retrospectacle | July 14, 2006
I'm instituting a new Friday *special* here at Retrospectacle: Friday Grey Matters. While readers might think this have to do with neuroscience (and it does in a way) I'm actually going to be talking about African Grey Parrots, of which I am the proud owner on one! Sometimes it may just be observations about what Pepper does (behaviorally and linguistically) and sometimes research from the literature on these amazing birds. The first episode of Grey Matters will be an introduction to these birds, who are the best mimics in the animal kingdom. (More below the fold....)
African Grey, as their…
retrospectacle | July 13, 2006The ScienceBlog-osphere has been abuzz lately with the current machinations the Bush administration's stem cell policy. As Nick Anthis, Matt Nisbet, and Ed Brayton have all mentioned, the controversy stems from Bush's threat to use, for the first time, a presidential veto to block a bill, passed by the House and expected to pass in the Senate, to expand federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Obviously, a veto could delay that process indefinitely.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 238-194 last year to pass the legislation, co-sponsored by Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., and Rep…
retrospectacle | July 13, 2006A growing number of people under 50 are getting Parkinson's disease, according to this news story. The "early-onset" Parkinson's is fundamentally different than its "late-onset" counterpart, similar to the two time-dependent forms of Alzheimer's. (More under the fold.)
Some 1.5 million Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, most in their 60s and 70s. The disease gradually destroys brain cells that produce dopamine, a chemical crucial for the cellular signaling that controls muscle movement. Too little dopamine causes increasingly severe tremors and periodically stiff or frozen…
retrospectacle | July 12, 2006Yah, we get a bad rap (and bad dental genes too, apparently). I have taken it as my personal mission in life to kick the dumb blonde rap (although I'll certainly use it to my benefit when needed, heh!).
Maybe this woman actually started the whole 'dumb blonde' thing back in the 70s.
retrospectacle | July 12, 2006Currently, AIDS patients must take a complicated regimen of many different kinds of pills to ward off the virus. But today the FDA approved the first "one and only" AIDS pill, which combines the other drugs into one pill. Called Atripla, it is a combo of Sustiva and Truvada (which itself two kinds of drugs), making it 4-drugs-in-one. (More below the fold....)
While 10 years ago, AIDs patients had to take as many as 25 pills per day, this new drug simplifies the drug regimen which in turn increases chances for correct dosing, and thus longer life.
"You're getting the first and only medication…
retrospectacle | July 12, 2006I'm going to Europe this September for the first time!
Under the premises of going to a science meeting (Inner Ear Biology Meeting 2006), I'm spending 2 weeks in the south of France and Amsterdam! I'm so excited! Here's the thing, I thought I would put out the word on my blog to see if any readers or residents know any cool places to see/go that a normal tourist might not. I'm going to be photo-blogging the trip, so let me know all your favorite places in France, Italy, Switzerland, and the Netherlands (and anything in between on the Eurail.) The conference is in Montpellier, France and I'm…
retrospectacle | July 11, 2006
The adorable panda cub Tai Shan turned 1 year old this weekend. Happy Birthday!!!
retrospectacle | July 11, 2006Its sad, but true: all the best that Michigan has to offer is found lying by the side of the road. And look what turned up this time.
retrospectacle | July 11, 2006While reading the June issue of Nature, I saw an editorial piece called Last Rites which touched on a subject which interests me: humane euthanization of lab animals. Our lab does research on guinea pigs (we must be the last lab to *actually* use guinea pigs), and its of the utmost concern to all of us that they feel no pain when they are sacrificed (or "sacked" as we say). There exists two main ways of euthanization: inhaling carbon dioxide gas or by "cervical dislocation" (euphamism for breaking the animal's neck). The former require little to no researcher interaction, but may be a slow…
retrospectacle | July 10, 2006I had to go to the dentist today, for the first time in 5 years. I always dread doing that since, for some reason, any of the regular anesthetics they use to numb the gums and teeth don't work on me. Anything thats part of the "caine" groups of numbing chemicals (lidocaine, novocaine, etc), well I can't even tell a difference. all my life, I thought it was just normal for those not to work well, and just grin and bore horrible pain to get my teeth cleaned and cavities filled. Hence, why I haven't gone in 5 years.
When I told my doctor about my troubles "getting numb" she said something…
retrospectacle | July 10, 2006Researchers at the University of Antwerp have identified three genes, involved in potassium ion channels in the inner ear, which are essential for normal hearing protection. Defects in these genes have been shown to significantly decrease the cochlea's ability to protect itself from noise-related injuries. (More below the fold....)
The team pinpointed the genes during a study of over 1000 Swedish men who had all been exposed to loud noises while working in factories. 80% of these participants had been subjected to this noise for at least 20 years. The teams tested the mens' hearing thresholds…
retrospectacle | July 7, 2006
They forgot "Lack of ears: disappeared thorough lack of use" and "Smaller than average brain: since the world is only 2000 years old, much less information needs to be stored." Heh.
retrospectacle | July 6, 2006Vitamin C is great for you (as pirates who got scurvy due to the lack of it could tell you), but it loses much of its potency sitting on your grocer's shelf. Fresh Vitamin C is not only much more healthy for you, but its 1/5-1/10 of the price if you make it rather than buy it. Here's some simple tips on how to make your own Vitamin C tablets. (Below the fold....)
I came across this recipe from Chemsoft, and I think its a great idea. On the website is a calucator which tells you how much of which ingredient you need to end up with a certain amount of Vitamin C. Very smart!
This recipe makes…
retrospectacle | July 6, 2006This is a major landmark for stem cell therapy. Motor neurons derived from embryonic stem cells were implanted into paralyzed rats, which partially restored their ability to move like normal. A team of researchers at John Hopkins used a unique method to encourage the new spinal nerves to connect to muscles: a combination of transplanted motor neurons, chemicals that stimulate axon growth, and nerve growth factors. (More under the fold.)
"This work is a remarkable advance that can help us understand how stem cells might be used to treat injuries and disease and begin to fulfill their great…
retrospectacle | July 6, 2006Although I haven't seen the journal article about the case yet (it was published in the Journal of Clinical Research, I believe) , its already been reported on CNN and other news venues. A crash victim who has been barely conscious for over 20 years suddenly regained speech and movement after his damaged brain spontaneously repaired itself. This is an extremely unusual case, but an important one due to the fact that now that we know it CAN be done, we can gain a better understanding of how to induce it in other more mundane injuries. (More under the fold.)
Severe head injuries resulting in…
retrospectacle | July 5, 2006On the 4th of July, its been a tradition since 1918 to hold the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Championship in Coney Island, NY. During this event, the scrawny and the portly from all over the world compete for the Mustard Belt. This belt is, of course, bestowed upon the person who can eat the most hot dogs (buns too) in 12 minutes flat. How are some people able to devour all that food and not get full or puke? (More beyond the fold.)
If you know ANYTHING at all about the eating contest circuit, you know who Kobayashi is. Besides being a 132 lb 5'6 Japanese kid, he's the 6-time winner of the…
retrospectacle | July 3, 2006The first edition of Encephalon (a new Neuroscience carnival) is up at Neurophilosopher's Blog. Check it out!
retrospectacle | July 3, 2006Wanna try your hand at making some homemade sparklers? Its easy!
(How to do it below the fold!)
What You Need:
- iron wires or wooden sticks
- 300 parts potassium chlorate
- 60 parts aluminum fines, flitter, or granules
- 2 parts charcoal
- 10% dextrin in water solution
- 500 parts strontium nitrate (optional, for red color)
- 60 parts barium nitrate (optional, for green color)
All these ingredients are legal and can be ordered or bought at a chemical supply store like Science Stuff or Chem Bargains.
Mix the dry ingredients with enough dextrin solution to make a moist slurry. Include the…
retrospectacle | July 3, 2006The head of the Kresge Hearing Research Center here at UM (link to the left) is Dr. Jochen Schacht. His team recently discovered that taking the antioxidents Vitamin E and aspirin significantly reduced hearing damage after noise trauma (ie, a rock concert.) Info below the fold..........
From the NIDCD's site:
Exposure to loud sounds or noise can lead to noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) by damaging and/or destroying the inner ear's sensory hair cells. Scientists believed that NIHL damaged the hair cells by the pure force of the loud sound vibrations. In that case, the only NIHL prevention…