Unusual clusters on neurons are calcium-signaling “hotspots” that activate gene transcription, allowing neurons to produce crucial proteins.
For 30 years, mysterious clusters of proteins found on the cell body of neurons in the hippocampus, a part of the brain, both intrigued and baffled James Trimmer.
The Neuro-Network.
𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙮 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚
𝙋𝙨𝙮𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩:
Circa 2017
Millions of Americans are using this powdered leaf, saying it alleviates PTSD, addiction and other ills. The federal government may want to ban it.
Circa 2019
Millions of Americans are using this powdered leaf, saying it alleviates PTSD, addiction and other ills. The federal government may want to ban it.
Phase 3 clinical trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are currently underway in the USA, Canada, and Israel.
These trials, led by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), are the last step in figuring out if this treatment is safe and effective enough for MDMA to be legally prescribed to treat PTSD.
If there’s a positive result from the trials, this could happen in the USA as soon as 2022.
Uncovering the mechanisms of learning via synaptic plasticity is a critical step towards understanding how our brains function and building truly intelligent, adaptive machines. Researchers from the University of Bern propose a new approach in which algorithms mimic biological evolution and learn efficiently through creative evolution.
Our brains are incredibly adaptive. Every day, we form new memories, acquire new knowledge, or refine existing skills. This stands in marked contrast to our current computers, which typically only perform pre-programmed actions. At the core of our adaptability lies synaptic plasticity. Synapses are the connection points between neurons, which can change in different ways depending on how they are used. This synaptic plasticity is an important research topic in neuroscience, as it is central to learning processes and memory. To better understand these brain processes and build adaptive machines, researchers in the fields of neuroscience and artificial intelligence (AI) are creating models for the mechanisms underlying these processes. Such models for learning and plasticity help to understand biological information processing and should also enable machines to learn faster.
This Perspective explores the potential of an approach to neuromorphic electronics in which the functional synaptic connectivity map of a mammalian neuronal network is copied using a silicon neuro-electronic interface and then pasted onto a high-density three-dimensional network of solid-state memories.
The degradation and regeneration of myelin sheaths characterize neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis. Cholesterol is an indispensable component of myelin sheaths. The cholesterol for the regenerated myelin sheaths must therefore either be recycled from damaged myelin or produced again locally.
In a recent study, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen, led by Gesine Saher, found that in the case of chronic damage, unlike in acute damage, hardly any cholesterol is recycled. Instead, the new production of cholesterol determines the efficiency of the repair. Unexpectedly, not only the myelin-forming cells themselves but also nerve cells make an important contribution to regeneration.
Cholesterol synthesis in nerve cells ensures the replenishment of newly myelin-forming cells. This could impact the therapeutic success for myelin disorders such as multiple sclerosis.
Becoming Immortal through Mind Uploading sounds like something that’ll only be possible around the 2100’s. But amazingly, a group of scientists at Nectome are working on giving us the ability to live forever inside of a computer simulation by the end of this decade for around 10000$.
Ray Kurzweil, director of engineering at Google, has long predicted that people will be able to upload their entire brains to computers and become digitally immortal by 2045. Kurzweil made this claim for many years, e.g. during his speech in 2013 at the Global Futures 2045 International Congress in New York, which claims to subscribe to a similar set of beliefs. Mind uploading has also been advocated by a number of researchers in neuroscience and artificial intelligence, such as the late Marvin Minsky.
–
Continue reading “Becoming Immortal for 10,000$? — Upload Your Mind THIS DECADE!” »
