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 My What's
on the Stove? report, which I posted last
week, still reflects the current state of most of the projects
we are working on, and except for announcing that next week's
update will be either late or canceled (because of the GAMA Trade
Show), I have nothing else to say just now about Looney Labs.
So, instead I'll talk about Looney brains, specifically Kristin's
and my own. Kristin has
just gotten back from NIH where she was participating, along
with her sister, in a study of the next generation of a group
of subjects who are being studied because they have parents who
have Alzheimer's disease. Sadly, Kristin's family has a long
history of Alzheimer's, so when the current study of the children
of Alzheimer's patients (in which Kristin's parent's were already
participating) was expanded to study their children, the
organizers were naturally very interested in having Kristin and
her sister take part in the study.
That's why Ruth and her kids Jenelle and Dustan were visiting
us this week. We had a great time hanging out with them on the
night they arrived, and again after the tests were completed.
Kristin's parents were amazed to hear that Dr. Trey Sunderland,
the Principal Investigator of the whole project, had performed
Kristin's spinal tap personally. Apparently they have made some
real advances that have greatly reduced the legendary pain of
getting a spinal tap, since Kristin had a perfectly fine time
lying comfortably and chatting with Dr. Sunderland and her nurse
Chris about card
games and medical
marijuana while they drained large amounts of fluid out of
her back. It's really cool to think that they will be using these
samples for various forms of research for years and years to
come. They also did an MRI, and Kristin's mild claustrophobia
made this a teeth-gritting experience for her (whereas I found
her descriptions of the bizarre symphony of noise you hear during
an MRI fascinating, and since I'm not claustrophobic at all,
I'm kind of looking forward to getting one someday).
Meanwhile, we've recently gotten the sad news that my dad's
Aunt Marguerite has been moved into an assisted living situation
-- with locked accommodations for Alzheimer's patients. It's
not yet scientifically possible to positively diagnose Alzheimer's
until after an autopsy is performed, but it seems clear to cousin
Julie that Marguerite has been telling lies in order to conceal
mental lapses she's been having, and had begun imagining things
to a degree that was dangerous. So it's looking like I also have
a family history of Alzheimer's disease. NIH is still looking
for study participants... perhaps I should volunteer. (If you
are interested in trying to get involved with this study, they
are actively seeking 20-35 year olds for their control group.
Email Kristin to
find out more.)
Speaking of my own brain, I'm still digesting the stunning
realizations I had last week after reading an article by Jonathan
Rauch called "Caring
for Your Introvert." I read a lot of articles each week,
and I often quote and link to the ones I find the most interesting,
but this one, I declared, was "a must-read for everyone
I know." Not only did I suddenly understand that I am indeed
an introvert, but I also understood for the first time what that
really means: that I live in a world dominated by those who are
not only totally different from me, but also, by their very nature,
are unlikely to understand these differences.
Some who read this (i.e. the introverts) will probably find
it no surprise to hear me say I'm an introvert, but others will
no doubt find this surprising. If you've met me, you may think
me friendly and out-going, and even close friends like Gina
disagreed with me when I said last week that I've realized I'm
really an introvert. Two years
ago, I wrote "I finally took (informally) the Myers-Briggs
personality type indicator test, and came up as XNTJ." That
"X" meant I'd come out as an Introvert-Extrovert hybrid,
since many of my answers were E not I. But now I realize it's
my outer persona talking when I give E style answers, and that
my inner core is truly Introverted. So, it turns out I'm an INTJ
(i.e. a "Scientist"). But perhaps I should take the
whole test again at this point.
Kristin on the other hand is a total Extrovert. (That line
in Rauch's article about reaching for the cell phone if alone
for more that two minutes really hit home for Kristin.) It's
been interesting to reflect on how we've been able to get along
so well for so long despite our fundamental differences.
Anyway, I guess that's all I have to say about brains today.
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