Psychology Today Column
Can Humans Smell Cancer?
“Did you have red Tabasco sauce with your last meal?” Joy asked me as my husband and I were driving her from San Francisco to Chico, California. I was surprised by her question. I did have red Tabasco sauce the night before, but not more that 4...
Sex for the First Time
According to a 2017 CDC report, 40 percent of U.S. high school students have had sexual intercourse at least once, 10 percent of students had four or more sexual partners, 30 percent had had sex during the previous three months and of these, 46 percent did...
7 Creative Ways to Express Hot Anger
When Mary saw a suspicious text message on her husband’s cell phone, she suspected he was having an affair and later that evening she confronted him. He reluctantly admitted he was having sex with a woman he met at work but told her he was going to break...
Higher Mortality in Single Fathers
Maria Chiu and colleagues from the University of Toronto compared the health of single fathers (a growing demographic) with the health of single mothers, partnered fathers and partnered mothers living in Ontario, Canada, over a median of 11 years. Maria...
New Hope For Parkinson’s Disease
Why are there more cases of Parkinson’s disease in the Midwest and Northeast of the USA than in the rest of the country? Why are there many more people with symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and Lou Gehrig’s disease in the island of Guam...
Sexual Disinhibition
As my husband and I were interviewing Joy Milne, a retired nurse in Perth, Scotland on her ability to detect Parkinson’s Disease (PD) through smell only, she revealed to us a surprising fact about her late husband, Les, who was a physician...
Musky Smell and Parkinson’s Disease
As my husband, Eric Haseltine, and I landed in Edinburgh, Scotland one month ago, we were welcomed by heavy black clouds and relentless rain. But the temperature was warmer than we expected and as we picked up our rental car at the airport, I got rid of...
Saving Dogs’ Lives Can Save Human Lives
According to the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, approximately 3.3 million dogs enter U.S. animal shelters every year. Of those, 1.6 million are adopted each year but 670,000 are still euthanized every year. Even though this number...
Could a Passion for Dogs Lead to a Nobel Prize?
Our best friends might save our lives in a new way. When Dina Zaphiris was a little girl, she often was asked by friends and family what she wanted to do in life. Her answer was always, “I want to work with dogs! I want to be the best!” Dina indeed...
Better Recognizing Vocal Emotions Can Improve Relationships
Unconscious voice changes can give away true deep emotions. As my boyfriend and I were having a casual dinner at a quiet Chinese restaurant, my boyfriend (who later became my husband) was telling me about his day when suddenly his voice...
