/oss/taxonomy/term/4005/all en /oss/article/medical-history/can-we-get-smarter-popping-pill <p>We live in a world where people attempt to settle differences with insane wars and acts of terror. We foul our nest with an array of pollutants. We succumb to preventable diseases. We struggle to feed a growing global population. We clearly need to be smarter! If only there were a pill to boost our brainpower! A pill to allow us to learn things more quickly and actually remember what we learned. A pill to allow us to focus on whatever task is at hand without permitting our mind to drift. A pill for a better functioning brain. A “smart drug.” A “nootropic.”</p> Wed, 27 Mar 2024 17:19:34 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9882 at /oss /oss/article/medical-pseudoscience/donors-organ-donors-personality-lets-approach-sensibly <p>It’s a story that would make the publishers of the <i>Kama Sutra </i>blush with envy. A 25-year-old graduate student’s sex drive suddenly surged and his technique apparently improved overnight. “I make love like I know exactly how the woman’s body feels and responds,” he told researchers, “almost as if it is my body.” His girlfriend concurred: “He’s a much better lover now.” She also noticed other changes. Her boyfriend was now a hugger, and he loved to go shopping, and he carried a purse with him. And going to museums? “He would never, absolutely never do that,” she said.</p> Fri, 01 Mar 2024 16:03:16 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9853 at /oss /oss/article/medical-history/nothing-memorable-about-memory-supplements <hr /> <p>This article was first published in the <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/the-right-chemistry-nothing-memorable-about-memory-supplements">Montreal Gazette.</a></p> Fri, 16 Feb 2024 19:27:08 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9835 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-history/ancient-memory-technique-still-puzzles-scientists <p>Spend enough time watching fictional geniuses on television and you will undoubtedly see the trope of the mind palace. Brainiacs, we are told, have mind palaces, ornate libraries that live solely in the mind, cataloguing their exceptional knowledge.</p> Fri, 12 Jan 2024 11:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9795 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition-pseudoscience/step-right-essential-oils-boost-your-memory-maybe-not <p>As we get older, our memory declines. What if I told you there was now a “simple” and “easy” successful method to boost your memory, the result of research from genuine scientists at a university which has produced five Nobel laureates?</p> Fri, 25 Aug 2023 16:00:52 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9609 at /oss /oss/article/medical-you-asked/your-tongue-knows-how-world-feels <p>“Your tongue knows what everything feels like.” This phrase has 27.6M hits <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/discover/your-tongue-knows-how-everything-feels">on TikTok</a>, leaving people with their tongues hanging out and brows furrowed. Of course, we know the texture of our morning cereal and metal spoons. But as you imagine touching your tongue to your computer mouse, pillowcase, and couch cushions, why is it that your tongue tells you these odd textures are familiar too?</p> Fri, 11 Aug 2023 15:33:59 +0000 Cat Wang, B.Sc. 9599 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-technology/digital-amnesia-has-been-exaggerated <p>Do you know your best friend’s phone number? In the 1990s, I had my best friend’s phone number memorized, and I’m pretty sure I remembered it just now after thinking about it for a minute. But the phone numbers I use today? They don’t live in my head. They live on my phone.</p> Fri, 24 Feb 2023 11:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9416 at /oss /oss/article/medical-health-and-nutrition/i-thought-good-title-thisbut-now-i-cant-remember-what-it-was <p>I don’t know how many times I’ve used the expression, “I would rather stick rusty needles in my eyeballs.” Like in answer to the question, “would you like to donate to Joe Mercola’s defense fund against FDA lawsuits?” Now here is the interesting thing. I could have sworn up and down, inside and out, that I got that line from Jack Nicholson in “Terms of Endearment.” But alas, bad memory. That was revealed when I checked the scene in the film.</p> Wed, 01 Feb 2023 20:50:20 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9375 at /oss /oss/article/health/alzheimers-breakthrough-hardly <p>Alzheimer’s is a terrifying disease. Since no new medications for this condition have been introduced for about two decades, it is certainly understandable that any new drug that receives regulatory agency approval attracts media attention. This is indeed the case for Aduhelm (aducanumab), recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That approval, however, is riddled with controversy.</p> Sat, 12 Jun 2021 04:10:10 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8762 at /oss /oss/article/history/alien-encounters <p>Let’s play the word association game.</p> <p>“Little green men.”</p> Wed, 02 Jun 2021 19:37:25 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8753 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking/tips-better-thinking-not-so-total-recall <p>How many eggs did you consume last month? For some, the answer is quick and easy: zero. But for those of us who consume eggs regularly but not according to a fixed schedule, answering this question requires a trip down memory lane, and that road unfortunately gets repaved fairly regularly.</p> <p>Scientists love to study potential links between being exposed to something and developing a certain disease. For example, let’s imagine there is an affliction called Humpty Dumpty disease. Is eating a lot of eggs associated with developing Humpty Dumpty disease?</p> Thu, 11 Feb 2021 21:34:53 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8616 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/deja-vu <p>Déjà vu, or translated from French- ‘already seen’, is something we have all experienced. You walk up to the coffee shop counter, ready to order a latte, and are suddenly overwhelmed by the feeling that you have experienced this experience before. Déjà vu could perhaps be better described as déjà vécu, or ‘already lived through’. Déjà vu even has a counterpart- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamais_vu">jamais vu</a>, or ‘never seen’, which is the experience of being unfamiliar with one's situation, though still recognizing parts of it.</p> Thu, 07 Sep 2017 14:40:51 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2621 at /oss