Neurons

It Takes the Entire Internet to Map a Mouse’s Brain

Creating a wiring diagram of the human brain’s neurons is an oft-discussed idea that remains in the realms of science fiction. Scale that problem down to tackling a mouse brain, however, and you’re in the realms of what science can just about manage—with your help. In fact, that’s exactly what a team of scientists from…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Jun 20

Our Most Important Memories Live in Just a Few Neurons

That favorite childhood memory of yours—you know, the one that still seems like just yesterday, the one that you can still smell and taste—may actually be the result of a select few neurons firing deep within your brain. According to a recent MIT study, strong memory fragments—known as engrams—may actually be the result of a…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Mar 22

The 4 Biggest Myths About the Human Brain

What is it that makes the human brain so special? Sure it’s big — but it’s far from the biggest brain around. You’ve heard that your brain contains 100 billion neurons — but where does that number really come from, and how does it stack up against other species? You may think you know the…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Mar 14

Bee swarms behave just like neurons in the human brain

When it comes time for honeybee swarm to split off from their mother colony and find a new place to live, something remarkable happens. To communicate most effectively, they organize themselves exactly like the neurons of a complex brain. Sometimes, a honeybee colony grows too large, and so a swarm breaks off in order to…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Dec 8

Light-Controlled Cells: The Sub-Dermal Dance Party That Keeps Your Dead Heart Beating

Heart cells created by Stanford researchers could lead to a better pacemaker: The beat of the cells is paced by light rather than electricity. Pacemakers save up to half a million lives every year by zapping and normalizing out-of-control heartbeats. Surgeons implant 200,000 every month. But they are still relatively low tech: a hunk of…

Tech News Kristen Philipkoski Sep 20

Why Time Passing Can Seem Like Torture

Why some moments can sometimes painfully drag on is still a mystery to brain scientists. But a recent study found some neurons seem to develop expectations that can make time pass more slowly. In a study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, scientists identified channels of neurons that adapt to perceive certain lengths…

Tech News Kristen Philipkoski Aug 22

Where the Buffalo Theory gets neuroscience right (almost)

The Buffalo Theory is a popular urban legend which holds that the neuron-nerfing quality of alcohol can boost your intelligence. The basic idea is as follows: by targeting the weakest of your brain cells, alcohol actually aids in a process of natural selection, improving the overall performance of your brain by picking off the weakest…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Jun 22

MIT Scientist Controls Your Brain With Fiber Optics

MIT scientist Ed Boyden invented a way to implant optical fibers into your brain and activate them on command using light. As neurons are turned on and off, the researchers can see what the circuits do. The technology is being used to create detailed circuit maps of the brain that can be used in both…

Tech News Kelly May 16

Obesity can shrink your brain…but so can too much exercise

How you take care of your body can have serious effects on the state of your mind…and either extreme might be bad for you. Two new studies reveal both obesity and strenuous exercise can be bad news for your brain. The first study is the work of Antonio Convit at New York University. He performed…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Jan 9

Scientist Says a Dream TiVo Is Possible

Caltech researcher Moran Cerf says he “would like to read people’s dreams.” Well, wouldn’t we all! Except that Dr. Cerf thinks it might be possible, based on his new research. Especially if your dream is about Bill and Hillary Clinton. See, Dr. Cerf’s study claims that certain brain neurons are associated with certain concepts, and…

Tech News Max Read Oct 28

Mind-reading machines could soon record your dreams

A new advance in recording and interpreting brain activity will open the door to machines that could record and play back your dreams. A research team writing in Nature has announced that it has developed a brain-machine interface capable of recording higher level brain activity. Moran Cerf and his team at UCLA have been able…

io9 Lauren Davis Oct 27

Magnetic Nanoparticles Can Remotely Control Worms

Using magnetic nanoparticles, scientists have found a way to remotely control neurons and affect animal behavior. The nanoparticles, which are targeted to attach to cell membranes, heat up when exposed to a magnetic field. Researchers have demonstrated that the heat can open calcium ion channels in cells, activate neurons and even cause C. elegans worms…

Biology Jess McNally - Wired Jul 8

Watch a Neuron Go Bad

Just like hard drive sectors can fail, neurons can go bad as data processing, memory-storing units in your brain. In this video, a neuron lacks the protein needed to make connections with other cells, essentially becoming a bad sector. While the neuron on the left looks undeniably sinister, those tendrils extending from it actually signal…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert Mar 17

A Tale Of Two Neurons – One Normal, One A Mutant

What’s the difference between a mutant neuron, or nerve cell, and an ordinary one? This amazing time-lapse video from MIT shows two neurons developing into healthy and weird variants. The one on the right is the mutant. On the left, the cell is sending out healthy dendrites and trying to connect to other nerve cells.…

io9 Annalee Newitz Feb 22

Brain Scans Will Soon Reveal Exactly What You’re Thinking

You already know what’s on my mind, but what if you could see exactly what I’m thinking about? Might not be long before you can, because there have been some minor successes in thought decoding technology. https://gizmodo.com/if-my-brain-ran-windows-this-would-be-how-my-task-mana-5392355 I say “thought decoding” instead of “mind reading,” because what researchers are working on is a way to…

Tech News Rosa Golijan Oct 29

Krang Rejoices: Artificial Brain Ten Years Away From Reality

Scientists are claiming that a functional, artificial brain is only a decade away. This prediction correlates with the above chart, according to which our current computing capabilities limit us to…simulated lizard brains. Photo by Journal of Evolution and Technology Using an IBM Blue Gene machine with 10,000 processors, the folks at the Blue Brain Project…

Tech News Rosa Golijan Jul 22

Neuron Chamber Offers a Glimpse at What Alien Brains Might Look Like

Okay fine, maybe this is more of an artistic representation that’s taken a few liberties, but still, the Neuron Chamber on display at Maker Faire 2009 is a pretty cool looking piece of extraterrestrial art. Creator Alan Rorie says that the concept behind the Neuron Chamber is that there are alien brains inside the chamber…

Tech News Adrian Covert May 30

Musical DNA

J rgen Michaelis is one unique fellow. This is his newly designed Resonator Neuronium. This thing uses six neurons to generate music. I would try to explain how it works, but I think I would get so confused that my brain would implode and the angry neurologist readers of Giz would flood the tips inbox…

Gadgets Travis Hudson Aug 11

It Takes the Entire Internet to Map a Mouse’s Brain

Our Most Important Memories Live in Just a Few Neurons

The 4 Biggest Myths About the Human Brain

Bee swarms behave just like neurons in the human brain

Light-Controlled Cells: The Sub-Dermal Dance Party That Keeps Your Dead Heart Beating

Why Time Passing Can Seem Like Torture

Where the Buffalo Theory gets neuroscience right (almost)

MIT Scientist Controls Your Brain With Fiber Optics

Obesity can shrink your brain…but so can too much exercise

Scientist Says a Dream TiVo Is Possible

Mind-reading machines could soon record your dreams

Magnetic Nanoparticles Can Remotely Control Worms

Watch a Neuron Go Bad

A Tale Of Two Neurons – One Normal, One A Mutant

Brain Scans Will Soon Reveal Exactly What You’re Thinking

Krang Rejoices: Artificial Brain Ten Years Away From Reality

Neuron Chamber Offers a Glimpse at What Alien Brains Might Look Like

Musical DNA

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