CategoryMedicine and Health
When Deep Forgetfulness Was a Death Sentence…
Memory care specialist Stephen Post reminds us of that dark but recent era, in conversation with Michael Egnor
A Status Report From the War on Late Life Dementia
Almost half of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed, researchers believe
Dementia: New insights in caring for deeply forgetful people
Dr. Stephen Post, an expert in memory disorders, talks to neurosurgeon Michael Egnor about when and how people suddenly remember again
At Least 60 People with Eating Disorders Euthanized or Assisted in Suicide since 2012
Most had other mental illnesses. How might those mental disorders have affected these poor people’s ability to “choose” to be killed or kill themselves?
Unborn Child Learns the Accents, Rhythms of Mom’s Native Language
There is, however, a dark, little-told tale about how we learned much of what we know about unborn children today
AI health coaching: Risk vs. benefit
As health care analyst Katie Suleta points out, familiar problems like bias and hallucination could impact the health advice the AI coach gives
Do We Need the Right Half of the Human Brain?
Generally, we do. Yet what happened when one woman lost the right half of her brain as an adult was unexpectedA little-reported 2021 case study published in Neurology Clinical Practice shows how resilient the human brain can be. A 29-year-old woman, CB, with no neurological or psychiatric history had a stroke, possibly due to medication issues. The damage was serious enough that a decision was made, with her consent, to remove almost all of the right side of her brain (hemispherectomy). As the study authors put it, “only a small disconnected right occipital pole was retained.” What impact would that have on her mind? The right hemisphere of the brain is thought by neuroscientists to play a specific role in “nonverbal” cognitive abilities. From Simply Psychology, we learn, Left hemisphere function The left hemisphere controls the right-hand side of the Read More ›
Heart attack doctor asks, is death now reversible?
If new findings in resuscitation techniques hold up, says Sam Parnia in his new book, brain conditions now deemed irreversible may be reversibleResuscitation specialist Sam Parnia, reflects in his new book, Lucid Dying (Hachette, August 6, 2024), on the recent discovery that brains can be resuscitated hours after death. From the sample pages offered at the book’s Amazon site, we learn that in 2019, a writer at prominent science journal Nature sent Parnia a copy of the embargoed results of a study of pig brains from a slaughterhouse, kept alive for hours after death. “I was left totally stunned and speechless” he recounts: For at least a decade, I had tried to draw attention to the fact that our concept of life and death should be redefined. Death should no longer be viewed as a specific black-and-white moment. Instead, it should be Read More ›
Heart Attack Doctor: Science Shows That Death Is Not the End
Sam Parnia began by wondering how brain cells can give rise to thoughts. He came to see that the message “from science” was not what he had been led to expect
Let Him Who Would “Represent” Science Beware…
James B. Meigs looks at Anthony Fauci’s new book, On Call, asking what happened? What turned the highly esteemed doctor into a scheming authoritarian?
President Biden Is Not a Yam; Don’t Call Him a “Vegetable”
Using the V-word to describe him — or any human being — is just wrong, and, if I may say, cruel, to people with cognitive disabilities and their loved ones.
Scientific American: Near-Death Experiences Compared To Drug Trip
Now that NDEs are accepted as a clinical fact, more effort is underway to account for them as part of physical nature, like hallucinogenic chemicals
The Misguided Justifications for Assisted Suicide Are Growing
The myth that legal assisted suicide is about terminal illness is becoming harder to swallow.The myth that legal assisted suicide is about terminal illness is becoming harder to swallow. Evidence can be found in a recent survey of doctors, published in the Journal of Cutaneous Oncology, which asked doctors this question: “In addition to adults with terminal illnesses, [which] other groups of patients who should be MAID eligible?” The answers are disturbing. From the survey: Majorities of doctors surveyed answered that they would be willing to be present when the deed is done. Here’s the question: “If it were available (or is available), what is your willingness to be present when patients took MAID drugs?” Again, disturbing results, with 61% either probably or definitely, yes: That’s only a hop, skip, and a jump to willingness to do the deed. And no Read More ›
Canadian Death Doctor Has Euthanized Hundreds of Patients
Ellen Wiebe kills the sick, the disabled, the elderly, and unwanted fetuses
Sleeping Mice Show How the Brain Lays Down Memories
Studies of mice running mazes have shed light on the sharp waves of neurons that assist in forming memories
Medical Nanomachines: Our Future Boon — or Bane?
James Tour’s molecular jackhammers could become a new treatment for cancer, says engineering prof Karl Stephan
Neanderthals Cared for Down Syndrome Children
Too often, we abort them
European Court: Assisted Suicide Not a Human Right
The high court also ruled that refusing life-sustaining treatment is not the same thing as suicide