psychiatry
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Will We Ever Be Able to Edit or Delete Memories?
Impossible even to broach this subject without reference to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, in which an unkempt Jim Carrey enlists a legitimate if shoddily run medical firm to erase the memory of his ex-girlfriend. If that film had a message, it was almost certainly not “erasing memories is good,” but that is not…
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A DARPA Sarcasm Detector Is Good
Members of the media are sarcastically complaining about a sarcasm detector developed by researchers partnering with the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Using sarcastic language, they indicate that it is a stupid killjoy only useful to GOP politicians. Before eye-rolling on Twitter, hear me out. An optional sarcasm detection tool could do a profound…
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More Evidence Links ‘Cat Scratch’ Bacteria and Schizophrenia
New research is the latest to find evidence of a link between mental illness and infections caused by a group of bacteria commonly found in cats and other animals. The small study found that people with diagnosed schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder were more likely to carry Bartonella bacteria in their bloodstream than a control group…
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Inside the Fight to Legalise Psilocybin Therapy in Oregon
On a sunny September afternoon in Portland, volunteers pour into a Zoom conference room. They’ve come for a weekly update from Oregon’s Yes on Measure 109 campaign — a measure which would create the world’s first market for psilocybin-assisted therapy. The pandemic prevents them from knocking on doors to reach voters. But that has not…