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 […]
Chancing It (3/31/14)
Chances Are… Does time control life? Or does chance? Items: – A famous calligrapher, you settle into your airplane’s aisle seat and pull out your pen. It’s a poor substitute for the brush, but you have many notes of thanks to write. Chinese calligraphy is one of the world’s great art forms. Actively collected and […]
Natural Versus Normal Sleep (7/1/13)
What Is Real Sleep? People always ask me how much sleep they should get to live and live well. I usually respond “it depends.” The individual answers encompass genes, jobs, habits, drugs and several dozen other factors – before the unknown ones. But what’s a proper society-wide answer? How much sleep do humans need? We […]
In Defense of Sleep (3/12/13)
In Defense Recently a journalist asked to summarize important facts about sleep. Here’s an attempt to defend sleep – and it’s role in human regeneration. Some will be interested by a new large European study showing that the worse the insomnia, the worse future heart failure. Yet the story is much bigger than that: The […]
Alzheimer’s – An Information Processing Illness (2/27/13)
The Deficient Disease Model The human body degenerates like a rusting machine. The parts just get older, break down, fall away. Believe this story? If you do, you’ll increase your risk of Alzheimer’s and many major illnesses – for that’s not how the body works. Machines fall apart. Cars rust. Machines degenerate. Bodies regenerate. […]