Brain Candy

Dr. Frances Jensen is a professor and chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

Why Teens Are Impulsive, Addiction-Prone And Should Protect Their Brains

1:26pm January 30, 2015

New research shows that teenagers' brains aren't fully insulated, so the signals travel slowly when they need to make decisions. Neuroscientist Frances Jensen, who wrote The Teenage Brain, explains.

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Leaks in a barrier between blood vessels and brain cells could contribute to the development of Alzheimer's.

Leaky Blood Vessels In The Brain May Lead To Alzheimer's

9:00am January 27, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

As vessels become more porous, researchers say, they allow toxins in the bloodstream to reach, and damage, delicate brain cells and raise the risk for dementia.

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Martin Pistorius sometime between 1990 and 1994, when he was unable to communicate.

Trapped In His Body For 12 Years, A Man Breaks Free

10:43am January 16, 2015

by Lulu Miller

Martin Pistorius spent more than a decade unable to move or communicate, fearing he would be alone, trapped, forever. NPR's new show Invisibilia tells how his mind helped him create a new life.

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Bar-headed geese after a molt, hobnobbing in Mongolia.

Highflying Geese Save Energy By Swooping Like A Roller Coaster

7:59am January 16, 2015

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

They could shoot up to 24,000 feet and maintain that altitude in a long-distance migration across the Himalayas. But it's more efficient for bar-headed geese to soar and dive, scientists find.

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An artist's rendering of what Dearcmhara shawcrossi probably looked like in dinosaur times.

Science

Ancient Scottish Sea Reptile Not 'Nessie,' But Just As Cute

1:21pm January 13, 2015

by Joe Palca

It was 15 feet long, with a snout shaped like a dolphin's. This newly identified meat-eater swam the seas near the Isle of Skye in the time of dinosaurs.

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A promotional thumbnail for the Skunk Bear video "Lonesome George (A Musical Eulogy)."

A Musical Memorial For The Face Of Extinction

12:05pm January 13, 2015

by Adam Cole

Lonesome George was the last of his subspecies of giant tortoise from the Galapagos. For decades scientists tried to find him a mate, but he died alone. NPR's Adam Cole offers this elegiac tribute.

Your Online Avatar May Reveal More About You Than You'd Think

10:49am January 13, 2015

by Alison Bruzek

Even if your avatar for games and social media doesn't look at all like you, it still says a lot about your personality, a study finds. Want to look friendly? Skip the shades; wear a sweater.

Arts

Playlist: I Never Knew That!

11:29am January 09, 2015

by NPR/TED Radio Hour

TED Radio Hour stories that will stay with you long after you listen.

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By measuring activity in different parts of the brain, neuroscientsts can get a sense of how some people will respond to treatments.

Brain Scans May Help Predict Future Problems, And Solutions

5:55pm January 08, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

Brain imaging can help researchers tell if people are more likely to be able to quit smoking or have trouble with reading. But those tests aren't yet ready for the doctor's office or classroom.

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U.S. soldiers at Long Binh base in South Vietnam line up to give urine samples at a heroin detection center before departing for the United States. About 20 percent of soldiers said they were addicts, but most didn't continue drug use back home.

What Heroin Addiction Tells Us About Changing Bad Habits

4:15pm January 05, 2015

by Alix Spiegel

Sure, you resolve to exercise more, but somehow it never happens. It could be that your environment is sabotaging you, psychologists say. A famous study about heroin and the Vietnam War explains how.

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