brain

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Retire Later, Delay Alzheimer's: Study

Work keeps brain alert, cells connected

(Newser) - It may be a bitter pill to swallow, but delaying retirement is one way to stave off Alzheimer's, a new study has found. Each extra year of work amounted to a six-week delay in the condition's development among patients studied. Alzheimer's is caused by brain cell loss, and the mental...

Pentagon Project Aims to Create Telepathic Troops

DARPA boffins tasked with turning brain waves into silent words

(Newser) - The Pentagon has launched a project officials hope will help soldiers of the future read each other's minds on the battlefield, Wired reports. DARPA—dubbed the military's "mad scientist" division—has been given $4 million to develop technology that can detect and analyze brain waves that precede specific speech....

Even in Geniuses, Hard Work Trumps IQ
 Even in Geniuses,
 Hard Work Trumps IQ 
OPINION
May 1, 2009 9:25 AM CDT

Even in Geniuses, Hard Work Trumps IQ

Latest research says greatness more due to sweat than brains

(Newser) - In today’s scientific age, research suggests that genius isn’t a “hard-wired” trait, writes David Brooks in the New York Times: instead, it suggests “a more prosaic, democratic, even puritanical” perspective. Greatness may start with “slightly above average” talent, but what counts is thousands of hours...

Study: Fatty Foods Boost Memory

Hormone may have helped early humans remember where the rich pickings were

(Newser) - The same foods blamed for clogging arteries may help the brain build memories, National Geographic reports. Researchers studying obesity discovered that rats given oleoylethanolamide, or OEA—a compound produced in the intestines when fat is digested—demonstrated improved memory retention in tasks. They believe the same mechanism exists in humans...

Feds Aim to Calm Nerves With 'Brain Music' Therapy

(Newser) - A new federal study may be music to the ears of stressed firefighters and bomb squads, the New Scientist reports. The Department of Homeland Security is trying to record their brain activity when alert or calm, translate it into music, and play it back to soothe their frayed nerves. But...

As Memory Slips Away, Music Lingers

(Newser) - The Alzheimer’s patient had forgotten nearly everything, including his own name, but the sound of Frank Sinatra moved him to grab his wife and dance. The phenomenon demonstrates how deep-seated music is in the human brain, Sara Davidson writes for the New York Times’ New Old Age blog. “...

Researcher Sends Telepathic Tweet

Research should help paralysis victims to communicate

(Newser) - In a perhaps inevitable move, a researcher posted an update to Twitter earlier this month simply by thinking about it, the Wisconsin Technology Network reports. But don’t make any plans for telepathic tweeting just yet—the doctoral student is researching a communication system for paralyzed patients, not lazy social...

2 Languages Better Than 1 for Baby's Brain

Bilingual kids may talk later but excel at 'executive functions'

(Newser) - Some teachers complain that children raised in bilingual households tend to lag behind their peers in school, but a new study suggests multilingual kids' brains may be better organized, the Economist reports. Polyglot babies have stronger "executive function": processes in the brain that help humans plan, prioritize, and switch...

New Drug Could Halt Alzheimer's

Treatment removed damaging protein from blood, brains of patients

(Newser) - British researchers believe a new drug has the potential to stop Alzheimer's disease in its tracks, reports the BBC. Testing found that the drug, called CPHPC, removed a protein thought to play a key role in Alzheimer's from the blood and, unexpectedly, the brain, in five patients treated for 3...

Docs Track Autism to Brain's Fever Center

Batch of neurons may be key to treatment

(Newser) - Mulling over the evidence that the symptoms of autistic children recede during a fever—long reported by parents and confirmed by a study 2 years ago—two New York doctors had a “eureka moment,” seeing that link as a clue to treating the condition, Time reports. The same...

Moody Teen? Must Have an Immature Frontal Lobe

Decision-making area matures last: study

(Newser) - Scientists studying teenage brains believe the growth process is responsible for some of the more unpleasant traits of adolescence, the Daily Telegraph reports. Brain scans revealed that the front of the frontal lobe—responsible for impulses and decision-making—was among the very last parts of the brain to mature, which...

Counting Chicks Redefine Birdbrain

Study shows chickens can do basic math

(Newser) - No dumb clucks, young chickens appear capable of basic arithmetic, Discover reports. Scientists relied on two innate chick traits—an instinct to flock with the biggest group and an attachment to objects—to test the birds’ noggins. After hiding yellow balls of varying numbers behind screens, they released the chicks....

Globalization Is Changing Our Brains
 Globalization Is 
 Changing Our Brains 
opinion
Mar 29, 2009 6:20 PM CDT

Globalization Is Changing Our Brains

(Newser) - Having boogied in 70 countries on all seven continents, Matt Harding concludes that “globalization is forcing our brains to evolve." Known via the Internet for dancing poorly with locals in far-flung locations, Harding argues that our brains were designed for social interaction within a small tribe—but we...

'Brain Gyms' Offer Grey Matter Workouts

(Newser) - Gyms offering to exercise the brain instead of the body are attracting thousands of aging Americans seeking to tone their gray matter, the Wall Street Journal reports. The gyms are generally based around brain-fitness software, but some offer courses in brain nutrition as well as mental-fitness assessments with personal trainers...

Exposing Autism's Violent Side One Mother's Last Hope
Exposing Autism's Violent Side One Mother's Last Hope
commentary
Mar 26, 2009 11:20 AM CDT

Exposing Autism's Violent Side One Mother's Last Hope

Condition created 'the perfect storm' in him, she says

(Newser) - After years of painting autism as “beautiful, mysterious, perhaps even evolutionarily necessary,” Ann Bauer has been moved by the transformation of son Andrew into a violent monster to write about the condition’s violent side. Bauer forgave her son’s attacks—which broke three of her ribs—until...

Scientists Read Subjects' Location From Brain Scans

(Newser) - Decoding part of the complex system used by the brain to store memories has allowed scientists to determine a person’s location by looking at brain scans, Wired reports. A study took images of the hippocampus—the part responsible for spatial relationship and short-term memories—as individuals navigated a virtual-reality...

Fast Thinking Makes People Happy

Rapid thoughts can make people feel happier

(Newser) - Happy people think fast thoughts, say researchers at Princeton and Harvard. They asked two groups to perform the same tasks—problem-solving, reading, and watching TV—at different speeds. Those forced to move along briskly felt more elated, creative, even powerful, Scientific American reports. The findings suggest a crossword puzzle or...

Facebook May 'Infantilize' Your Mind, Expert Warns

(Newser) - A British neuroscientist thinks the children of today, exposed to “instant new screen images flashing up with the press of a key,” will develop differently from past generations, and that’s not a good thing. Facebook, for instance provides an experience “devoid of cohesive narrative and long-term...

Seizure Risk Lingers 10 Years After Brain Trauma

Danish study sparks ideas for better long-term treatment

(Newser) - Among the overlooked effects of the sort of brain injuries incurred in contact sports is the likelihood of having an epileptic seizure as long as 10 years after the injury, new research shows. The risk goes up 3.5 times for those who had a mild injury or skull fracture,...

Darwin Skeptics Separate Mind From Gray Matter

Debate focuses on whether the brain and mind function in tandem

(Newser) - To undermine Darwinian theories about the emergence of life, skeptics have a new weapon in mind: the brain, NPR reports. They’re challenging the notion that a cluster of cells could produce such high-level mental processes as consciousness and free will. “It doesn’t hang together,” says one...

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