All posts by Intellicurious

News, Views and Reviews for the Intellectually Curious
Art, Arts & Literature, Culture, Interviews, Podcasts

Podcast Interviews: Poster House Museum NYC Director Julia Knight

Audio Leave a comment

Monocle on DesignWhen New York City’s Poster House museum had to close its doors in early March, director Julia Knight wondered how the institution could support the city.

Today her inspiring solution can be seen across all five boroughs.

Poster House is the first museum in the United States dedicated exclusively to posters.

Through exhibitions, events, and publications, Poster House presents a global view of posters from their earliest appearance in the late 1800s to their present-day use. Poster House takes its mission from the medium, aiming to engage and educate all audiences as we investigate this large-format graphic design and its public impact.

Posters explore:

  • mass communication and persuasion
  • the intersection of art and commerce
  • control of the public domain

Website

News, Podcasts, Science

New Science Podcast: New Artificial Eyes, Elephant Seals And Disk-Galaxies

Audio Leave a comment

nature-podcastsThis week, crafting an artificial eye with the benefits of a human’s, and understanding how disk-galaxies formed by peering back in time.

In this episode:

00:45 Biomimetic eye

Researchers fabricate an artificial eye complete with a human-like retina. Research Article: Gu et al.; News and Views: Artificial eye boosted by hemispherical retina

09:27 Research Highlights

Dazzling elephant seals to avoid predation, and helping blind people ‘see’ through brain stimulation. Research Highlight: Mighty seals humbled by prey that flickers and flashes; Research Highlight: Blind people ‘read’ letters traced on their brains with electricity

11:36 Early disk-galaxy

There’s an open question about how disk-galaxies form, but now new observations are pointing to an answer, from the very early Universe. Research Article: Neeleman et al.; News and Views: Galaxy disk observed to have formed shortly after the Big Bang

17:47 Pick of the Briefing

We pick our highlights from the Nature Briefing, including a HIV ‘vaccine’, and incredibly hardy bacteria. Science: Long-acting injectable drug prevents HIV infections; Quanta Magazine: Inside Deep Undersea Rocks, Life Thrives Without the Sun

Travel, Videos

Top New Travel Videos: “Istanbul” By Eliane Hajj

Video Leave a comment

Filmed and Edited by: Eliane Hajj

Istanbul, formerly known as Byzantium and Constantinople, is the most populous city in Turkey and the country’s economic, cultural and historic center. Istanbul is a transcontinental city in Eurasia, straddling the Bosporus strait (which separates Europe and Asia) between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Its commercial and historical center lies on the European side and about a third of its population lives in suburbs on the Asian side of the Bosporus. With a total population of around fifteen million residents in its metropolitan area, Istanbul is one of the world’s largest cities, ranking as the world’s fifth-largest city proper and the largest city in Europe.

 

Aging, Food, Health, Studies

Brain Health Studies: Blueberries, Flavonoid-Rich Foods Lower Risks Of Alzheimer’s And Dementia

Leave a comment

From the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (April 22, 2020):

FlavonoidsOur findings imply that higher long-term dietary intakes of flavonoids are associated with lower risks of ADRD and AD in US adults.

Our findings provide new evidence that diets higher in flavonols, anthocyanins, and flavonoid polymers are associated with a lower risk of developing ADRD. These associations were sustained after accounting for a variety of potential confounders including key nutrients related to ADRD risk and overall diet quality. Similar findings were seen with AD risk for flavonols and anthocyanins but the association with flavonoid polymers was no longer statistically significant.

Along with improvements in healthcare and medical technology, the aging of the baby boom generation will result in an unprecedented rise in the number of older Americans (1, 2). Currently, there are >50 million Americans aged ≥65 y, and that is projected to more than double by 2060 (3). A consequence of this increase in older adults is the escalation of age-related diseases (4, 5). Alzheimer disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD), a group of symptoms in which there is progressive deterioration in cognitive function severe enough to interfere with a person’s daily living activities, are regarded as among the most significant public health challenges largely affecting adults aged >65 y (6). AD is the most common form of dementia, making up ∼60–80% of dementia cases. Currently, 5.8 million Americans are living with AD, and by 2050 that is projected to escalate to 14 million (7).

Read full study

Books, Health, Leisure, Photography, Travel

Travel & Wellness Books: “Be Well” By Kari Molvar

Leave a comment

Be Well - Gestalten BookBe Well delves into one of life’s greatest pleasures; a day spent rejuvenating the body and nourishing the spirit. Humans have practiced self-care for centuries—in the sweat lodges of the American Southwest, Roman baths, the hammams of the Ottoman Empire, Japanese onsens, and Finnish saunas. Today, a new interest in self-care is redefining how we accomplish wellness, and there have never been more options.

 

In our increasingly switched-on lives, a growing industry of highly choreographed experiences is geared to help us switch off. Be Well is a journey around the world’s most extraordinary spaces for achieving this, looking at the innovative practices they offer and how to carry them into everyday life.

Be Well - Gestalten Book

Kari Molvar is a writer and editor focusing on wellness as seen through the lens of design, culture, and style. She is an online contributor to T: The New York Times Style Magazine and the founder of Rutine Matters. Her work appears in Vogue and The Wall Street Journal, among other titles.

Read more or purchase

Business, Podcasts, Transportation, Travel

Business Podcasts: “How One Airline Sees The Future Of Flying” (WSJ)

Audio Leave a comment

WSJ PodcastsAirlines have strained to survive after travel dried up because of the coronavirus pandemic. WSJ’s Alison Sider explains how airlines are adjusting, and the CEO of Southwest Airlines paints a picture of what the future of flying might look like.

Health, Medicine, Podcasts, Reviews

Health: “The Effect Of Hearing Loss On Cognitive Decline” (JAMA Podcast)

Audio Leave a comment

JAMA Clinical ReviewsEven limited hearing loss might be associated with cognitive decline. If true, early intervention with hearing aids might help people have better cognitive performance. 

Michael Johns III, MD, online editor for JAMA Otolaryngology, speaks with Justin Golub, MD, MS, assistant professor of otolaryngology at Columbia University, whose research has shown that very mild hearing loss can be associated with cognitive disability.

Travel, Videos

New Travel Videos: “A City, Paused” In New York City By Soren Nielsen And Taylor Antisdel (2020)

Video Leave a comment

A Film By Soren Nielsen & Taylor Antisdel

Composer: Rowan Spencer
Sound Designer: Rafal Smolen
Director of Photography: Soren Nielsen

“A City, Paused” is a personal project that Taylor Antisdel and I have been working on throughout this quarantine. It’s our attempt to portray the feeling of being in New York City over the past two months.