In the United States, heroin is a schedule I semisynthetic narcotic analgesic prodrug derived from morphine, which is itself derived from the poppy plant (Faupel, Horowitz, & Weaver, 2010). Because, in part, of heroin's addictive nature, it has been demonized and banned in the United States from all medical applications. This, however, has not stopped nearly(as of 2008) Americans from illegally acquiring it; some of which, through a process of differential identification, learn criminal means to fund their heroin habit (Fernandez & Libby, 2011).

Michael Specter talks about the dangers of science denial. He touches on subjects such as refusal to vaccinate children and genetically modified crops. His talk could easily extend to other issues such as global warming. Because we distrust big government, and big corporations, Specter suggest, we are beginning to distrust all the necessary things they offer.

The documentary “Horizon: How Does Your Memory Work?” was a film aired on BBC covering a broad range of topics concerning memory. These topics included amnesia, Alzheimer’s disease, memory development in children, memory storage, and other dementia or memory related items. Although all these topics were interesting, I found the information about memory encoding and recoding to be the most fascinating along with the effects of Propranolol on memory.

There should be little doubt that violent TV affects aggression in society. Numerous studies and statistics prove a positive correlation between the emergence of TV and aggression shown in our society. One such study lead by Leonard Eron, a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Michigan, suggest that 10% of youth violence is caused by television alone (“Facts and TV Statistics”). The American Psychological Association, because of the predominant finding in research that media portrayals of violence increase aggressive behavior in children, believes the debate is over and accepts the correlation between violent TV and aggression as fact (“Facts…

Quite often concerning the evolution vs. creationism debate I have heard the statement that "evolution is just a theory." The point of such a statement is generally to reduce evolution, in a derogatory manner, to merely a system of belief on the same level as a religion. Such statements also usually intend on pointing out that evolution, being just a theory, is not on the same level as a hard fact. These misconceptions hint at a common misunderstanding of the word "theory" as it is used in science and ambiguity of the word between various subcultures.

Overweight and obese individuals are often the focus of jokes and ridicule. The stigmatization associated with being overweight can cripple an individual socially and in the work place. Individuals suffering from being overweight have higher rates of depression, anxiety, and social isolation ("Obesity, Bias, and Stigmatization") often as a result of the negative biased stigmatization. Quite often overweight people are stereotyped as being individuals who simply eat too much but research shows there is nothing "simple" about it. One of the many origins of human obesity is deeply rooted in our ancestors. It is believed that one of the predominate…

The earliest primate bipeds originated near the end of the Miocene era to the beginning of the Pliocene era. Plate tectonics and continental drift which occurred in the Miocene era is believed to be the catalyst which created the environment conducive to bipedal development. The collision between Africa and Eurasia caused East Africa to rise in elevation gradually transforming the lush Forrest existing there into a dry savanna. No longer having a rich forest for cover from predators, having to view above tall grasses, and having to search longer distances for food are all contributors, caused by the environment, of bipedal necessity.

Being a nerd, and spending tons of time playing online games, I frequently come across situations where one individual flames another without much or any provocation. Usually the individuals don't know each other, and the degree of anonymity is high. On occasion I have even asked why the person why they felt the need to be so cruel. Among the answers i received was:

The United States is supposed to be a land of freedom, of opportunity, and a land where bigotry is scorned. Every day, however, homosexuals face bigotry in a country that scorns them and denies them rights to marry each other just because their sexual preference seems unusual to the majority. As a minority they are being denied inalienable rights through legal code backed by conservative religious values.