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Search Results for: label/misconceptions

  • Book Review: Science Myths Unmasked: Exposing the misconceptions and counterfeits forged by bad science books

      By DXS Biology Editor Jeanne Garbarino Do you remember that old candle experiment involving a lit candle in a jar? You know, the one where you place a lit candle in a bowl of water, then place a jar over the candle, and rather quickly, the candle extinguishes? If you were like me, you probably learned that the candle goes out because all of the oxygen gets used up (oxygen is a requirement for combustion).  However, according to David Isaa…

    Authored by on March 2, 2012

  • Biology Explainer: The big 4 building blocks of life–carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and nucleic acids

    …e X Extra: A triglyceride can have up to three different fatty acids attached to it. Canola oil, for example, consists primarily of oleic acid, linoleic acid, and linolenic acid, all of which are unsaturated fatty acids with 18 carbons in their chains. Why do we take in fat anyway? Fat is a necessary nutrient for everything from our nervous systems to our circulatory health. It also, under appropriate conditions, is an excellent way to store up…

    Authored by on June 8, 2012

  • After Newtown missteps, journalists get guidelines

    Protip: Don’t diagnose based on speculation. by Jessica Wright                Attention journalists: If you’ve been calling people “nuts” or “deranged” in your stories, the Associated Press is recommending that it’s time you stopped. This guideline — along with the common-sense assertion that writers shouldn’t diagnose individuals with a mental illness based entirely on speculation — is part of a new recommendation added to the AP styleboo…

    Authored by on March 27, 2013

  • Aren’t you curious?

    Source: IFLS By Courtney Williams, DXS contributor Recently my on-line science pal Emily J. Willingham asked on Facebook, “You are a consumer of science. As one, what bothers you about how science is offered to you? What questions do you have? How do you consume scientific information? How do you use it?” She’s going to be blogging on the Forbes network, see her here, and I’m guessing this was the impetus for that particular set of questio…

    Authored by on October 15, 2012

  • Fighting the stereotype that math is only for boys

    …and a woman in a male-dominated field, but when will all this shock and awe over women in science fields end? Nonetheless, I love the work I do and the feeling of accomplishment I get when I finish a project. And contrary to 18th century views of the female brain, we have shown that when given the same curriculum as men, we can equally excel. According to a research study done by the University of Washington, the main culprit for girls not becom…

    Authored by on August 22, 2012

  • I Am Mental Illness: Anorexia–Biting Back

    Battling the uninformed, insurance companies, and your own compulsions [Ed. note: This post is the first in our series, “I Am Mental Illness,” bringing you personal experiences living with a mental illness. It’s likely that no single one of us lives a life untouched by mental illness, our own or that of someone we know. Yet in spite of their high prevalence, these disorders remain stigmatized and undersupported. To learn more about mental illnes…

    Authored by on January 25, 2013

  • Getting Naked for a Good Cause

    Source By DXS Biology Editor, Jeanne Garbarino I arrived at my building’s outpatient unit at 1:38 pm (I work in a hospital). Although my appointment was at 1:40 pm, I still gave myself a huge pat on the back for being “early,” which, technically, I was. A few signatures later, I was handed a paper gown of fairly decent quality and was instructed to wear it, opening to the back, after removing everything except my skivvies. Ther…

    Authored by on November 12, 2012

  • Depressing genes

    …ch experience — yet it was obvious he didn’t have the knack for it. This student’s dogged pursuit of a mental health career made me wonder what kind of emotional turmoil he experienced which would make him think, at age 19, that psychiatry was the only vocation worth working towards. Then there were the two graduate students who both worked incredibly hard and were both prone to obsess about their experiments. Each burned off stress in quit…

    Authored by on May 17, 2013

  • Is the bar high enough for screening breast ultrasounds for breast cancer?

    …nt movement and legislation to inform women that they have dense breasts. Merits and pitfalls of device approval The approval of breast ultrasound hinges on a study of 200 women with dense breast evaluated retrospectively at 13 sites across the United States with mammography and ultrasound. The study showed a statistically significant increase in breast cancer detection when ultrasound was used with mammography. Approval of a device of this nat…

    Authored by on September 21, 2012

  • Autism and the DSM-5

    …questions in the context of these criteria. I’ve expanded on a couple of these reports at length elsewhere, as have others with an interest in the subject. The short version is that studies overall indicate that at the least, 10% of people who would currently have an autism diagnosis under the DSM-IV-TR criteria would lose that diagnosis under the DSM-5, and some studies go as high as 55% in their estimates. Even more troubling? The committee’s s…

    Authored by on April 23, 2013

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