Penetrative intercourse tends to dominate many people's understandings of sexual activity. However, the older men and women in this study described that their evolving definitions of sex, which now included more physical intimacy, was more pleasurable and satisfying than their previous, narrow definitions and experiences. … [Read more...] about The Best (Sex) Is Yet to Come?
Biases Are Neither All Good nor All Bad
For example, many of us are biased by the similarity effect: that is, we tend to prefer people who are more like us than people who are less like us. When we encounter new people, this can obviously be difficult to determine as we don’t know anything about them beyond their physical appearance. This can lead us to have a bias toward people who appear to be more like us (e.g., age, race, sex, body type) or against people who appear to be different from us in appearance. … [Read more...] about Biases Are Neither All Good nor All Bad
How to Best Approach COVID-19 Research
It is into this context then that people now might find themselves reading an article online in the press, even reported by the most reputable media outlets, and then clicking a link that brings them to a newly published paper, or recently posted pre-print, and coming face-to-face with research data, potentially for the first time. However, even for scientists that are experts in the topic of a specific research study, the devil is very much in the details. Serving as a peer reviewer for a scientific journal is extremely time consuming and takes countless hours of work going through different drafts of a manuscript in great detail. Furthermore, once a study is published, researchers will often analyze particular papers in what is referred to as a "journal club"—which is a bit like a book club, but usually with less wine. … [Read more...] about How to Best Approach COVID-19 Research
Ayahuasca and Its Potential to Treat PTSD
Ayahuasca can be dangerous, as it might increase the risk of having a manic episode in people with bipolar disorder or a family history of the disorder. And, excessive use can lead to serotonin syndrome, especially when used in conjunction with SSRIs. A few deaths due to the consumption of Ayahuasca have also been reported. These deaths may have been due to unscreened pre-existing heart conditions; interactions with other drugs, such as antidepressants, recreational drugs, caffeine, or nicotine; or the result of improper use. … [Read more...] about Ayahuasca and Its Potential to Treat PTSD
COVID-19 and Security Theater
What security theater can do is distract us from our anxiety and worry, from the unknown and unpredictable nature of this scary new world. Thus, although these things might reduce our anxiety, we need to ask whether they demonstrably decrease risk. Furthermore, if these things divert attention and resources from the simple public health measures we all know work, and provide a false sense of security, they could actually do more harm than good. … [Read more...] about COVID-19 and Security Theater
