Endorphins

No such thing as male or female brain, neuroscientist claims

A LEADING academic has rebuffed claims that male and female brains are wired differently – and branded the idea that men are from Mars and women are from Venus as "trash".

Speaking at the British Science Festival, which is taking place in Swansea, she said: “There is no such thing as a male or female brain.

“There is no one aspect of the brain even which if a scientist looked at it they could tell whether it came from a man or a woman.

“We shouldn’t be talking about sex differences in the brain. The brain is a mosaic and every brain is different for every individual.

“Using our neuroscience resources to measure differences is actually a waste of time. It’s more interesting to see what makes individual brains different.”

Prof Rippon believes that studies claiming differences between males and females are due to cultural and environmental factors.

She said that women become “wired” for multi-tasking not because of anything innate, but because that is what society expects of them.

And Prof Rippon said that the segregation between girls and boys even occurs from a young age – with them being given different toys to play with and different books to read – and that could change the way in which their brains develop.

She told an audience at Swansea University that boys’ toys can often be more training-based while girls’ toys are more nurturing.

“I’d say to the scientific community, can we please stop talking about sex? Stop dividing your data into two categories, you are losing so much information,” Prof Rippon said.

“Not only are we feeding the ‘neuro-trash’ industry misunderstanding about what we do, but we are also feeding the inner wimp of people out there who believe that they can or can’t do something based on whether they are male or female.”

The First Pizza Joint

Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba, in Naples, Italy, is widely considered the world’s first pizzeria. It was first established in 1738 as a peddler’s stand. In 1830, it became a brick-and-mortar restaurant in the town center. Since its opening day, their ovens have been lined with lava rocks taken from nearby Mount Vesuvius.

Bond of Brothers, the winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, by David Lloyd:⠀

“These two adult male lions, probably brothers, greeted each other by rubbing faces for 30 seconds before settling down. Most people never have the opportunity to witness such animal sentience.”

via http://space-facts.com/cool-space-facts/

Ever wondered about the chemistry behind the colours of bodily fluids? Well, urine luck! Larger image and more info: http://wp.me/p4aPLT-2j2

Coronal section 💕

Hello everyone.

Apologies for the long/unexplained absence. I’ve not been doing very well recently and I haven’t quite had the time to be posting. However, a small update is that I’m struggling very much with my mental health but my studies are going very well. I just wanted to thank you all for your kindness and support and I will try update more regularly from now on!

I hope you are all well and looking after yourself, and I’m sending love, hugs and good study vibes 💗

Grover and Clyde

Grover Sanders Krantz was an American anthropologist and cryptozoologist. He was one of few scientists not only to research Bigfoot, but also to express his belief in the animal’s existence. Krantz’s specialty as an anthropologist included all aspects of human evolution, but he was best known outside of academia as the first serious researcher to devote his professional energies to the scientific study of Bigfoot, beginning in 1963.

When he died, his body was donated to science (as per his wish). It was used to study human body decay rates for forensic science. He had only one condition to which was that he  wished that his body be laid to rest alongside the bones of his three favorite Irish Wolfhounds – Clyde, Icky, and Yahoo.

The picture above is of Grover and Clyde. You can see their skeletons on display at the Smithsonian: Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th Century Chesapeake

SOURCE