An intriguing finding from Ian Deary's Scottish study: building on an earlier finding that a higher IQ was associated with longer life, Deary and his colleague have found that reaction time is an even better predictor of longevity.

For those who are interested in the deeper questions of how memory works (i.e. at the neuronal level), Scientific American have a good article online, just up.

There's a nice little article in ScienCentral about weather, mood, and cognitive ability. And New Scientist reports on the amazing case of a painter (artistic, not house) who's been blind from birth. The case has some interesting implications for our understanding of perception, as well as being an example of the flexibility of our brain. You can view examples of his work.

My day for radio programs! BBC Radio 4 has an interesting discussion on the mind-body problem, and there's also an interesting program on the gut - and for those who think I'm wandering a little too far from my supposed turf, the new approach to our gastrointestinal tract is to see it as our second brain. Really! As one whose every emotion seems to be echoed (if indeed, not initiated) in my gut, I think this perspective has a lot going for it. And leads to an interesting question (look, we're back to the mind-body issue) - does the brain affect the gut, or the gut affect the brain? As soon as you ask the question, you realize the answer is, surely, that both affect each other.

Some interesting radio programs on NPR in the past few days: one on the research into gender differences in the brain (following the uproar caused by Harvard President Lawrence Summers's remarks on why there aren't more women in science);one on new research into the brain's anger response mechanism, and the possible benefits this study may hold for understanding autistic and schizophrenic patients; and one on a new study showing that older beagles, when given proper diet and stimulation, can delay the effects of aging.