Neuroscience – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Oct 9
2023

Researchers develop 3D printing method that shows promise for repairing brain injuries

A breakthrough technique developed by University of Oxford researchers could one day provide tailored repairs for those who suffer brain injuries. The researchers have demonstrated for the first time that neural cells can be 3D-printed to mimic the architecture of the cerebral cortex. The results have been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Brain injuries, including those caused by trauma, stroke, and surgery for brain tumors, typically result in significant damage to the cerebral cortex (the outer layer of the human brain), leading to difficulties in cognition, movement and communication. For example, each year, around 70 million people globally suffer from traumatic brain injury (TBI), with 5 million of these cases being severe or fatal. Currently, there are no effective treatments for severe brain injuries, leading to serious impacts on quality of life.

Tissue regenerative therapies, especially those in which patients are given implants derived from their own stem cells, could be a promising route to treat brain injuries in the future. Up to now, however, there has been no method to ensure that implanted stem cells mimic the architecture of the brain.

Oct 8
2023

Fireflies, brain cells, dancers: Synchronicity & Networks🧠⏱

W/ Dr. Joseph T. Lizier of U Sydney. Amalytic relationship of relative synchronizability to network structure & motifs.

Oct 8
2023

Gboard CAPS: the cool new way to type without your fingers

“As I was racking my brains for a way to make keyboards more portable and fashionable, I had an aha moment. Carrying around a keyboard was a closed-minded idea.”

In yet another episode of “Cool stuff the Japanese come up with”, Google Japan has once again taken a playful detour from the mundane with its latest creation: the Gboard CAPS.

While this head-mounted keyboard integrated into a baseball hat may sound like the stuff of sci-fi or the whimsical fantasies of keyboard enthusiasts, the Gboard CAPS project is real, and designed with a delightful touch of humor.

Oct 8
2023

How smell affects the colors we see

It turns out there is a correlation between odors and colors that is quite commonplace.

An example of synesthesia, a perceptual phenomena when activation of one sensory or cognitive pathway results in involuntary experiences in another, is the idea of “smell color” or connecting odors with colors. In this situation, those who experience “smell-color synesthesia,” a particular form of synesthesia, may think that odors have corresponding colors.

Design Cells/iStock.

More commonplace.

Oct 8
2023

Tomaso Poggio: Brains, Minds, and Machines

Homeowners get the best heloc rates by using lendgo. Takes 2 minutes.

Oct 8
2023

Brain scans hint that lonely individuals process the world differently

A study finds that the brains of people who score higher in loneliness react in unique ways when viewing video content.

Oct 8
2023

Flexible brain implant tested in people for the first time

Startup Precision Neuroscience has tested its flexible, ultra-thin brain implants in people for the first time.

Oct 8
2023

Scientists discovered a third kind of brain cell. The implications are “immense.”

A newly discovered brain cell that appears to be a hybrid of the two other primary types could shake up the world of neuroscience.

Oct 8
2023

Rare mutation may counteract “Alzheimer’s gene”

The challenge: There are very few ways to slow down Alzheimer’s disease or treat its symptoms, and there’s no cure — in 2021, nearly 120,000 Americans died from Alzheimer’s complications, making it one of the top 10 leading causes of death.

One genetic variant in particular — called APOE-e4 — is strongly tied to the brain disease. Having one copy makes a person 2–3 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s, while having two copies (one from each parent) increases the risk by 8–12 times.

Oct 8
2023

Brain scans reveal the mystery of “hidden consciousness”

Columbia University researchers have identified patterns of brain injury linked to “hidden consciousness” — and the discovery could lead to better outcomes for people in comas or vegetative states.

Hidden consciousness: Severe brain injuries can cause “disorders of consciousness” (DoC), such as vegetative states, in which a person looks awake, but lacks any indication they are aware of their surroundings, and comas, where they appear neither awake nor aware.

An estimated 15–20% of people with a DoC are also experiencing a phenomenon called “cognitive motor dissociation” (CMD), or “hidden consciousness.” That means they are aware of what’s going on around them, but they can’t physically respond to it.