Wishing all of you the happiest of holiday seasons!
Thursday, 26 December 2019
At year’s end, thanks are due to each and every one of you for your generous support of our work. You are invaluable to us. Your support has made it possible to continue our new journal, Gender and the Genome, funded new research in supporting young investigators, and made possible our travel to the Vatican
- Published in Dr. Legato's Blog
The Sniff Test
Monday, 23 December 2019
Attraction between people may be taking place at a level more subtle than clothing choice or facial appearance. There’s considerable evidence to suggest that we’re drawn together by our sense of smell. It’s not surprising that Proust’s Madeline prompted five volumes of memoirs. The smell of a cookie reminded him of his childhood and was
- Published in Dr. Legato's Blog
A Token of My Affection
Thursday, 19 December 2019
Psychologist Linda Mealy, PhD, of the College of Saint Benedict in Minnesota demonstrates how many of the meeting behaviors of animals echo our own behavior, particularly in the use of carefully chosen objects to entice the female. For example, the bowerbirds of Australia collect brightly colored objects that they display for the females consideration in
- Published in Dr. Legato's Blog
SCIENTIFIC SNIPPETS
Wednesday, 18 December 2019
Inexplicably, world leaders in rogue countries continue to militate against climate control and suppress accurate observations about what we are doing to ruin our planet. This week’s issue of Science reports the latest news from Iran, where eight conservationists were not only jailed for “using wildlife camera traps to spy on military installations” in 2018;
- Published in Dr. Legato's Blog
Don’t Limit Your Options
Monday, 16 December 2019
A few months ago, I ran into a friend of mine, out for a walk with a male companion. The first thing that struck me about my friend’s date was that he wasn’t very handsome and well-dressed. But the next thing I noticed about him were his lively and intelligent eyes and the laugh lines
- Published in Dr. Legato's Blog
Artificial Intelligence Scientific Snippets
Monday, 09 December 2019
Following up on my recent blog about artificial intelligence, I wanted to share some expert commentary from Science (July 7, 2017) in a paper by Jennifer Sills summarizing some of the most interesting uses of AI by both health care providers and the world of commerce: Robotic surgery may be ideal for helping to prevent
- Published in Dr. Legato's Blog
Higher Death Rates and Lower Birth Rates in the US: A Troubling Double Conundrum
Thursday, 05 December 2019
A double load of bad news this week: Sabrina Tavernese reported in the NY Times that the birth rate in our country has fallen for the fourth straight year. In fact, the decline in birth has been 15% since 2007. Whether it’s the result of economics, political turmoil or other reasons, an increasing number of
- Published in Dr. Legato's Blog
Artificial Intelligence: Replacing Human Input in Peace and War
Monday, 02 December 2019
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in our lives, both in peace and in war, has exploded over the past 10 years, from ATM machines armed with facial recognition to Alexa, your friendly companion which can answer questions, let you know the weather for the day and turn on your television. The problem is that
- Published in Dr. Legato's Blog
Beyond 23 and Me: The Many Ways We are Using Genomic Science
Thursday, 28 November 2019
I vividly remember the July morning in 2000 when the New York Times printed a front page article reporting the White House announcement that we finally had unraveled the structure of our DNA: the collection of genes that make living things who and what they are. Among the other amazing revelations, it was apparent that
- Published in Dr. Legato's Blog
Scientific Snippets
Monday, 25 November 2019
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has just reported an interesting shift in end-of-life interventions offered to patients in European Intensive Care units over the past 17 years: withholding life-prolonging therapy and withdrawing of life-prolonging therapy increased by 10% and 14% respectively. The proportion of women patients was roughly the same (about half)
- Published in Dr. Legato's Blog