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Mammography may increase breast cancer risk in some high-risk women	MRI helps detect life-threatening pregnancy complication
Special ultrasound accurately identifies skin cancer	Fear of anxiety linked to depression in above-average worriers
Childhood lead exposure causes permanent brain damage	Severe asymptomatic heart disease may accompany narrowing in leg arteries
Overweight children may develop back pain and spinal abnormalities	Scientists trace shark fins to their geographic origin for first time using DNA tools

Mind and Brain

December 17, 2008 by coglanglab

In periodic posts, I've been trying to lay out the modern scientific consensus on the mind/brain problem, with mixed success. If I had come across the following passage, from Ray Jackendoff's Language, Consciousness, Culture, a bit earlier, I might have saved some trouble, since I feel it is one of the clearest, most concise statements on the topic I have seen:

Brain and Behavior

Best evidence that "dark energy" is Cosmological Constant

December 16, 2008 by Fred Bortz

Einstein introduced the Cosmological Constant into his formulation of General Relativity to eliminate the uniform expansion or contraction of the universe that seemed to be inevitable without it. After Hubble's work revealed an expanding universe, Einstein called the constant his "greatest mistake."

But in recent years, the discovery of an accelerated expansion of the universe led scientists to postulate the existence of "dark energy." One candidate for that dark energy is--you guessed it--the Cosmological Constant.

(I discuss this as an open question in my book Physics: Decade by Decade.)

New research now supports that notion, though the evidence is far from conclusive.

Physics and Numbers

CogLangLab in Russian

December 16, 2008 by coglanglab

The Cognition and Language Lab branches out into experiments in other language(s).

Yes We Can(ned the space program)!

December 12, 2008 by Renaisauce

Obama's transition team might be screwing up things at NASA. He's talked the space talk, but can he walk the space walk?

Business and Economy

Are elders better scientists?

December 11, 2008 by coglanglab

A recent paper, discussed in a recent issue of Nature, found that across disciplines, professors in their 50s and 60s published about twice the number of papers each year as professors in their 30s. This is taken in the article as evidence that older professors can be very productive. Should it be?

Brain and Behavior

Should the shores of WesternTasmania brace for another whale stranding?

December 11, 2008 by Capt. David Williams

Magnitude 6.4 earthquake due south of Perth could injure whales and cause another whale stranding in Tasmania.

Language Wars

December 9, 2008 by coglanglab

A certain segment of the population gets very worked up about "correct usage" of language. As a scientist, I have to wonder why.

Brain and Behavior

Creating Water Out Of Thin Air

December 8, 2008 by ohfortheloveofs...

A new gadget does exactly that---creates drinking water out of nothing but air!

Computers and Electronics

As if 2008 wasn't long enough already!

December 8, 2008 by Fred Bortz

It's been a long year with a presidential election campaign that never seemed to end and a stock market that exploded with volatility, mostly on the down side.

So why are the powers that be adding more than the usual one day to this leap year, and why should you care?

Who are you calling a neuroscientist: Has neuroscience killed psychology?

December 8, 2008 by coglanglab

A recent article claims neuroscience is devouring psychology. Is it?

Brain and Behavior