Unpopular Health Imagine a magic elixir that’s free and grants much longer life (12 years for men, 14 years for women.) Despite benefits radically dwarfing the advantages of all health care, the elixir is almost universally spurned. For to receive this magic elixir individuals must put up with what are commonly regarded as unacceptable intrusions: they must […]
Want to Lose Weight? Ask Your Gut
Want to lose weight, particularly body fat? Choose the right gut bacteria. They’ve already chosen you. But can you select them? A recent study in Copenhagen checked gut bacteria before starting some overweight people on a half year diet. Using a crude measure of different bacteria populations (high Prevotella to Bacteroides ratio,) the high ratio group who ate […]
Purpose Driven Sleep
Does sleep have a purpose? Certainly. Sleep is like food. Without sleep, animals die. During sleep we reorganize our brains, consolidate memories, grow skin, rejigger hormones, rebuild tissues. In sleep we continuously remake the internal information that makes us us. But does having a purpose make for better sleep? Purpose Driven Sleep Meaning matters. If people have a sense of […]
How Much Booze is Best?
Is moderate drinking good for you? Does consistent imbibing of a glass a day prevent Alzheimer’s? Heart disease and stroke? Or is drinking booze more akin to radiation, where there is not yet a clear “safe” dose? Recent research has begun moving against the consensus of decades. Booze on the Brain For example, take a recent study in […]
Artificial or Natural Intelligence?
Artificial Versus Natural Intelligence Are you ready for Skynet? In 2029 the artificial intelligence that controls American nuclear weapons achieves self-consciousness. A humanity besotted with machines, electronic medical and communications devices, is nearly wiped out. Ultimately we are saved from complete annihilation by a single mother who can’t balance a checkbook, her larcenous son, and […]