and Superman in anticipation of the now-in-theaters “smash-flop” blockbuster, he responded, “Obviously Superman with his powers of x-ray vision and superhuman strength.  Batman is just a human with fancy technology.”  Such gadgets as a tape erasing […]

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