The Impact of Digital Publishing on Science

Most people are aware of the negative effects of the profound changes in newspaper and magazine publishing in the digital age, but fewer are aware of the effects the same forces are having on science.  An article on the front page of yesterday’s Washington Post (November 24, 2012) concerned the corruptive influence drug companies can have on published…

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Belief

A study published in the journal Science today (April 27, 2012) provides new understanding of the different cognitive strategies the mind uses in forming religious beliefs.

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Obesity Caused by Non-Neuronal Cells (Glia) in the Brain

Forget about stomach staples.  Treatment for obesity in the future may involve an X-ray beam to the brain.  This is what researchers have discovered to keep mice slim, trim, and energetic while gorging on a fatty diet.  How it works offers a fascinating new insight into the cellular mechanisms of the brain in a spot…

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Obama’s Vision of National Security, Science, and Children

  What would President Kennedy have thought, I wondered as I surveyed the surreal scene?  Deep inside the White House eight middle school students sat in black leather executive chairs reserved for the President, Vice President, and his top national security advisors; the polished oak boardroom table hitting them at chest level as they munched…

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Extraordinary Ability of Blind People to Hear Ultrafast Speech

New research presented at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego shows that blind people can understand speech at ultrafast rates, well beyond what a sighted person can comprehend.  Using brain imaging, the researchers discovered how they were able to do this.  The parts of the brain that process hearing get re-wired to the…

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