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My picks from ScienceDaily

By clock on December 14, 2006.

Gas On Your Mind: Snail's Brain Provides Insights Into Human Learning :

Scientists at the University of Leicester are to gain a greater insight into the workings of the human mind -- through the study of a snail's brain.

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Dr Straub commented: "The gas nitric oxide has two faces. It can be highly toxic and kill. However, it is also found naturally in the brain where it is used by nerve cells to communicate with each other. So, whilst it can be poisonous, the body also uses it beneficially as an internal signal."

"During brain development, nitric oxide can promote the growth of nerve cells and the formation of connections between nerve cells. Learning also triggers the formation of new connections between nerve cells and in many cases requires nitric oxide."

Despite the recognition of the importance of nitric oxide for the formation of nerve cell connections, scientists know little about the mechanisms. The Leicester BBSRC-funded project will study directly the relationship between the effects of nitric oxide on the growth of nerve cells and the formation of nerve cell connections.

Mandarin Language Is Music To The Brain:

It's been shown that the left side of the brain processes language and the right side processes music; but what about a language like Mandarin Chinese, which is musical in nature with wide tonal ranges?

Number Of Siblings Predicts Risk Of Brain Tumors:

How many brothers and sisters you have, especially younger ones, could predict your chances of developing a brain tumor, according to a study published in the December 12, 2006, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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According to Altieri, the finding that brain tumor rates were higher among people with younger siblings, and not older siblings, suggests infections or re-infections in late childhood may play an important role in causing the disease, while exposure to infections in infancy, birth to five months old, may be beneficial.

Laugh And The Whole World Laughs With You: Why The Brain Just Can't Help Itself:

Cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew's description of Ian Botham's freak dismissal, falling over his own stumps -- "He couldn't quite get his leg over" -- was all it took to send himself and the late Brian Johnston into paroxysms of laughter. Laughter is truly contagious, and now, scientists studying how our brain responds to emotive sounds believe they understand why.

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