Mind, features and articles | Educational Science

Jul 31, 2006

New Source of Replacement Brain Cells Found

Scientists have found that a common type of human brain cell can transform into other cell types and reproduce indefinitely—tricks once thought exclusive to stem cells. The mature human brain cells were extracted from epilepsy patients and coaxed into other types of brain cells in a lab. The human cells...

Jul 31, 2006

Scientists Erase Memories in Rat Brains

Scientists have for the first time erased long-term memories in rats and also directly seen how the brain is changed by learning. The research points to potential human benefits. These findings could prove key to understanding how memories can be augmented, for example in diseases that affect memory, like Alzheimer's,...

Jul 31, 2006

Brain Gene May Help Make Us Human

Humans have more copies of a possibly important brain gene in their genomes than other apes, a new study finds. Called MGC8902, the gene is implicated in the function of the neocortex, the region of the brain that, in humans, is responsible for consciousness, language, and other higher cognitive functions....

Jun 30, 2006

Comatose Man's Brain Rewires

Doctors have their first proof that a man who was barely conscious for nearly 20 years regained speech and movement because his brain spontaneously rewired itself by growing tiny new nerve connections to replace the ones sheared apart in a car crash. Terry Wallis, 42, is one of the few...

Apr 30, 2006

Lesbians' Brains React Differently

UPDATED MAY 12, 2006 AT 5:20 P.M. ET Clarification: WASHINGTON (AP) _ In a story below, The Associated Press reported on the perceptions of lesbian women and heterosexual men and women when sniffing chemicals derived from human hormones. The report was based on a chart in a research study which...

Apr 30, 2006

Machine Offers Sight to Some Blind People

With her good eye, Elizabeth Goldring can distinguish between light and dark and see hand movement, but not individual fingers. She cannot recognize faces or read. Goldring is an artist, a poet, and a senior fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Advanced Visual Studies. Her vision loss...

Apr 30, 2006

The ABCs of IPOs: Easy-to-Pronounce Stocks Do Best

There are myriad strategies for making a company's first day of stock trading a good one. Add a pronounceable ticker symbol to the list. A new study of initial public offerings (IPOs) found that stocks with ticker symbols you can actually say, such as ELY or MUF, did vastly better...

Jan 31, 2006

Kids are Depressing, Study of Parents Finds

Any parent will tell you kids can be depressing at times. A new study shows that raising them is a lifelong challenge to your mental health. Not only do parents have significantly higher levels of depression than adults who do not have children, the problem gets worse when the kids...

Jan 31, 2006

Mind Rewind: Brains Run in Reverse

When faced with a new learning task, our brains replay events in reverse, much like a video on rewind, a new study suggests. This type of reverse-replay is also used in artificial intelligence research to help computers make decisions. The finding could explain why we learn tasks more easily if...

Jan 31, 2006

Something Fishy: How Humans Got So Smart

ST. LOUIS—Human brains are bigger and better than any of our closest living or dead non-human relatives in relation to body weight. Scientists say we have fish and frogs to thank for this. When early humans started to fish, they also began feeding their hungry brains. The arrival of language...

Dec 31, 2005

The Journey of a New Brain Cell

Newborn adult brain cells travel along a neural highway from their place of birth to their final destination. Now scientists have shown that tiny, beating, hair-like structures called cilia play an important role in helping the new cells merge onto the highway's on-ramp. Scientists have long questioned how newborn brain...

Nov 30, 2007

Why Time Seems to Slow Down in Emergencies

In The Matrix, the hero Neo could dodge bullets because time moved in slow motion for him during battles. Indeed, in the real world, people in danger often feel as if time slowed down for them. This warping of time apparently does not result from the brain speeding up from...

Nov 30, 2007

Child Care in First Two Years Greatly Affects IQ

How well children are cared for in their first two years directly affects brain development and IQ later in life, a new study finds. Researchers studied abandoned young children in Romanian orphanages over time and found that those placed in foster care at younger ages had significantly higher IQ's than...

Oct 31, 2007

The Big Holiday Depression Myth

At some point during this holiday season—maybe as you're rushing to the corner store for more turkey stuffing, or while at a Christmas Eve sale wrestling the last Xbox 360 away from a middle-aged mom—you will be tired, stressed and depressed. Most people have heard the bit of folk wisdom...

Oct 31, 2007

Couples Emphasize Career of Man over Woman

When working couples move, the husband's career often gets a boost and the wife's career suffers. A new study suggests what's behind that typical outcome. Couples tend to put more emphasis on the man's career, even if the wife works full-time and is college-educated. This is bad news for people...