Health

Are our brains self-sabotaging? The role of astrocytes in neurodegenerative diseases

Biology, Health / /

Despite the modernity of medicine and the advancements mankind has made in understanding human physiology, there is perhaps no greater mystery than the driving force behind our every action, thought, and feeling: the human brain. The physical structure of the brain is clear, but the origin of many of the existing neuronal pathologies is still […]

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Curing old age: How genetic regeneration could turn back the clock

Biology, Health / /

While wrinkle creams and wheatgrass shots may be all the anti-aging rage, the real secret lies within all of us. Put simply, aging is the slow progression of DNA damage. As cells replicate, approximately 100 base pairs of DNA are lost in what is known as the end-replication problem. Organisms have long developed a counter

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Post-truth politics and the future state of knowledge

Health, World / /

The 2016 presidential election and victory of Donald Trump marked the start of a period scholars call the “post-truth” era. While this concept isn’t new, a post-truth society is characterized by the absence of shared objective standards for truth in favor of appeals to emotion or personal beliefs. Today, many politicians appeal to the emotional

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A waking nightmare: Sleep deprivation and circadian rhythms in the midst of addiction

Biology, Health / /

It is commonly said that a sleep-deprived person has the mental performance of a person impaired by alcohol. However, the relationship between sleep and substances, such as drugs and alcohol, may be deeper than a simple comparison. Sleep itself is a significant factor in physical health and mental performance, yet many aspects of sleep remain

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Structural violence: How institutions create the framework for global health

Health / /

When we think of the word violence, we tend to picture physical altercations: a slap to the face, a punch to the gut. Or perhaps we might picture something a bit less tangible — say, verbal assault or emotional abuse. At any rate, in each of these situations, the interaction is person-to-person; it is individual

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Boogie fever: A look at the dancing mania epidemics of the Middle Ages

Biology, Health / /

In the autumn of 1518, Strasbourg, a prominent trading city on the banks of the Rhine River, was alive with the sound of dancing. Musicians played day and night; a new stage was constructed across from the market; and over 400 people — all stricken by the dancing mania plaguing the city — whirled, twirled,

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Cleanliness and Convention: A Curious Correlation

Biology, Health / /

Everyday, people propose the best ways to keep a clean environment: keeping your space tidy, getting rid of unnecessary clutter, organizing your life. In general, society values order and cleanliness, as this represents an efficient, productive way of living. However, evolutionarily speaking, there are advantages to both a messy and clean environment. In nature, order

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When social media becomes social reality: How network use may predict mental health

Health, Technology / /

Despite the seemingly inconsequential nature of information behind a screen, the ubiquity of social media allows it to seep into the reality of many adolescents. The culture of likes, comments, shares, and followers is widely known to seem superficial, but it has a very real connection with the mental health of developing minds. The ways

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Reveling in chaos

Health, Technology / /

A lot of us have people in our lives who seem to experience one chaotic situation or crisis after the next. After a while, you might think that this person, on some level, enjoys the chaos and unpredictability of these situations. Indeed, it may be true that people manufacture chaos in their lives because they

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