Mind, features and articles | Educational Science

Feb 5, 2024

Assuming the worst in others can be 'read' in brain scans

The brain activity of people who are easily offended is different from that of people who aren't as prone to getting riled up, a new study suggests. Many people would consider a missed text from a best friend to be a harmless, accidental act. Maybe they're busy, or perhaps they...

Feb 8, 2024

3D-printed human brain tissue works like the real thing

For the first time, scientists have generated functional human brain tissue using a 3D printer. Scientists printed the tissue to be less than 0.01 inch (0.02 centimeter) thick, and it contains both nerve cells and supporting cells called glia. All of these cells can communicate with one another and form...

Feb 19, 2024

Elon Musk's Neuralink has concerning lack of transparency and could be vulnerable to hacking, ethicists warn

Putting a computer inside someone's brain used to feel like the edge of science fiction. Today, it's a reality. Academic and commercial groups are testing brain-computer interface devices to enable people with disabilities to function more independently. Yet Elon Musk's company, Neuralink, has put this technology front and center in...

Feb 28, 2024

Mini model of human embryonic brain and spinal cord grown in lab

For the first time, scientists have grown a tiny, three-dimensional model of the earliest developmental stages of the human central nervous system in the lab. The new model is a type of organoid — a miniaturized, 3D model that is made from living tissues and is designed to mimic the...

Mar 11, 2024

'Universal' brain wave pattern discovered across primate species — including humans

Scientists have discovered a universal pattern of brain waves in multiple primate species, including humans. This pattern of electrical activity is seen in the six layers of tissue that cover the outside of mammals' brains, known as the cerebral cortex. In primates, higher frequency waves of electrical activity dance through...

Aug 6, 2021

Synthetic brain cells that store 'memories' are possible, new model reveals

Scientists have created key parts of synthetic brain cells that can hold cellular memories for milliseconds. The achievement could one day lead to computers that work like the human brain. These parts, which were used to model an artificial brain cell, use charged particles called ions to produce an electrical...

Mar 19, 2022

What is the Mandela effect? And have you experienced it?

Nobody's memory is perfect. For instance, do you think that Stouffer's Stove Top Stuffing existed? Or that there was a children's book series called The Berenstein Bears? In reality, neither of these references are spot-on. Stouffer's never made a stove top stuffing, and the books are actually known as The...

Apr 14, 2022

'Secret code' behind key type of memory revealed in new brain scans

The secret code the brain uses to create a key type of memory has finally been cracked. This type of memory, called working memory, is what allows people to temporarily hold on to and manipulate information for short periods of time. You use working memory, for example, when you look...

Apr 27, 2022

How to improve your memory

Wondering how to improve your memory? We don’t blame you! Whether you can’t remember where you placed your keys or your mind has gone blank trying to recall a name, everyone experiences moments of memory loss from time to time. As we age our memory declines. Genes play a role...

Aug 4, 2022

Fetuses Have Memories

You probably recall little of your days in the womb, but a new study suggests that short-term memory may be present in fetuses at 30 weeks of age. Until a few decades ago, people would say that the human fetus is a sort of black box, said Dr. Jan Nijhuis,...

Sep 1, 2022

Your Liver May Be 'Eating' Your Brain

Your liver could be eating your brain, new research suggests. People with extra abdominal fat are three times more likely than lean individuals to develop memory loss and dementia later in life, and now scientists say they may know why. It seems that the liver and the hippocampus (the memory...

Sep 27, 2022

How does the brain store memories?

Memory is one of the building blocks of the brain. It can help keep us safe — that red stove burner is hot, don't touch it! — and forms the basis of our identities and narratives about our lives. So how does the brain store memories and retrieve them? The...

Jan 5, 2023

Secret inner workings of cells revealed through self-assembling 'memory' chains

Researchers have coaxed mouse brain cells into producing self-assembling protein chains that can record information, or memories, about the hidden processes that take place within the cells. Once fully formed, these biological black boxes can be easily read using a light microscope, which could potentially revolutionize how scientists study cellular...

Feb 23, 2023

'Muscle memories' get 'zipped and unzipped' in the brain, like computer files

Tapping into your muscle memory to tie your shoes or play an instrument may feel automatic — but to execute these learned motions, the brain erupts into a flurry of activity, rapidly unzipping and zipping all the key information about the movement being performed, a new study suggests. The study,...

Sep 18, 2023

How accurate are our first childhood memories?

Ah, the nostalgia of childhood memories — that cherished first bicycle ride, the debut dip in the ocean, the distinctive patterns of wallpaper long since removed from the family home. These early recollections are often steeped in sentimentality and woven into the fabric of our identity. But can they be...