Yeah, I know. Sorry about that headline. Being a Physiologist, one might think me biased, but Physiology is, of course, the most fascinating of all sciences. Some people might disagree with that, but they are wrong. Within the broad subject of Physiology, there are certain areas that are even more interesting than others. Opinions may […]
Tag: science
Article #35: One Flu Over the Chicken’s Nest
It is still flu season. Normally, the major flu season runs from October to March, but this year has been pretty nasty. There is still a significant amount of influenza being reported in all age groups and the rate of disease, hospitalization, and deaths due to flu has been higher this year than any since […]
Article #34: The Immune Response-Winning the Fight Against Infection (Usually)
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 […]
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 #26: The Moon. Super, Blue or Otherwise
Let’s talk about the Moon. It’s been particularly spectacular recently and you might have been hearing about “supermoons” and all that in the media. If nothing else, maybe it will help you answer your grandkids’ questions, one of these days. The Far Side of the Moon. Credit NASA. First of all, I’ve always wondered why […]
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 […]