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Issues Surrounding the Human Genome Project

Submitted by Riki on Sun, 10/24/2010 - 11:57pm

Biology in Society Senior Seminar

Bryn Mawr College, Fall 2010

Session 8

Issues Surrounding the Human Genome Project

“One thing only I know, and that is that I know nothing.” – Socrates

Questions:

Thinking more about depression as "adaptive"

Submitted by Paul Grobstein on Wed, 08/11/2010 - 4:09pm

""I suspect there are features of the higher order organization of neurons that need to be included among the "underlying rules" to achieve a better understanding of depression, both conceptually and for therapeutic purposes." ... PG, An expanded neurobiology of depression, June, 2009

Evolution as Reproduction with Variability

Paul Grobstein
July 2010
in progress

Alienation, Ambivalence, and Adaptation

Submitted by anneliese on Sat, 06/12/2010 - 10:06am

(work in progress)

Brought to you by The Slippery Brain Sodality

The Effects of Music

Submitted by Caroline H on Sat, 05/15/2010 - 12:24am

Music is without a doubt a universal language that transcends time, generations, and cultures. It makes for good entertainment, interest, and constructive pursuit that enriches the lives of whomever it touches. Some researchers believe that our natural, almost universal predisposition to the enjoyment of and emotional reaction to music is hard-wired into us – that it has always played a pivotal role in helping humans develop their minds and relationships with others. One writer suggests, “ Babies are born with musical wisdom and appetite, music facilitates well-being and returns people to well-being from mental and physical impairments – it is deep in our genetic structures” (1).

The Menu of Wits: A Five-Course Prix Fixe Meal

Submitted by jrlewis on Thu, 05/06/2010 - 11:23pm

If a course syllabus is a menu for a classroom experience, then here is my summary of the House of Wits Course 2010. Each dish is a culinary representation of the James family member it is matched with opposite. Anyone with allergies to pragmatism or relativism should avoid the preparations of William James. They will result in a strong reaction. They are arranged in reverse chronological order as the course primarily was. Note how all the dishes work together... do they form a coherent meal? Are their clashes in flavor? Repetition? All this is designed to bring out the family dynamics of the James. Enjoy the meal!!! And feel free to comment on your favorite dishes and personalities.

Imaging And The Question of Consciousness - Paper

Submitted by rdanfort on Thu, 04/29/2010 - 5:18pm

Discussion Paper – Imaging and Consciousness

Pick up a newspaper, and you will discover an amazing thing: we are living in the future. The for-real future of jet-packs, ray-guns, and mind reading. Our revolutionary imaging technology can determine what memories you are accessing, what shapes you are seeing, the degree to which a decade of happy hour has smoothed your prefrontal cortex, and whether or not you associate the face of John Edwards with a particularly debauched collection of short stories. So it would seem, anyway.

broken?

Submitted by jrf on Wed, 04/28/2010 - 1:04am

As was (I think) suggested in class today, I watched the last episode of Season 5 of House ("Both Sides Now"), in which House overdoses on Vicodin, hallucinates most of the episode's events, and is finally checked into a psychiatric hospital, and moved on to the first episode of Season 6 ("Broken"), which follows House's adventures in detox and then in the long-term psychiatric ward.

Reading Arabian Nights

Submitted by jrlewis on Thu, 04/15/2010 - 9:57am

Because I love reading in bed, I bought a paperback copy of Arabian Nights at Barnes and Noble. I thought that this text was especially appropriate to read in bed before sleeping. I was with the king and the younger sister, a fellow listener. The stories distracted me to the point of losing sleep or oversleeping the next morning. The interlaced serial nature of the text was incredibly addictive. I found myself craving another tale and another tale after that. A like bites of a cake, each forkful delicious...