Are dosage calculations making your brain hurt?  According an article published in last week’s Science, 20% of adults struggle with basic math, let alone the tougher stuff like med math!  The article, Trouble with math? maybe you should get your brain zapped?, reported on a study investigating the use of electrical currents to  improve brain activity. If electroshock, that is  electroconvulsive therapy,  isn’t something you’re quite ready to commit to then these recent additions to the Library’s collection maybe just what you need to spark your prefrontal cortex (that’s the part of the brain thought to be responsible for math) and boost your med math know how!

]]> http://libraryblog.mohawkcollege.ca/2013/05/21/squeamish-about-med-math/feed/ 0 arlenemohawk green brain http://libraryblog.mohawkcollege.ca/2013/05/21/50-best-websites-2013/ http://libraryblog.mohawkcollege.ca/2013/05/21/50-best-websites-2013/#comments Tue, 21 May 2013 16:21:30 +0000 nancyjanewhetstone http://librarybrainblog.wordpress.com/?p=5914 ]]> Keeping up-to-date with new websites can be an impossible task; however, sites like Time.Com’s Tech List  page can help you keep current.  Their 2013 list of the 50 best websites, advertised as their “annual salute to sites and services that keep you entertained and informed, save you time and money — and maybe even change your life”, can be found here.

Have you discovered a really cool website?

What’s your new favourite?

Actress Angelina Jolie’s revelation this week that she underwent a prophylactic double mastectomy has resulted in lots of discussion around her decision and the gene mutation at the heart of it.

Learn more about the BRCA1 gene by consulting the latest edition of Holland Frei Cancer medicine, available to Mohawk users in e-book format.   Angelina and her physicians might also have consulted this systematic review from the Cochrane Collaboration.   A tough decision, indeed.  If you were in Angelina’s position, what would you do?

The library has many resources to help you learn more about museums, art and exhibitions.  Take some time to browse this list of resources to see what the library has to offer.  For other books, videos and much more, search the library catalogue - you never know what might inspire you.  Films on Demand offers great online videos that provide information about art, museums, and artists.  This playlist contains just a few of the videos that this database has to offer.

The city of Hamilton has lots of great galleries; the forecast has some good weather too, so it’s the perfect weekend to get out and explore.  The Art Gallery of Hamilton (AGH), the McMaster Museum of Art, and the Carnegie Gallery are just a couple of local galleries from a long list to choose from.  Click the links provided for more location information about museums and galleries.

If you answered yes to both of these questions, or even if you just like playing games and don’t care about science, by installing and playing The Great Brain Experiment you can test your memory, impulsivity, attention and decision making while taking part in a huge science experiment.

This fun app, developed by neuroscientists at the Welcome Trust (UCL, 2013) is one of the first neuroscience experiments to gamify data collection and crowdsource it to volunteers, has the potential to the largest neuroscience experiment ever conducted.

While scientists have not yet uncovered the full extent of what the brain can do, they have made enormous progress. Neuroplasticity, the study of how the brain is able to change, is explained in this original, educational video; the winner of the 2011 Brain Awareness Video Contest.

To find out more about neuroscience, check out the resources we have on this topic; of which one is Dr. Norman Doidge’s book: The brain that changes itself : Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science.

UCL. (2013, March 11). The Great Brain Experiment:

Crowdsourcing data on how we think and act. Retrieved from

In an effort to streamline and clarify the library’s services, the Library is retiring the “BRAIN” brand over the summer months. “TheBRAIN” was a popular name for the library website for over 10 years. Did you know that when we first launched TheBRAIN, the word “BRAIN” was an acronym for Basic Research and Advanced Information Node?

While we will miss that trusty name, we realize that calling the library website what it is (library website) will make life easier for our students, faculty, staff and other users of our services. The following changes have occurred:

• the library website URL has changed from brain.mohawkcollege.ca to library.mohawkcollege.ca.  Please update your bookmarks and any references you have to the old URL. The old URL will work for the coming year while we make the transition.
•  the library email address has changed from: braintogo@mohawkcollege.ca to: library@mohawkcollege.ca.  We will monitor both inboxes for the coming year.

Soon, we will be removing references to “TheBRAIN” throughout the library site – we’ll even be changing this very blog’s URL – we will keep you updated. Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.

Also note, Cummings Library at our Fennell campus is open on Saturday, May 18th BUT IAHS library is CLOSED!  Check our website for details.

The way in which you refer to the coming Victoria Day holiday probably depends on your age. Trust Mohawk College Library to have some info for you!  For the record, the holiday celebrates the anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria.  According to the folks at Canadian Heritage, “May 24, Queen Victoria’s birthday, was declared a holiday by the Legislature of the Province of Canada in 1845.” 

However, there are a few other ways to refer to Victoria Day: the Victoria Day Weekend, the May Long Weekend, the May Long, or the May Two-Four (named after the number of beers in a case).

Fireworks are always part of the scene.  There are fireworks in Dundas on Monday if you want to get out.

Whether you’re studying or camping or gardening, and regardless of what you call it, enjoy the long weekend.

If that isn’t reason enough to give your feet the TLC treatment your feet can be the first indicator that something may be afoot with your health. Conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, nerve and circulatory disorders can show their initial symptoms in our feet.  It is estimated  that 75% of Canadians will experience at least one foot problem in their lives. Most foot problems though are not due to hereditary but due to a lack of awareness of proper care and improper shoe fitting. In other words preventable!

Feet don’t come with an owner’s manual but learning how to take care of them is the first step to keeping them healthy & happy! The good news is when it comes to finding foot care information, you already have so to speak, a foot in the door, with  Mohawk library! Put your feet up (they love to be elevated) and check out these selected resources …

Book: Healthy feet: The foot Doctor’s complete guide for men and women. … Like the title says “complete”!

Book: Neale’s disorders of the foot …  This book is pretty hardcore so not for the sqeamish of heart!

e- article: Foot care basics … quick  tips & just 7 steps to healthy feet!

Should A & F become more “gender intelligent”?   Find out about this concept in Joanne Thomas Yaccato’s book, available from the Cummings Library.  Is there a method to their madness?  Perhaps this is one of the “new ways to get customers to choose your product and ignore the rest”?  (Read our e-book, Buy me, to find out about all the other ways!)

Let us know what you think… are you outraged?  Will you stop shopping at A & F?  Is this just niche marketing at its finest?