The current pandemic is likely the result of science gone mad
Since the onset of the Plague, Tablet magazine has been running a series of articles by Norman Doidge, a Canadian brain researcher and psychoanalyst. That series constitutes an extended meditation on the contemporary worship of Science and the failure to properly understand its limits. Doidge writes with vast erudition, intelligence, and that rarest of all qualities wisdom.
In “Mad Science, Sane Science,” Doidge contrasts the ancients’ view of science, which centered on the contemplation of the order of the cosmos and man’s place within, to that of Francis Bacon (1561-1626), the first great modern philosopher of science. For Bacon, nature was no longer to be contemplated, but rather conquered or harnessed. Military metaphors abound in his writing.
In mice, a mother s love comes from the gut
Updated 2/11/2021 4:01 PM
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Bill Sullivan, Indiana University
(THE CONVERSATION) There is perhaps nothing more heartbreaking and confusing than a mother who neglects her children.
In 2017, approximately 675,000 children in the U.S. were victims of mistreatment, with 75% reported as neglected. The early postnatal months are critical to ensure proper physical and psychological development; children who are neglected during this phase can experience stunted growth as well as behavioral and learning problems. What could possibly subvert the basic instinct for a mother to take care of her child?
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IMAGE: Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria, pictured here, is a common gut bacteria in both humans and animals. There are many different strains, some of which cause disease. view more
Credit: fusebulb/Shutterstock.com
LA JOLLA (January 29, 2021) As scientists learn more about the microorganisms that colonize the body collectively called the microbiota one area of intense interest is the effect that these microbes can have on the brain. A new study led by Salk Institute scientists has identified a strain of
E. coli bacteria that, when living in the guts of female mice, causes them to neglect their offspring.
The findings, published January 29, 2021, in the journal