omnibrain
Posts by this author
June 8, 2007
I know you probably can't see the image and text very well - so just go ahead and click on the picture for this damn funny parody in full size.
June 8, 2007
Clearly I'm not a medicine bio person - but this just had to make it onto the blog.
Researchers at Burnham Institute for Medical Research ("Burnham") have provided the first evidence that gamma-secretase, an enzyme key to the progression of Alzheimer's, acts as a tumor suppressor by altering the…
June 8, 2007
I'm going to make a bold bold prediction right here on Omni Brain. With the announcement of wireless electricity there will soon be a group of crazed wackjobs protesting it (well.. that is if it ever actually makes it to the consumer level) because the electricity flowing through the air causes…
June 7, 2007
"The Brain of Morbius". Doctor Who challenges an increasingly unstable Morbius to a mind-bending contest. Enjoy ;)
June 7, 2007
An oldie but goodie starring I Dream of Jeannie as god ... Enjoy!
Here's Ned Flanders dealing with an evolution exhibit.
And here's the evolution vs. creationism debate starring Lisa.
June 7, 2007
Ahh Press Releases.... Don't you just love it when someone who doesn't really give a shit comes up with extremely inane or obvious titles?
This time around the titles are come from good ol' EurekAlert.
Our first title falls under the duh category:
"Brain holds clues to bipolar disorder"
Ohh....…
June 4, 2007
Can dogs perform deduction? Evidently so...
The provocative new experiment indicated that dogs can do something that previously only humans, including infants, have been shown capable of doing: decide how to imitate a behavior based on the specific circumstances in which the action takes place.…
May 31, 2007
500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art morphing between each other. Pretty cool eh?!
via boingboing
May 31, 2007
Heaven forbid animals drink some soda! and then enjoy it! This is probably the least bothersome form of animal testing out there. Trust me... animals looooove sugar!
Here's the snippet from the NYT article:
Under pressure from animal rights advocates, two soft drink giants, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo…
May 30, 2007
Ok.. just messing with you - it's really a silly little cartoon.
May 29, 2007
Growing up I used to read Omni magazine and would always see all sorts of devices that supposedly could induce lucid dreams or tapes that had subliminal messages recorded along with Bach to create special brain states where you'd be particularly receptive to messages like - "you will be psychic...…
May 26, 2007
Here's what PsyBlog has to say about Omni Brain:
Best humorous (but still scientific) psychology blog
The danger with mixing science and humour is slipping into the 'geek trap' where clever people try to be too clever. Omni Brain easily avoids this. Funky finger pictures on this post about sexual…
May 25, 2007
Enjoy this great video where Dwight from The Office is trained with Pavlovian Classical Conditioning!
Wasn't that great?!
May 24, 2007
Ahh silly research - gotta love it!
SAN DIEGO -- Anakin Skywalker, aka Darth Vader, suffers from a controversial mental condition and could use some couch time in a shrink's office, a team of researchers declared this week.
"He's suffering. And he's suffering from a disorder," said Dr. Eric Bui, a…
May 23, 2007
Sometimes headlines really rub me the wrong way. This happens to be a consistent topic that always bugs me - finger length. It's interesting in that finger length is correlated with testosterone levels and that affects all sorts of cognitive abilities - but come on! Really?! Shouldn't they be…
May 23, 2007
Ok... not really at home (Are they really suggesting in the picture that you can do it yourself?). There are now some relatively simple consumer devices on the market that will let your Psychiatrist wave his magic wand over your head, helping to alleviate your depressive symptoms in his office…
May 22, 2007
Since the whole internet seems to be especially preoccupied with visual illusions in the last couple days, here's another one:
If you don't see it ... start moving back from your monitor.
May 22, 2007
Answer...They're all involved in car accidents.Our first story is brought to you by California State Senator Carole Migden who recently voted for a bill banning cell phone use while driving. I'm sure you can guess what happened... yeah exactly... she was chatting on her cell phone and ran into a…
May 17, 2007
Here is an updated reposting (originally published on 04-26) with further information at the bottom of the post. Enjoy!
=======================================================================I really like soda, especially the kinds with lots of caffeine and sugar. However, I have minor panic…
May 17, 2007
A great abstract I found via improbable research blog:
How to write consistently boring scientific literature
Kaj Sand-Jensen (ksandjensen@bi.ku.dk), Freshwater Biological Laboratory, Univ. of Copenhagen, Helsingørsgade 51, DK-3400 Hillerød, Denmark.
Abstract
Although scientists typically insist…
May 17, 2007
There are a number of Chatbots out there on the internet. Most of the new variety actually learn words and expressions as users spend time talking with them. The idea is to make them so advanced that they can actually fool people into thinking they are talking to another person instead of a bunch…
May 14, 2007
There's a humorous post over at Shrink Rap about using patients online communication style (specifically emoticons) to determine what treatment plan to follow. Here is a partial list:
:-)stable. cont prozac 40mg. f/u 3 mos.
:-))reduce prozac to 20mg. f/u 1mo.
:-))))d/c prozac. add lithium 300 tid…
May 11, 2007
Hi Everyone,
I'm off for my three day drive to San Francisco this morning so probably won't be posting much in the next week or so. I'm planning on a trip to the Exploratorium sometime next week so if anyone would like to meet up with us feel free to shoot me an email! (steve@omnibrain.org).
May 9, 2007
I know how you all love panda porn - so I figured I'd share this little Turtle sex story Jennifer sent me.
Enjoy :)
George is not what you would call a stud. When I visited him in 1985, he was thought to be a relatively young adult, maybe 50 years old, but he was already a confirmed bachelor. He…
May 4, 2007
It seems that the old fogies at ScienceBlogs have discovered Facebook and started to add their profiles. ;)
You should head over there and join some of the related groups that have popped up (and make friends with some of the old folks!) - starting with me and the ScienceBlogs fan club. If that's…
May 4, 2007
Paxilback - Gray Kid parody of Justin Timberlake's Sexyback - enjoy!
(HT: boingboing)
May 3, 2007
There's an interesting post over at Mind Hacks about this woman:
Dear Editor
We report the case of an elderly lady with no experience of using a personal computer or internet technology, whose delusional experiences included the direct personal receipt of email.
Ms T, an 84-year old female with a…
May 1, 2007
A male chimpanzee may beg for food from another chimpanzee by gesturing with an extended arm and open hand.
But the same gesture may also be used to ask a female chimpanzee for sex, or between two males as a sign of reconciliation after a fight, said primatologist Frans de Waal, a member of the…
April 30, 2007
If you believe that a name can have an impact on how people treat you, your future career and if you also like math you should name your daughter (or change your name) to something further down this list:
Isabella 1.21
Anna 1.04
Elizabeth 1.02
Emma 0.97
Jessica 0.93
Samantha 0.83
Sarah 0.78
Olivia…
April 30, 2007
Clearly, washing your hair isn't going to have any effect since I highly doubt that your Head and Shoulders is going to sink through your scalp, through bone, through your meninges and then go straight to the source of your seizures. But hey! If you can get your local neurosurgeon to open up your…