Category: science

  • Evolutionary Thoughts

    Evolutionary Thoughts

    By now, you’ve probably read the digital news article describing how we’re all going to evolve into beings who resemble extraterrestrials (ETs) because of our preoccupation with digital technology. The authors describe us as eventually developing another eyelid that’ll protect us from the blue light emanating from our gadgets. Our hands will become claw-like and…

  • See the World’s Largest Dinosaurs Exhibit at the Science Center of Iowa!

    See the World’s Largest Dinosaurs Exhibit at the Science Center of Iowa!

    You can see the world’s largest dinosaurs exhibit at the Science Center of Iowa in Des Moines, Iowa from October 15, 2022 to April 16, 2023. It’s a traveling exhibit, so see it before it thunders off!

  • CDC Advisory Committee Recommends Including Covid-19 Vaccine for Routine Immunization Schedule

    CDC Advisory Committee Recommends Including Covid-19 Vaccine for Routine Immunization Schedule

    Today, the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended adding Covid-19 immunization to the routinely recommended vaccine schedule.

  • Here We Go Again About Antidepressants

    Here We Go Again About Antidepressants

    Back in August, my colleagues, Drs. George Dawson, MD and Ronald Pies, MD wrote a rejoinder in Psychiatric Times to a review article published in Molecular Psychiatry by J. Moncrieff, Mark Horowitz and others (Moncrieff J, Cooper RE, Stockmann T, Amendola S, Hengartner MP, Horowitz MA. The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review…

  • Psychiatrists Cast Doubt on Idea that Antidepressants Work by Causing Apathy

    Psychiatrists Cast Doubt on Idea that Antidepressants Work by Causing Apathy

    Out of 60 hits on page one of a Google search using terms “emotional blunting from SSRI,” only one cast doubt on the assumption that SSRI antidepressants exert their treatment effect by causing apathy. The rest endorsed the connection. The one article I found on this quick search which contradicted this widely held and arguably…

  • Maybe We Need a Dose of Humor

    Maybe We Need a Dose of Humor

    Sena and I were listening to the Mike Waters morning radio show (KOKZ 105.7) this morning and his invitation to listeners was to call in and quote their favorite dumb question. One of the callers recited something which was actually a George Carlin joke. Neither one of us thought we heard it right, but it’s…

  • Extraterrestrials Need Lentils Anonymous Program

    Extraterrestrials Need Lentils Anonymous Program

    Sena bought a bag of Spicy Sriracha Lentil Chips yesterday. They’re at the center of an extraterrestrial news flash on the web site of the company, The Daily Crave, which sells a lot of healthier snack food items. They’re mainly plant-based. Apparently, extraterrestrials are known to have a tendency to get addicted to lentils. What…

  • How to Get the Updated Covid-19 Vaccine Booster at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics

    How to Get the Updated Covid-19 Vaccine Booster at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics

    Here’s an updated link to how to get the updated Covid-19 vaccine booster (often called the Omicron bivalent booster). It’s sometimes faster to get this booster at local pharmacies, although there’s less urgency now.

  • Single Administration Therapeutic Interfering Particle (TIP) Reduces Covid-19 Viral Shedding & Pathogenesis in Hamsters

    Single Administration Therapeutic Interfering Particle (TIP) Reduces Covid-19 Viral Shedding & Pathogenesis in Hamsters

    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) recently published a study showing: Abstract “The high transmissibility of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a primary driver of the COVID-19 pandemic. While existing interventions prevent severe disease, they exhibit mixed efficacy in preventing transmission, presumably due to their limited antiviral effects in the…

  • I Say Omicron and You Say Ahmicron

    I Say Omicron and You Say Ahmicron

    Well, we tried the Miracle Whip salad dressing on egg salad sandwiches the other day. I thought they tasted better than the tuna fish sandwiches we had before. But maybe it was the mustard in the egg salad. Anyway, Sena says we’ll be going back to Mayonnaise after the Miracle Whip is gone. The difference…