“Most snails are ‘righties’. Now scientists have found genes that can change the shell coiling direction, ” writes the New York Times. ( Non-paywalled version here ) Suren Enfiajyan shares their report: Studying these snails offers clues to the evolution of body plans in many animals. It also could be important for understanding why up to 10 perc…
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Tag: scientists
Mice brains store backup copies of memories
Turns out that even the human brain might use redundancy when it comes to storage. New research out of the Riken-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics suggests that memories are stored in two places in the brain: the hippocampus for short-term and the cortex for longterm. Previously, the prevailing theory was that once a memory was formed in the hippocampus , it would then move to the cortex for storage. But that may not be the case, according to a paper published in Science . Recently, researchers called in the mice (of course) and watched a cluster of brain cells that formed after the rodents were administered a shock. From there, the scientists used light to “control the activity of individual neurons, ” as the BBC reports , which let them turn memories on and off. As a result, the mice forgot about the jolt of electricity until the memories were manually activated in the cortex. This hasn’t been proven to hold true in humans just yet, and it’s only one experiment, but the learnings could shape how we understand brain disease in the future. Specifically, this might give us a chance to see how things like dementia and Alzheimers affect the way memories are formed and stored, and devise ways to sidestep those heartbreaking conditions. Via: BBC Source: Science
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Mice brains store backup copies of memories
Super-fast camera records light-based ‘sonic booms’
Scientists have suspected that light can create its own conical wakes, like a sonic boom, but how do you capture something that happens so quickly? With a very fast camera, naturally. Washington University in St. Louis has recorded these photonic shockwaves using a “streak camera” that measures both the image and temporal data at 100 billion frames per second. To visualize the cones, the team shot very fast green laser pulses (just 7 picoseconds long) through a tunnel full of dry fog and placed between plates made from aluminum oxide and silicone rubber. Since the laser moved faster in the tunnel than in the plates, it produced a sonic boom-like effect as some of the light dragged behind. The approach to the camera is particularly important. Other techniques for capturing very fast events usually require many, many exposures to see anything; the streak camera only needs one. On top of the simplicity, this lets you capture events that won’t repeat in the exact same way, such as the laser pulses. This could provide new insights into light, of course, but the scientists are ultimately interested in biology. Their system is fast enough to track neurons as they fire, and map brain activity in real time. You could track even the smallest details, which could improve our understandings of both the mind and brain-related diseases. Via: Popular Mechanics Source: Science Advances , Live Science
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Super-fast camera records light-based ‘sonic booms’
Terahertz radiation could speed up computer memory by 1000 times
One area limiting speed in personal computing speed is memory — specifically, how quickly individual memory cells can be switched, which is currently done using an external magnetic field. European and Russian scientists have proposed a new method using much more rapid terahertz radiation, aka “T-rays, ” the same things used in airport body scanners. According to their research, published in the journal Nature , swapping out magnetic fields for T-rays could crank up the rate of the cell-resetting process by a factor of 1000, which could be used to create ultrafast memory. The radiation is actually a series of short electromagnetic pulses pinging the cells at terahertz frequencies (which have wavelengths of about 0.1 millimeter, lying between microwaves and infrared light, according to the scientists’ press release). Most of the recent T-ray experiments have dealt with quick, precise inspections of organic and mechanical material. Aside from quickly scanning you for contraband and awkward bulges at airports, other proposals have involved using terahertz radiation to look into broken microchip innards , peer into fragile texts and even comb airport luggage for bombs . But similar to those hypothetical applications, you won’t see T-rays in your PCs any time soon. The scientists have successfully demonstrated the concept on a weak ferromagnet, thulium orthoferrite (TmFeO₃), and even found that the terahertz radiation’s effect was ten times greater than a traditional external magnetic field, meaning the new method is both far faster and more efficient. But the scientists have yet to publish tests on actual computer memory cells, so it’s unknown when, or if, T-rays will buzz around inside your machine. Source: Nature
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Terahertz radiation could speed up computer memory by 1000 times
‘Water Bear’ protein could shield human DNA from radiation
Tardigrades, aka ‘water bears, ‘ are microscopic organisms that survive in harsh environments from the antarctic to oxygenless space . They are so robust that Japanese scientists froze a group of them for 30 years and successfully revived two specimens. But to understand what makes these tiny creatures so impervious, another group of researchers took a closer look at their genes. By mapping the entire genome of a particularly stress-tolerant tardigrade species, Ramazzottius varieornatus , they found a protein that protects DNA from being irradiated — which could be used to shield humans. As the University of Tokyo researchers describe in the science journal Nature , they took a sample group of human DNA and watched it deteriorate when bombarded with X-rays. But when they allowed some of those to create that tardigrade protein, they only showed half the damage as the control group. Further, those protected cells were still capable of reproducing. As in all specific studies, it’s too early to state how this will translate into treatment, prevention or any dramatic transhumanist strengthening of our species. But the scientists believe more of these proteins, and new applications, are likely lying in wait for more research to uncover. Via: Gizmodo Source: University of Tokyo newsroom
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‘Water Bear’ protein could shield human DNA from radiation
Scientists watch how the brain makes memories for the first time ever
For the first time in history, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have captured how our brain makes memories in video, watching how molecules morph into the structures that, at the end of the day, make who we are. It’s there’s a soul, this how it gets made. Read more…
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Scientists watch how the brain makes memories for the first time ever
Scientists Succeed In Objectively Measuring Pain
In a much needed breakthrough, neuroscientists have developed a technique to predict how much physical pain people are feeling by looking at images of their brain scans. Read more…