Insects and Canaries People hate insects. They bite, snap, sting, and kill. Perhaps the most hated animal on the planet is the mosquito, despised for bringing malaria, dengue fever, sleeping sickness and a host of other fatal and disfiguring diseases. The most frightening sci-fi film monsters from “Alien” to “Starship Troopers” are giant, intelligent insectoids. […]
Time to Go With the Dogs
Dogs Can Help You Live – and Live Longer Can living with a dog improve your life? It certainly appears canine companionship might extend it. The results come from a Swedish study at Uppsala University which used the longstanding public health advantages of that country. All the Swedish population between the ages of 40-80 were surveyed. Out of those […]
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 […]
Will Your Next Doctor Visit Be With a Robot?
Autonomous robot surgeons now do a better job of stitching than humans – at least in animals. Will your next medical visit be with a robot? Perhaps not – though your doctor may already feel like one. For roboticization of work, particularly through “innovative” IT, is rapidly coming to control your health care. Bright New Robots […]
Why It’s Better to Be Rich
“I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor. Rich is better.” So said Sophie Tucker, long ago. It’s still true. A recent study in JAMA demonstrated that if life expectancy was extrapolated from age 40, American males in the top 1% of income would live 15 years longer than the bottom 1%; among women the life expectancy difference […]
