Dr. John Peever at the University of Toronto has been working to answer one of humanity’s greatest questions: how do we dream? He has found a certain area of the brain is responsible for this phenomenon and that troubles with normal dreaming may be an early warning sign for ailments such as Parkinson’s Disease. His...
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No evidence that brain-stimulation technique boosts cognitive training: study
Transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS)—a non-invasive technique for applying electric current to areas of the brain—may be growing in popularity, but new research suggests that it probably does not add any meaningful benefit to cognitive training. The study is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. “Our findings suggest that applying...
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Nasally administered oxytocin increases emotion perception in autism
A recent study has demonstrated that intranasal oxytocin can influence how individuals with autism perceive emotion in others. This is an important first step for a potential pharmacological treatment of autism. Autism is characterized by difficulties in social functioning. Individuals with autism are generally less sensitive to social information, which can influence their interactions with others as...
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Elon Musk’s Neural Lace Could Use Brain-Stimulating Tech to Make Us Smarter
IN BRIEF Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has great potential to help those with neurological diseases. It may also help enhance humans and our intelligence, and serve as a checkpoint on the road toward Elon Musk’s neural lace. STIMULATING THE BRAIN We are now poised at a time in history when brain-computer interfaces (BCI) are...
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Stem cells can be encouraged to sprout by changing the surface of the plastic growth substrate
Controlling the patterning on the surface of plastics may soon enable us to grow bone, fight infections and reproduce stem cells, thanks to research at Swinburne. Variations in the nanoscale structures on the surface of a material can alter the development of cells in the vicinity according to the work of Swinburne’s Polymer NanoInterface Engineering Group. It...
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The man who built a virtual nervous system explains how humans will interact with machines in ten years
Mark Sagar invented a virtual nervous system that powers autonomous animated avatars. He is best known for developing Baby X, a virtual infant that learns through experience. Sagar says people will learn how to work cooperatively with AI powered robots. Mark Sagar showing facial emotion recognition technology with Baby X. In ten years artificially intelligent...
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The Proteasome: A Powerful Target for Manipulating Protein Levels
The proteasome’s ability to target and degrade specific proteins is proving useful to researchers studying protein function or developing treatments for diseases. Although they are not alive themselves, proteins nonetheless progress through a life cycle of sorts: they are created by the cell, serve a specific purpose in the organism, and ultimately expire either by...
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The Future of 3D Printing Drugs In Pharmacies Is Closer Than You Think
3D printing drugs is not a fantasy anymore. Unbelievable shapes and any kind of drug can be fabricated with the groundbreaking technology. The UK biotech company, FabRx believes it could even appear as a regular technique in hospitals and pharmacies for creating personalized drugs in specific doses within 5-10 years. Print out starfish-shaped drugs for...
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Do probiotics actually do anything?
Lactobacillus casei The supplement aisles of most grocery stores and pharmacies in the United States are bursting with probiotics. These billions of bacteria stuffed into once-a-day capsules claim to provide digestive relief, among other benefits. They’re extremely popular, with sales of $36.6 billion in 2015. And for good reason. For many people, various gastrointestinal issues come and...
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A fresh look inside the protein nano-machines
Proteins perform vital functions of life, they digest food and fight infections and cancer. They are in fact nano-machines, each one of them designed to perform a specific task. But how did they evolve to match those needs, how did the genes encode the structure and function of proteins? Researchers from the University of Geneva...