In less than two months Californians will vote on recalling Governor Gavin Newsom. While a majority of Californians support allowing the governor to remain in office, the individuals pushing for his removal appear to be more motivated to cast ballots. A number of factors (the short campaign duration, an unusual September 14th election date, and no other issues on the ballot) could all foster a low turnout, and yield a surprise victory for the recall zealots.

If Newsom is recalled, whichever candidate wins a plurality of voters on the second ballot question becomes the next governor. …

Record numbers of Americans are inundating our national parks as the country begins opening up after a lengthy COVID shutdown. Clearly, lots of people want to commune with nature — even with large crowds and long lines. But does nature really provide the healing benefits that so many new age gurus tout?

Several years ago I chaperoned a class of third-graders on a class trip to a city park. …

My brow furrowed and the corners of my mouth drooped as I read Emilia’s article about asking people not to tell her to smile. The words resonated. My mind connected to the thoughts, and my face recorded my emotional response. People had frequently told me to smile. Teachers, relatives, strangers on the street, would all deliver this directive.

Emilia’s words captured many of the thoughts and feelings that would bombard me at those moments: that my face was none of their business; that they were being patronizing, intrusive, or triggering; that I didn’t want to present the world with a…

Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) and a dozen other Republican Representatives recently demanded that President Biden undergo cognitive testing and publicize the results. Although cloaked with a pretense of concern, the intent of their request appears to be political trolling, as evidenced by the hilarious dictate that Biden “should follow the precedent set by former President Trump to document and demonstrate sound mental abilities”. Many would maintain that Biden has already surpassed that standard by encouraging mask wearing during an epidemic spread by respiratory aerosols.

Ethics of Discussing Mental Health In the Public Realm

Despite the political gimmickry involved, Jackson’s letter raises a valid issue. We screen and exclude the most…

Only in the last decade have researchers uncovered how the brain collects and expels trash: the glymphatic system. The initial glimpse of the glymphatic system revealed that it flushes cellular debris and waste from the brain primarily during sleep. More recently, research on mice indicates that our twenty-four-hour biological clocks also help determine when to engage the glymphatic system. Our newfound knowledge about how the glymphatic system works emphatically reinforces the importance of not just obtaining enough hours of sleep but sleeping at consistent times, as well.

The Lymphatic System

Before delving into the glymphatic system, it helps to understand the basics of…

I boarded my third flight of the day, Dallas-Fort Worth to San Francisco, hoping that we would land on schedule so that I would have time to get to my twins’ high school graduation. My day had started with a 6:00 am flight out of Burlington. My friends protested that wasn’t really 3:00 am by California time, but both my circadian clock in my suprachiasmatic nucleus, and my cortex, which thirty years ago wrote a dissertation on neuroscience and biological rhythms, voted to override their assessment. Sleep deprived, flying for the first time in fifteen months, on a crowded Memorial…

President Biden recently offered to shave $600 billion from his $2.3 trillion infrastructure bill, but Republicans still balked at the cost. These are the same Republicans who blithely pushed through a massive tax cut for corporations and the mega-rich in 2017, adding a few trillion dollars to the deficit without yielding any sustained increase in economic growth, any reduction in employment, or any other discernible trickle down benefits for American society. Can’t we just let Republicans be the party worshiping the almighty dollar while Democrats continue creating programs that help people?

Both bashing and supporting socialism

Republicans often proclaim American’s…

Sharon felt that she could manage the differences with her in-laws over politics and sports teams but dreaded visiting them. She knew that they might interpret her frequent interruptions and blur out comments as disrespect.

Darren had an upcoming presentation and wondered if it would be appropriate to ask one of his team members to rein him in if he started rambling off-topic in front of the new boss.

Karen knew that her knee bouncing, foot tapping, and waiting until the last minute to do assignments annoyed members of her chemistry class study group, but feared that if she mentioned…