Category Archives: NeuWrite

September 14

What’s the Deal with Migraines??!!

You’re sitting at your desk, hard at work, and suddenly you see a strange spot of bright light, outlined by a brilliant spectrum of reds and blues, hover over your computer screen. You blink and look around, trying to figure out whether the image is coming from the screen or from outside the window. You […]

May 05

Phrenology: An Infographic

December 01

Stuff and Starve: A Means of Holiday Binging or Healthy Eating?

It’s estimated that around 248 million turkeys are raised, 2.4 billion pounds of sweet potatoes are grown, and 7.5 million barrels of cranberries are harvested a year [1], all for our consumption (and I probably inhaled about half that amount on Thanksgiving alone). Needless to say, I’ve been doing a lot of eating, and a […]

November 24

The Importance of Being Roger Tsien

Have you ever had a moment when you suddenly pause and realize how thankful you are for something that is incredibly mundane? So mundane that it is taken for granted on a day-to-day basis? We often forget that there was a time when devices like a washing machine weren’t considered mundane, but rather “marvelous,” “extraordinary,” […]

May 05

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

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 […]

December 14

Real Jedi Mind Tricks: The Psychology of Mind Control

[En Español] Welcome, my young padawans, to Star Wars week. Star Wars: The Force Awakens comes out THIS Friday, and the neurds on our team decided that it was a perfect opportunity to do one of our favorite things: connect neuroscience with pop culture! First up: real-world Jedi Mind Tricks. In Star Wars: A New […]

From www.oliversacks.com September 10

Remembering Oliver Sacks

To celebrate the life and work of Dr. Oliver Sacks, the man who inspired many of us to study the brain, some of the members of NeuWriteSD have chosen a favorite piece or two to share and speak about.   Though I’ve been reading his words for over a decade now, Oliver Sacks’ final piece […]

May 14

Beyond Black and White: Gender Identity and the Brain

May is Gender Month here at NeuWriteSD! This is the second of four pieces exploring neuroscience and gender; you can read Melissa T.’s excellent post on subtle sexism here. It’s amazing how much of our culture is historically focused on binaries: issues are black or white, characters are heroes or villains, actions are right or […]

March 05

“Mind Change”: Does Technology Really Harm Our Brains? A NeuWrite Reads Special Report

When I was growing up, there was this idea that the things we did on the Internet were part of a life separate from the one in the “real world” (most literally seen in the online game “Second Life”).  The people you met and the things you did weren’t really part of you and the […]

From www.huffingtonpost.com February 11

Add A Little Romance (Novel) To This Valentine’s Day- Part 2!

One of my favorite things about reading today’s romance novels (and if you see me reading my Kindle, there’s at least a 75% chance I’m reading one) is that women are no longer confined to the role of society belle or ditzy beauty.  Heroines are becoming just that- women who kick ass mentally as well […]