Golden Bracelet from the tomb of Ramses II decorated with granulation and a double-headed duck with a body made from...

Golden Bracelet from the tomb of Ramses II decorated with granulation and a double-headed duck with a body made from lapis-lazuli. Egypt, 19th dynasty. 1279 to 1213 BC. Article:…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/31/egyptian-bracelet/

It is the largest and most sophisticated object ever built off the Earth.

It is the largest and most sophisticated object ever built off the Earth. It has taken numerous spaceflights and over a decade to construct. The International Space Station (ISS) is currently the premiere habitat for humans in Earth orbit, and an…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/31/assembly-of-the-iss/

Take a few steps forward, stop, and look around.

Take a few steps forward, stop, and look around. In the world of the video game, the walls that depict a corridor four meters long are made up of green and blue patterned blocks. The floor is marked with turquoise dots. A short distance away, there’s a…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/31/maps-made-of-nerve-cells/

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble ….

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble …. maybe Macbeth should have consulted the Witch Head Nebula. A frighteningly shaped reflection nebula, this cosmic crone is about 800 light-years away though. Its malevolent visage seems to…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/31/the-witch-head-nebula/

Nancy Grace Roman, a renowned astronomer who led the drive to launch the Hubble Space Telescope, died on Dec.

Nancy Grace Roman, a renowned astronomer who led the drive to launch the Hubble Space Telescope, died on Dec. 25 at the age of 93, according to the Associated Press. Roman was nicknamed “the mother of Hubble” for her work on the pioneering telescope,…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/30/nancy-roman-mother-of-hubble-dies-at-93/

Can probiotics fend off mood disorders?

Can probiotics fend off mood disorders? It’s too early to say with scientific certainty, but a new study by CU Boulder researchers suggests that one particular beneficial bacteria can have long-lasting anti-inflammatory effects on the brain, making it…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/30/is-an-immunization-for-stress-on-the-horizon/

The Mars Express orbiter has taken some stunning photos of Korolev Crater, an ice-filled crater near the Martian...

The Mars Express orbiter has taken some stunning photos of Korolev Crater, an ice-filled crater near the Martian north pole. It looks from a distance like a snowy winter landscape on Earth. Mars is famous for its polar ice caps – composed of both water…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/30/perspective-view-of-korolev-crater/

When we celebrate the start of 2019, on January 1 the New Horizons spacecraft will flyby Ultima Thule.

When we celebrate the start of 2019, on January 1 the New Horizons spacecraft will flyby Ultima Thule. A world of the Kuiper belt 6.5 billion kilometers from the Sun, the nickname Ultima Thule (catalog designation 2014 MU69) fittingly means “beyond the…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/29/new-horizons-at-ultima-thule/

Attendants from the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College Of Surgeons packing up some of the 3,000 human skulls...

Attendants from the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College Of Surgeons packing up some of the 3,000 human skulls stored in a shed in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, before their transfer to the Natural History Museum, July 1, 1948. The skulls include those…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/29/packing-up-human-skulls-1948/

Humans can perform a vast array of mental operations and adjust their behavioral responses based on external...

Humans can perform a vast array of mental operations and adjust their behavioral responses based on external instructions and internal beliefs. For example, to tap your feet to a musical beat, your brain has to process the incoming sound and also use your…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/29/how-the-brain-performs-flexible-computations/

Researchers at the Universities of Zurich and Cambridge have discovered a new, exotic class of planets outside our...

Researchers at the Universities of Zurich and Cambridge have discovered a new, exotic class of planets outside our solar system. These super-Earths were formed at high temperatures close to their host star and contain high quantities of calcium, aluminum…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/28/sapphires-and-rubies-in-the-sky/

Autophagy—the process by which a cell digests and recycles various molecules and organelles in its cytoplasm—is...

Autophagy—the process by which a cell digests and recycles various molecules and organelles in its cytoplasm—is critical for maintaining homeostasis and for helping cells survive low-nutrient conditions. In a series of steps, a vesicle precursor, known as…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/28/how-the-cell-eats-itself/

Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 is truly a majestic island universe some 200,000 light-years across.

Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 is truly a majestic island universe some 200,000 light-years across. Located a mere 60 million light-years away toward the chemical constellation Fornax, NGC 1365 is a dominant member of the well-studied Fornax galaxy…
http://myfusimotors.com/?p=735

A protein in the brain that binds to alcohol could be the key to curing alcoholism, reports UH College of Pharmacy...

A protein in the brain that binds to alcohol could be the key to curing alcoholism, reports UH College of Pharmacy medicinal chemist Joydip Das in eNeuro, a journal of the Society for Neuroscience. The protein, called MUNC 13-1, plays a pivotal role in…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/28/its-all-in-your-head-brain-protein-targeted-for-alcoholism-cure/

There is no such thing as conscious thought, writes philosopher Peter Carruthers in blogs.

There is no such thing as conscious thought, writes philosopher Peter Carruthers in blogs. He insists that conscious thought, judgment and volition are illusions and that they arise from processes of which we are forever unaware. What makes you think…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/27/there-is-no-such-thing-as-conscious-thought/

Sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass with age, can start as early as one’s 30s, and affects a large proportion of the...

Sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass with age, can start as early as one’s 30s, and affects a large proportion of the elderly. Fortunately, exercise can combat muscle aging, likely by reversing many of the age-related physiological changes at the root of…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/27/how-muscle-age/

A jewel of the southern sky, the Great Carina Nebula, also known as NGC 3372, spans over 300 light-years, one of our...

A jewel of the southern sky, the Great Carina Nebula, also known as NGC 3372, spans over 300 light-years, one of our galaxy’s largest star forming regions. Like the smaller, more northerly Great Orion Nebula, the Carina Nebula is easily visible to the…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/27/the-great-carina-nebula/

New evidence suggests a mechanism by which progressive accumulation of Tau protein in brain cells may lead to...

New evidence suggests a mechanism by which progressive accumulation of Tau protein in brain cells may lead to Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists studied more than 600 human brains and fruit fly models of Alzheimer’s disease and found the first evidence of a…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/27/research-links-tau-aggregates-cell-death-in-alzheimers/

Why is the Lobster Nebula forming some of the most massive stars known? No one is yet sure.

Why is the Lobster Nebula forming some of the most massive stars known? No one is yet sure. Cataloged as NGC 6357, the Lobster Nebula houses the open star cluster Pismis 24 near its center — a home to unusually bright and massive stars. The overall blue…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/26/ngc-6357-the-lobster-nebula/

I am a bit late…again 😉 Born December 25, 1642 (on the Julian Calendar in use at the time in England) who, by the...

I am a bit late…again 😉 Born December 25, 1642 (on the Julian Calendar in use at the time in England) who, by the age of 30, would transform civilization, showing that the universe was mathematically knowable and predictable. Newton made discoveries in…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/26/happy-birthday-isaac-newton/

The sun sported four smallish prominences along its edge at about the same time (Dec.

The sun sported four smallish prominences along its edge at about the same time (Dec. 12-14, 2018). They were at the positions of 2 o’clock, 5 o’clock, 7 o’clock, and 10 o’clock. The largest and most active of the prominences was at the 7 o’clock point.…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/26/small-prominences/

When we speak, we engage nearly 100 muscles, continuously moving our lips, jaw, tongue, and throat to shape our...

When we speak, we engage nearly 100 muscles, continuously moving our lips, jaw, tongue, and throat to shape our breath into the fluent sequences of sounds that form our words and sentences. A new study by UC San Francisco scientists reveals how these…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/26/study-reveals-brain-activity-patterns-underlying-fluent-speech/

Yale scientists have identified a possible neurobiological home for the spiritual experience — the sense of...

Yale scientists have identified a possible neurobiological home for the spiritual experience — the sense of connection to something greater than oneself.     Activity in the parietal cortex, an area of the brain involved in awareness of self and others as…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/26/where-the-brain-processes-spiritual-experiences/

Fix your course on a star and you’ll navigate any storm. ;) Gif by Bees & Bombs https://twitter.com/beesandbombs

Fix your course on a star and you’ll navigate any storm. ;) Gif by Bees & Bombs https://twitter.com/beesandbombs
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/22/starfish/

A good night of sleep entails about eight hours of blissful immobility—a state of near paralysis that, though...

A good night of sleep entails about eight hours of blissful immobility—a state of near paralysis that, though welcome at night, would be inconvenient during the day. In a paper published in Cell Reports, Rockefeller scientists shed new light on the…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/22/drowsy-worms-offer-new-insights-into-the-neuroscience-of-sleep/

A new parenting study led by BYU professor Ali Crandall finds that the greater emotional control and problem-solving...

A new parenting study led by BYU professor Ali Crandall finds that the greater emotional control and problem-solving abilities a mother has, the less likely her children will develop behavioral problems, such as throwing tantrums or fighting. The study…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/21/keep-calm-and-carry-on-mothers-with-high-emotional-cognitive-control-help-kids-behave/

Memory, learning and cognitive flexibility depend on a protein ‘off-switch’ in the brain, according to a...

Memory, learning and cognitive flexibility depend on a protein ‘off-switch’ in the brain, according to a breakthrough discovery made by an international research collaboration co-led by the University of Warwick.  This new knowledge could enable us to…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/21/memory-processes-depend-on-protein-off-switch-could-lead-to-new-alzheimers-treatments/

The holidays are meant to be savored and food and drink are part of the celebration.

The holidays are meant to be savored and food and drink are part of the celebration. As we gather together to eat and drink, here are some suggestions to help you manage your health and weight from P.K. Newby, “The Nutrition Doctor” and author of Food and…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/21/7-tips-to-avoid-holiday-weight-gain/

Hiding in plain sight, new research shines a spotlight on the placenta’s critical role in the nature versus nurture...

Hiding in plain sight, new research shines a spotlight on the placenta’s critical role in the nature versus nurture debate and how it confers risk for schizophrenia and likely other neurodevelopmental disorders including ADHD, autism, and Tourette…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/20/genes-environment-and-schizophrenia-new-study-finds-the-placenta-is-the-missing-link/

Researchers at King’s College London have discovered a fundamental process by which brains are built, which may have...

Researchers at King’s College London have discovered a fundamental process by which brains are built, which may have profound implications for understanding neurodevelopmental conditions like autism and epilepsy. The study, published in Nature and funded…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/20/how-to-build-a-brain-discovery-solves-evolutionary-mystery/

Meteors can be colorful.

Meteors can be colorful. While the human eye usually cannot discern many colors, cameras often can. Pictured is a Geminid captured by camera during last week’s meteor shower that was not only impressively bright, but colorful. The radiant grit cast off by…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/20/a-rainbow-geminid-meteor/

My Thoughts, I am keenly aware of the tremendous personal honor involved in my having been chosen to be a member of...

My Thoughts, I am keenly aware of the tremendous personal honor involved in my having been chosen to be a member of the Army Special Attack Corps, which is considered to be the most elite attack force in the service of our glorious fatherland. 　　My…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/19/the-last-letter-of-a-kamikaze-pilot/

What if you could hold a physical model of your own brain in your hands, accurate down to its every unique fold?

What if you could hold a physical model of your own brain in your hands, accurate down to its every unique fold? That’s just a normal part of life for Steven Keating, Ph.D., who had a baseball-sized tumor removed from his brain at age 26 while he was a…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/19/creating-piece-of-mind/

Neuroscientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have identified a neural circuit in the amygdala, the...

Neuroscientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have identified a neural circuit in the amygdala, the brain’s seat of emotion processing, that gives rise to anxiety. Their insight has revealed the critical role of a molecule called dynorphin,…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/18/scientists-show-how-brain-circuit-generates-anxiety/

New NASA research confirms that Saturn is losing its iconic rings at the maximum rate estimated from Voyager 1 & 2...

New NASA research confirms that Saturn is losing its iconic rings at the maximum rate estimated from Voyager 1 & 2 observations made decades ago. The rings are being pulled into Saturn by gravity as a dusty rain of ice particles under the influence of…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/18/saturns-rings-may-disappear-in-100-million-years/

In space, the human body loses muscle mass.

In space, the human body loses muscle mass. Although living in microgravity requires no heavy lifting, this loss of muscle reduces physical performance. Decreased muscle mass could also prove particularly problematic on future missions to destinations…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/18/worming-into-research-on-aging-and-muscle-loss-in-space/

On October 29, 2018, NASA’s Juno probe successfully performed her Perijove-16 Jupiter flyby.This time, Juno’s spin...

On October 29, 2018, NASA’s Juno probe successfully performed her Perijove-16 Jupiter flyby.This time, Juno’s spin axis was pointed away from Earth, in order to obtain a better view to Jupiter for Juno’s instruments. At the same time, solar conjunction…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/17/junos-perijove/

What is the nearest major galaxy to our own Milky Way Galaxy?

What is the nearest major galaxy to our own Milky Way Galaxy? Andromeda. In fact, our Galaxy is thought to look much like Andromeda. Together these two galaxies dominate the Local Group of galaxies. The diffuse light from Andromeda is caused by the…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/17/m31-the-andromeda-galaxy/

A study of 35 families led by a UC San Francisco psychiatric researcher showed for the first time that the structure...

A study of 35 families led by a UC San Francisco psychiatric researcher showed for the first time that the structure of the brain circuitry known as the corticolimbic system is more likely to be passed down from mothers to daughters than from mothers to…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/16/brain-structure-governing-emotion-is-passed-down-from-mother-to-daughter/

Running barefoot is better than running with shoes for your working memory, according to a new study published by...

Running barefoot is better than running with shoes for your working memory, according to a new study published by researchers at the University of North Florida. The experiment, designed by lead researcher Dr. Ross Alloway, undertaken with Dr. Tracy…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/16/researchers-show-running-barefoot-improves-working-memory/

If a mother picks up an infection during pregnancy, her immune system will kick into action to clear the infection –...

If a mother picks up an infection during pregnancy, her immune system will kick into action to clear the infection – but this self-defense mechanism may also have a small influence how her child’s brain develops in the womb, in ways that are similar to…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/16/infections-during-pregnancy-may-interfere-with-key-genes-associated-with-autism-and-prenatal-brain-development/

For the second time in history, a human-made object has reached the space between the stars.

For the second time in history, a human-made object has reached the space between the stars. NASA’s Voyager 2 probe now has exited the heliosphere – the protective bubble of particles and magnetic fields created by the Sun. Voyager 2 now is slightly more…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/15/nasas-voyager-2-probe-enters-interstellar-space/

OSIRIS-REx mission recently arrived at its destination, asteroid Bennu.

OSIRIS-REx mission recently arrived at its destination, asteroid Bennu. On approach, data from the spacecraft’s spectrometers revealed chemical signatures of water trapped in clay minerals.  While Bennu itself is too small to have ever hosted liquid…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/15/asteroid-bennu/

Normal function of the brain’s control centers is dependent upon adequate supply of oxygen and nutrients through a...

Normal function of the brain’s control centers is dependent upon adequate supply of oxygen and nutrients through a dense network of blood vessels. Blood is supplied to the brain, face, and scalp via two major sets of vessels: the right and left common…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/15/blood-vessels-of-the-brain/

Good Morning by the Daily Mirror, England, August 9, 1943

Good Morning by the Daily Mirror, England, August 9, 1943
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/14/catastrophe/

An estimated 50 to 70 million Americans have some type of sleep disorder, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

An estimated 50 to 70 million Americans have some type of sleep disorder, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Some turn to melatonin supplements to help them fall asleep. Melatonin is a hormone known to promote sleep, but its underlying mechanisms…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/14/new-findings-explain-how-melatonin-promotes-sleep/

Parts of the brain not traditionally associated with learning science become active when people are confronted with...

Parts of the brain not traditionally associated with learning science become active when people are confronted with solving physics problems, a new study shows. The researchers, led by Eric Brewe, PhD, an associate professor in Drexel University’s College…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/14/new-parts-of-the-brain-become-active-after-students-learn-physics/

Gold mining has a long history in Egypt, as ancient artifacts attest.

Gold mining has a long history in Egypt, as ancient artifacts attest. This gold and lapis lazuli bracelet was probably worn by Ramesses II (reign. c.1279-1213 BC) or one of his favorites.  The solid gold bangle is composed of two parts, linked on one side…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/13/bracelet-of-ramesses-ii/

The human brain is an exquisitely complex, organic CPU, made of trillions of connections between many billions of...

The human brain is an exquisitely complex, organic CPU, made of trillions of connections between many billions of neurons. Understanding such a complicated organ is a massive scientific undertaking, and researchers often use simplified models to uncover…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/13/building-a-brain-cell-by-cell-researchers-make-a-mini-neuron-network-of-two/

The use of travelling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them...

The use of travelling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/13/travel-memo/

This is NASA InSight’s first full selfie on Mars.

This is NASA InSight’s first full selfie on Mars. It displays the lander’s solar panels and deck. On top of the deck are its science instruments, weather sensor booms and UHF antenna. The selfie was taken on Dec. 6, 2018 (sol 10). The selfie is made up of…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/13/insights-first-selfie/

The brain has an incredible capacity to support a lifetime of learning and memory.

The brain has an incredible capacity to support a lifetime of learning and memory. Each new experience fundamentally alters the connections between cells in the brain called synapses. To accommodate synaptic alterations, certain areas of the brain are…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/13/memory-molecule-limits-plasticity-by-calibrating-calcium/

Psychologists at the University of Sussex have found a link between depression and an acceleration of the rate at...

Psychologists at the University of Sussex have found a link between depression and an acceleration of the rate at which the brain ages. Although scientists have previously reported that people with depression or anxiety have an increased risk of dementia…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/13/depression-speeds-up-brain-ageing-find-psychologists/

The only active region observed this week appeared on Dec.

The only active region observed this week appeared on Dec. 5, 2018 and grew into an average size display of dynamic activity (Dec. 6-7, 2018). As viewed in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light, the region presented numerous magnetic loops of charged…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/11/solar-active-regions-cameo-appearance/

When we speak, we unconsciously pronounce some words more slowly than others, and sometimes we make brief pauses or...

When we speak, we unconsciously pronounce some words more slowly than others, and sometimes we make brief pauses or throw in meaningless sounds like “uhm”. Such slow-down effects provide key evidence on how our brains process language. They point to…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/11/nouns-slow-down-our-speech/

Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and University of North Carolina, USA, have identified the cell types...

Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and University of North Carolina, USA, have identified the cell types underlying schizophrenia in a new study published in Nature Genetics. The findings offer a roadmap for the development of new therapies to…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/11/cell-types-underlying-schizophrenia-identified/

Sometimes it’s all about perspective.

Sometimes it’s all about perspective. This very convincing image of a conjoined moon masquerading as a snowman is actually two separate Saturnian moons – Dione and Rhea – taken from such an angle by the international Cassini spacecraft that they appear as…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/10/saturns-snowman/

A study published in Nature sheds new light on the connection between the gut and the brain, untangling the complex...

A study published in Nature sheds new light on the connection between the gut and the brain, untangling the complex interplay that allows the byproducts of microorganisms living in the gut to influence the progression of neurodegenerative diseases.…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/10/how-the-gut-influences-neurological-disease/

The Computer Science and Engineering Research Team at the Toyohashi University of Technology has measured the pupil...

The Computer Science and Engineering Research Team at the Toyohashi University of Technology has measured the pupil (referred to as the “black part” of the eye) when a person is inspired by an object. It is known that the pupil dilates and narrows to…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/10/does-pupil-dilation-occur-before-insight/

The mitrailleuse was one of the early types of mechanical machine gun, along with the Gatling, Gardner, Nordenfelt,...

The mitrailleuse was one of the early types of mechanical machine gun, along with the Gatling, Gardner, Nordenfelt, and others. “Mitrailleuse” is actually a general name for a volley gun – one with many barrels in a cluster, which are fired sequentially.…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/09/reffy-mitrailleuse-1867/

Sand dunes often accumulate in the floors of craters.

Sand dunes often accumulate in the floors of craters. In this region of Lyot Crater, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) shows a field of classic barchan dunes on Jan. 24, 2018. Just to the south of the group of barchan dunes is one large dune with a…
http://myfusimotors.com/2018/12/09/once-in-a-blune-dune/

Smarter brains run on sparsely connected neurons

Smarter brains run on sparsely connected neurons
The more intelligent a person, the fewer connections there are between the neurons in his cerebral cortex. This is the result of a study conducted by neuroscientists working with Dr Erhan Genç and Christoph Fraenz at Ruhr-Universität Bochum; the study was performed using a specific neuroimaging technique that provides insights into the wiring of the brain on a microstructural level.

Together with colleagues from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, Humboldt University of Berlin and the Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute in Albuquerque, the team from the biopsychology research unit in Bochum published their report in the journal Nature Communications on May 15, 2018.

Intelligence is determined by the number of dendrites
The researchers analysed the brains of 259 men and women using neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging. This method enabled them to measure the amount of dendrites in the cerebral cortex, i.e. extensions of nerve cells that are used by the cells to communicate with each other. In addition, all participants completed an IQ test. Subsequently, the researchers associated the gathered data with each other and found out: the more intelligent a person, the fewer dendrites there are in their cerebral cortex.

Using an independent, publicly accessible database, which had been compiled for the Human Connectome Project, the team confirmed these results in a second sample of around 500 individuals.

Previously conflicting results are thus explained
The new findings provide an explanation of conflicting results gathered in intelligence research to date. For one, it had been previously ascertained that intelligent people tend to have larger brains. “The assumption has been that larger brains contain more neurons and, consequently, possess more computational power,” says Erhan Genç. However, other studies had shown that – despite their comparatively high number of neurons – the brains of intelligent people demonstrated less neuronal activity during an IQ test than the brains of less intelligent individuals.

“Intelligent brains possess lean, yet efficient neuronal connections,” concludes Erhan Genç. “Thus, they boast high mental performance at low neuronal activity.”

Journal article:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-04268-8

Source:
https://news.rub.de/english/press-releases/2018-05-17-neuroscience-smarter-brains-run-sparsely-connected-neurons

#cerebralcortex #dendrites #intelligence #neuralactivity #nervecells #neuroscience

Study reveals how the brain decides to make an effort

Study reveals how the brain decides to make an effort
From deciding to quit hitting the snooze button and get out of bed in the morning to opting to switch off the TV and prepare for sleep at night, the mind weighs the costs versus benefits of each choice we make. A study reveals the mechanics of how the brain makes such effortful decisions, calculating whether it is worth expending effort in exchange for potential rewards.

The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published the findings by psychologists at Emory University.

“We showed that the brain’s ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which was not previously thought to play a key role in effort-based choices, actually appears to be strongly involved in the formation of expectations underlying those choices,” says Emory psychologist Michael Treadway, senior author of the paper.

Treadway’s lab focuses on understanding the molecular and circuit-level mechanisms of psychiatric symptoms related to mood, anxiety and decision-making.

“Understanding how the brain works normally when deciding to expend effort provides a way to pinpoint what’s going on in disorders where motivation is reduced, such as depression and schizophrenia,” he says.

Previous research had observed three brain regions in decision-making; the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), the anterior insula (aI) and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Studies had pointed to the vmPFC as central to the computation of subjective value during probability decision-making. But prior evidence also suggested that when it comes to decisions about effort expenditure, those subjective value estimates were not computed by the vmPFC but by the other two brain regions.

A limitation to previous studies on effort-based choices is that they simultaneously presented the costs and benefits of a choice to experimental subjects.

“In the real world, however, we usually have to make decisions based on incomplete information,” says Amanda Arulpragasam, first author of the PNAS paper and a psychology PhD candidate in Treadway’s lab.

Arulpragasam designed a study that allowed the researchers to model distinct neural computations for effort and reward.

Subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing an effort-based decision-making task where the effort costs and rewards of a choice were presented separately over time.

The subjects could choose to make no effort and receive $1, or make some level of physical effort in exchange for monetary rewards of varying magnitude, up to $5.73. The physical effort involved rapid button pressing at varying percentages of each participant’s maximum button pressing rate. Participants were required to press the button using their non-dominant pinkie finger, making the task challenging enough to be unpleasant, although not painful.

In the effort-first trials, participants were shown a vertical bar representing the percentage of their maximum button pressing rate that would be required to do the task. They were then shown the size of the reward for performing the task. The reward-first trials presented the information in the opposite order.

After receiving both sets of information, participants were prompted to choose the no-effort option or the effort option.

The experimental design allowed the researchers to tease apart the effects of recent choices on the formation of value expectations of future decisions.

The results revealed a clear role for the vmPFC in encoding an expected reward before all information had been revealed. The data also suggested that the dACC and aI are involved in encoding the difference between what participants were expecting and what they actually got, rather than effort-cost encoding.

“Some have argued that decisions about effort have a different neural circuitry than decisions about probability and risk,” Treadway says. “We’ve showed that all three brain regions come into play, just in a different way than was previously known.”

Journal article:
http://www.pnas.org/content/115/22/E5233

Source:
http://esciencecommons.blogspot.com/2018/05/study-reveals-how-brain-decides-to-make.html

#prefrontalcortex #cingulatecortex #decisionmaking #neuroimaging #neuroscience

“I have led an extraordinary life on this planet, while at the same time travelling across the universe by using my...

“I have led an extraordinary life on this planet, while at the same time travelling across the universe by using my mind and the laws of physics. I have been to the furthest reaches of our galaxy, travelled into a black hole and gone back to the beginning of time. On Earth, I have experienced highs and lows, turbulence and peace, success and suffering. I have been rich and poor, I have been able-bodied and disabled. I have been praised and criticized, but never ignored. I have been enormously privileged, through my work, in being able to contribute to our understanding of the universe. But it would be an empty universe indeed if it were not for the people I love, and who love me. Without them, the wonder of it all would be lost on me.”
~ Stephen Hawking, Brief Answers to the Big Questions

#wordsofwisdom #StephenHawking

Rolling ellipses of different dimensions to measure their perimeters

Rolling ellipses of different dimensions to measure their perimeters
The red line is the curve of perimeter versus how squashed the ellipse is. The curve is defined by an elliptic integral, and cannot be expressed with elementary functions.

Code:
https://pastebin.com/q4HpB39R

Credit: matthen
http://blog.matthen.com/

#math #geometry #ellipse #science

Satanic leaf-tailed gecko

Satanic leaf-tailed gecko
There are few geckos as bizarre and as fascinating as the satanic leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus phatantasicas), also referred to as “Phants” for short. These geckos' remarkable ability to mimic a leaf has captivated reptile hobbyists for decades. Originally described by George Albert Boulenger in 1888, Uroplatus phantasticas occurs in the tropical forests of the central to north east coast of Madagascar.

Determing the sex of phantasticas is rather simple. Typical of many gecko species, male phantasticas develop a clear hemipenal bulge at the base of their tail at around 5-6 months in age. Also phantasticas are sexually dimorphic in that males typically have a tail that resembles a leaf that has been predated on by insects more so than females who typically have a tail resembling a fresh leaf. However, this does not always hold true. Males typically attain a slightly smaller size than females, usually weighing in at between 4-6 grams. Females can attain 8-9 grams in weight.

Info:
http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Care-Sheets/Satanic-Leaf-Tailed-Gecko-Care-Sheet/

Photos via San Diego Zoo

#biodiversity #coolcritters #satangecko

Perfume holder

Perfume holder
(27.0 x 19.0 x 15.5 cm: gold, silver and rubies), India 1870-1875

This perfume holder was presented to the Prince of Wales by Jashwant Singh ii, Maharaja of Jodhpur (1838–95). The Prince first met the Maharaja at the Madras Racecourse on 15 December, and later at Calcutta, where the Maharaja was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India on New Year’s Day 1876 .

The bud-shaped holder opens up when the finial is pressed to reveal five perfume holders held by silver filigree brackets. The openwork floral designs on the outside ‘leaves’ of the bud, the gold bottles and the silver filigree suggest that it was produced in different parts of India and later brought together. The gold scrolling foliage on the outer ‘leaves’, the ruby-inlaid perfume bottles and the fluted base are similar in style to metalwork from Madras, and the interior silver filigree work is similar to that produced in Orissa.

Source:
https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/publications/splendours-of-the-subcontinent

#history #science #indianculture

Scientists uncover brain circuits behind putting up a fight or freezing in place

Scientists uncover brain circuits behind putting up a fight or freezing in place
In a study of mice, National Institutes of Health-funded researchers describe a new circuit involved in fine-tuning the brain’s decision either to hide or confront threats. The study, published in Nature, was partially funded by the NIH’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative.

“Being able to manipulate specific circuits can uncover surprising relationships between brain areas and provide great insight into how the sensory, emotional, and behavioral centers work together to drive reactions,” said Jim Gnadt, Ph.D., program director at the NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and a team lead for the BRAIN Initiative. “The tools and technologies developed through the BRAIN Initiative have made studies such as this one possible.”

A team of researchers led by Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., professor of neurobiology and of ophthalmology at Stanford University in California, investigated the role of the ventral midline thalamus (vMT) in determining how animals respond to visual threats. The thalamus is a brain region that acts as a relay station, taking in sensory information, such as what is seen and heard, and sorting out where in the brain to send that information.

Dr. Huberman and his colleagues showed that the vMT was activated when mice were confronted with a threat, specifically a black circle that grew larger on top of their cage, mimicking the experience of something looming over them. When faced with the looming threat, the mice spent most of the time freezing or hiding and very little time rattling their tails, which is typically an aggressive response.

To further investigate the role of vMT, Dr. Huberman’s team used state-of-the-art tools, including designer drugs that allowed specific circuits to be turned on and off. Although inactivating the vMT had no effect on freezing and hiding, it eliminated the tail rattling response. Turning on the vMT increased the number of tail shaking responses and caused the mice to move around more and spend less time hiding or freezing.

Dr. Huberman’s group also discovered that the vMT sends information primarily to two brain areas: the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). These circuits turned out to be critical in determining how the mice reacted to a visual threat. Turning on the circuit that projected to the BLA caused more freezing responses, while activating the mPFC circuit increased tail shaking responses.

“Dr. Huberman’s work is opening a new area of vision research with the looming threat model, helping us understand how circuitry in the brain works from sensation to behavior,” said Thomas Greenwell, Ph.D., program director at the NIH’s National Eye Institute, which co-funded the study.

Dr. Huberman and his team showed that activation of the vMT increased arousal, a state of heightened alertness. Mice preferred spending more time in a room where they received vMT activation, suggesting that turning on that brain circuit made them feel good. Although there may have been a difference in response to the visual threat, either tail shaking or freezing, the underlying positive feeling was the same for both types of reactions.

“This study may help explain why acts of courage, such as standing up for yourself or for a cause, or a physical challenge can feel empowering. Experiencing that good feeling can also make it more likely to respond to future threats in a similar way,” said Dr. Huberman. “Although our study was done in mice, learning more about the vMT may provide some insight into conditions such as generalized anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder and we are now pursuing study of the human vMT for that reason.”

Future research is needed to increase understanding of ways in which the vMT circuit affects behavior and how to develop treatments that can target specific parts of this system.

Journal article:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0078-2

Source:
https://www.ninds.nih.gov/News-Events/News-and-Press-Releases/Press-Releases/Scientists-uncover-brain-circuits-behind-putting

Image: A new circuit for responses to threats: Researchers turned the ventral midline thalamus on and off in mice to study the animals’ responses to visual threats. Activated brain cells are shown in green.
Credit: Dr. Andrew Huberman and Lindsey Salay, Stanford University

#brain circuitry #thalamus #vMT #prefrontalcortex #amygdala #perception #visualthreat #neuroscience

Launching Rockets from the Top of the World

Launching Rockets from the Top of the World
Over the next 14 months, NASA scientists will join a group of international researchers to explore a special region — Earth’s northern polar cusp, one of just two places on our planet where particles from the Sun have direct access to our atmosphere.

What is the polar cusp?
Earth is surrounded by a giant magnetic bubble known as a magnetosphere, created by the churning of liquid iron in our planet’s outer core. Our magnetosphere protects us from many of the most dangerous denizens of the space environment, including the hot, electrically charged stream of particles known as the solar wind. Fortunately, our magnetic bubble keeps most of these solar wind particles at bay — but not all.

The polar cusps are essentially two holes in our magnetosphere. Here, Earth’s magnetic field lines funnel the solar wind downwards, concentrating its energy before injecting it into Earth’s atmosphere, where it mixes and collides with particles of Earthly origin.

The cusp stays positioned at local noon — wherever the Sun is directly overhead. As Earth turns, particles are funneled into different regions of the atmosphere like a tube of icing squirted onto a rotating cake. Once a day, the cusp passes right above Andøya Space Center and Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard rocket ranges in Northern Norway — where the Grand Challenge participants begin their investigations.

From these rocket ranges, the scientists of the Grand Challenge will fly sounding rockets — sub-orbital rockets that shoot up into space for a few minutes before falling back to Earth. Sounding rockets can access Earth’s atmosphere between 30 and 800 miles above the surface, the lower end of which is too high for scientific balloons and too low for satellites. Cheaper and faster to develop than large satellite missions, sounding rockets often carry the latest scientific instruments on their first-ever flights, allowing for unmatched speed in the turnaround from design to implementation.

Several mysteries of physics lurk within the cusp. Using cutting edge scientific tools, the participants in this Grand Challenge will chart new territory in exploring them.

Get informed:
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/science-on-the-cusp-sounding-rockets-head-north

#NASA #space #universe #science #research #cusps

Study Links Breast Cancer, Body's Internal Clock

Study Links Breast Cancer, Body's Internal Clock
For years, doctors have associated the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations with an increased risk of breast cancer.

But researchers at Texas A&M University have now identified another gene that may have an impact on breast cancer—associated with the body’s circadian rhythm.

Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) professor Weston Porter and his team have found that Period 2 (Per2), a regulatory mechanism within each cell’s peripheral clock, plays a crucial function in mammalian mammary gland development and that when suppressed, Per2 leads to severely disrupted gland development in mice.

The findings, published in the scientific journal Development, add to a growing list that ties disruptions to our circadian rhythm—that is, the “central clock” mechanism in our brains—to a higher risk of cancer progression, obesity, some neuromuscular diseases, and other impairments, including jetlag.

Circadian rhythm is controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the brain’s anterior hypothalamus. In addition to coordinating our sleep patterns, the SCN coordinates the other peripheral clocks in our body, which run on a 24-hour cycle that corresponds with each day.

“Not only do we have a central clock, but every one of our cells has one of these peripheral clocks and they’re in coordination with the central clock,” Porter said. “When you wake up in the morning and see light, the light goes right into the brain and it triggers this molecular mechanism that regulates the (circadian rhythm) process.”

In their study, Porter’s team evaluated Per2, which provides the “negative feedback,” or counterbalance, to the circadian rhythm process.

“The negative and positive feedback mechanisms are constantly in balance, going up and down. One’s up during the day, the other one’s up at night—they oscillate right at 24 hours—but when you see light, that resets it in the morning,” Porter said. “When Per2 comes back, it suppresses another gene called BMAL or CLOCK.”

Their finding—that Per2 has a crucial function outside of timekeeping in mammalian mammary gland development where Per2 plays a role in cell differentiation and identity—describes a potentially important role for Per2 in breast cancer. Per2 expression is lost in a large percentage of mammary tumors, which suggests it may have protective effects.

“We discovered that these glands have what we call a kind of a bipotent phenotype; they’re actually halfway to cancer,” Porter said. “They’ve already have many of the characteristics you would see in a premalignant cell.

“We started to look at the mechanism associated with that and found that the stem cell markers associated with a loss of Per2 are more basal, which is characteristic of more invasive cancer,” he said. “This reinforces the idea that Per2 is functioning as a tumor suppressor gene associated with cell identity.”

In addition to disruption of the developing mammary gland, Porter also saw the same defect in transplant studies, showing that it is Per2, and not just the central clock itself, that is responsible for the lack of mammary ductal growth in the developing gland.

Their next step is to revisit studies that correlate working a night shift with an increased risk of breast cancer.

“Right now, we are investigating how our findings relate to humans,” Porter said. “There are studies out there showing a relationship between decreased levels of Per2 and certain types of breast cancer, which are more invasive. So, we believe that there is a direct relationship.”

Understanding circadian rhythm and its effects on the body have become increasingly important to the science community. The 2017 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was awarded to researchers for discoveries of the molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm, and the National Cancer Institute recently named the role of circadian rhythms in cancer as one of their 12 provocative questions for the year.

Source:
http://vetmed.tamu.edu/news/press-releases/texas-am-study-links-breast-cancer-body's-internal-clock

#suprachiasmaticnucleus #circadianrhythms #cancer #genemutation #Per2 #neuroscience #research

A Vital Pause: Neurons in the Brain’s Striatum May Help Regulate Response to Unexpected Stimuli

A Vital Pause: Neurons in the Brain’s Striatum May Help Regulate Response to Unexpected Stimuli
Changing our behavior based on unexpected cues from our environment is an essential part of survival. The ability to drop what you’re doing when circumstances demand it could mean the difference between avoiding a speeding vehicle or getting hit by it. A new study at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) has delved into a brain mechanism that may regulate such adaptation.

In the study, which was published in eLife, researchers led by Dr. Stefano Zucca at the OIST Neurobiology Research Unit investigated nerve cells in the striatum, a brain region involved in movement and motivation. Here, nerve cells called cholinergic interneurons (CINs) are in a near-constant state of activity, releasing a chemical called acetylcholine every time they fire. But if the brain gets an unexpected stimulus from outside the body – for example, a startling sound – the CINs will briefly stop firing.

“The purpose of these pauses is a mystery,” said senior author Prof. Jeff Wickens. “We wanted to know, what do these pauses do?”

To find out, his team manipulated CIN activity with a method known as optogenetics. They used a virus to replace sections of these neurons’ DNA with genes encoding for light-sensitive ion channels. Optical filaments were then implanted into the striatum of mice. By shining a laser beam into the cell along the filaments, the researchers could switch the CINs into active or inactive mode as the mice moved around their cage, allowing them to generate pauses in CIN firing at will.

The next step was the most challenging: Using electrodes inserted into single nerve cells to record the electrical impulses generated during the pauses. Previous studies recorded from outside of neurons, which can only generate limited information about the impulses they generate. To get a clear recording of electrical potential, the team needed direct measurements from inside the cell. That’s easier said than done: “You have to make a hole inside an individual cell and attach a probe without damaging it”, said Wickens. “It’s extremely fine work that Dr. Zucca perfected.”

When they generated the pauses in CIN activity, the researchers observed a knock-on effect on the neurons that CINs connect to—neurons called spiny projection neurons (SPNs), which in turn send signals from the striatum to the rest of the brain. During the pauses, because SPN neurons received lower stimulation from CINs, they were less likely to fire themselves, the study showed. These pauses, then, give interrupting events significance by effectively muting the striatum’s output signals.

The stops and starts in CIN activity may be a mechanism for controlling how animals respond to stimuli from their environment, says Wickens. For example, he said, “this mechanism might regulate how an animal stops eating when it hears an unfamiliar sound”.

“The CINs only make up 1% of cells in the striatum, but they have a huge influence,” said Prof. Wickens. “They’re important in making changes in behavior, and play a part in movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease when they malfunction.”

The researchers now plan to explore the phenomenon in more detail. “Next we’d like to see if this pause is happening everywhere in the striatum at the same time, or if it’s limited to specific locations”, says Prof. Wickens. That will help reveal how it affects behaviors from moment to moment, he adds.

Journal article:
https://elifesciences.org/articles/32510

Source:
https://www.oist.jp/news-center/news/2018/5/10/vital-pause-neurons-brain%E2%80%99s-striatum-may-help-regulate-response

Image: Florescent imaging of a section of the striatum showing Cholinergic Interneurons (CINs) in green, and Spiny Projection Neurons (SPNs) in red

#optogenetics #cholinergicinterneurons #striatum #spinyprojectionneurons #neuroscience

Optical Illusions by graphic designer Yurii Perepadia using complex colors and shapes to create motion within still...

Optical Illusions by graphic designer Yurii Perepadia using complex colors and shapes to create motion within still images.

Optical illusions can use color, light and patterns to create images that can be deceptive or misleading to our brains. The information gathered by the eye is processed by the brain, creating a perception that in reality, does not match the true image. Perception refers to the interpretation of what we take in through our eyes. Optical illusions occur because our brain is trying to interpret what we see and make sense of the world around us. Optical illusions simply trick our brains into seeing things which may or may not be real.

Image credit: yuryfrom
https://www.instagram.com/yuryfrom/

#animations #opticalillusions #science #brain