Biology 🌱
Squatting: A Deep Dive into Poetic Posture
Squatting isn't just a modern fitness fad, it's a timeless tale of human biology echoing our ancestors' whispers when nature called.
Unraveling Stress Responses: Fight, Flight, or Freeze?
When your boss emails "We need to talk," your palms sweat. That's your body shouting "Danger," flipping its ancient alarm system.
Rediscovering Walter M. Elsasser: A Pioneer in Atomic Physics, Morphology & More
Step into the world of Walter M. Elsasser, a maverick mind who journeyed from atomic physics to geophysics and then to theoretical biology, leaving an indelible mark on each discipline. His unorthodox path is a testament to the power of interdisciplinary thinking...
A Pioneer of Genetics: Oswald Avery's landmark experiment
Oswald Avery was one of the first molecular biologists and a pioneer in immunochemistry, but he's best known for one experiment that changed life as we know it. In 1944, he spearheaded the groundbreaking Avery-McLeod-McCarthy Experiment: a milestone in genetics research.
Why do we itch?
We feel the urge to scratch an itch dozens of times a day on average. There are all sorts of causes, from dry skin to allergic reactions. But some, mysteriously, have no trigger whatsoever. An itch can appear just by thinking about it!
Second Sleep : When Humans Slept in Shifts
Does your routine 8 hours of shut eye still leave you feeling exhausted? Do you wake at odd hours, alert and observant when you should be snoozing soundly? Time to consider a forgotten habit from medieval times – sleeping in shifts.
The mystery of the humble handaxe
In The Mating Mind, G. Miller notes our ancestors made hand axes for a million years to create other hunting and gathering tools. But here's the mystery of the hand axe: archeological digs show they were made with much more "skill, design, and symmetry" than was necessary. Why?
How we evolved to handicap our own self - to get ahead
The Handicap Principle is one of the most intriguing scientific ideas of the last 50 years. Proposed in 1975 by Israeli biologist Amotz Zahavi, it was initially ridiculed. But this principle successfully explains paradoxical animal behavior, & later research validated it. More👇
Frankenstein’s Monsters Of Today And Tomorrow
In the classic novel Frankenstein, a scientist makes a proto-human in a lab. This monstrous creature kills his family, & has become an enduring metaphor for man’s creations turning on him. Today we are creating many such Frankenstein’s monsters with our t
Secrets of the Gut: A Journey Through Digestive Wellness
Think your bowel movements are just a mundane bodily function? Think again. They're the daily logs of your digestive diary, telling tales of your inner well-being.
International Day of Biodiversity
Good day All I wish to inform you of the upcoming event which is the International Day for Biodiversity which is in the first week of May.
Chaos Theory for Dummies: Finding Beauty in Disorder
Chaos theory isn't just a complicated way of talking about mess and mayhem. It's the mind-bending study of how patterns and order emerge from what looks like total randomness.
Genetic Breakthrough on Bipolar Disorder
A genetic study conducted by the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has identified a gene called AKAP11 as a strong risk factor for both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Battling Zombies From Her Hospital Bed: Mental Health Meets Molecular Biology
Lauren Kane graduated college in 2016 and moved in with her mother while she applied to grad school. She enjoyed the relaxed pace of days at home, enjoying her mother’s company and binge-watching The Walking Dead. Until one day something went very wrong in her brain.
Spontaneous, Involuntary and Instant : Common Reflexes and Their Uses
Reflexes - our bodies completing tasks without informing our brains. These sudden, arresting movements serve a valuable role in our wellbeing. A new born baby knows to suck, we withdraw fast from extreme heat, we dodge a ball headed straight for our face, all thanks to reflexes.
The strange reason humans became creative
Introduction. In The Mating Mind(1999), Geoffrey Miller notes that human beings are strange animals. We do things that no other animal does: communicate via sophisticated languages, produce music, appreciate humor - and much more. How did we evolve these unique abilities?
How evolution touches everything from tech to music
Introduction. In his book The Evolution of Everything, Matt Ridley analyses culture, human nature, technology, and much more using evolutionary science. Top insights from the book 👇
Stem Cells: Elixir of Rejuvenation
Stem cells hold the key to unlocking the fountain of youth, offering remarkable potential for tissue regeneration and age reversal.
Constructing History: Uncovering the Biases and Perspectives of Our Past
History isn't just a record of events, it's a story shaped by the biases of those who tell it. Like a mischievous toddler with crayons, historians color history with their own perspectives.
The Making of a Scientist: Discover the Breakthroughs of Richard H. Ebright
Richard H. Ebright, a former 'scout of the year', revolutionized the scientific world at 22 with a groundbreaking theory on cellular mechanics, published in a prestigious journal - a rare feat for college students.
10 Ancient Fertility Treatments You Wouldn't Want To Use Today
Fertility has been a concern for humans since ancient times, and many civilizations have developed various treatments to improve fertility. However, some of these treatments were bizarre and even dangerous.
Built For Another World
A long running tragedy of life is that our environment changes faster than our instincts. In technical terms this is called an evolutionary mismatch. A species evolves for a certain landscape, weather, predator - then the world changes and all old weapons are useless👇
Why you're the Greek God Proteus
In The Mating Mind, Geoffrey Miller tackles three fascinating questions. One: Why do animals like rats, rabbits, and moths engage in random behavior? Two: What role does randomness play in human behavior? Three: What does randomness have to do with arts, humor, and sports? More👇
Top 10 Most Listened Episodes of Armchair Expert Podcast with Dax Shepard
10. Paul Bloom (ep.382 ): Paul Bloom is a psychologist and professor at Yale. Paul joins to discuss how he loves to debunk simple ideas that people commonly have, how a full life requires both logic and emotion, and how people’s empathy rarely extends beyond friends and family.
How animals are evolving to thrive in cities
Urban wildlife is expanding and evolving faster than expected. Like other cities, London is home to exotic wildlife and is as biodiverse as some wildernesses. Mumbai has leopards, Boston turkeys, Chicago coyotes and Newcastle kittiwakes.