Smashing Protons: A great reason to pop the cork on a bottle you’ve been saving!

Sometimes I am reminded of the reasons I became a scientist…it can be very frigging cool! As of around 4 AM EST this morning, the largest scientific experiment ever conceived or attempted is now underway. Deep under the Swiss-Franco boarder, a proton beam was launched into a 17 mile long tunnel that is housed in a 12 foot thick concrete casing that makes up the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the worlds largest particle accelerator. This beam won’t be alone for very long, since in an adjacent tunnel a second beam will be launched with the intention of creating conditions in which the two beams will collide (the first scheduled collision is on October 21, 2008) creating enough energy to excite any science geek or sci-fi fanatic. Read more

Drink wine and you get shrinkage - of your hippocampus! (Overview of a recent study and rant on the media and science)

I was holding off on commenting on this study until I reveal a project I’m working on, but so many wine blogs out there have talked about it, I feel like adding my $0.02.

As you may be aware, I am a medical researcher who spends countless hours each week studying the hippocampus. Each day I take little glass electrodes and place them on brain cells in the rodent hippocampus observing changes in cellular calcium and electrical current in response to glutamate (excitatory neurotransmitter) stimulation that I control with a laser. My research has implications in memory and epilepsy. As a neuroscientist studying the hippocampus and a wine enthusiast, the recent topic of the effects of wine on the hippocampal volume hits pretty close to home.

Here is my overview of the study (I’m trying to not be too technical here - please leave a comment with questions): Read more

Wine Pairing Advice For The “Men’s Health Top 10 Worst Foods in America”

Disclaimer: Following the food and wine pairing advice below involves ingesting large amounts of calories, fats, carbohydrates and sodium and is not recommended for those suffering from heart disease, hypertension, or renal or hepatic disease! Side effects may include nausea, upset stomach, dizziness, weight gain, loss of sex drive, and obesity!

American’s are overweight. As a nation, our obesity rate is very high, especially compared to other industrialized nations. Not surprising, the rate of Type-II diabetes, heart disease, and a handful of other serious ailments, is through the roof. Our poor health can be attributed to the combination of an overall lack of physical activity and poor diets - many of us eat 2 or more meals at fast food or other PNLP (Poor Nutrition Large Portions) establishments. It’s far more convenient to pick up carry out food, run through a fast food window, or head to the local neighborhood diner than to prepare a healthy meal at home. Unfortunately, these meals out (which often involve large portion sizes filled with 2-3 times the daily requirement for calories, fats, carbs and sodium) may be one of the biggest problems when it comes to our obesity rates as a country.
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