Mindframe

Have you ever wondered what makes the difference between a virtuoso like Ray Charles and the guy putting in his piano set at your local Holiday Inn this Wednesday evening? Luck aside, Malcolm Gladwell would probably explain it as the 10,000 hour rule, a concept based on the research of Dr. K. Anders Ericsson at Florida State University. The idea is that it takes roughly 10,000 hours of focused practice to achieve mastery in a given field. That number is, of course, an estimate, but there's no way around the need for putting in a lot of time. Gladwell chronicles the early history of the Beatles and how their tireless hours playing German dive bars like the Cave gave them the necessary chops to hit it big in the rest of the world. On the other hand, there are countless bands playing long sets in cheap hotels and bars all over, logging their 10,000 hours without ever scratching the surface of what the Beatles achieved. Other than a lack of distinctive haircuts, what's the...

The American Heart Institute estimates that 1 in 6 Americans currently have metabolic syndrome—and it's likely almost none of them know it. In his book Your Brain on Food , Gary L. Wenk explains that metabolic syndrome, sometimes called X syndrome, happens when your body stops regulating your glucose and fat metabolism, which in turn throws off your sensitivity to insulin production. It's characterized by high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and storing additional fat. Any one of these conditions is bad news for your health, but all three put together double your risk for heart disease and leave you five times more likely to end up with diabetes. Other than bad luck, what puts some people more at risk for developing the syndrome? There are a number of factors. Here's one. The brain relies on six different types of taste buds on your tongue, which prompt your dopamine receptors to send you a little reward when they sense sugar and fat. Unfortunately, some of us ...

What do you and your cat have in common? Well, one possibility is a unicellular organism called Toxoplasma gondii. There are roughly 7 billion people on the planet and in a recent Scientific Mind article, Gustavo Arrizabalaga and Bill Sullivan suggest as many as 3 billion of us are carriers for Toxoplasma. It’s estimated that just in the U.S., one in five people are infected. In less industrialized countries, estimates are as high as 95%. Up until recently, the protozoan known as Toxoplasma was considered largely harmless,  just one of the millions of parasites we humans play host to every day. But recent research by Charles University parasitologist Jaroslav Flegr and others indicates there is reason for concern. Flegr’s work suggests that if your first experience with Toxoplasma occurs while you’re pregnant, the parasite can reach the fetus, moving through tissues and organs, spreading from cell to cell. Possible results include birth defects or miscarriage.  ...