neuroscience news stories on Newser

Thinking, Religion Don't Mix: Study

Kevin Spak — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:09:05 CDT

People prone to analytical thinking are less prone to religious faith, a new study has concluded. Scientists have long believed that analytical thinking can override one's intuitive responses, and studies have shown that religion is rooted in intuitive thought. So Canadian researcher Will Gervais set out to see if analytical...

Scientists Get Step Closer to Decoding Our Thoughts

Rob Quinn — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 04:44:03 CST

Scientists have taken a big step toward being able to decode our thoughts. Researchers working with brain surgery patients taught computers to decipher the brain activity that takes place when words are heard. The brain, they found, breaks sounds down into their consistent acoustic frequencies. Using that computer model, they...

Awareness Detected in 'Vegetative' Patients

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 07:03:58 CST

A new study could have a life-changing impact on patients thought to be in a “vegetative” state: Three such patients displayed signs of full consciousness in a simple test. “It sure looks as if there’s not just a little bit of consciousness but a lot” in these subjects, who had...

Scientists Make Neurons From Skin

Rob Quinn — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 02:57:02 CDT

A key scientific breakthrough will help researchers get around one of the major obstacles to testing conditions like Alzheimer's: a lack of brain donors. The team has found an efficient way to turn skin cells into neurons by adding a few short strands of genetic material, the Independent reports. "A...

You Might Be Only Half Awake

Kevin Spak — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 14:37:06 CDT

Ever feel so bushwhacked that you tell someone you’re “half asleep”? Well, it turns out you probably were. Researchers have found that parts of your brain actually do turn off when you’re fatigued—sometimes even before you’re consciously aware that you’re tired, according to a new study. These slumbering neurons...

Do We Actually Exist?

Mark Russell — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 06:49:14 CDT

The fact that we exist is inarguable, right? After all, if the world were just a dream, we'd need to be dreaming to experience it, writes Julian Baggini for the Independent . Maybe not. Throughout the ages, people have claimed that the self actually doesn't exist—and such claims are gathering...

Before Oscar, Portman Was Science Geek

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 08:26:13 CST

You probably already know that Natalie Portman is an Academy Award-winning actress , but did you know that she's also a science prodigy? In high school—while she was already starring in films alongside Julia Roberts and Jack Nicholson—Portman made it to the semifinals of the Intel Science Talent Search,...

Brain Links Sex, Violence

Kevin Spak — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 13:47:26 CST

The same section of the brain may process both sexual and violent urges, a new study suggests. In experiments on mice, scientists discovered a tiny cluster of cells in the hypothalamus that flared to life both while the mice were fighting and while they were having sex, Scientific American explains....

UCLA Animal Prof Sent 'AIDS Tainted' Razor Blades

Mary Papenfuss — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 02:29:18 CST

An animal rights group has claimed responsibility for sending "bloody AIDS-tainted" razor blades to the home of a UCLA neuroscientist whom activists claim injects rodents and primates with addictive drugs. "How would David Jentsch like the same thing done to him?" asks a statement by a group called the "Justice...