Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

An abnormally large and persistent fear of sharks. Sufferers from this phobia experience anxiety even though they may be safe on a boat or in an aquarium or on a beach. Hollywood films depicting sharks as calculating, vengeful diabolical monsters have no doubt enkindled the fear of sharks in many persons. So have validated reports…

Greek physician and philosopher (born about 129 AD, died about 210 AD) known among other things for his discovery of blood in human arteries and for his dissection of the human cranial nerves, the nerves that supply key areas of the head, face, and upper chest. The son of Nicon, a well-to-do architect and builder in Pergamum (Asia…

The spontaneous flow of milk from the nipple at any time other than during nursing. Galactorrhea can be due to “normal” factors such as an unrecognized pregnancy, trauma, surgery, overexercise or one of a number of drugs (including amphetamine, cimetidine, female hormone replacement therapy, hydroxyzine, methyldopa, nicotine, narcotics, reserpine, antidepressants of the so-called tricyclic type, or verapamil). Galactorrhea can also be due to…

A manner of walking. Observation of gait can provide early diagnostic clues for a number of disorders, including cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease, and Rett syndrome.

A mutation that confers new or enhanced activity on a protein. Loss-of-function mutations, which are more common, result in reduced or abolished protein function.

Generalized anxiety disorder.

Deficiency of the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), the most common enzyme defect of medical importance. About 10 percent of American black males have G6PD deficiency, as do a lesser percent of black females. G6PD deficiency is also increased in frequency in people of Mediterranean origin (including Italians, Greeks, Arabs, and Jews). The gene encoding G6PD is…

Symbol for gram, a unit of measurement of weight and mass in the metric system. In weight, a gram is equal to a thousandth of a kilogram. In mass, a gram is equal to a thousandth of a liter (one cubic centimeter) of water at 4 degrees centigrade. The word “gram” comes from the Late Latin “gramma” meaning a…