the eye of Nova's mind

Wyden urges permanent Internet tax ban: Says 'Tax Freedom Act' has spurred digital economy

If it weren't for the good folks over at ohnotheydidnt, I would never have heard about this: Over the course of a weekend, DashCon 2014 descended into chaos | more

Two children freed from hot car by passerby who smashed the windows with a hammer -- This is bad enough.

But this takes the cake: Toddler Saves Elderly Man Locked Inside Hot Car

Jersey City tears down 'cop killer' shrine that repulsed the nation -- But what's up with removing the second, unrelated shrine?

Elderly home invasion victim shoots at Action News crew in Detroit -- That's some serious PTSD.

Study Cracks How the Brain Processes Emotions -- modulated by the orbitofrontal cortex

Testicle-Eating Pacu Fish Caught in Michigan -- "'Mouth is not so big, so of course it normally eats nuts, fruit, and small fish, but human testicles are just a natural target.'"

SpongeBob SquarePants Prank Triggered South Korean Army Massacre -- This is a true story.

Gary Oldman on Mel Gibson’s anti-Semitic remarks: 'Take a f**king joke. Get over it' | Gary Oldman is wrong, I never would use N-word: ex-deputy who arrested Mel Gibson | Surprise, surprise: Gary Oldman apologizes

Judge: People on no-fly list must have due process

Federal court rules against Utah ban on same-sex marriage

Secrets of the Creative Brain -- long but very interesting

Two men say they threw away a $1M lottery ticket, sue NJ to collect -- Normally, I would be with those who'd say "tough". However: "[B]ecause the three tickets were purchased together, their serial numbers were sequential. The men say they can prove that the winning ticket was theirs because they still have the tickets with serial numbers one above and one below the winning ticket's."

Older moms much more likely to become old ladies, study says

Supreme Court ruling affects Virginia death penalty rules -- "bright line" of 70 IQ not so bright after all

New York police to carry heroin antidote as overdoses double

'Asteroid to hit Earth' story goes up on CNN, people believe it

Human Muscles May Have Evolved More Than Brain

Mice with 'mohawks' help scientists link autism to 2 biological pathways in brain

Gay Dads' Brains Develop Just Like Those of Straight Parents, Study Finds

Rialto Assignment Asking Students to Question Holocaust to Be Revised

CA students reportedly hold draft for prom dates

Rare disease melting away people in a Brazilian village

Man Becomes Math Genius After Severe Brain Injury | more

One Cup Of Coffee Per Day May Keep Retinal Damage Away

Could a Few Beers a Week Cut a Woman's Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk?

I was remarking to netmouse yesterday, at her potluck where someone brought a very fudgy pan of brownies, that I was so glad I swore off sweets some time ago. In fact, I didn't even consider them food (at least, not as legitimate food choices).

Does this have to do with the insula? Possibly. At the very least, I liken the experience to that of what I underwent when I trained to become a bank teller. When I handled a large cash drawer (+$1000), money ceased to be considered as money but merely were individual paper instruments. Similarly, sweets no longer qualify as food but could simply be seen as any other item of life's backdrop.

I told my friend S. that I had three pieces of snack-sized candy bars from last Halloween still on a shelf in my bedroom, where I can see it much of the time. She was amazed that they were not eaten long ago.

(I keep commercial hot chocolate for when the craving for chocolate just gets too great. Otherwise, the only sweets I tend to keep are dried fruit & frozen yogurt. [I still drink too many presweetened beverages & use more honey/sugar than I need to in my tea/coffee, but other than that, I've gotten away from most processed sugars.])

Anyway. Here's to ill recognition!

NASA orders its staff to stop talking to Russia, because Crimea

Appeals court upholds NYC ban on worship services in schools

Man hits boy with truck, is severely beaten, robbed when stopping to help

Lawsuit: Woman frozen alive in L.A. hospital died trying to escape

Too much running tied to shorter lifespan, studies find

A Brain Region for Resisting Alcohol's Allure -- the lateral habenula

Police: Woman put fecal matter in husband's IV

Brain Surgeon Walks 6 Miles Through Storm To Save Patient

UCSF study shows how the brain sorts sound to make language -- superior temporal gyrus involving Wernicke's area

Scientists Create Electronic Tongue That Can Identify Brands Of Beer With 82 Percent Accuracy

Hospital Won't Assist In Transfer For Brain-Dead Girl -- "The hospital 'does not believe that performing surgical procedures on the body of a deceased person is an appropriate medical practice,' [the chief of pediatrics] said."

Wait, scratch that: Hospital Says It Will Help Move Brain-Dead Girl -- Fast-moving facts in this story. I have no doubt the hospital got pushback after its announcement.

Concussions May Increase Alzheimer's Risk, But Only For Some

Experimental Tool Uses Light To Tweak The Living Brain -- optogenetics

U-M tinnitus discovery opens door to possible new treatment avenues | Neuroscience may offer hope to millions robbed of silence by tinnitus

10 classic Sesame Street moments we wouldn't show today's kids: Kermit the frog used to be a real jerk -- Most of these are pretty innocuous, though the Kermit one is a bit surprising in retrospect. (I also specifically remember the "yo-yo master & the lost kid" one. Considering that Sesame Street came out in 1969, it's not surprising that they utilized the very popular Yellow Submarine-esque animation.)

Religion as a Product of Psychotropic Drug Use

Ohio teacher suspended for telling student 'We don't need another black president': Fairfield Freshman School teacher has been suspended without pay and could be terminated | more

Cyber self-harm: Why do people troll themselves online? -- "9% [of students] had anonymously cyberbullied themselves."

Love hormone 'helps autistic brain' -- oxytocin

Sounds are sound among dyslexics, but access may lag, study finds -- "[T]he white matter tracts connecting the phoneme area to a part of the brain that contains the Broca's area, which regulates the conversion of language to speech, was weaker for the dyslexics as a group[.]"

Women With Big Butts Are Smarter And Resistant To Chronic Illnesses -- I like big butts & I can't deny.

Healthier Diets Cost About $550 More Per Year Than Unhealthy Options -- This is a real issue. I spend my food-stamp dollars on nutritious food. This means I have less per month for food bulk. I buy few canned goods but instead invest in fresh food, which is liable to spoil. It's better for me but more likely to rot. What do you think most families will do? They will attempt to stretch their food dollar (which, apparently, to me is a luxury). This is one of the factors making it difficult for low-income youths to catch up with their more-monied counterparts. (Let's not even get into how hunger affects attention spans for school-aged children, shall we?)

Marijuana Use Puts Men At Risk of "Moobs", Plastic Surgeon -- From what I understand, one plastic surgeon came to this conclusion after examining the data. I would like more voices on this subject; an actual experiment designed to detect this would be the best. The bestest, even.

MIT Devise World's Toughest Tongue Twister to Link Speech Errors to Brain -- "Pad kid poured curd pulled cod"? That is not difficult to me in the least. Do the volunteers have a stopwatch where they need to say the phrase in a certain amount of time? Do you, any of my followers, have difficulty?

1.34-million-year-old human ancestor had 'massive' arm bones for climbing trees -- Paranthropus boisei

White supremacist takes DNA test, finds out he's part black -- This is the same yahoo trying to take over a small North Dakota town.

Depression 'makes us biologically older' -- telomere length

Self-Reflection During Depression Linked To Increase In Brain Activity -- increased activity in the medial superior frontal cortex