Google Aims to Reinvent the Housecall
The modernization of medicine has all but eliminated the housecall, but Google aims to bring it back - after a fashion - with it's "Helpouts" offering.
Prosthetic Limbs that Can Feel
scientists are using the phantom limb to develop prosthetics that can not only be moved by an amputee, but that can actually experience sensation in the phantom limb.
A Look Back at the Other Pill that Changed Everything
A new documentary short in the New York Times' "Retro Report" series looks at the cultural and medical impact of Prozac and the entire class of drugs that followed in its wake.
Studying Alzheimer's Disease in a Petri Dish
The eponymous ship in Star Trek: Voyager featured a 24th century technological innovation: bio-neural gel packs. "The gel packs formed the basis of the bio-neural circuitry, which was essentially an organic computer system. This was the first thing I thought of when I read about the breakthrough in Alzheimer's research, wherein researchers grow brain cells in a special gel and then introduce the gene for Alzheimer's
Looking for Dents in Unforeseen Places
USAID has recently issued a $5 Million Grand Challenge to help combat Ebola in West Africa: more breathable hazmat suits.
Denter of the Week: Eric Ng
This week’s featured Denter is Eric Ng, VP of Marketing for smart transportation startup Via.
Tackling Clotting Problems with Biomimicry
When it comes to the problem of blood clotting in patients using pacemakers or during kidney dialysis, the answer may be found in a carnivorous plant.
Complex PTSD: Putting a Dent in Our Understanding of Trauma-Induced Psychiatric Disorders
A deepening understanding of how a wide variety of traumatic experiences can result in changes in both brain and behavior has yielded a new category of proposed PTSD diagnosis: Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or C-PTSD.
The Birth of the Pill: The Sneaky History of the 20th Century's Most Impactful Invention
The birth control pill, which put a dent not just in science and medicine, but in the dynamics of human interaction, has a new biography out.The book tells the thrilling, but often ethically compromised story of birth control rabble rouser Margaret Sanger, suffragette Katharine McCormick, controversial researcher Gregory Pincus, and physician John Rock - as they developed the most impactful invention of the modern age.
The Incongruous, Improbable Creative Personality
Fast Company has a great article on the paradoxical traits of creative personalities based on the work of psychology professor and noted creativity expert Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi that rang true for me as both an artist and a geek.