You might be the kind of person that can’t wait for the “cheese pull” when grabbing a hot slice of pizza, or perhaps you’re the first at the table to suggest a cheese-filled charcuterie board for your appetizer (both of these examples are stemming from personal experience, of course). If you are a fellow cheese […]
Search Results for: exercise
The Wandering Nerve
posted by Donovan Cronkhite
What do epilepsy, depression, and anxiety all have in common? No, this is not some one-liner joke, there is an actual answer to this question. Could it be that they all could be targeted by a single treatment? To understand how this could be, let’s look into what these disorders are, first. Epilepsy is a […]
Shocking the brain to protect your memories
posted by JC Gorman
by JC Gorman Have you tried turning it on and off again? You may be *shocked* to hear it, but recent studies have shown that administering small electric currents to the brain could protect older people from memory loss. A research paper that came out this month showed an even more acute way to prevent […]
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 […]
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?
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), […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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”. […]