Now on ScienceBlogs: Oh, no! School wi-fi is making our kids sick! (2012 edition)
Jake Young is a MD/PhD student at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in NYC getting a PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience. He holds a BS and MS in Biological Sciences from Stanford University. If a volcano were to erupt Pompei-style in Central Park, his body would be preserved in a scoliotic posture over his lab desk. Archeaologists would later conclude that he spent most of his day training rats to perform tricks, until he went blind building electrical equipment by hand using a dissecting microscope. But, still, he died happy...because science is cool.
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.
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. They do not represent the views of SEED magazine or the educational establishments I currently attend or attended in the past.
Category: Neurodegenerative disease
The New Old Age blog at the NYTimes -- hadn't read it before, but I like it -- has a post about reversible causes of cognitive decline in the elderly. I think they make a really good point: there are...
Posted by NotoriousLTP at 12:11 PM • 5 Comments •
Category: Herbal remedies and other Hooey
Did you catch this story? A man in Illinois walks into a church and shoots the pastor. After killing the pastor, his gun jams, he grabs a knife and starts stabbing himself. At which point, he is tackled by two...
Posted by NotoriousLTP at 6:47 PM • 10 Comments •
Category: Drugs
There was a very sad article in the NYTimes about the regular practice in some long-term care facilities of treating demented patients with anti-psychotic medications like Risperdal, Seroquel and Zyprexa: The use of antipsychotic drugs to tamp down the agitation,...
Posted by NotoriousLTP at 11:57 AM • 11 Comments •
Category: Mental Health
I had the privilege of seeing Hamlet last night at Shakespeare in the Park. I say the privilege because the production was as usual excellent. For those of you who don't know, it is a New York tradition for the...
Posted by NotoriousLTP at 11:30 AM • 2 Comments •
Category: Mental Health
Mind Hacks discusses an editorial in the American Journal of Psychiatry that argues that the DSM-IV -- the diagnostic manual that psychiatrists use to diagnose mental disorders -- should include internet addiction. Vaughan is quite legitimately skeptical: Rather curiously, the...
Posted by NotoriousLTP at 8:40 AM • 2 Comments •
Category: Violence
I was distressed to wake up this morning to coverage of another shooting, this time in a mall in Omaha. A teenager named Robert Hawkins went into the mall and shot 12 people, killing 8 thus far, and then shot...
Posted by NotoriousLTP at 11:42 AM • 7 Comments •
Category: Development
A great article in the NYTimes about the debate over a sensory integration disorder: The problem, these therapists say, is in the brain, which is not properly integrating the onslaught of information coming through the senses, often causing anxiety, tantrums...
Posted by NotoriousLTP at 12:03 PM • 5 Comments •
Category: Mental Health
The murders at Virginia Tech are horrible and tragic, but they have also spawned a lot of hysterical claims. I think that is why I haven't talked about them. I have no desire to get swept up in that hysteria....
Posted by NotoriousLTP at 10:54 AM • 9 Comments •
Category: Mental Health
Restless Legs Syndrome is a neurological disorder, in spite of what you might think from the ridiculous ads on television. RLS is a syndrome where the individual has weird sensations in their legs while they are trying to relax. These...
Posted by NotoriousLTP at 9:30 AM • 1 Comments •
Category: Neurodegenerative disease
Trushina et al from the Mayo Clinic have made a big advance in understanding the etiology of Huntington's disease. Huntington's disease is a progressive and ultimately fatal disease that is characterized by uncontrollable limb movements and progressive dementia and psychosis....
Posted by NotoriousLTP at 10:53 AM • 2 Comments •
Tim Lambert 02.01.2012
ERV 11.26.2011
PZ Myers 02.02.2012
Orac 01.26.2012
Jason Rosenhouse 02.12.2012
