Republicans and Democrats, Democrats and Republicans. Sometimes people's political beliefs are so drastically dissimilar, you'd swear their brains were wired differently or something! Of course that's silly, we're all people and we all ... what? Oh. Never mind. Hey, guess what? Recent research shows there actually may be a connection between politics and the human brain -- and that the "neural maps" of Republicans do in fact differ from those of Democrats. Interesting.

This new info was released as an update to the President Obama-endorsed "Brain Activity Map Project," a program of brain study which, if successful, is expected to "bring the same level of benefits to health and science research as the human genome project did for genetic research."

The name of the disease sounds like just another clinical term: Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis. But the experience of the disease sounds like the premise of a psychological thriller: A healthy young woman has everything going for her -- a promising career, an active social life -- until suddenly, she starts feeling "off." She's moody, she's paranoid; she becomes convinced her apartment is infested with bedbugs and her boyfriend is having an affair ... soon, the seizures and hallucinations begin. Before long she's hospitalized, appearing "possessed, crying or laughing hysterically one moment and turning catatonic the next." Doctors prescribe antipsychotics for what they assume is some form of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

But Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis isn't a mental illness at all. It's a recently discovered auto immune disease that strikes mostly young women and is decribed as having one's "brain on fire."

Would you be angry, insulted, or feel imposed upon if the government made HIV testing mandatory for every citizen? Would you revolt? Or would you acquiesce because you were sure it was all part of an effort to stop the spread of the disease? The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is recommending that every American between the ages of 15 and 65 be tested for the virus. Everybody in that age range, regardless of personal history. 

I sit in the doctor’s office in a boxy blue paper gown, waiting. My heart is bouncing in my chest. What I find out today will shape my life for months -- years, even. I’m here to learn more about the breast cancer that wormed its way into my body when I wasn’t looking.

"Were my margins clear?" I ask the oncologist when he finally appears and explains that he’ll be sending my tumor cells to a lab in California for a test that will measure the chance of a recurrence.

"We wouldn’t be having this conversation if they weren’t," he says.

My margins were clear! I sigh in relief.

A month ago, I would have seen clear margins as a sign of a feeble mind. As a retired college professor, I still find it impossible to read without a pencil. My book margins are littered with notes.

A month ago, I belonged to the land of the healthy. I was on the giving end of sympathy, a much easier place to be than where I am now. 

Now that it's officially Breast Cancer Awareness month, we're sure to be saturated with info about all the different prevention and screening methods for the disease. But it doesn't have to be October for women to get a mammogram. For many, especially women over 40, it's an annual routine exam and, err, well, not exactly the most pleasant one.

A doctor who specializes in the health needs of women, Dr. Yael Varnardo -- aka Dr. V of AskDoctorV.com -- admits, "There can be actual physical discomfort and mental anxiety that goes into the whole [mammogram] process that winds us up." But thankfully, it is possible to make the exam less annoying. Here, Dr. V shared with us her top tips for a more comfortable mammogram ...

Imagine you've been to the doctor multiple times for a vitamin deficiency. Now imagine that even after numerous treatments, you still have a deficiency, as well as low white blood cell counts. So your doctor runs some blood tests and finds out something awful. You are HIV-positive. He informs you of this. Do you a) cry, b) be grateful you found out what the problem is and commence treating your HIV, c) sue the doctor. If you're a certain 31-year-old woman in the sue-happy state of New York, you do c. Your reason? Besides hoping for a quick payout, I mean? Because you just don't want to know. Um ... okaaaay.

I think it's pretty common, right, for new moms to be neurotic about the mortality of their precious little angel? To go into the nursery to check and make sure their sleeping baby is still breathing? To start to panic if things seem a little "too quiet"?

At least that's what I hear. 

But isn't that supposed to wear off at some point?

If you're like me, the news of Sheryl Crow's brain tumor sent off all sorts of little warning bells:

Uh-oh. I'm constantly forgetting things! Just this morning I couldn't find my keys! What if I have a brain tumor, too?

Because let's face it -- even though the 50-year-old singer's tumor is benign and she's "not worried" about it, the concept is still pretty scary. How can a brain tumor be completely harmless? What else can it affect besides memory?

How soon can I get an MRI?!

Relax, relax! Here's what you need to know about benign brain tumors (not that you have one, because you probably don't!).