omnibrain | January 13, 20071: Nat Neurosci. 2007 Jan;10(1):27-9. Epub 2006 Dec 17.
Mechanisms of scent-tracking in humans.
* Porter J,
* Craven B,
* Khan RM,
* Chang SJ,
* Kang I,
* Judkewicz B,
* Volpe J,
* Settles G,
* Sobel N.
299 Life Science Addition, MC 3200, Program in Biophysics, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
Whether mammalian scent-tracking is aided by inter-nostril comparisons is unknown. We assessed this in humans and found that (i) humans can scent-track, (ii) they improve with practice…
omnibrain | January 12, 2007For those of you who don't know, James Randi setup a million dollar prize for a psychic to prove that they are truly psychic. Here are the details:
Currently, claiming the money takes a few steps: An initiate first has to submit a notarized application, agree with the foundation on a test protocol, then pass a preliminary test administered by independent local investigators. Should the would-be psychic pass the first test, under the agreed-upon rules, all that remains is to repeat his or her success in front of Randi -- then, poof, a psychic millionaire is born.
No one has won the prize yet…
omnibrain | January 11, 2007Here's a working brain - mine. I took it out of my skull and recorded it.
Produced, Written, Filmed, Edited, and Directed by me! I should go into Hollywood! Isn't it the most amazing movie you've ever seen?!?!
omnibrain | January 11, 2007Just because it should be posted at least once a year -
Pinky and the Brain go over the parts of the brain - in song!
omnibrain | January 11, 2007
you know... this brain is broken! it is supposed to open its mouth (which is pretty creepy and cool) at the end while it's growling - I'll post my improved brain after I make it into the office.
omnibrain | January 10, 2007Ahhh modeling... gotta love it - especially when it models something like procrastination - or "Temporal Motivation Theory" as Dr. Piers Steel from the University of Calgary business school calls it.
He find these interesting things in his paper, "The Nature of Procrastination: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review of Quintessential Self-Regulatory Failure." published in Psych Bulletin:
* Most people's New Year's resolutions are doomed to failure
* Most self-help books have it completely wrong when they say perfectionism is at the root of procrastination
(He spent time reading self help…
omnibrain | January 9, 2007
Here are a bunch more - absolutely amazing.
I also ran across this today - here's some more examples of really really cool (and very expensive) furniture.
Ohhh yeah - if you'd like an omnibrain email address (run by gmail) shoot me an email and I'll set you up.
steve -at- omnibrain -dot- org
omnibrain | January 9, 2007We're always happy to link to (good) sites mentioning Omni Brain - but this one is better than usual :) Check out this interesting podcast from the blog Shrink Rap called My Three Shrinks. This
week covers topics like neuroeconomics, fMRI lie detection, and of course omnibrain ;) If you haven't been to Shrink Rap before...
Dinah, ClinkShrink, & Roy introduce Shrink Rap: a blog by psychiatrists for psychiatrists. A place to talk; no one has to listen. All patient vignettes are confabulated; the psychiatrists, however, are mostly real.
omnibrain | January 9, 2007Ohh boy...here we go. From the New Scientist Blog:
An ongoing US experiment to turn "homosexual" rams straight by altering their hormone levels has sparked the ire of both gay activists and animal rights groups. The work is reportedly being carried out at Oregon State University in the city of Corvallis and at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.
I can imagine what groups like Love in action are going to do when they get their hands on this. From wikipedia (this article also highlights other groups like this):
Love in Action, or LIA, was founded in 1973 by John Evans and the…
omnibrain | January 8, 2007Check out this new pilot from PBS. You can watch the episode next Wednesday on TV or you can see it right now right here.
If you want this program to continue show your support by watching and sending your love to the website :)
Here is their press release:
22nd Century
"World Wide Mind"
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
8:00 p.m. EST
Ever wonder what the world is going to be like in the future? Will human life spans increase to 250 years or more? Will your personal computer become smarter than you? Will machines shrink so small they can make repairs inside a human cell?
22nd Century is an…
omnibrain | January 8, 2007It seems that the New York Times may have some rampant speculation on their hands as to what parts of the brain make a hero ;)
When Mr. Autrey saw the stranger, Cameron Hollopeter, 20, tumble onto the tracks, his brain reacted just as anyone else's would. His thalamus, which absorbs sensory information, registered the fall, and sent the information to other parts of the brain for processing, said Gregory L. Fricchione, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Mr. Autrey's amygdala, the part of the brain that mediates fear responses, was activated and sent sensory…
omnibrain | January 7, 2007Hmm.... I don't know about this:
Schools should use episodes from Doctor Who to teach children about science rather than technical and "boring" textbooks, according to the new science minister.
Malcolm Wicks, who was appointed in November following the resignation of Lord Sainsbury, believes that too many pupils are put off science during school.
He claims that popular television shows such as the hit BBC science fiction series and the Star Wars films provide children with an insight into real science that teachers can use to kick-start lessons. Science education campaign groups have warned,…
omnibrain | January 6, 2007I apologize for the previous post on sleeping positions and personality...that was clearly wrong, since this is obviously the correct way of determining someones personality type.
...you may want to listen to all that sneezing: A body language expert said that a sneeze can offer a revealing look at someone's personality. "Most of us have a sneeze style that we stick with throughout our lives that matches our personality," said Patti A. Wood, a body language expert who created the Achoo IQ Study for Benadryl.
And just like the sleeping positions, there are different types:
be right…
omnibrain | January 6, 2007
Ahh... more silliness from the old blog:
"Scientists believe the position in which a person goes to sleep provides an important clue about the kind of person they are."
I really enjoy the different position names:
The Foetus
Log
The yearner
Soldier
Freefall
Starfish
Farting Buffalo
Ok.. I'm lying about the farting buffalo.
Well I know this whole thing is a little retarded but I think I may be:
The yearner (13%): People who sleep on their side with both arms out in front are said to have an open nature, but can be suspicious, cynical. They are slow to make up…
omnibrain | January 5, 2007This is a pretty darn cool study :)
To investigate, the researchers recruited 28 pooches and their owners. In each experimental session, the dog's owner or another familiar person positioned the dog about a meter away from a computer monitor hidden behind a screen. Then, the researchers played a recording of either the owner or a stranger saying the dog's name five times through speakers in the monitor. Finally, the researchers removed the screen to reveal a still image of either the owner's face or the face of a stranger. Video cameras recorded the dogs' reactions.
When the owner's voice…
omnibrain | January 5, 2007As I'm sure many of you know, Colorado has been completely wrecked with snow - stranding thousands and thousands of cattle out in the fields leaving them to starve or wander off. One radio station, in an effort to help, called the most famous group for 'helping' animals in danger - PETA. Instead of PETA offering their assistance they came off as just a bunch of pricks instead. See below for some more details - or read the original article here.
As many as 340,000 cows and steers have been left stranded by southeastern Colorado's most recent snowstorm, and National Guard units are helping…
omnibrain | January 5, 2007I ran across this entertaining site containing a bunch of science fair projects that should never happen.
Here's one of them: