The End of a Romantic Relationship is Truly Agonizing

The Grieving Brain The end of a romantic relationship is truly agonizing. I remember feeling furious as I imagined the cad who might one day break my daughter’s heart. At the time, my husband consoled me by pointing out that she was five days old and safe – at least for a while. Heartbreak really
Couple hugging in bed

Opposites Attract

There may be more to the Felix-and-Oscar truism than we know. In fact, researchers believe that one of the things we seek out in someone else’s smell is that it be unlike our own. There is evidence that your odor type is linked to genes that determine your immunity. People of different odor types seem
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Christmas tree with decoration

Wishing all of you the happiest of holiday seasons!

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
man smelling yellow flower

The Sniff Test

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
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closeup of two pieces of a puzzle forming a heart

A Token of My Affection

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
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Abstract white lines on a blue background

SCIENTIFIC SNIPPETS

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;
Pillar with 4 options

Don’t Limit Your Options

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
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Robots using personal computer

Artificial Intelligence Scientific Snippets

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
atrial fibrillation and a heart

Higher Death Rates and Lower Birth Rates in the US: A Troubling Double Conundrum

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
brain and Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence: Replacing Human Input in Peace and War

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