Recent research in PLoS ONE explored the neurological dynamics of reading in relation to functional anatomy.  It was found that words are routed through one distinct channel of the brain while non-words, or strange new words, are instead routed through their own distinct channel.  A summary of this research was published Monday in the article “Channeling grimps, yamps, and blin“.  What follows is the transcript of a text-based interview with the principal author of the study, Jonathan Levy.  Mr. Levy is affiliated with INSERM UMR 825, Université de Toulouse, the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour and Radboud University Nijmegen.  He will defend his doctoral thesis within a couple months.

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When our eyes flit over the words on this page and convey semantic understanding, when we engage in this profound yet imperfect distant communication, we take the ability to read largely for granted.  Yet Murphy’s Law could strike down anyone.  We could be blind, mute, or have hands deformed and unable to hold a pen or tap at a keyboard.  Or we could be dyslexic, and even the most common words could appear jumbled and bizarre to our mind’s eye.

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Imagine entering a strange room filled with priceless sculptures blindfolded and with your ears plugged.  You’d stagger around and bump into a lot of things, maybe break some of them before you figured out where you were and how to navigate the unfamiliar space.  The art curators would be extremely unhappy with you and your street cred would be blown.  Now imagine entering the same room with your eyes wide open and ears alert as every sculpture is bathed in its own brilliant spotlight.  You’d know exactly which sculpture was which and, unless you are extraordinarily clumsy or had had three too many flutes of champagne at the art opening, you’d probably not destroy anything.
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Recent research published in PLoS Computational Biology explored the dynamics of how people within a population decide whether or not to vaccinate themselves against an emergent disease threat.  A summary of that article, “Drivers of the Decision to Vaccinate“, was published Monday, August 17th.  What follows is a transcript of my interview with Dr. Coelho, one of the authors of this research.  Dr. Flávio Codeço Coelho is affiliated with the Theoretical Epidemiology Group, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, in Oeiras, Portugal and Dr. Claudia Codeco, his co-author on this study, is affiliated with the Scientific Computing Program, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Dr. Coelho was allowed to edit the transcript of this interview for clarity; I attest that no substantial changes were made.

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Electron micrograph of a Varicella (Chickenpox) Virus. Varicella or Chickenpox, is an infectious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus (CDC/PHIL)

When a child comes down with a fever and itchy rash without having been playing in the poison ivy, parents know that they are dealing with chicken pox.  Thankfully, chicken pox is a mild disease in childhood in most cases, especially when compared to the children’s scourges of the past, such as mumps, whooping cough, and scarlet fever, that vaccines have now mostly eradicated in the Western world.

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