Category: Mind, Body & Health
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First, let me say that it’s a pleasure to be involved with the crew of polymaths on this blog. Secondly, I wanted to get started with a post about prescription drugs. I often write about music, but lately have been working on a story for Mother Jones about a company that allows Americans to flaunt…
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Here are links to some not so "Just So Stories" about animals – dead and alive. A Supersized Chicken: [link] The original Nature article requires subscription for full access. One of the world’s top fossil hunters has unveiled a previously unknown gigantic, chicken-like dinosaur that may change evolutionary theory on prehistoric animals. The remains of…
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It is not healthy to be paranoid about our health. But it is also not wise to be lackadaisical about common sense measures that can prevent the onset of disease. Innovations in medical technology and research make available to us prevention programs and information on life style changes that protect against life threatening and debilitating…
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The amazing Dr. Atul Gawande who has elevated popular medical writing to the level of fine literary enterprise, has a very interesting and worthwhile article in the New Yorker about aging, death and geriatric care. He asks many questions and presents the case for what constitutes compassionate and common sense medical care for the elderly. From the…
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On the heels of the US Supreme Court’s decision on upholding the ban on partial-birth abortion, it was the first time I actually read the controversial legislation, denounced by pro-choice advocates and hailed by anti-abortion activists ( or, denounced by anti-life activists and hailed by pro-life protesters…err, I give up trying to find the politically…
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We are aware that Dick Cheney suffers from a serious and chronically poor heart condition. But his cardiac health goes beyond the common medical definition, spilling over into the metaphorical realm of heart disease – "cold hearted" indifference and … well, "heartlessness." Since early March, when his "friend" and trusted aide, Scooter Libby was convicted…
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I am happy to note that Leiter Reports, the influential philosophy / political blog is now also a "useful consumer" blog. Professor Bill Edmundson has a very funny post on Philosophy beauty products there. Philosophy has long been stigmatized as a dry matter of logic-chopping and wheezy speculation. A branding makeover was long overdue. Where…
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Ever felt that your husband/wife/significant other was too ready to debunk any of your suggestions? Here‘s a scientific study that proves that it’s true- so true that even the husband-wife pair who were the lead researchers couldn’t agree as to its conclusions. Now that would explain why my husband automatically dismisses what I say, so…
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The recent article in New York Times magazine, Darwin’s God looking into the debate over religion and evolution has sparked energetic discussions on several science blogs. The question being asked by scientists (evolutionary biologists, cognitive scientists, anthropologists among others) revolves around two central points. Is human religiosity, superstition, belief in the supernatural and "hope beyond…
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I see that Sujatha has already published a post on Texas governor Rick Perry’s order to make vaccination with Gardasil mandatory for 11-12 year girls in Texas. Many other states are considering a similar move. I nearly fell off my chair at the breakfast table yesterday morning when I read on the front page of…
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Today’s news of Texas governor Rick Perry’s making it mandatory for all young girls in Texas to get the anti-cervical vaccine Gardasil has raised a storm of discussion on whether it is indeed desirable to mandate such a thing. Criticism of the move to make it mandatory ranges from outrage of conservative parents who think…
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For the second year in a row the American Cancer Society has reported a decline in the number of deaths due to cancer. 2003 was the first year on record for which an overall decrease in cancer death was reported. The data for 2004 is similarly positive and it may bode well for the future.…
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Here is a post and its follow up at Majikthise – a popular and thoughtful liberal blog which sheds more light on the conditions surrounding Ashley and her family. I was surprised that the opinions there are squarely on the side of the parents’ decison to radically alter Ashley’s physical make-up with surgery and medication.…
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