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Highlights from a NYT article looking into emergence in happiness, obesity, drinking, smoking in a group of 15,000 people over three decades.  Friends of friends, directionality of friends, and even DNA seem to play a role in the network.  Pay attention to the details and read the entire 10 page article...

I just tweeted on a subject that I suspected would cause a stir, and so it has, I’m moving it here: RafeFurst: I strongly support a soda tax! RT @mobilediner: check it out:  a Soda Tax? http://amplify.com/u/dvl coelhobruno: @RafeFurst what about diet soda? Would it be exempt? RafeFurst: @coelhobruno...

Given everything I hear about obesity stats in the U.S. and malnutrition in the developing world, the last thing I was expecting to find in my inbox this morning was a plea to join a Facebook cause to help end hunger in America.  Really? I’m usually not skeptical in this way, and I’m loath to...

I’ve plugged Dr. Ann before on this blog, but this 13 minute video is definitely worth checking out, esp. during the holidays.  Ignore the marketing and just listen to the information and tips.  The science of nutrition is extremely complex, but there are some well-understood principles that Dr. Ann...

We’ve talked about obesity as a virus and violence as a virus, both well-supported by the research.  Now there’s happiness as a virus.  Hardly a surprise, but I guess for new paradigms to become the accepted basis for organizing scientific thinking, they first have to become banal.  So...

Science News reports that a 2005 study of obese and normal-weighted people found that “30% of the obese group showed signs of previous adenovirus-36 infection, while only 11 percent of the lean group did”. Recent research showed that the virus induces long-term changes in how stem cells develop,...