Last night, at the CUNY Graduate Center in Manhattan, I attended a screening of a wonderful documentary by Richard and Carole Rifkind entitled “Naturally Obsessed: The Making of a Scientist”. This film documented the path and travails of 3 graduate students who were lucky enough to be in the laboratory of Dr. Lawrence Shapiro at … Continue reading “Naturally Obsessed”: A Graduate Student’s Perspective
science
Wolves
I have always loved animals. When I was about 3 years old, I was fascinated with a beautiful collie that lived in my building. This dog did not like people, but I loved him. I distinctly remember one day running around him, hugging, petting and talking to him, and I remember hearing him growl (he … Continue reading Wolves
Share this:
Life at the Art-Science Interface
Currently on view at the New York Academy of Sciences Art Gallery is an exhibit of the molecular illustrations of Kenneth Eward. I followed the links to Kenneth’s website and found one of the most captivating animated illustrations of the molecular development of human life. His “A Window Into Human Life” won an honorable mention … Continue reading Life at the Art-Science Interface
Share this:
This Time, It’s Physiological
According to the diagnostic test in the ground-breaking book The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron, Ph.D., I am a "Highly Sensitive Person" (HSP). In her book, Dr. Aron, a pioneering psychologist, cites major studies demonstrating that approximately 15-20% of the human population possess a nervous system that, due to genetically inherited physiological characteristics, cause … Continue reading This Time, It’s Physiological
Share this:
Fat Cell Switcheroo*
Humans, mice -- indeed all mammals -- have two types of fat cells in their bodies; white and brown. White fat cells store energy. In contrast, brown fat cells dissipate energy as heat, thus counteracting obesity. Much to the chagrin of humans living in industrialized societies, most fat cells in our (adult) bodies are white … Continue reading Fat Cell Switcheroo*
Share this:
The “Second Brain”
I studied T'ai Chi for a year and enjoyed it immensely, I hope to go back to it when my back is better. A fellow class mate had introduced me to Mantak Chia, a master of Taoist philosophy and healing. I sincerely hope that Western medicine, which I believe is just starting to open itself … Continue reading The “Second Brain”
Share this:
“Procreative Beneficence” Examined
In the spirit of raising awareness of the ethical challenges inherent in today’s most advanced medical technologies, the IHEU-Appignani Center for Bioethics and Bioethics International recently sponsored a one-day conference in New York City entitled “New Dilemmas in Medicine”. Three panels of distinguished experts, in turn, addressed three pressing issues: Professor Julian Savulescu’s theory of … Continue reading “Procreative Beneficence” Examined
Share this:
Revolutionary Biology
Today through Friday (May 14 - 16), the New York Academy of Sciences is hosting a conference on Integrative Physiology. In our time, this is a revolutionary concept because scientific/medical researchers and western medical practitioners in the past century have become habituated to zeroing in on individual organs, tissues, cells and molecules. In turn, however, … Continue reading Revolutionary Biology
Share this:
About the header picture
This is a beautiful fractal knot that I found on Google Images and in a great blog (http://growabrain.typepad.com/growabrain/fractals/index.html) (Thanks, Hanan!). It's entitled "Animated Sierpinski". I LOVE fractals. Mathematics is the language of infinity.
Share this:
What is Parallelaphors?
Parallelaphors is a blog dedicated to my observations of the parallels and metaphors between our everyday lives and the natural world. I am a biological scientist and an animal-lover. My goal in creating this blog is to teach a little and learn a lot. I'm very new at blogging so this site should change quite … Continue reading What is Parallelaphors?
Parallelaphors™ 