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
When Your Plastic Heart Changes It’s Structure and Function to Produce What You Need
Thursday, 12 December 2019
A recent report from the National Academy of Science documents (not for the first time!) that we humans have a unique ability to develop our heart’s capacity for stress. The investigators compare us with our relatives, the apes and chimpanzees, and say that these animals, unlike us, don’t have this resource: they are only equipped
- 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
When Women’s Memories Work Against Us
Thursday, 21 November 2019
“You’re bringing up that again?!?” The husband of my patient Bella* came to her five years ago and confessed he was having an affair. Although he swears that he has been faithful since, that long-ago infidelity still pollutes every moment of her waking life. There’s no pleasant afternoon spent together that isn’t colored for her
- Published in Dr. Legato's Blog
Why Men Never Remember and Women Never Forget
Monday, 18 November 2019
There is some evidence as a very title of this book suggests that women have better memories than men do for the spoken word. Never is this more apparent than during an argument! During a disagreement, one of my partners – a lawyer – wryly asked me to “read back his last statement” as he
- Published in Dr. Legato's Blog