A new study by Professor Brian Clark, director of the Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institution was recently published in the journal Neurophysiology , and it is nicely summed up over at PsyBlog .
Altering Gene Expression With Thought
Marc Folcher and other researchers from the group led by Martin Fussenegger, Professor of Biotechnology and Bioengineering at the Department of Biosystems (D-BSSE) in Basel, were able to tap into brainwaves and convert genes into proteins (gene expression) using a new gene regulation method.
Learned Pain
Radiolab has a great story on ‘learned pain’ (story 2 in this podcast, starts around minute 14:30). It describes an amputee and his persistent phantom pain from his previously debilitated arm. His arm was no longer there, yet the pain he used to feel in that arm persisted. His doctor— V.S. Ramashandran— suspected this pain… Continue reading Learned Pain
Mindfulness Activities Measurably Fights Disease
If you are uncertain about the value of actively curating your thoughts, a study of breast cancer survivors conducted at Canadian cancer centers should increase your certainty. The study, led by Dr. Linda E. Carlson, showed participants who regularly practiced mindfulness activities “had longer telomeres, part of the chromosome thought to be important in physical health”. Mindfulness isn’t… Continue reading Mindfulness Activities Measurably Fights Disease
Balancing “F**k You”
It seems silly to have to defend the value of an emotion, but anger often gets a bad rap. The value of anger is wonderfully illustrated in Mike Hrostosky’s piece, Fuck You Spiritual People For Using Gratitude As A Bypass To Your Anger.
On Saying No to the Adventures Life Presents You
Joseph Campbell on refusing the call that life presents you (a.k.a saying no to life, emphasis mine): “When this refusal of the call happens, there is a kind of drying up, a sense of life lost. Everything you knows that a required adventure has been refused. Anxieties build up. What you have refused to experience… Continue reading On Saying No to the Adventures Life Presents You