Category Archives: Uncategorized

I’d never heard they were supposed to.  Details at MedPageToday.

They’re supposed to be good for your health.  Too much sitting is bad for you.  Find out one correspondent’s experience at The Atlantic.

Details at The American Interest.

Dov Gandell, MDCM, of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center in Toronto, is quoted by MedPageToday:

Randomized controlled trials involving older participants have revealed the benefits of osmotic laxatives, such as polyethylene glycol and lactulose. Evidence supporting the use of bulk agents, stool softeners, stimulants, and prokinetic agents was lacking, limited, or inconsistent.

Read the rest.  The MedPageToday article implies there’s not much hard evidence for lifestyle interventions such as high-fiber intake, hydration, and exercise.

One factor that seems protective against dementia is to start life with high intelligence.  Genetics plays a significant role in that.  What are the odds a genius will pass his intelligence to his spawn?  Not as great as you might think.

Isaac Newton was a smart guy, but “…according to historians none of Newton’s paternal kinsfolk were able to even sign their names.” 

Skyler Tanner summarized John Christy’s Magic List.

Ned Koch opines here.

The traditional maximum recommended dose of alcohol is one drink daily for women, two for men.  Of course, many should not drink at all.

…as he prepared for role as Steve Jobs.  Details at USA Today.  I’ve never run across a patient eating only fruit.

Read about it in the Sacramento Bee.

“The human brain is capable of 10¹⁶ processes per second, which makes it far more powerful than any computer currently in existence. But that doesn’t mean our brains don’t have major limitations. The lowly calculator can do math thousands of times better than we can, and our memories are often less than useless — plus, we’re subject to cognitive biases, those annoying glitches in our thinking that cause us to make questionable decisions and reach erroneous conclusions. Here are a dozen of the most common and pernicious cognitive biases that you need to know about.”

Read the rest at io9.