The week in six bits:
1. What would it feel like to touch a human brain?
We’re always told it’s jelly-like and yet, when I held it in my undergrad gross anatomy class, it felt like a cold cooked chicken (it was even wrapped in tin foil, I recall). Well, here’s a video that explains everything, kind of.
2. One in 10 women loves her pet more than her partner
This reminds me of my old blog post on the news story that dogs are more likely to bite when walked by a man. Or the one about the story that women think about food more than sex. Hey! It’s not a survey, is it? (Also, I’m guessing they mean “one in ten pet-owning women” at the very least)
3. The War of the Worlds and the myth of mass panic
Apparently, people *didn’t* believe Orson after all. Which is disappointing.
4. We know little about the effect of diet on health. That’s why so much is written about it
David Colquhoun on John Ioannidis on how “Almost every single nutrient imaginable has peer reviewed publications associating it with almost any outcome”
5. Taste virtual food by touching this silver electrode to your tongue
Eeewwwwww. Electricity and mouths. Together at last.
6. World’s smallest FM transmitter built with graphene
A radio the thickness of an atom, and just for show they use it to broadcast real music (well, Gangnam Style at any rate)
Brian Hughes is an academic psychologist and university professor in Galway, Ireland, specialising in stress, health, and the application of psychology to social issues. He writes widely on the psychology of empiricism and of empirically disputable claims, especially as they pertain to science, health, medicine, and politics.