I'm a former neuroscientist with a love for writing and editing. I focus on: science writing/editing, including neuroscience, animal models, and mental illness; gender; mental health; current events.
The Lab is Not Neutral: Why We Need Scientific Literacy
Naseem Jamnia is Bitch Media’s 2018 Writing Fellow in Technology
I regularly hear—or overhear—people talk about how ignorant people in the United States are when it comes to science. Michael Moore goes off to Finland to gape at the country’s lack of homework assignments; political leaders on the right demand privatization of public schools because the public ones are failing (they’re not, by the way; like most things in the States, they’re deeply affected by racial and socioeconomic segregati...
The Grant Tour: Following the money in science research
Naseem Jamnia is Bitch Media’s 2018 Writing Fellow in Technology
I like to say that I left the cushy life of a scientist in order to write. This is a joke: The world of research funding is one where academic scientists earn scraps working in labs that struggle to stay afloat in a competitive environment, and getting a grant can be the difference between staying in the field and fleeing it, as many scientists have done. It’s a different story in the biomedical industry, places like pharmaceuti...
A clinically relevant closed-head model of single and repeat ...
A clinically relevant closed-head model of single a...
The Saturday Rumpus Essay: Heirlooms
The strings of our DNA mark us as one, but it’s the roots of our memories that bind us....
Five steps to vacation bliss
I don’t know about everyone else, but I am a bad vacationer. I’m such a homebody, and I get stressed out and tired when I’m away for too long. Many articles talk about anecdotal evidence as to why travel and vacations make us happier—they open our mind, they cash in on novelty, they take us on a path to self-actualization—but I’m curious whether there is any actual scientific evidence that vacation and travel makes us happier.
Most studies discuss how money spent toward experiences (restauran...
Does being self-employed make you happier?
Research shows that those who are self-employed are generally happier than “wage-earners,” people working regular jobs. A recent study in Work, Employment and Society by Professors Peter Warr and Ilke Inceoglu explores this further.
Warr and Inceoglu cite a variety of studies that indicate that people who are self-employed are generally happier, experience the same levels of stress and anxiety as wage-earners, and are, overall, more satisfied with their jobs. But the researchers wanted to div...
Biking to work could change your mood
Anyone who has ever had to commute for longer than a half hour can tell you that it’s miserable. The last year I lived in Chicago, I had to commute two hours to and from work. That’s four hours of commuting a day. I varied between driving and taking the train, and though taking the train increased the commute time, it also gave me space to read, write, or play video games. But my husband? He had a five-minute bike ride to work. He was pretty unhappy at his job, but he loved being able to bike...
What Does Your Story Add To The Conversation? | Ravishly
What Does Your Story Add To The Conversation? | Rav...
I can choose a nonbinary gender identity on California birth certificates, and that means more than checking a box
Following Oregon’s move to offer a gender neutral category for driver’s licenses, nonbinary people in California will soon be able to change their birth certificates without medically transitioning. What could have been a victory for trans-exclusive radical feminists and other gender-binary proponents is instead a welcome sigh of relief for the trans and nonbinary communities.
Contrary to what some heteronormative critics might say, the nonbinary identity is neither trendy nor a lifestyle; it...
Mental Health Story: Coming to Terms With Being “Crazy” Enough
Guest writer Naseem Jamnia shares their struggle with feeling "crazy" enough for Mental Health Awareness Week.
Nonbinary People and the Women's Movement - Where Do Gender ...
Nonbinary People and the Women's Movement - Where D...
The dangers of the gender binary – The Coffeelicious
The dangers of the gender binary – The Coffeeliciou...
I left my abusive best friend. But most of our mutual friends stayed with him. - The Washington Post
I left my abusive best friend. But most of our mutu...
'I Felt Both And Neither': Reflections On The Gender Binary
'I Felt Both And Neither': Reflections On The Gende...
This is how it feels when I ask you to use gender-neutral language ...
This is how it feels when I ask you to use gender-n...