A couple of articles ago, I started writing an article on the flu, and it sort of expanded until it got to where it included vaccines and the human immune system, which is way too much stuff for one article. The immune system is way too cool (and involved) to just jam in between other […]
Tag: education
Article #32: Vaccination. Perhaps mankind’s greatest achievement
It’s flu season. I’m going to do the whole column on the flu next week, but to set it up, this week we’ll talk about pathogenic (that means “disease causing”) microorganisms a bit and how the human immune system and vaccination works to protect us from them. First off, it’s important to understand that this […]
Article # 31: Whether the Weather is Wetter
It’s Wintertime, when lots of people grumble a lot and some people feel like dancing around in the brisk air. Most of my family are lizard people who like it when they can sit in the shade and sweat. I am, in this respect as in quite a few others, a sheep of a darker […]
Article #30: Hormones and Neurons and Glands–Oh, My!
I’ve mentioned it before, but I am, by training, a Physiologist. That means I’ve spent a lot of time learning about the structure and function of body systems. You might have noticed that I like science—all the sciences. I don’t understand nearly as much about most of them as I would like to, but I’ve […]
Article #29: Shooting Stars
While sitting in my back yard last night, I saw a shooting star, and my bride suggested it might be a good subject for a column. As always, I agree with my wife, so let’s have at it. This subject goes along pretty nicely with the recent columns about the moon, and even has a […]
Article #28: Tides and Forces
My last article, pre-Santa Claus, was about the Moon. One of the things I mentioned was that the Moon is responsible for the tides, so let’s talk about that. It’s a good opportunity to talk about some useful Physics First off, let’s clarify that the Moon isn’t the only thing that influences the tides, it’s […]
Article #25: Learning How to Learn
The Science Behind the Science Since this series of articles is dedicated to science literacy, this seems like it might be a good time to touch on the subject of learning. It seems relevant on several levels for readers, and it’s sort of in my wheelhouse, both as a Neuroscientist and as an educator. I […]
Article #24: Let’s Eat. And Be Thankful
Source: Norman Rockwell. Freedom From Want. This Image is in the public domain Halloween is just passed and Thanksgiving is on the horizon, so maybe this is a good time to talk about eating. It’s a WAY more complex subject than you might think. First off, let’s “set the table” and outline the basic facts […]
Article # 23: Flight
Let’s talk about airplanes. Airplanes are cool, just in general, but they are REALLY cool if you think about them in terms of technology. The first controlled, sustained flight of a powered airplane was only in 1903, 121 years ago. Wilbur Wright flew their wonky-looking airplane at a speed of about 8 miles an hour, […]
Article #22: A Half-pound of Kidneys Goes a Long Way
I think I mentioned when I started writing these columns that I am a Physiologist by training and I did research in Neurophysiology in a previous life. Despite that, I haven’t written a single column on physiology, yet. So, let’s fix that. It’ll be fun to play in my own sandbox. So much to pick […]