[Epistemic Status: written off the top of my head, thought about it for over a decade]
What do we desire for a theory of consciousness?
We want it to explain why and how the structure of our experience is computationally relevant. Why would nature bother to wire, not only information per se, but our experiences in richly structured ways that seem to track task-relevant computation (though at times in elusive ways)?
The brain is the central information center and constantly monitors the state of every organ present in a body. Previous research has shown that the brain also receives signals from the gut microbiota.
In a new Immunity journal study, researchers discuss the work of Gabanyi et al. (2022), published in a recent issue of Science, which reveals that hypothalamic gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABAergic) neurons recognize microbial muropeptides through the cytosolic receptor NOD2, which regulates food intake and body temperature.
Summary: Researchers present an all-atom molecular dynamic simulation of synaptic vesicle fusion.
Source: Texas Advanced Computing Center.
Let’s think for a second about thought—specifically, the physics of neurons in the brain.
Scientists from the University of California, Irvine have discovered that an injury to one part of the brain changes the connections between nerve cells across the entire brain. The new research was published this week in Nature Communications.
Every year in the United States, nearly two million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Survivors can live with lifelong physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities. Currently, there are no treatments.
One of the biggest challenges for neuroscientists has been to fully understand how a TBI alters the cross-talk between different cells and brain regions.
Rune Labs, a precision neurology company, has announced its StrivePD software ecosystem for Parkinson’s disease has been granted 510(k) clearance by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to collect patient symptom data through measurements made by Apple Watch.
By combining powerful wearable technology and self-reported symptom information with brain imaging, electrophysiology, genetic and other clinical data, StrivePD enables a data-driven approach to care management and clinical trial design for Parkinson’s.
Longevity. Technology: With this clearance, the Rune Labs’ StrivePD app enables precision clinical care and trial participation for tens of thousands of Parkinson’s patients who already use these devices in their daily lives.
Summary: Using single-cell technology, researchers discover how the social division of labor in an ant colony reflects in the functional specialization of the ant brain at a cellular level.
Source: BGI Group.
International researchers led by China’s BGI-Research used single cell technology to study the brains of ants, explaining for the first time how the social division of labor within ant colonies reflects in the functional specialization of their brains at cellular levels.
Enjoy the talk given by Liz Parrish on June 14, 2022 during the Digital Enterprise Show 2022. The event took place from June 14th to the 16th in Málaga, Spain.
BioViva Science is using bioinformatics to improve gene therapies to enhance healthy human longevity and combat age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. TimeKeeper™ is an epigenetic clock and the BioViva BioVault™ is a bioinformatics database for researchers and consumers.
Understanding the mind and how thinking occurs has been a challenge for philosophers, scientists, theorists, educators, and artists throughout history. Until recently, ideas about how we learn have been mainly theoretical and intuitive. However, with ongoing advances in neuroscience, considerable progress is occurring. As a result, a paradigm shift is taking hold in human cognition, pointing to a new science-based understanding about the way we think and, ultimately, the way we learn.
This paradigm shift — a move away from traditional notions of the mind to an “embodied cognition” model of human thinking and learning — is the subject of a new book “Movement Matters: How Embodied Cognition Informs Teaching and Learning”. The book is summarised as follows:
“Experts translate the latest findings on embodied cognition from neuroscience, psychology, and cognitive science to inform teaching and learning pedagogy.”
This London Futurists webinar featured the co-editors of this book, Sheila Macrine, Professor of STEM Education & Teacher Development at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, and Jennifer Fugate, Associate Professor in the Department of Health Service Psychology, at Kansas City University.
Scientists have created the first reference charts for the human brain, mapping its growth from infancy to 100 years old. Now, they have to grapple with difficult ethical questions about how they should — and perhaps shouldn’t — be used.
The reference charts are visualizations created from aggregating analyses of over 120,000 brain scans to show ranges in brain size, or gray matter volume, for each age. They also track the human brain’s rapid expansion early in life and its gradual shrinking over time. The researchers primarily developed the charts to provide a standardized measurement that other neuroscientists could use for brain imaging research, with the hope that maybe one day it could lead to a tool used in clinics.
“It’s an absolutely spectacular advancement in neuroscience and neuroimaging,” said Judy Illes, professor of neurology and neuroethics at the University of British Columbia.
Circa 2020
Gene therapy shows promise for clinical benefit in demyelinating, neurodegenerative disease.
Krabbe disease is an aggressive, incurable pediatric neurodegenerative disease caused by mutations in the galactosylceramidase (GALC) gene. Deficiency of the GALC protein activity leads to cytotoxic accumulation of a cellular metabolite called psychosine, which compromises normal turnover of myelin in the central and peripheral nervous system (CNS, PNS). The ensuing damage leads to progressive disease, including paralysis, loss of sensory functions and death, in the developing infant. The incidence of Krabbe disease is estimated at 1 in 100,000 live births.
The standard of care for presymptomatic babies is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT); however, the morbidity and mortality of HSCT is high due to the strong ablative chemotherapy just after birth, and notably, this treatment is not curative. Furthermore, affected babies must be diagnosed and receive HSCT prior to symptom onset, typically a mere 4 weeks of age. No standard of care has been established for post-symptomatic treatment of the disease.
