Author: Corey Smith

As a therapist who specializes in working with men, I’m often asked—usually by female journalists on female-focused platforms—about “men’s midlife crisis.” The interest is real, but the phenomenon is more nuanced than a stereotype of toupees, sports cars, and wandering eyes. Is a “midlife crisis” even real? There’s no formal psychiatric diagnosis called “midlife crisis.” What many people experience is a midlife transition—a period of reflection brought on by changing roles, health, career, and relationships. For some, this is energizing; for others, it’s unsettling. Large reviews suggest the idea of a universal, inevitable crisis is overstated, though mood changes and…

Sociobiology is the branch of biology that explains social behavior—including mating and cooperation—through evolution and natural selection. Alcock’s book is a crisp, highly readable primer that also serves as a spirited defense of the field. If you’re new to the topic, it’s a solid “on-ramp,” and if you’ve heard only the controversies, it offers useful context and evidence (for an accessible overview of the discipline itself, see Encyclopaedia Britannica’s entry on sociobiology). What the book does well Where it falls short After convincingly arguing that sociobiology applies to people, the book offers fewer human-focused case studies than you might hope.…

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute, immune-mediated disorder of the peripheral nervous system (nerves outside the brain and spinal cord). It often follows an infection and causes the body’s immune system to attack peripheral nerves, leading to rapidly evolving weakness, abnormal sensations, and—at its worst—breathing difficulties requiring intensive care. Older names include acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP), acute idiopathic polyneuritis, Landry’s ascending paralysis, and “French polio.” Overview The hallmark of “classic” GBS is demyelination—loss of the myelin sheath that insulates peripheral nerves—due to an autoimmune inflammatory process. In most patients, symptoms begin days to weeks after a respiratory or gastrointestinal…

Australia records one of the world’s higher rates of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in children, and diagnoses have been trending upward for more than a decade. T1D is an autoimmune condition in which the pancreas stops producing insulin. Without insulin, the body can’t regulate blood glucose, so treatment requires lifelong insulin therapy and regular monitoring. “We’re seeing roughly a thousand new diagnoses each year in Australians under 15,” said Dr. Maria Craig of The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, noting increases across boys and girls and all age groups. What is Type 1 Diabetes? How Common Is It? By international standards,…