RaMbLeS
Welcome to RaMbLeS, a collection of weekly musings on life and Scripture. It all began in 2005 on Google’s blogspot as the aBeLOG (a name now recycled), a semi-autobiographical devotional that attempted to keep well-wishers abreast of my activities as I relocated to Scotland for a few years. Since my return, I’ve continued my RaMbLeS, and here’s its most recent incarnation on Homiletix, as random reflections usually based on current news articles and travel experiences and whatever else takes my fancy!
Bullies!
Yes, playground bullies thrive! And we have proof: Children who displayed aggressive behavior at school, such as bullying or temper outbursts, are likely to earn more money in middle age, according to a five-decade study that upends the maxim that bullies do not prosper. They are also more likely to have higher job satisfaction and be in more desirable jobs, say researchers from the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex, U. K.
The British
Muscles?
Everything fades with time. Especially our strength. With aging, those muscles begin to decline: that’s a condition called sarcopenia.
(I don’t want to talk about the mind fading—that’s too depressing!)
There might be hope for us aging-muscle-decliners. Something called trigonelline.
So claimeth a bunch of scientists from Singapore, Switzerland, Japan, Australia, UK, and the USA in “Trigonelline Is an NAD+ Precursor that Improves Muscle Function During Ageing and
Stink!
We all smell! Yes, we do.
The only question is: Do we smell good or bad?
In fact, there is even a disease code that dermatologists can bill: L75.0 for “bromhidrosis” (from the Greek: bromos, “stink” + hidros, “sweat” = stinky sweat) .
To a great extent, body odor has a genetic predisposition, but external factors also do play a role: gender, diet, health, medications or drugs consumed, etc. But researchers from the appropriately named Department of Aroma and Smell
Honest?
The Wall Street Journal reported recently that a Harvard University probe into the work of prominent researcher Prof. Francesca Gino (of Harvard Business School) had found profound problems:
After reviewing the available evidence and interviewing Professor Gino and several witnesses, the Investigation Committee has determined, by a preponderance of the evidence, that Professor Gino significantly departed from accepted practices of the relevant research community and committed
Flat?
A recent article in The New York Times (NYT), “Are You a ‘Floor Person’? Why Lying on the Ground Feels So Good,” by Christina Caron, extolled the virtues of lying flat on the ground.
Now, to be sure, there isn’t much research that touts the benefits of reposing prostrate on the ground, but psychologists quoted for the article said spending time on the floor is unlikely to hurt.
(That may be true for them. For me, it hurts! But that’s beside the point.)
Apparently
Parts!
A recent health report from National Public Radio interviewed an evolutionary anatomist, Dr. Heather Smith, about the appendix. She is professor of anatomy at Midwestern University and editor-in-chief of a journal called The Anatomical Record.
Yes, the appendix has a bad rap as a useless organ that can cause you pain and require emergency surgery at the most inopportune and embarrassing moments.
The fact that humans can live quite happily and peacefully without said organ
Light?
“Like a moth to a flame,” we all say, comparing something to these insects drawn to light . But we all are all wrong, apparently.
So say researchers from Imperial College London, Florida International University, and University of Florida, in “Why Flying Insects Gather at Artificial Light,” published in Nature Communications last month.
Past theories on why many insects erratically fly around light sources have included the idea that they are drawn to heat and that
Abe Kuruvilla is the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and a dermatologist in private practice. His passion is to explore, explain, and exemplify preaching. 