Coke Channels Its Inner Monster Stoked and coked. The coca in Coca Cola was cocaine until 1929. Now the corporate giant has bought about of fifth of Monster Energy Drinks for $2.15 billion, hoping to further caffeinate its products and profits – and us. Why Did Coke Buy Monster? Money. The energy drink “niche” is […]
Zee Drugs (8/18/14)
Zee Story The back of the alphabet is pushing for primacy. The masked avenger Zorro appeared in 1919; the remarkably popular Z cars television crime series transfixed Britain in the 1960s. Now is era of Z drugs. Zolpidem, zaleplon, and eszopiclone – respectively named for the commercially minded ambien, sonata and lunesta – are today’s […]
Using Big Data Effectively (7/28/14)
Supporting Serendipity Has nothing important happened in psychiatric research in the last 25 years? Some believe so. Here’s a quote from the science writers Carl Zimmer and Benedict Carey in the July 22, 2014 New York Times “Despite decades of costly research, experts have learned virtually nothing about the causes of psychiatric disorders and have […]
Preferring Electric Shocks to Solitude (7/14/14)
Shocking Thoughts Is it uncomfortable to spend time alone with your thoughts? Is thoughtful solitude painful? For a lot of people, it is. A recent study run by University of Virginia Timothy Wilson had people spending time entirely with themselves. Alone. Many short experiments were tried. Each lasted only six to 15 minutes. Since […]
The Real Rules of the Road (6/9/14)
Driving Forward Driving excitement is in danger. Google has begun producing cars without steering wheels or pedals. Cars that drive themselves. Drivers may someday be obsolete. Humans will no longer be required to control the wheel. And think what we will lose: the pleasures of the iconic machine of American life – the embodiment of […]