Figure: An image of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan. Huge advancements in the field of medical physics have made non-invasive monitoring of internal organs such as the brain possible. Recent advancement comes in the form of Magnetometers (MEGs) which offer high spatio-temporal resolution. (Source: Pixabay, Kalhh) The brain is the most complex part of …
Figure: Bacteria are essential for gut health because they help break down key dietary nutrients. But when one’s diet changes– the gut microbiome can be driven out of sorts. Scientists now understand that the gut microbiome is altered by a calorie-restricted diet in such a way that it prevent dieters from keeping weight off. Future …
Figure: Cancer cell division is rapid and uncontrollable. New evidence suggests that the gut microbiome may contribute to cancer cell proliferation, spurred on by a high fat diet – but also that there may be ways to fix a cancer-causing gut microbiome (Source: Pixabay, ColiN00B) Background The war on cancer has been fought valiantly for …
Gut Bacteria May be a Cause of Colorectal Cancer (and the Key to Effective Treatment) Read More »
Abstract: Cancer treatment has long been an engaging field of study for researchers. Yet despite years of refinement, conventional treatment methods like radiotherapy and chemotherapy are still incompetent in the permanent cure of cancer. Recently, bacterial treatment approach has shown promising experimental results. Bacterial treatment allows for deeper tumor penetration than radiation due to the …
Figure: A person scrolling through news articles on their smartphone. FoMO has been largely studied in the context of social media and smartphone usage (Source: Wikimedia Commons, Japanexperterna.se). Fear of missing out, or FoMO, is a feeling of apprehension that others are having positive or rewarding experiences where one is not present (Przybylski et al., …
Mind Missing Out? Fear of Missing Out and the Brain Read More »
Figure: A computer representation of the anthrax toxin protein (Source: Wikimedia Commons, Ayacop) For intensive surgery, opioids are often prescribed to help ease post-operative pain. They are very effective, but unfortunately also tend to be highly addictive, affecting about 15 million people every year, with an estimated cost of $35 billion in additional health care …
Study Finds Anthrax Toxin as Possible Substitute for Painkillers Read More »
Figure: Illustration of brain areas that are involved in social processing (Source: Wikimedia Commons, Billeke P & Aboitiz F, 2013) Have you ever had this experience? On a drowsy afternoon at work, you are extremely sleepy. You eat a snack or have a chat with your colleagues and you quickly bounce back. In this scenario, …
Image: A group of cogs arranged in the shape of a brain (Source: Unsplash, Taras Hrytsak). Many evidence-based theories suggest that humans avoid effort. We’re not lazy, we’re just hardwired to take the path of least resistance. There is indeed scientific evidence in favor of this theory. One study, for example, had 52 participants go …
Figure 1 President Tsai Ing-wen inspects the Central Epidemic Command Center on April 2, 2020 (Source: Flickr, 總統府) (A previous version of this article that describes the situation in the pre-Omicron wave can be found here) Recently, an article in The Lancet medical journal article measured the biological, economic, demographic, and socio-political correlates of COVID-19 …
Trust: The Essence of Good Policy Implementation Read More »
Cover: A simulated timeline of the events since the big bang. The existence of cosmic inflation supports the assumption that the universe must have begun from a single hot singularity with infinite density and gravity. This has led to an investigation of what created this singularity. One proposal, the Hartle-hawking state, offered by the Late …
Alternative Proposal to the Big Bang’s Singularity Theory: the Hartle-hawking State Read More »