55 posts · 35,099 views
Disease research is something that everyone pays for (taxes), but that not everyone has access to or can easily understand. Try Nerdy wants to change all that, and encourage people to embrace their inner nerds.
NerdyOne
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- September 13, 2012
- 01:41 PM
- 394 views
The science of the chubby chaser.
Before I go anywhere with this post, is the term “chubby chaser” offensive? If it is, you have my apologies, but I’m from Generation Y, and I think we view “chubby chaser” as something of a technical term for a person of any gender or sexual leaning who romantically prefers individuals with some extra meat on his or her bones. Y’know: thick, bootylicious, more to love, junk in the trunk…don’t act like you’re not familiar with these concepts......... Read more »
Swami V, & Tovée MJ. (2012) The Impact of Psychological Stress on Men's Judgements of Female Body Size. PloS one, 7(8). PMID: 22905153
- August 7, 2012
- 01:30 PM
- 259 views
Sweet swag, hip Harvard, & ample alcohol
I want to talk about a shirt. Specifically, I want to talk about this shirt:
It happens to be one of many Awesome ThinkGeek Shirts. If you are reading this post, then A) you’ve probably already heard of ThinkGeek, and B) there’s a good chance you know what the molecule on that shirt is.
If neither A) nor B) applies to you, though – that’s okay! Because I plan to discuss 1) what the molecule represents, 2) which school I think the shirt is poking fun at, and why it&r........ Read more »
Koehrer P, Creuzot-Garcher C, & Bron AM. (2011) Methanol poisoning: two case studies of blindness in Indonesia. International ophthalmology, 31(6), 517-24. PMID: 22200859
Rajamani A. (2012) Two cases of toxic methanol ingestion, one leading to brain death: case reports and a brief review. Critical care and resuscitation : journal of the Australasian Academy of Critical Care Medicine, 14(1), 56-9. PMID: 22404063
Cascallana JL, Gordo V, & Montes R. (2012) Severe necrosis of oesophageal and gastric mucosa in fatal methanol poisoning. Forensic science international, 220(1-3). PMID: 22398189
Barry AE, & Goodson P. (2012) Contextual Factors Influencing U.S. College Students' Decisions to Drink Responsibly. Substance use , 47(10), 1172-84. PMID: 22662910
- August 4, 2012
- 10:08 AM
- 278 views
Ebola could kill you. This is not a test.
In my last post, I didn’t talk about Ebola. This is primarily because the Ebola virus plushy toy is nowhere near as cute as, say, Chlamydia or Herpes.
I mean, seriously…the Ebola virus just looks like an earthworm of some sort. But despite its unfortunate lack of cute, Ebola is a big deal. A really big deal. In this post, I’ll tell you what the big deal is, and why you just might have to start worrying about it.... Read more »
Kinsman J. (2012) "A time of fear": local, national, and international responses to a large Ebola outbreak in Uganda. Globalization and health, 8(1), 15. PMID: 22695277
- August 2, 2012
- 03:45 PM
- 335 views
The fun side of STDs!
So, if you’re STD savvy, you might have realized that all of the plush toys above are named after venereal diseases. These adorable little guys are the Venereals. I want to reiterate that these are cuddly toys that look like the actual infectious agents that give you these diseases. A little weird, maybe? Yes.
But I own them all. Can you imagine a better conversation starter? (“Oh that’s cute, what is that little star-shaped toy?” …”Herpes.” :) ). If........ Read more »
Janier M, Libar E, Bonnet A, Meunier P, Tabet M, Mathourais M, Paterour C, & Porcher R. (2012) Treatment of late syphilis with 2.4 million units benzathine penicillin G (BPG): tolerance of single versus divided doses. Sexually transmitted diseases, 39(5), 359-60. PMID: 22504599
De Clercq E. (2012) Human viral diseases: what is next for antiviral drug discovery?. Current opinion in virology. PMID: 22846888
- June 6, 2012
- 06:30 PM
- 340 views
Those hallucination-things as you fall asleep.
On Wednesdays, I wake up at 4:00 AM. It doesn’t matter why, but suffice it to say that I really want a nap around, say, 3:00 in the afternoon. As I am writing this, it is 5:00 PM on a Wednesday and I haven’t had a nap. And yet I am taking the time to write a blog post. So I’m really sleepy.
But I digress. You know how, sometimes, right before you fall sleep, you’ll have those weird hallucination-type things, and it’s somewhere in between waking and sleeping and f........ Read more »
Kusse C, Shaffii-LE Bourdiec A, Schrouff J, Matarazzo L, & Maquet P. (2012) Experience-dependent induction of hypnagogic images during daytime naps: a combined behavioural and EEG study. Journal of sleep research, 21(1), 10-20. PMID: 21848802
- May 31, 2012
- 11:59 AM
- 297 views
Your stink reveals more than you think.
People frequently complain about that “old person smell.” Mothers often delight in that unique “baby smell.” And sometimes young 20-something guys smell kind of gross (just kidding! Sort of).
But does any of that have a basis in science?
Yes, yes it does. This post will describe the smelly, somewhat weird, yet informative study that proves that your odor might just give away your age (sorry, ladies).... Read more »
Mitro, S., Gordon, A., Olsson, M., & Lundström, J. (2012) The Smell of Age: Perception and Discrimination of Body Odors of Different Ages. PLoS ONE, 7(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0038110
- May 15, 2012
- 12:14 PM
- 419 views
Chimps are planning world domination (or something like that).
I have a soft spot for apes. Probably in no small part because I am one. Like, I could watch the movie Dunston Checks In on repeat all day. The film features the most lovable Pongo (orangutan) managing the cleverest of feats. Seeing this movie should be on everyone’s bucket list. But, I digress.
So, we already know that non-human apes can act in movies. This in itself warrants awe and ponderous reflection. However, if you’re like me, you’ve assumed all your life that apes a........ Read more »
Osvath, M., & Karvonen, E. (2012) Spontaneous Innovation for Future Deception in a Male Chimpanzee. PLoS ONE, 7(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0036782
- May 10, 2012
- 12:22 PM
- 749 views
The date rape drug you already own, and anti-date rape straws!
Understatement of the century: date rape is not cool. Neither committing it, nor being a victim of it, should ever ever happen. As such, I want to promote awareness of something that could potentially be used as a date rape drug, but that’s also found in practically everyone’s medicine cabinet.
I’ve been conflicted for a long time about blogging about this, because I don’t want to enable those who seek to do bad things, but in the end I’ve decided that knowledge ........ Read more »
Spiller HA, Rogers J, & Sawyer TS. (2007) Drug facilitated sexual assault using an over-the-counter ocular solution containing tetrahydrozoline (Visine). Legal medicine (Tokyo, Japan), 9(4), 192-5. PMID: 17320456
- May 1, 2012
- 03:05 PM
- 581 views
This is your brain on shrooms.
I don’t do shrooms. I don’t advocate for anyone to do shrooms. I know people who have done shrooms, but that’s about it.
I’m talking about mushrooms (aka “magic mushrooms”) containing psychoactive compounds, that people often ingest for recreational purposes. And so, y’know, over the years as people have regaled me with their shroom-tripping experiences, it’s always something along the lines of “I thought all of the birds were going to at........ Read more »
Carhart-Harris RL, Erritzoe D, Williams T, Stone JM, Reed LJ, Colasanti A, Tyacke RJ, Leech R, Malizia AL, Murphy K.... (2012) Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(6), 2138-43. PMID: 22308440
- April 25, 2012
- 04:25 PM
- 471 views
Viruses and awesomeness don’t mix.
You know what really grinds my gears? The fact that there are people who would tamper with my site, and give it a virus or something. Everything’s fine now, but what gives? Did they get really frustrated when they Googled “great tits” and found a link to my post about the correlations between brain size and sociability? And then instead of just, y’know, closing the tab with my site, they wasted time in their lives (and, ultimately, in mine) to do something purely maliciou........ Read more »
Deu E, Verdoes M, & Bogyo M. (2012) New approaches for dissecting protease functions to improve probe development and drug discovery. Nature structural , 19(1), 9-16. PMID: 22218294
Costantino CM, Gupta A, Yewdall AW, Dale BM, Devi LA, & Chen BK. (2012) Cannabinoid Receptor 2-Mediated Attenuation of CXCR4-Tropic HIV Infection in Primary CD4 T Cells. PloS one, 7(3). PMID: 22448282
- April 17, 2012
- 02:35 PM
- 577 views
Schizophrenia, for your entertainment
Just because something is “for your entertainment,” it doesn’t necessarily mean that this “something” is being ridiculed or mocked.
However, when the subject matter pertains to the devastating mental disorder schizophrenia, it’s important that the makers of the entertainment are conscientious about how the disease is portrayed. There’s already a lot of stigma about schizophrenia in society, including the misguided notion that schizophrenics are runnin........ Read more »
Picchioni MM, & Murray RM. (2007) Schizophrenia. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 335(7610), 91-5. PMID: 17626963
van Os J, & Kapur S. (2009) Schizophrenia. Lancet, 374(9690), 635-45. PMID: 19700006
Large M, Sharma S, Compton MT, Slade T, & Nielssen O. (2011) Cannabis use and earlier onset of psychosis: a systematic meta-analysis. Archives of general psychiatry, 68(6), 555-61. PMID: 21300939
- April 11, 2012
- 01:12 PM
- 479 views
Big brains and Great Tits
For shame, dear reader — get your mind out of the gutter! Great Tits are adorable songbirds found commonly throughout Europe and Asia. And Christina Ricci (featured at left) is an actress whom I probably falsely assume has a relatively big brain behind her notoriously expansive forehead.
Rest assured, in this post I’ll be explaining how these concepts are related, and what the latest research has to say about why our brains are so much bigger than they need to be.... Read more »
ten Brink M, & Ghazanfar AA. (2012) Social neuroscience: more friends, more problems…more gray matter?. Current biology : CB, 22(3). PMID: 22321306
Kanai R, Bahrami B, Roylance R, & Rees G. (2012) Online social network size is reflected in human brain structure. Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society, 279(1732), 1327-34. PMID: 22012980
- April 3, 2012
- 05:35 PM
- 673 views
Purple drank — more dangerous than you might thank?
You know how, sometimes, you don’t quite know the precise lyrics of a song, but you sing along with your best approximation of the words? Of course you do. Take, for example, the Christmas classic, “We Wish You A Merry Christmas“: it’s a song often sung by people caroling, and the lyrics imply that the carolers have a really intense hankering for some “figgy pudding.” I don’t know anyone who’s ever prepared or eaten figgy pudding, and I’m ass........ Read more »
Karamatic R, Croese J, & Roche E. (2011) Serious morbidity associated with misuse of over-the-counter codeine-ibuprofen analgesics. The Medical journal of Australia, 195(9), 516. PMID: 22060082
Page CB, Duffull SB, Whyte IM, & Isbister GK. (2009) Promethazine overdose: clinical effects, predicting delirium and the effect of charcoal. QJM : monthly journal of the Association of Physicians, 102(2), 123-31. PMID: 19042969
Peters R Jr, Yacoubian GS Jr, Rhodes W, Forsythe KJ, Bowers KS, Eulian VM, Mangum CA, O'Neal JD, Martin Q, & Essien EJ. (2007) Beliefs and social norms about codeine and promethazine hydrochloride cough syrup (CPHCS) use and addiction among multi-ethnic college students. Journal of psychoactive drugs, 39(3), 277-82. PMID: 18159781
- March 28, 2012
- 04:38 PM
- 350 views
Fight blood-borne parasites: DO SHOTS! (?)
Okay, okay, first things first — no one reading this should run out and grab the Smirnoff in the name of hematologic health. (If you’re of legal drinking age and want to do shots responsibly for some other reason, that’s your business.)
But it is worth noting the recent discovery that fruit flies like to get their buzz on (pun alert) to protect themselves against parasites trying to take up residence in their blood. While there’s quite a bit of difference between us an........ Read more »
Milan NF, Kacsoh BZ, & Schlenke TA. (2012) Alcohol Consumption as Self-Medication against Blood-Borne Parasites in the Fruit Fly. Current biology : CB, 22(6), 488-93. PMID: 22342747
- March 21, 2012
- 04:45 PM
- 495 views
Women should hate their bodies, apparently.
Being a woman is extremely unfortunate, but thankfully there are products on the market that can help female-kind to outsmart and fight back against their terrible, terrible bodies.
Wait, what?
… Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like I’m seeing more and more ads that are promoting this idea that our bodies are some foreign or outdated entities that can and should be forced into submission by product A or product B. I’ll agree that we’re more than just our bodie........ Read more »
Cole LA. (2009) New discoveries on the biology and detection of human chorionic gonadotropin. Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB, 8. PMID: 19171054
Goldzieher JW, & Rudel HW. (1974) How the oral contraceptives came to be developed. JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association, 230(3), 421-5. PMID: 4606623
- March 12, 2012
- 05:48 PM
- 507 views
I’m (inexplicably) not dead.
As I sit here trying to blow away the thick layer of dust that has accumulated on Try Nerdy‘s URL, I can’t help but think that you, dear reader, have every right to hate me. Or at least to never read my blog again.
If you leave your job for three months without explanation, you’ll probably get fired. If you leave school for three months without a really detailed doctor’s note, you’ll probably get kicked out. If you leave your children unattended for three months,........ Read more »
Lambrechts DA, Wielders LH, Aldenkamp AP, Kessels FG, de Kinderen RJ, & Majoie MJ. (2012) The ketogenic diet as a treatment option in adults with chronic refractory epilepsy: Efficacy and tolerability in clinical practice. Epilepsy . PMID: 22366051
Seyfried TN, Marsh J, Shelton LM, Huysentruyt LC, & Mukherjee P. (2011) Is the restricted ketogenic diet a viable alternative to the standard of care for managing malignant brain cancer?. Epilepsy research. PMID: 21885251
Veggiotti P, Teutonico F, Alfei E, Nardocci N, Zorzi G, Tagliabue A, De Giorgis V, & Balottin U. (2010) Glucose transporter type 1 deficiency: ketogenic diet in three patients with atypical phenotype. Brain , 32(5), 404-8. PMID: 19515520
Thaler JP, Yi CX, Schur EA, Guyenet SJ, Hwang BH, Dietrich MO, Zhao X, Sarruf DA, Izgur V, Maravilla KR.... (2012) Obesity is associated with hypothalamic injury in rodents and humans. The Journal of clinical investigation, 122(1), 153-62. PMID: 22201683
- December 5, 2011
- 08:14 AM
- 645 views
This is your brain on (violent) video games.
I’ve grown up with video games my entire life, but my taste in games has remained fairly constant: I want to run around and collect coins or some such thing, without having to feel stressed. However, for many others who started out playing Super Mario, their preferences have evolved to include games that are much more realistic and, oftentimes, much more violent.
I’ll be honest, I gave a violent video game a try once…but when I found myself sobbing ten minutes into a Reside........ Read more »
Kalnin AJ, Edwards CR, Wang Y, Kronenberger WG, Hummer TA, Mosier KM, Dunn DW, & Mathews VP. (2011) The interacting role of media violence exposure and aggressive-disruptive behavior in adolescent brain activation during an emotional Stroop task. Psychiatry research, 192(1), 12-9. PMID: 21376543
- November 29, 2011
- 09:40 PM
- 587 views
Why protein keeps you more alert (and thinner) than sugar does
It’s 3PM and you’re at your desk fighting determinedly to keep your eyes open. You think maybe some candy or soda could give you the sugar rush you need to get through the last few hours of the work day, so you head to the vending to get some — STOP! Wait a minute. You might want to read this post first before you snag those M&M’s; new research shows that protein might do a better job of keeping you awake, and burning your calories, too.
As someone who’s happiest........ Read more »
Burdakov D, Gerasimenko O, & Verkhratsky A. (2005) Physiological changes in glucose differentially modulate the excitability of hypothalamic melanin-concentrating hormone and orexin neurons in situ. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 25(9), 2429-33. PMID: 15745970
Karnani MM, Apergis-Schoute J, Adamantidis A, Jensen LT, de Lecea L, Fugger L, & Burdakov D. (2011) Activation of central orexin/hypocretin neurons by dietary amino acids. Neuron, 72(4), 616-29. PMID: 22099463
- November 21, 2011
- 07:45 PM
- 672 views
Why I’m nice and they’re not: oxytocin
You know what? Sometimes, after I meet a person for the first time and have some trivial conversation about hometowns and local weather, I walk away with a gut feeling that the person isn’t that nice. It’s always a mystery to me when this happens, because I’ll talk to this person for five minutes about mundane things, but for reasons I can’t put my finger on, I leave with a subtly negative opinion of the individual.
Sure, it could be that the person made poor eye conta........ Read more »
Lukas M, Toth I, Reber SO, Slattery DA, Veenema AH, & Neumann ID. (2011) The neuropeptide oxytocin facilitates pro-social behavior and prevents social avoidance in rats and mice. Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 36(11), 2159-68. PMID: 21677650
Kogan A, Saslow LR, Impett EA, Oveis C, Keltner D, & Rodrigues Saturn S. (2011) Thin-slicing study of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene and the evaluation and expression of the prosocial disposition. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. PMID: 22084107
Saphire-Bernstein S, Way BM, Kim HS, Sherman DK, & Taylor SE. (2011) Oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) is related to psychological resources. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(37), 15118-22. PMID: 21896752
- November 17, 2011
- 09:45 PM
- 720 views
The harrowing horrors of high heels
At least a couple of times a month, I thank my lucky stars that I’m 5’11″ inches tall. For me, wearing high heels is overkill at best, and painful at worst. Sure, I’ll wear them on occasion (I’m not immune to fashion), but it’s always with a heavy heart, and after much deliberation. In my perfect world, high-heeled shoes would not exist.
Turns out, Jessica Simpson and I have differing opinions on this issue (and on many others, I presume; to be fair, the wo........ Read more »
Dufour AB, Broe KE, Nguyen US, Gagnon DR, Hillstrom HJ, Walker AH, Kivell E, & Hannan MT. (2009) Foot pain: is current or past shoewear a factor?. Arthritis and rheumatism, 61(10), 1352-8. PMID: 19790125
Mika A, Oleksy Ł, Mikołajczyk E, Marchewka A, & Mika P. (2011) Changes of bioelectrical activity in cervical paraspinal muscle during gait in low and high heel shoes. Acta of bioengineering and biomechanics / Wroclaw University of Technology, 13(1), 27-33. PMID: 21500761
Csapo R, Maganaris CN, Seynnes OR, & Narici MV. (2010) On muscle, tendon and high heels. The Journal of experimental biology, 213(Pt 15), 2582-8. PMID: 20639419
Simonsen EB, Svendsen MB, Norreslet A, Baldvinsson HK, Heilskov-Hansen T, Larsen PK, Alkjær T, & Henriksen M. (2011) Walking on High Heels Changes Muscle Activity and the Dynamics of Human Walking Significantly. Journal of applied biomechanics. PMID: 21908897
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