A Physical Mind but Not Just Organic

Die—but not just yet

eterochromatin’s repressive hold on DNA transcription can only be relinquished when activators enter the nucleus. Or so the theory goes. But now Vanessa Witte, Andreas Baur (University of Erlangen, Germany), and colleagues find that a heterochromatin component can be pulled from the nucleus by both the HIV protein Nef and activated integrins. “This is a really new concept—that chromatin-associa...

Epithelia: not just physical barriers.

E are tissues consisting of sheets of similar cells bound closely together, which include the epidermis, the surfaces of the eyes, the surfaces of the hollow tubes and sacs that make up the digestive, respiratory, reproductive, and urinary tracts, and the secretory cells and ducts of various glands. Depending on their predominant function, epithelia can be described further as barrier, secretor...

The mind-body connection: not just a theory anymore.

The field of psychoneuroimmunology has witnessed an explosion of empirical findings during the last two decades. Research has documented the mechanisms through which stressful emotions alter white blood cell function. Stress diminishes white blood cell response to viral infected cells and to cancer cells. Moreover, vaccination is less effective in those who are stressed and wounds heal less rea...

The Mind is Not (Just) a System of Modules Shaped (Just) by Natural Selection

Tonsillolith: not just a stone but a living biofilm.

OBJECTIVE To study the morphology and activity of tonsilloliths, demonstrating oxygen respiration, denitrification, and acidification on exposure to sucrose. STUDY DESIGN Tonsilloliths were extracted in atraumatic conditions during tonsillectomy from 16 adults and sent to two different laboratories for histological, bacteriological, and biofilm studies under sterile conditions. SETTING Mult...