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 […]
Secrets of Jet Lag (9/23/13)
Aging in Flight You fly business class from LA to Beijing, sacrificing a college tuition payment for sixteen inches of leg room. Whisked to your hotel room you fall into bed and repeat attempted slumber. When you wake you feel thirty years older. Then you open the blinds, look out on the smog, and drop […]
Wild Type Humans Like Moving (9/5/13)
Walk on the Wild Side You have been part of a great biological experiment. You did not sign up for it. Yet it has changed the way you walk, the way you sleep, how you talk and socialize. Pretty much everything you do, in fact. In laboratories scientists make a major distinction between species born […]
To Sleep – Perchance to Drive (8/26/13)
Safe to Drive? The FDA has recently requested sleeping pill manufacturers conduct more “morning after” driving tests. Getting sleep is important, but remaining sleepy while operating a vehicle is another story. They should have spoken to the police in New Zealand. Recently police in Hamilton received an odd call. A woman called about her friend. […]
Are Energy Drinks Safe? (11/20/12)
Are They Safe? Energy drink manufacturers say yes – absolutely – they’re safe. They have evidence, many studies. Proof. They may be correct. But it would be best to have independent clinical epidemiologists check the data; outfits like the Cochrane Collective or the National Institute of Medicine should provide impartial reviews. Why Are People Concerned? […]