A brain circuit in the thalamus helps us hold information in mind
As people age, their working memory often declines, making it more difficult to perform everyday tasks. One key brain region linked to this type of memory is the anterior thalamus, which is primarily involved in spatial memory — memory of our surroundings and how to navigate them. In a study of mice, MIT researchers have […]
Video games can help boost children’s intelligence
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have studied how the screen habits of US children correlates with how their cognitive abilities develop over time. They found that the children who spent an above-average time playing video games increased their intelligence more than the average, while TV watching or social media had neither a positive nor […]
The deadly impact of urban streets that look like highways
Serious auto crashes in urban areas are more likely on city streets that look to drivers like highways, new research suggests. The study used a novel approach: Ohio State University researchers applied machine learning techniques to analyze more than 240,000 images of road segments in Columbus, Ohio, taken from Google Street View. The goal was […]
Slow walking may be to blame for perceived congestion in pedestrian areas
When designing public spaces or other places where foot traffic is considered, planners and architects need to know how people perceive the spaces in question. It is commonly believed that a space will feel more congested if the crowd density is higher. However, new research suggests that walking speed of individuals actually plays a greater […]
Researchers develop 3D-printed shape memory
Laser powder bed fusion, a 3D-printed shape technique, offers potential in the manufacturing industry, particularly when fabricating nickel-titanium shape memory alloys with complex geometries. Although this manufacturing technique is attractive for applications in the biomedical and aerospace fields, it has rarely showcased the superelasticity required for specific applications using nickel-titanium shape memory alloys. Defects generated […]
North Korea: Covid outbreak a great disaster, says Kim Jong-un
North Korea’s rapidly spreading Covid-19 outbreak is a “great disaster” for the country, its leader Kim Jong-un has said, according to state media. Mr Kim called for an all-out battle to tackle the spread of the virus during an emergency meeting on Saturday. It comes after officials announced the first confirmed cases on Thursday – […]
Microbes help orchestrate how the gut uses its genes
The microbes that help break down food actually tell the gut how to do its job better, according to a new study in mice at Duke. The researchers said it appears that the microbes are able to influence which of the gut’s genes are being called into action, and in turn, that interaction might lead […]
Jellyfish’s stinging cells hold clues to biodiversity
The cnidocytes — or stinging cells — that are characteristic of sea anemones, hydrae, corals and jellyfish, and make us careful of our feet while wading in the ocean, are also an excellent model for understanding the emergence of new cell types, according to new Cornell research. In new research published in the Proceedings of the […]
How sleep helps to process emotions
Researchers at the Department of Neurology of the University of Bern and University Hospital Bern identified how the brain triages emotions during dream sleep to consolidate the storage of positive emotions while dampening the consolidation of negative ones. The work expands the importance of sleep in mental health and opens new ways of therapeutic strategies. […]
Delhi office fire: Dozens killed as fire sweeps through building
At least 27 people have been killed and others are missing after a fire swept through a four-storey office building in Delhi. More than 70 people were inside when the fire started and witnesses said some jumped out of windows to escape. Women made up the majority of the office’s workers. The BBC found distraught […]