• mad science

    Schizophrenic Brains Make More Complicated Music Than Sane Ones

    A new computer program lets your brain turn fMRI machines into musical instruments by assigning notes to active regions of your cortex. The results may cause people to drive themselves crazy just to stay on the cutting edge of electronica. More »
    07/06/09
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    By Megan

    Comment by ZanipoloLebron: This is so AKIRA. 2 Responses | Other threads

  • mad science

    A Drug That Could Give You Perfect Visual Memory

    Imagine if you could look at something once and remember it forever. You would never have to ask for directions again. Now a group of scientists has isolated a protein that mega-boosts your ability to remember what you see. More »
    07/02/09
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    Comment by alphanumeric1971: Oooohh Annalee. The grammar police are in full force today! 20 Responses | Other threads

  • mad neuroscience

    Brain-Hacking May Cure Tourettes — Or Weaponize It

    Neuroscientists think they've identified the part of the brain that causes Tourette's Syndrome, the condition that causes random tics including compulsive obscenity. How long before we can hack that part of the brain? More »
    05/12/09
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    Comment by Evdor: Soldier: Bob! We need to take out that Machinegun POPCORN SANTA CLAUS! Get around them and flank them, get... 4 Responses | Other threads

  • mad science

    Scientists Erase Painful Memories Without Drugs

    A new study shows that people's painful or frightening memories can be erased. A group of cognitive scientists have revealed that people can forget pain if they are exposed to specific stimuli during "memory reconsolidation," the hour or so after you recall a memory. More »
    04/07/09
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    Comment by ManchuCandidate: Seems a bit counterproductive to me. My painful memories are life lessons and changes (for the better) to my persona not... 9 Responses | Other threads

  • brains

    Your Brain Starts Deteriorating By Age 27, Say Neuroscientists

    A depressing new study from a group of neuroscientists at University of Virgina suggests that people begin experiencing age-related cognitive deterioration in their late 20s. Published today, a summary of the study explains: More »
    03/20/09
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    Comment by 92BuickLeSabre: Whatevs, I'm just doin' the whole know better words 'n sh... *looks up* Damn it! 34 Responses | Other threads

  • neuroengineering

    How Neuroengineering Will Lift Your Depression - And Control Your Mind

    The better we understand how our brains function, the closer we get to controlling them at a molecular level. And that means a possible cure for depression, but it could also mean foolproof brainwashing. More »
    03/04/09
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    Comment by Anekanta: This is actually very disturbing. Like others here, I suffer from severe depression, too--but that's only because I live... 7 Responses | Other threads

  • mad science

    Neurologists Explain Why You Hate George Lucas

    In just a few short decades, George Lucas has gone from renegade entertainer who filled children's lives with wonder, to the object of wrath and ridicule. Now scientists can explain why. More »
    02/23/09
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    Comment by Cobra-Commander: Or it could be that he just a greedy bastard who delights in raping fond childhood memories for profit. Or... 13 Responses | Other threads

  • mad science

    An Infrared Brain Scan That Can Determine What You Want

    Canadian researchers have developed a "mind reading" technology that can predict which of two items a person will prefer with 80 percent accuracy. More »
    02/10/09
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    Comment by Spoonman360: would you like us to pull the plug or keep the machines breathing for you?.... hate to be out by... 5 Responses | Other threads

  • mad science

    Carbon Nanotubes Will Rewire Your Brain, Make You Smarter

    Carbon nanotubes, or hollow microscopic wires made of carbon (pictured), may one day replace some of the neurons in your brain. They could repair brain damage, or give a turbo boost to healthy brains.
    12/22/08
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    Comment by Mount_Prion: It's cool if it actually makes my connection faster, but not so cool if it just adds spyware and popups. 8 Responses | Other threads

  • mad science

    Technology Puts Images from Your Brain onto a Computer

    Japanese scientists have unveiled a device that can pluck images out of your brain and recreate them on a computer screen.
    12/11/08
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    Comment by Alexis Brown: Annalee, could you stop scaring me with science? *crawls under rock* 6 Responses | Other threads

  • mad science

    A Medicine That Can Make You Schizophrenic and Then Sane Again

    A new form of gene therapy could make you insane, then set you right again. More »
    12/10/08
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    Comment by Anekanta: Would it be worth it to become temporarily OCD or autistic if it would give you an incredibly sharp memory... 7 Responses | Other threads

  • mad science

    Paralyzed Man Speaks Again Using Brain Implant

    A man suffering from "locked in" syndrome, where a fully-conscious person is completely paralyzed except for some eyelid movements, is speaking again using a computer. Doctors report in Nature today that he's using a brain implant to control speech synthesizing software with his mind. More »
    11/21/08
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    Comment by Capn_Marrrrk: 5 years from now: K-I-L-L M-E, K-I-L-L M-E, K-I-L-L M-E. 7 Responses | Other threads

  • mad science

    Gender-Bending Body Swap Experiment Leaves Subjects Wanting More

    In science fiction, characters often swap bodies to achieve immortality, pose as someone else, or walk a mile in a loved one’s shoes. Now neuroscientists at the Karolinska Institute have found a way to convince subjects that they’ve swapped bodies with another person. Men become women, humans become mannequins, and the participants are eager to try it again. More »
    11/17/08
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    Comment by Alexis Brown: Very intriguing experiment. It's amazing how easy it is to "trick" the human brain using fairly simple stimuli. I wonder... 4 Responses | Other threads

  • mad science

    A Scientific Reason Why You Can't Stop Yourself from Saying "Oh Shit!"

    When you make an error in speech, saying "personal breast" instead of "personal best," there's an instant feeling of "oh shit" in your brain. And when you make a mistake like tripping, you often can't stop yourself from saying "oh shit!" out loud — even if you're in front of your nice grandmother. Now a group of German researchers have discovered that this impulse, dubbed the "Oh-shit" wave, is actually a specific electrophysiological signal in your brain that can help you correct errors before they happen. More »
    11/04/08
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    Comment by toddbert: Soon scientists will discover the truth. This phenomenon actually originated when ancient man stepped in dino-dookie and simply stated the... 7 Responses | Other threads

  • mad science

    Ultrasound Can Give You Memories of Learning Things in College

    Want to remember doing something, like attending 400 lectures on molecular cell biology, without ever actually having to do it? A special kind of ultrasound can trigger neurons in your gray matter, and the team of Arizona State neuroscientists who discovered this immediately played the Total Recall card. They're already talking about implanting memories of everything from fake vacations to learning kung fu. More »
    10/31/08
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    Comment by rovroman: this sounds great until they make you "remember" how much you love the government 3 Responses | Other threads

  • ghostly science

    Are EMFs Making You See Ghosts?

    For some people, ghosts are a very real part of their daily experiences. Barring spectral visitors from the afterlife, what causes these people to believe they’re being haunted? A research team thought it might be people's sensitivity to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and non-audible sound. So a group of scientists put several people inside a house full of EMFs and infrasounds and tried to haunt them. More »
    10/30/08
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    Comment by Meirelle: Decepticon: So... Am I about to get made fun of because I'm a logical, sciencey atheist who believes in ghosts? 'Cause... 10 Responses | Other threads

  • brains

    How Hatred Transforms Your Brain

    When you see somebody you hate, whether it's an evil ex or a mean colleague, your brain undergoes a rather unexpected transformation. A new study published in PLoS One today reveals that hatred isn't the blind, irrational emotion it might seem. In fact, hate activates the brain regions associated with higher reason and the ability to predict what other people will do. More »
    10/29/08
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    Comment by Themindtaker: I'm still gonna have to side with the south park boys on the legitimacy of hate crimes as a whole.... 4 Responses | Other threads

  • mad science

    A Pill to Selectively Erase Your Traumatic Memories

    In a few years you might have a pill to help you forget your bad breakup just the way Jim Carey did in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. With a high dose of just one enzyme, scientists can now erase very specific memories while you're in the act of recalling them. The enzyme known as CaMKII is linked to learning and memory, and Georgia neuroscientist Joe Z. Tsien and his team used it to induce extremely targeted memory-erasure in mice. Tsien thinks the process might help humans lay traumatic memories to rest. More »
    10/22/08
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    Comment by corpore-metal: On the other hand, let's look at the other side of this. Instead of erasing memories how about writing them? Educational... 4 Responses | Other threads

  • brains

    An End to Paralysis with Artificial Brain-to-Muscle Connectors

    Using a computerized connector between the brain and muscles in the body, scientists have been able to restore movement to paralyzed limbs. A group of neuroscientists report in Nature today that they used a brain-computer interface to join the motor cortex of an ape to the muscles in its wrist. After scientists paralyzed the ape's arm temporarily, it was still able to make its wrist move my sending electrical impulses directly from its brain to the muscles, bypassing the damaged nerves in between. The study has profound implications for people whose nerves have been severed or damaged, leaving them paralyzed. More »
    10/15/08
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    Comment by twophrasebark: This sounds like... you could conceivably control someone else's body with this technology. That's freaky. 2 Responses | Other threads

  • neuroscience

    Indian Court Accepts Brain Scans as Evidence of Murder

    When 24 year-old Aditi Sharma was tried for the murder of her former fiance, her brain was the chief witness for the prosecution. Sharma had submitted to the highly controversial Brain Electrical Oscillations Signature test (BEOS), now employed by prosecutors in the Indian states of Maharashta and Gujarat. Going beyond lie detection, the BEOS test is supposedly able to identify whether an individual possesses memories related to a specific event. And Sharma's conviction represents the first time an Indian court has accepted the BEOS results as proof of guilt, although neuroscientists remain skeptical about the technology's reliability. More »
    09/15/08
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    Comment by Log1c: But what if she just daydreamed it? A lot... would she have the memories/desires/etc left over from her imagined event? This... 3 Responses | Other threads

  • dopamine

    Deprive Yourself of Sleep and Your Neurons Will Get You High

    People who are sleep-deprived often report getting a "second wind" where they suddenly wake up and feel great — though they are still too fatigued to do any major problem-solving. A group of researchers have discovered there's a good reason for this. Sleep deprivation floods your brain with dopamine, the very same hormone that amphetamines like crystal meth shoot into your neural receptors. More »
    08/20/08
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    Comment by garnenia: @Stumies: About $250. An eight ball... I believe this sums up most of my graduating class in high school. ... more » | Other threads

  • esp

    Army Sinks Millions Into "Synthetic Telepathy" Research

    Perhaps in the hope that military commanders will one day order troops around with their power of their minds, in the style of X-Men's Xavier, the U.S. Army has given a grant of $4 million to "synthetic telepathy" researchers in Irvine, California. I guess the "synthetic" part is supposed to make this all seem more legitimate, because it's computer-mediated telepathy instead of the Ghostbustery kind. More »
    08/18/08
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    Comment by HaukHeracles: Dear Frends with ON-NS & A research group we start to made an exploration the trans-disciplinary issue... more » | Other threads

  • neuroscience

    Books Can Control Your Mind as Powerfully as Television

    Tales from George Orwell's 1984 to the movies Network and Videodrome are all about how people are so controlled by television that they'll do anything. Usually, books are presented as an antidote to a TV-controlled populace. But now a new neuroscience study reveals that books control people's minds and emotions in exactly the same way television does. More »
    08/13/08
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    Comment by RAHfanboy: @Klebert L. Hall: I was quoting that time, but I made the same mistake in another spot, and I actually... more » | Other threads

  • drugs

    A Memory-Erasing Chemical That Can Change Your Behavior

    Memory is one of the main reasons why drug addicts who have gone sober suddenly find themselves jumping off the wagon. Environmental cues like visiting a place where you were high can make you remember the drug and weaken your resistance to taking it again. But now researchers have discovered a way to selectively erase "drug-associated memories" and make it easier for you to just say no to the needle, pill, or pipe. It all has to do with interrupting the brain's process of "reconsolidation," or memory retrieval. More »
    08/12/08
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    Comment by ♠ Final ♠: I don't think it was this specific drug but one that very similar was already in human about 3 years... more » | Other threads

  • mad science

    Proof that the Brain Cannot Distinguish Between Human and Humanoid

    Humans who interact with computers and robots often attribute emotions to their machine cohorts. That's why we curse at our inefficient laptops, or say thank you to the robot who smiles and hands us drinks. Now a group of researchers in Germany have proven that the human brain has a hard time distinguishing between humans and humanoid robots. This neural hardwiring could mean that we'll never be able to treat humanoid robots as if they are emotionless machines. Even if they are. More »
    07/09/08
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    Comment by Dereks: >This neural hardwiring could mean that we'll never be able >to treat humanoid robots as if they are emotionless >machines.... more » | Other threads

  • sensationalized science

    All the Ways We Can Mess Up Your Brain

    Yesterday we told you all about a recent study where a group of researchers identified the genes responsible for brain development in the womb. We pointed out, in our usual excitable way, that this discovery is the first step on the road to tinkering with those genes to produce mega-geniuses and mindless drones. The researchers made their discovery using a cool, high-speed method of identifying active genes called RNA interference (RNAi), which selectively suppresses gene activity. Here you can see the results of the RNAi process, which left a whole bunch of brain neurons in pretty bad shape . Above, the only untreated neuron is (A) — all the rest are RNAi mutants, whose weird shapes reveal what the suppressed genes do. Check out more mutated brains below. More »
    07/07/08
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    Comment by monkity: So we're trying to figure out how human consciousness works by fucking with it's sub-cellular structure. Sounds like a... more » | Other threads

  • brains

    Scientists Identify Genes that Could Turn Ordinary People into Supergeniuses (or Mindless Drones)

    It's clear that there's a specific set of genes responsible for brain development when you're in the womb, and that those genes affect your ability to learn later on. But now a group of researchers in the U.S. and Canada have identified those genes. And their discovery could represent the first step in tweaking brain development. It's possible that that knocking out some of those genes or adding extra copies of them to a developing baby could result in the tailor-made human minds of Brave New World: Some will be born to develop cutting-edge technologies, and others to be slow-witted and compliant. More »
    07/06/08
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    Comment by TechnoDestructo: @ManchuCandidate: I recall encountering a kid with FAS. He was in his late teens. He had a 4 inch long, deep,... more » | Other threads

  • brains

    First Look at the "Structural Core" of the Human Brain

    In this image, scientists reveal for the first time the solution to one of the brain's fundamental mysteries: Does it it have a core area that organizes thought? Or is it a diffuse set of neural connections? With this image, a team of Swiss and U.S. scientists present convincing evidence that the cerebral cortex (the outer layer of the brain where most rational thought takes place) has a core "central processor" region that helps organize the rest. More »
    06/30/08
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    Comment by Annalee Newitz: @Legree17: I highly disagree. This is not a "rare" example of an important article being published in a public-access journal.... more » | Other threads

  • mad science

    Crappy Movies Are Destroying Your Brain, Say Scientists

    You already knew that watching movies like Jumper or the Planet of the Apes remake makes your brain hurt, but now neuroscientists have proof. When you watch a great movie, your brain marches in lockstep with the brains of the other viewers. Terrible movies invoke synaptic chaos. Could filmmakers use this knowledge to create movies that intentionally tap into your neural responses? More »
    06/10/08
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    Comment by ghost: @Gospel X: well said. The title and first paragraph and the findings as detailed below are totally unrelated. It shows... more » | Other threads

  • brains

    People Whose Memories Improve with Age

    There's a lot of anecdotal evidence that so-called memory exercises can actually improve intelligence. And at last, scientists are studying this claim empirically, testing to see whether people's IQs do go up after doing memory exercises, and why that might be. It turns out that the exercises do have a scientifically-measurable effect, though only on one kind of intelligence. More »
    06/05/08
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    Comment by RAHfanboy: @corpore-metal: "To say there is a strong correlation between high IQ and success is flawed." There seem to be a lot... more » | Other threads

  • mad neuroscience

    The "Trust Me" Drug That Makes You Take Social Risks

    What if you could convince people to trust you and take risks for you with just a few drops of liquid surreptitiously placed in their water? There would be no drunkenness, no rufie-esque glazed eyes: just pure, human trust created via chemicals. The person wouldn't even know they'd been dosed. A study coming out tomorrow in the journal Neuron explains how this scenario is possible today, with just a small dose of the brain chemical oxytocin. More »
    05/21/08
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    Comment by schfen: Social control scenarios that could arise from this.. more » | Other threads

  • mad science

    Selectively De-Activate Parts of Your Brain with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

    By holding a giant magnet to your head, you can literally turn off parts of your brain. Not only will this make getting high potentially a lot cheaper for millions of college students, it could also become a very useful weapon in the right hands. A journalist for UK paper The Daily Telegraph filmed himself having the speech centers of his brain shut down while he recited a nursery rhyme — the results, which you can see below, are truly creepy. He literally starts stuttering and ceases to be able to form words for a few seconds in the middle of a sentence. More »
    05/20/08
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    Comment by Jeff-Minor: If I want to turn off parts of my brain I'll just watch TV. It really seems to work. more » | Other threads

  • mad neuroscience

    Why Dyslexics Are Good Computer Programmers

    People suffering from dyslexia may find that their problems evaporate when they learn a new language, especially one that works with symbols very different from their native one. A study released yesterday reveals that brain abnormalities in English-speakers with dyslexia are quite different from those in people who speak Chinese. So it's very possible that a person who is dyslexic in Chinese wouldn't be in English, and vice versa. This also helps explain why so many dyslexics are able to excel at computer programming, which requires them to write very precisely in a computer language. More »
    04/08/08
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    Comment by beercheck - Commentin' Dirty: If so, does it bring up the possibility that some cultural tendencies may, perhaps, be based on different parts of... more » | Other threads

  • mad medicine

    Stick Your Severed Spine Back Together with a New Biochemical Gel

    Severed spines may not mean paralysis for much longer. Inject a special gel into mice with severed spinal cords and six weeks later the mice are back on their feet. It's a pretty neat trick, one that scientists at Northwestern accomplish by impregnating the gel with biochemical signals that hinder the growth of scar tissue and promote growth of myelin, the sheath that protects nerve cells and fosters their growth. More »
    04/04/08
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    Comment by bocfretu: DeathSun, I had a similar thought. I'm on board for anything involving more discussion of Firefly, or other Whedon... more » | Other threads

  • electrical engineering

    Ultrathin, Rubbery Circuits Bring Us One Step Closer to Google Brain Implants

    A new kind of computer circuit printed on ultrathin rubber would make the perfect "brain wrapper," says its inventor. Usually computer circuits are etched on rigid, plastic boards, but University of Illinois researcher John Rogers has successfully placed circuits on a rubbery material that can bend and stretch. Many groups have been working on developing this technology, but Rogers is the first to demonstrate that his bendy circuits actually work. Rogers says the circuits could wrap around part or all of the brain, to monitor its electrical activity. Or — in future applications — to interface with your brain, perhaps using antennae to establish a wireless neural link to the internet so you can be Googling with your mind. More »
    03/27/08
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    Comment by Katana_Mind: @corpore-metal: If you choose to wear one of those goofy looking bike helmets with wires and little blinking lights instead... more » | Other threads

  • neuroscience

    A New Street Drug That Boosts Your Brain's Ability to Get High

    It turns out the gateway drug for amphetamine addiction is a substance provided by your own brain. The culprit protein is called DAT, so named because it is a dopamine transporter — and dopamine is the feel-good, get-motivated neurotransmitter that keeps you happy, hungry, and full of energy. Just as some people are born with the ability to grow larger muscle mass than others, some are born with the ability to squirt more dopamine into their brains because they have a greater-than-average helping of DAT. People with elevated DAT levels are quite literally better at getting high than people with average levels. How do we know? A group of researchers in North Carolina and Pennsylvania recently bred a group of mice to have DAT levels three times above normal and then gave them speed. Here's what happened. More »
    03/24/08
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    Comment by Klebert L. Hall: @moff: Interesting. So, it doesn't enhance the effect of the drug, it makes it stay in your system longer, and then... more » | Other threads

  • mad science

    Rewire the Neurons in Your Brain Just By Looking

    Though science fiction tales like Clockwork Orange and Videodrome have toyed with the notion that images from television and movies could rewire people's brains, the idea has always been controversial and unsubstantiated. But now researchers have shown empirically that anything you look at, including movies, changes the the connections between neurons in your brain. In other words, what you see changes your brain at a neurological level. The good news is the parts of your brain devoted to vision can be rewired, which has positive implications for people blinded after strokes. The bad news is that what you see today could have a lasting effect on what you see tomorrow. A particularly powerful negative image might alter your perception of positive images later. More »
    03/12/08
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    Comment by Jeff-Minor: @Kevin Kelly: Oh, man, you beat me to it. Just like snow crash. The think is, I think I like... more » | Other threads

  • mad science

    Rejuivenate Your Brain with Umbilical Cord Blood

    As brains age, they slowly lose the ability to generate new neurons, which results in a diminishing ability to learn new things and retain memories. But today a group of neuroscientists in Florida announced a strange cure for what amounts to brain decay: blood from the umbilical cords of human infants. When the researchers injected this blood into aging rats, it kickstarted a new round of neurogenesis in their brains, helping them to grow new neurons and shed some other effects of brain aging. Essentially, effects of aging were rolled back. There's tremendous potential here for helping aging humans to regain the plasticity of their youthful minds. More »
    03/10/08
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    Comment by locotoro: Using umbilical stem cells gives the religious right anti-abortionists (George Bush)fodder for their media cannons. It is possible now to... more » | Other threads

  • neuroarm

    A Robot That Does Brain Surgery Guided by MRI

    Most precision brain surgery is done with robotic assistance, but there's one place robots can't go: inside MRI brain scanners. Enter the neuroArm, a robot specially designed to work inside the powerful magnet of an MRI — and guided by the detailed images the MRI creates. Developed by surgeons and robotics experts at University of Calgary, the neuroArm combines the best of telepresence surgery with the best imaging technology. But how do you create a sophisticated robot, with delicate actuators, that can withstand being destroyed by a giant magnet? We've got the answer, and cool videos of the arm in action, below. More »
    02/27/08
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    Comment by skippythatis: @Klebert L. Hall: The surgeon makes the surgical diagnosis, WHAT KIND of treatment a patient needs, puts together the operative strategy,... more » | Other threads

  • mad science

    A "Reset Button" for the Brain Could Cure Alzheimers

    With a little help, our brains can be trained to heal themselves. After a traumatic brain injury, some of your brain cells go into reset mode, reverting to a stem cell-like state. Using these "reset cells," a group of German researchers were able to coax the brains of injured mice to regrow neurons to replace damaged tissue (the images above are micrographs of the cells regrowing over time). More »
    02/26/08
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    Comment by AntonioAphareus: Does somebody knows what type of technology was used in order to prove this??? more » | Other threads