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January 27, 2009
Category: Neuroscience
In his epic poem Visions of the Daughters of Albion, William Blake asks: "Where goest thou O thought? To what remote land is thy flight?" More than two centuries later, memory remains as one of the enduring mysteries of neuroscience,...
Posted by Mo at 12:24 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
January 26, 2009
Category: Neuroscience
What sensory cues do we rely on during the perception of speech? Primarily, of course, speech perception involves auditory cues - we pay close attention to the sounds generated by the speaker. Less obviously, the brain also picks up subtle...
Posted by Mo at 12:49 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
January 20, 2009
Category: Neuroscience
Delusions are pathological beliefs which persist despite clear evidence that they are actually false. They can vary widely in content, but are always characterized by the absolute certainty with which they are held. Such beliefs reflect an abnormality of thought...
Posted by Mo at 12:52 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
January 19, 2009
Category: Neuroscience
The brains of vertebrates are asymmetrical, both structurally and functionally. This asymmetry is believed to increase the efficiency of information processing - one hemisphere is specialized to perform certain functions, so the opposite is left free to perform others. In...
Posted by Mo at 12:08 PM • 2 Comments
January 13, 2009
Category: Neuroscience
The unique capabilities of the human hand enable us to perform extremely fine movements, such as those needed to write or to thread a needle. The emergence of these capabilities was undoubtedly essential in human evolution: a combination of individually...
Posted by Mo at 12:55 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Neuroscience
The Boston Globe has a cool infographic by Jonah Lehrer and Javier Zarracina, describing five simple ways in which sensory perception can be altered using everyday objects. These include the Ganzfeld procedure, a mild sensory deprivation technique which leads to...
Posted by Mo at 4:25 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
January 9, 2009
Category: Animal Behaviour
The familiar buzzing sound made by a mosquito may be irritating to us humans, but it is an important mating signal. The sound, produced by the beats of the insect's wings, has a characteristic frequency called the "flight tone"; when...
Posted by Mo at 9:26 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
January 7, 2009
Category: Neurodegeneration
Healthy aging is characterized by a gradual decline in cognitive function. Mental processes such as attention, memory and the ability to process information are at their peak when people are in their 30s and 40s, but as we get older,...
Posted by Mo at 12:15 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
PZ Myers 07.06.2009
Ed Yong 07.06.2009
Ed Brayton 07.06.2009
PZ Myers 07.06.2009
Tim Lambert 07.01.2009
Latest science stories | More at nytimes.com
5:37 PM, 07.06.2009
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