Jake Young is a MD/PhD student at Mount Sinai School of Medicine focusing in Neuroscience. He is due to graduate in 2032. He received a BS and a MS in Biological Sciences from Stanford University -- where he spent most of his time drinking heavily and building vegetable catapults instead of learning information that would now be eminently useful. When he is not failing terrifically to perform his sworn duties, he enjoys watching bad movies, ethnic food, and running.
Pure Pedantry is a blog about science -- social sciences and otherwise -- as well as academic and scientific culture. No one can live on science alone, so I also like to dwell on pop culture, periodically explore the humanities, and indulge in other types of geeky goodness.
Jake is joined periodically by two wonderful guest bloggers: Kara Contreary and Kate Seip. See the About Page.
DISCLAIMERS: 1) Jake Young is not a licensed physician (yet). He is merely a medical student. The information published on this site is not intended for use in medical decision making. Please seek advice from a licensed, medical professional before making any health decisions. 2) The opinions expressed are my own or those of my co-bloggers. They do not represent the views of SEED magazine or the educational establishments we currently attend.
November 30, 2006
Wired magazine is asking for nominations for the top ten sexiest geeks of 2006: Be they programmers, scientists, writers, architects or attorneys, please leave your suggestions in the comment space below. There are no rules for submission. The only guidance...
Posted by Jake Young at 3:30 PM • 1 Comments •
Category: Global Warming
Yesterday the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Massachusetts et al. v. EPA. In the case, several state governments are suing the EPA for failing to regulate CO2 as a greenhouse gas. There are many levels of legal conflict on...
Posted by Jake Young at 3:27 PM • 1 Comments •
November 29, 2006
Category: Drugs
Benjamin Zycher, fellow at the Manhattan Institute, questions of the wisdom of allowing Medicare to negotiate prices with drug companies. Actually what I don't like about this debate is that is called "negotiating" drug prices. There is no negotiation that...
Posted by Jake Young at 3:44 PM • 4 Comments •
Category: Education
Paul Tough, writing in the NYTimes, has an excellent long article about the challenges in teaching underprivileged and minority children. I was talking to my parents about this issue over break. I am from Denver -- though I went to...
Posted by Jake Young at 10:22 AM • 10 Comments •
November 28, 2006
Category: Technology
This is super interesting. Acephalous is trying to measure the speed of a meme -- an infectious idea -- as it spreads through the blogosphere. More importantly, he is trying to figure out whether they spread from the bottom up...
Posted by Jake Young at 5:13 PM • 0 Comments •
Take a fun test to see if you have an accent. My friends periodically give me hell because I speak like a newscaster -- or that I have a "professor" voice. Anyway, now there is validation: I actually have no...
Posted by Jake Young at 12:40 PM • 0 Comments •
Category: Aminals
There you go, lemurs! Way to speciate: The number of known species of the mouse lemur, the world's smallest primate, has increased by 25% with the description of three new species, bringing the total to 15. Mouse lemurs are wide-eyed...
Posted by Jake Young at 12:23 AM • 0 Comments •
November 27, 2006
Category: Politics
I have a bunch of articles on politics here that I have been perusing. Free Exchange has a post on the moral benefits of growth. One of them is that it is prerequisite to the creation of jobs that allow...
Posted by Jake Young at 11:41 PM • 0 Comments •
Category: Geek News
NPR had a great article about how otaku or nerd culture is driving economic growth: Take 24-year-old Kai. Sengoku Basara is her favorite computer game. An office worker by day, Kai spends her weekends dressed up as a 16th-century samurai,...
Posted by Jake Young at 11:35 PM • 1 Comments •
Category: Neuroscience
Mind Hacks covers an article in the Financial Times about delusions and how brain damage affects cognition: Some researchers have argued that this is the basis of a similarly curious syndrome, known as Capgras delusion, where someone believes that their...
Posted by Jake Young at 11:31 PM • 0 Comments •
Category: The Synapse (a neuroscience carnival)
The Synapse #12 is up at Dr. Deborah Serani's blog. Next Synapse is on December 10, 2006 at the Neurocontrarian. Submission details here....
Posted by Jake Young at 9:00 AM • 0 Comments •
November 26, 2006
Category: Haha, a funny
This was forwarded to me in an email, and it is just too "dam" funny for me not to post. It is a letter that was sent to a man named Ryan DeVries by the Pennslyvania Department of Environmental Quality...
Posted by Jake Young at 6:11 PM • 2 Comments •
Category: Poems
This poem is not for children. This is an adult poem for adults -- and possibly mature, sophisticated teenagers. (In some ways it makes me wish my parents did not read this site, but I will get over that.) As...
Posted by Jake Young at 12:47 PM • 0 Comments •
November 24, 2006
Mind Hacks has an interesting bit on the personal side of BF Skinner, the primary proponent of a psychological school called behaviorism. The NYTimes has an interesting article on synaesthesia, a syndrome where you percieve some sensations such as taste...
Posted by Jake Young at 11:10 AM • 0 Comments •
Category: The Synapse (a neuroscience carnival)
The Synapse, Issue #12, is being published this weekend at Dr. Deborah Serani's blog. Remember to submit. Details here....
Posted by Jake Young at 10:57 AM • 0 Comments •
If you remember back from when I was at the Society for Neuroscience, I saw a talk by Bruce Appel where he showed videos of oligodendrocytes migrating and myelinating in the zebrafish. Oligodendrocytes are the myelin forming cell in the...
Posted by Jake Young at 10:51 AM • 2 Comments •
November 23, 2006
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I won't be blogging today, but A Blog Around the Clock and Effect Measure have interesting posts on tryptophan and why turkey makes you sleepy. Enjoy....
Posted by Jake Young at 11:19 AM • 0 Comments •
November 22, 2006
Category: Atheism
Dinesh D'Souza, writing in the Christian Science Monitor, defends organized religion from criticism that links it with violence and wars: - In recent months, a spate of atheist books have argued that religion represents, as "End of Faith" author Sam...
Posted by Jake Young at 11:58 AM • 11 Comments •
November 21, 2006
I am getting on a plane today, so here is some interesting reading from throughout the web to tide you over til tomorrow: The Neurophilosopher has a fascinating article on how parasites affect the behavior of their hosts, sometimes even...
Posted by Jake Young at 9:00 AM • 0 Comments •
November 20, 2006
Category: Economics
Many people took issue with my post about Milton Friedman's death. Actually I don't think they were taking issue with my post; most of them were taking issue with Milton Friedman's existence. Whatever. Everyone has their own heroes. While I...
Posted by Jake Young at 11:52 PM • 17 Comments •
Category: Blogging
Not cool, Egypt: Police in Cairo have detained a blogger whose posts have been critical of the Egyptian government. Rami Siyam, who blogs under the name of Ayyoub, was detained along with three friends after leaving the house of a...
Posted by Jake Young at 11:33 PM • 1 Comments •
Category: PTSD
Women are more susceptible to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) even when the type of the stressful event is controlled for: Males experience more traumatic events on average than do females, yet females are more likely to meet diagnostic criteria for...
Posted by Jake Young at 10:47 AM • 6 Comments •
Category: Carnivals
Encephalon #11 is up at The Mouse Trap. Next Encephalon is on December 4th. Submission details here. The next Synapse is on December 26th at Dr. Deborah Serani's blog. Submission details here....
Posted by Jake Young at 9:21 AM • 0 Comments •
November 19, 2006
Category: Poems
Relationships -- they are a messy business. These two go out to someone who knows that better than most. Safe Sex by Donald Hall If he and she do not know each other, and feel confident they will not meet...
Posted by Jake Young at 10:55 PM • 0 Comments •
November 17, 2006
Sounds like the kids I used to babysit: Panbanisha the bonobo is up to her tricks again. For the second time in as many months, the ape triggered a fire alarm at the Great Ape Trust of Iowa research center....
Posted by Jake Young at 3:17 PM • 5 Comments •
Category: Obesity and Heart Disease
The most commonly cited causes of the obesity epidemic over the last 30 years are decreases in physical activity and increased consumption of unhealthy foods: the Big Two. For these as causes, we have what can only be described as...
Posted by Jake Young at 11:14 AM • 5 Comments •
November 16, 2006
Category: Haha, a funny
From Toothpaste for Dinner....
Posted by Jake Young at 11:48 PM • 5 Comments •
Category: Economics
Milton Friedman has passed: Milton Friedman, the grandmaster of conservative economic theory in the postwar era and a prime force in the movement of nations toward lesser government and greater reliance on free markets and individual responsibility, died today. He...
Posted by Jake Young at 2:08 PM • 15 Comments •
Category: Gender
I have tried to show that the gender gap in the sciences is not the result of cognitive differences, but that begs the question about what else to which it can be attributed. It could be that it is the...
Posted by Jake Young at 10:49 AM • 0 Comments •
November 15, 2006
Category: Poems
I have a lot of friends applying to medical school right now (the saddest part is that they are likely to finish before me). In honor of the medical school secondary essay -- a veritable autobiography in most cases, here...
Posted by Jake Young at 10:37 PM • 0 Comments •
Category: Ethics
On The Colbert Report last night, Stephen Colbert talked about an article about uterine transplants for The Word. Scientists now claim that there is nothing technically to prevent us from performing a womb transplant, even to the point that you...
Posted by Jake Young at 11:09 AM • 1 Comments •
Category: Medicine
The answer is that it increases lymphocyte motility, helping to fight the infection: Nobody likes coming down with a fever, but feeling hot may do a body good. Researchers report online 5 November in Nature Immunology that a fever in...
Posted by Jake Young at 10:51 AM • 1 Comments •
November 14, 2006
Category: Healthcare
We're mad as hell, and we are not going to take it anymore: In recent years, women's health has been a national priority. Pink ribbons warn of breast cancer. Pins shaped like red dresses raise awareness about heart disease. Offices...
Posted by Jake Young at 9:47 AM • 2 Comments •
Category: Medicine
Saliva, is there anything it can't do? A new painkilling substance has been discovered that is up to six times more potent than morphine when tested in rats -- and it's produced naturally by the human body. Natural painkillers are...
Posted by Jake Young at 9:41 AM • 2 Comments •
November 13, 2006
Category: The Synapse (a neuroscience carnival)
The Synapse #11 is up at Developing Intelligence. Next Synapse is on November 26th at Dr. Deborah Serani's blog. Submission details here....
Posted by Jake Young at 10:12 AM • 0 Comments •
Category: Autism
I see that Simon Baron-Cohen has a piece in Seed about his theory of autism. I am really skeptical of many of his arguments related to autism, so I thought I would discuss a couple of them. Here is his...
Posted by Jake Young at 9:38 AM • 5 Comments •
November 10, 2006
Category: Haha, a funny
Click to enlarge: (The photo references this article.)...
Posted by Jake Young at 1:04 PM • 0 Comments •
November 9, 2006
Category: Medicine
Here is an audio recording of the oral arguments in the case of Gonzales vs. Carhart (as an mp3). Gonzales vs. Carhart is a case about the federal partial birth abortion ban: The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments...
Posted by Jake Young at 11:19 AM • 1 Comments •
Shelley Batts has this to say about the poor funding situation of late: At the Society for Neuroscience meeting last month, there was a special symposium regarding the current NIH funding situation that was supposed to be given by the...
Posted by Jake Young at 10:59 AM • 1 Comments •
November 8, 2006
Category: Medicine
I meant to post this early, but the Neurophilosopher has an excellent history of Alois Alzheimer, for whom the disease is named: On November 25th, 1901, a 51-year-old woman named Auguste Deter (below right) was admitted to the hospital, and...
Posted by Jake Young at 10:48 AM • 0 Comments •
Category: Medicine
Suck on that title. Anyway, this is actually an important public health issue. Circumcision cuts your STD risk: Circumcised males are less likely than their uncircumcised peers to acquire a sexually transmitted infection, the findings of a 25-year study suggest....
Posted by Jake Young at 10:43 AM • 5 Comments •
November 7, 2006
Category: Politics
Not to have too much levity about electoral irregularities, but this is just funny: In some areas of Indiana and Ohio, computer problems meant polling stations did not open on time, with voters being turned away, or given paper ballots....
Posted by Jake Young at 9:21 PM • 0 Comments •
Category: Gossip
Did you know that Sacha Baron Cohen, star of the Borat movie, and Simon Baron Cohen, a prominent autism scientist, are related? I didn't. They are cousins. Baron Cohen, 35, rarely gives interviews out of character. He guards his privacy...
Posted by Jake Young at 10:57 AM • 5 Comments •
Category: Global Warming
I know this is kind of old news, but some people have taken issue with the Stern Report -- a report about the economic consequences of global warming. Some of the people taking issue are those who are still skeptical...
Posted by Jake Young at 10:17 AM • 5 Comments •
Category: Aminals
Wow. That is not something you hear everyday: Australian scientists unveiled three test-tube koala joeys on Monday as part of an artificial insemination program to preserve the vulnerable mammal. The scientists said the program would lead to the creation of...
Posted by Jake Young at 10:14 AM • 1 Comments •
Category: Teaching
Bad teaching is one of my pet peeves, but I go back and forth on PowerPoint. I think its egregious abuse most of its users shouldn't necessarily bring a cloud on the whole program -- sometimes it is used effectively....
Posted by Jake Young at 10:06 AM • 2 Comments •
November 6, 2006
Category: Carnivals
Encephalon #10 is up at A Blog Around the Clock....
Posted by Jake Young at 3:58 PM • •
Category: Reproduction, Birth Control, and Abortion Politics
Eugene Volokh has written an article in the Harvard Law Review arguing that abortion is constitutional. This is not shocking. The Supreme Court has made clear that abortion is constitutional. However, he is arguing -- rather than from the point...
Posted by Jake Young at 9:20 AM • 1 Comments •
DNA Artistry will make a special piece of art from your DNA: DNA-Artistry: The Art of Science -- creating one-of-a-kind genetic portraits. DNA-Artistry gives new meaning to the term "original art." It's a self-portrait that's as individual - and unique...
Posted by Jake Young at 12:06 AM • 5 Comments •
November 5, 2006
Category: Poems
In the upcoming election, immigration is likely to be a big issue. The wisdom and expanse of legal immigration notwithstanding -- I tend to favor the widest possible on both humanitarian and economic grounds -- it is good to remember...
Posted by Jake Young at 11:19 PM • 0 Comments •
Category: Politics
George Will summarizes the races of interest in the upcoming election: Four years ago all eight Mountain West states -- Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming -- had Republican governors. If Democrat Bill Ritter wins Colorado's...
Posted by Jake Young at 11:07 PM • 0 Comments •
Shelley Batts, fellow ScienceBlogger and proprietor of Retrospectacle, is applying for a blogging scholarship -- which I didn't even know existed until now. Unfortunately it is kind of a popularity contest using web voting to determine the outcome. Right now...
Posted by Jake Young at 5:03 PM • 2 Comments •
November 2, 2006
Category: Gender
In my previous post arguing for the relatively large psychological similarity between men and women -- in great contrast to the public conception -- I drew heavily on the work of Janet Hyde, a professor of Psychology at Berkeley. Now...
Posted by Jake Young at 1:42 PM • 1 Comments •
Category: Movies
I'm excited about Borat. Are you excited? I'm excited. Anyway for those of you who haven't seen them, here are the two trailers for it on YouTube:...
Posted by Jake Young at 9:58 AM • 0 Comments •
November 1, 2006
Category: Politics
Whatever you think about Michael Barone's personal views, he knows more about the history of American politics than any man alive. Here is an article he wrote in the WSJ about the history of party changes in Congress during second-term...
Posted by Jake Young at 9:39 PM • 5 Comments •
Category: Politics
Here is just a brief appeal to go out and vote. Particularly if you are young person, there is a lot out there about which we should care. Politicians will never listen to us unless we can convince them that...
Posted by Jake Young at 9:35 PM • 3 Comments •
Category: Iraq
I am taking off my scientist hat and putting on my citizen hat. (For explanations of these two hats, read my previous post.) The defining issue for me and most people in the coming election is the war on Iraq....
Posted by Jake Young at 8:48 PM • 7 Comments •
Category: Science politics
There is an election coming up. Hopefully this is not a shocking revelation for most people. Frankly, it seems like everyone not in a medically-induced coma for the past three months has spent every waking moment bloviating about it. The...
Posted by Jake Young at 12:17 PM • 3 Comments •
