Mind, features and articles | Educational Science

Jun 19, 2022

Can we think without using language?

Humans have been expressing thoughts with language for tens (or perhaps hundreds) of thousands of years. It's a hallmark of our species — so much so that scientists once speculated that the capacity for language was the key difference between us and other animals. And we've been wondering about each...

Jul 6, 2022

Can minds persist when they are cut off from the world?

Could a brain ever exist on its own, divorced from or independent of a body? For a long time, philosophers have pondered such brain-in-a-vat scenarios, asking whether isolated brains could maintain consciousness when separated from their bodies and senses. Typically, a person's experiences are characterized by a web of interactions...

Sep 6, 2022

Axolotl weirdos can regrow their brains, and a new map reveals their regeneration secrets

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is an aquatic salamander renowned for its ability to regenerate its spinal cord, heart and limbs. These amphibians also readily make new neurons throughout their lives. In 1964, researchers observed...

Sep 12, 2022

Invisible nerve-cell superhighway allows fat cells to 'talk' to the brain — and it may promote obesity

Scientists have discovered a previously unknown communication pathway that allows fat cells to directly talk to the brain — at least in mice. The team visualized these hidden sensory nerve pathways using a technique that made the animals' tissue transparent. When the researchers destroyed the connection , the mice burned...

Oct 14, 2022

'Contagious Itching' More Common Among Neurotics

Watching another person scratch an itch can cause you to do the same, and scientists have figured out the basis of this peculiar itch contagion. It's all in your brain. Merely seeing someone else scratch activates brain centers involved in the itch response, suggesting the observation makes one itchy. But...

Dec 29, 2022

11 amazing Earth discoveries from 2022

Explorers have scaled the planet's highest peak and trawled its deepest ocean trench, yet Earth is still teeming with secrets waiting to be discovered. Every year, scientists chip away at the mystery hidden in the third rock from the sun, and this year was no exception. From a hidden network...

Jan 31, 2023

The five (and more) human senses

There are five basic human senses: touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste. The sensing organs associated with each sense send information to the brain to help us understand and perceive the world around us. However, there are in fact other human senses in addition to the basic five that you...

Feb 1, 2023

Restless legs syndrome: Causes, symptoms and treatment

Restless legs syndrome (RLS), also known as Willis-Ekbom disease, is a neurological disorder that causes unpleasant or uncomfortable sensations in the legs and an irresistible urge to move them. It is estimated that up to 10% of the U.S. population may have this condition, according to the National Institute of...

Feb 2, 2023

Rat brain injuries 'plugged' with lab-grown human minibrains in world-first experiment

Miniature, lab-grown models of the human brain's wrinkled surface can be used to patch injuries in the brains of living rats and thus repair broken connections in the rodents' sensory processing systems, a new study shows. Someday, such minibrains — known as brain organoids — could potentially be used to...

Feb 23, 2023

Multiple sclerosis: Symptoms, management and research

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease that affects the central nervous system: The brain and spinal cord. In MS, the body's immune system mistakenly attacks myelin, the protective coat surrounding nerve fibers. The destruction of myelin leads to sclerosis, or the formation of scar tissue. It also impairs the ability...

Feb 25, 2023

'Brain-eating' amoeba case in Florida potentially tied to unfiltered water in sinus rinse

A person in Charlotte County, Florida, was recently sickened by a single-celled organism that can cause a rare, brain-eating infection, possibly as a result of rinsing their sinuses with unfiltered tap water, health officials reported. No information was provided on the person's condition, but the infection is typically fatal. The...

Feb 28, 2023

Lab-grown minibrains will be used as 'biological hardware' to create new biocomputers, scientists propose

Lab-grown minibrains could someday be linked together to act as powerful and efficient biocomputers, scientists have suggested. In a proposal published Feb 28. in the journal Frontiers in Science, a multidisciplinary group of researchers outlined their plans to transform 3D clumps of human brain cells, called brain organoids, into biological...

Apr 19, 2023

Kaleidoscopic image of a mouse's brain is 64 million times sharper than a typical MRI

Scientists recently boosted the resolution of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to 64 million times higher than normal. They used the technique to take captivating, high-definition images of a mouse brain, showing the organ like never before. While the swirly, psychedelic images are that of a rodent's brain, the research team...

Apr 27, 2023

Newfound 'brain signature' linked to multiple psychiatric disorders

Young adults with multiple mental illnesses may share a common neurological signature, new research suggests. The study, published April 24 in the journal Nature Medicine, builds on a concept known as the general psychopathology factor, or p factor, which studies suggest is a consistent pattern of psychiatric characteristics seen in...

May 1, 2023

Surges of activity in the dying human brain could hint at fleeting conscious experiences

In their last minutes of life, some people's brains generate a surge of surprisingly organized-looking electrical activity that may reflect consciousness — although scientists aren't entirely sure. According to new research, published Monday (May 1) in the journal PNAS, this surge can sometimes occur after a person's breathing stops but...