[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n a brand new episode of the Knowing Neurons podcast, we explore the concept of “mind uploading”. How would something like a mind upload really work?…
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Spanish Translation also available here: Neuro Cartilla: Neurodesarrollo
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How does your brain become a brain?
Neurodevelopment is the crucial process through which every brain is formed.…
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[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he dung beetle has more interesting characteristics than you might think! If you’d like to learn about more animals with amazing vision, check out this article.…
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[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ith approximately 86 billion neurons in the human brain, it is a complex piece of machinery in charge of movement, sensation, decision-making, and more. Behaviors cannot arise from the work…
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Narwhal tusks used to be sold as unicorn horns and were believed to contain magical powers. Now we know a little bit more about these unique tusks, and the truth…
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The tuatara lizard is called a “living fossil” because it is the last surviving member of the Rhynchocephalia order. Learn more about the tuatara in the infographic below!…
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A new paper published this month in the journal Cell describes an unexpected finding about memory. Researchers used to think that memory required specific activity from the same brain cells…
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Fly lips are called labellum and fly feet are called tarsi. Both the labellum and tarsi contain taste receptors which help the fly find food. Think about that the next…
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Magritte’s comments on our fascination with the unknown rings true not just in artistic surrealism, but also in many of our scientific research endeavors. The human mind is continually fascinated…
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What are you doing right now? I’m no psychic, but I can say for certain one thing that you’re doing: reading. You’re reading this sentence, word by word, and extracting…
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Brittle stars are covered in protective outer plates, but they also have another structure of internal plates. A particular species of brittle star seems to be able to use these…
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The phrase, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” seems especially true for scientists. What we study becomes not only intellectually beautiful, but also literally beautiful: the form is…
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Researchers have suspected for a few years that neurotransmitters like dopamine play a role in how the immune system functions. But they didn’t know how cells in the immune system…
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These beautiful little creatures are incredibly skilled at sniffing out mates. The pheromone the females release is called bombykol. Scientists are on the hunt for exactly how this pheromone activates…
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The platypus and the echidna are the only mammals that have the power of electroreception, which means they can sense electrical changes. Check out this new Weird Animal Brain to…
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Epigenetics change which genes are active and which are inactive. Research over the past few years has shown that these changes are important for protecting the brain from neurodegeneration and…
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The brain is one of the most complex and amazing structures in the universe. It allows us to experience the world, feel, remember, and plan for the future. But for…
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Sometimes it’s hard to understand why scientists do what they do. Why spend a career studying cells, fungus, or flies? Other than being nerdy and wanting to learn about our…
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The octopus almost reaches alien status when it comes to its brain and nervous system. And yet, the differences can help us understand more about the human brain as well…
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Consider three scenarios. A kid joins a new high school and eats lunch by herself. A recently separated man is alone for the New Year’s Eve countdown. A prisoner becomes…
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“A barber (who is a man) shaves all and only those men who do not shave themselves. Does he shave himself?”
If you can’t solve the above riddle, don’t worry…
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You probably have certain skills that I don’t. Each of us, having spent enough time practicing something new, can become an expert. A simple, ubiquitous example is driving a car…
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In the early ‘80’s ranchers in Great Britain began to notice strange behaviors in their cows. What began with increased aggression and an inability to walk turned into a strange…
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Unlike the sense of vision, which is perceived only by light-sensitive photoreceptors in our eyes, the mechanoreceptors that respond to light touch are located in sensory neurons all over the…
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Bzzzzzz! Splat! Ugh! Anyone who has ever been around a campfire during the summer months is familiar with this progression of noises. Mosquito bites and the resulting welts provide unwelcome…
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Our senses connect us to the world. Your visual system lets you know that there is a yellow car ahead of you, and your auditory system lets you know that…
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Have you ever tried to go to sleep hungry? Believe me, it doesn’t work. You just end up lying in bed, listening to your stomach growl, and dreaming about your…
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The human brain continues to develop and form new connections from birth until as late as the mid-20s. During this time, billions of connections are made and broken as the…
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Coincidence is a peculiar thing. We typically think of a coincidence as the occurrence of two events that happen to occur at the same time, but that have no underlying…
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The human brain contains roughly eighty-six billion (~10^10) neurons, each of which forms approximately ten thousand (10^4) synaptic connections with other neurons. Therefore, on average, there are one hundred trillion…
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We are all guilty of cursing at those pesky fruit flies that annoy us as they zip around the room just out of reach of being swatted. Rarely, it seems,…
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“You are here.” It’s the phrase that you’ll find on almost any map, punctuated with the ubiquitous oversized arrow. It is the salient mark in a sea of confusing lines,…
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We often fail to appreciate the small and precise functions of our motor system. How effortless and smooth our movements are when getting up from a chair! How quick and…
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Before virtual brains could see and perform motor tasks as Kate described in the last post, large-scale brain models were being developed in order to identify the synaptic connections between…
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How many neural processes are going on within your body as you read this sentence? The answer to this question is hard to fathom, I know, but give it a…
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