brain scans

Medicine has increasingly looked to the placebo effect's seemingly mysterious power to make people feel better in the absence of painkillers or pharmaceutical drugs. Now researchers have used fMRI scanners to pinpoint specific cells in the spinal cord that they believe are responsible for this ability to deaden pain.

Zeo Headband:  courtesy Zeo

I'm still waiting for the technology that finally does away with my need to sleep. But since I do need my nightly dose (I've tried going without, and it's ugly), I'd like to make sure I'm doing it as efficiently as possible. A new device called the Zeo promises to help stamp out bad sleep and wasted time in bed, by bringing deep analysis of sleep patterns, formerly the province of professional sleep laboratories, into the home.

The Alzheimers Association released a report yesterday with some frightening estimates regarding the future of the brain-wasting disease. One out of every eight baby boomers are likely to develop Alzheimers at some point, and the disease is now the seventh deadliest in the country.

By 2010, there will be 500,000 new cases each year. By 2050, that number will jump to a million. This means the costs of caring for these patients are, naturally, going to jump dramatically.