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 […]
Category Archives: Stress
Mal de Débarquement: The Science of Land Sickness
posted by Seraphina Solders
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 […]
Life After Death(?): From Strokes to Sci-Fi
posted by James R. Howe VI
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 […]
Meet Richard McCosh – A Researcher that Tackles the “Brainy” Side of Reproduction
posted by Ariane Pessentheiner
Have you heard of Lonesome George? The tortoise? He was long known as the rarest creature in the world, because he was the last existing individual of the Pinta Island tortoise species in the Galapagos Islands before he died in 2012 [1]. The existence of every species on earth is dependent on successful reproduction. If […]
Racism and Birth Inequities, From Biology to Society
posted by Laura Beebe
Image Credit: UNICEF Black mothers in the US are 3-4x more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white mothers (NPR/ProPublica). In addition, 40.6% of Black births are preterm, compared to 33.1% of white births (CDC). Compounding evidence suggests that the lived experience of racism in the US, rather than genetics, health behaviors (e.g. smoking), […]
Working With Distractions
posted by Emily Baltz
Many of us are working from home to practice social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Home contains distractions, including family members, chores, social media, and many other possible activities. All of us want to be the best worker/parent/person we can be, but managing different tasks and switching seamlessly between them is difficult. The ability you’re […]
Can we inherit family trauma?
posted by Nicole Mlynaryk
The epigenetics behind “generational trauma” [En español] The 23 and Me craze has officially reached my family. Both of my parents were born in Poland so the results weren’t a complete surprise, but as we watched the site track generations of family history from a single spit sample, new questions came up. When my sisters […]
The Neuroscience of the Breath
posted by BrittanydFair
The Neuroscience of the Breath Scientists search to uncover the mind-body connection Mind-body practices, which stem from traditions originating in countries such as India, China, and Tibet, have become increasingly popular in Western society. These practices, which include yoga, meditation and tai chi, revolve around breathing techniques or pranayama- learning to control the breath […]
The Plastic Brain: Neurotransmitter Switching
posted by Seraphina Solders
What comes to mind when you think of the word “plastic”? For me, this word conjures images of water bottles and tupperware. So in my high school psychology class, when we were told that our brains are “plastic”, I was pretty confused. However, we soon learned that the word “plastic” can be used to describe […]
Snake Eyes: The Fear That Built Your Brain
posted by James R. Howe VI
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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