Perils in obtaining a Ph.D.

I was struck by the recent article by Louis Menand in this issue’s Harvard Magazine. Essentially, for many academic fields the length of time to obtain a Ph.D. and the potential prospects for finding a tenure-track academic job is enough to make one who desires further academic inquiry to question whether the Ph.D. is the [...]

brain mapping disorders

An ever growing number of studies feature brain mapping to illustrate structural differences in the brain based on grouping those with and without a given disorder. Techniques such as structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can aid in researchers understanding of differences in shape and volume of various brain regions. Group differences are often found, yet [...]

One example of how animal research can help humans

Human and animal studies have found that brains go through substantial
synaptic pruning during childhood, removing approximately half of all synapses until puberty. While the pruning of synapses is a natural process, some researchers have theorized that schizophrenia arises from excessive pruning (Siekmeier & Hoffman, 2002). Presuming schizophrenia is a disorder of disruptions in neural connectivity [...]

Politics and Proof – The misuse of science

It’s no secret that politicians can twist words to make anything sound as if it supports their agenda. There’s even a name for those who are good at this (and a 90s band with the same name) – Spin Doctors.
However, when scientific findings are misrepresented to support policies, what we get is ideological propoganda. It’s [...]