Have you heard of the Maker Movement? Last night I saw a documentary called Maker. (See trailer below). Maker Culture?consists of people who convert ideas into physical products, through creating, hacking, and exploring. This could be in the realm of art (think of sculpture made from scavenged … [Read more...] about Maker Culture: More than Consumers
Cognitive Anchors: What Weighs You Down?
"Cognitive Anchors" are facts we know to be true -- so that all incoming information must wrap around these facts. What are your Cognitive Anchors? Last night I went to a "Dialogue of Discovery" at Janelia Farm, a research campus funded by Howard Hughes Medical Institute, to hear a practitioner … [Read more...] about Cognitive Anchors: What Weighs You Down?
Brains & Beer
What do you know about your brain? Would you pay the equivalent of a six-pack so that scientists could understand it better? Let's call that "your brain on beer." The Howard Hughes Medical Institute built a campus in Loudoun County called Janelia Farm. In return for getting great tax breaks, … [Read more...] about Brains & Beer
My Brain Is Your Brain
It was my elder daughter who told me I could get my head examined. So yesterday I spent an hour in an MRI machine having my brain scanned, even though I am perfectly healthy. I was a subject in a research study whose purpose is to examine the relationship between HIV-associated neurocognitive … [Read more...] about My Brain Is Your Brain
Brush Border & other GI miracles
Did you know you have a "brush border" that keeps you alive? The brush border is the little fingerlings that line your small intestine and absorb nutrients from the food you eat. It is only one cell thick. Think about that. There's one cell between the food you eat (mixed with stomach acid into … [Read more...] about Brush Border & other GI miracles
What I Learned from Mouse Vocalizations
Mouse Vocalizations and the Brain. Sounds like a date night, doesn't it? Last Wednesday Doug and I went to a lecture at Janelia Farm, which is a research institute funded by Howard Hughes money. Picture a lot of smart people doing laboratory research about various brain-related topics. Every … [Read more...] about What I Learned from Mouse Vocalizations
Blood & Bones
Without any advance planning, this weekend turned out to have a Lost Civilizations theme, which turns out to be a rather gory experience! On Friday night, we watched the movie APOCALYPTO, which is Mel Gibson's movie set in the Mayan civilization shortly before the conquistadors arrived. I put this … [Read more...] about Blood & Bones
Mental Health Awareness, a Lecture by Kay Redfield Jamison
Did you know that May is Mental Health Awareness month? I didn't until it was almost over. On Tuesday night I went to my local library to hear two people from NAMI tell their stories of mental illness. I hope to blog about that in the future because their stories were powerful. This evening I had … [Read more...] about Mental Health Awareness, a Lecture by Kay Redfield Jamison