Science

Why sex matters, and some other stuff.

Hooray, the latest episode of The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe is now ready for your enjoyment. I talk a bit about my adventures with the Christian Scientists, we hit some 9/11 conspiracy stuff, and best of all, we talk to my good pal Phil Plait, the Bad Astronomer. Good times, good times.

In other news, I’m heading to London in less than a month (passport gods willing). I’ll be meeting up with any skeptics who want to hang out on Saturday, July 1. Details here.

Finally, check out this paper in Nature about why sex (as in gender) is important to neuroscience. The thrust of this paper is to encourage researchers to take notice of the significant differences between men and women when examining results, and it also serves as a handy overview of what we currently know about these differences. Interesting stuff.

One area mentioned in particular is the hippocampuseseses. Hippocampi. Your hippocampi are responsible for your memory, and the difference in size could mean a major difference between the way you learn and the way someone of the opposite sex learns. The differences can also make a huge impact in the way we study and treat some diseases, like Alzheimer’s, in different sexes.

Here’s the Cliff’s notes for the attention span-challenged.

Rebecca Watson

Rebecca is a writer, speaker, YouTube personality, and unrepentant science nerd. In addition to founding and continuing to run Skepchick, she hosts Quiz-o-Tron, a monthly science-themed quiz show and podcast that pits comedians against nerds. There is an asteroid named in her honor. Twitter @rebeccawatson Mastodon mstdn.social/@rebeccawatson Instagram @actuallyrebeccawatson TikTok @actuallyrebeccawatson YouTube @rebeccawatson BlueSky @rebeccawatson.bsky.social

Related Articles

2 Comments

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button