brain

Why We All Scream When We Get Ice Cream Brain Freeze

7:00am July 31, 2017

by Ashlie Stevens

When temperatures soar, there's nothing like a frozen treat to take off the edge. But if we dive in too fast, our brains are thrown for a distressing and sometimes painful loop. Here's why.

For a rat, "metamemory" is about knowing whether you remember that predator in the distance, researchers say. For people, knowing what we don't know can be especially useful in navigating social interactions.

From Rats To Humans, A Brain Knows When It Can't Remember

4:40pm July 28, 2017

by Jon Hamilton

When we see a familiar face, we know instantly if we can remember that person's name. That's because the human brain has an ability called metamemory. Looks like rats may have that higher power, too.

Surgery that severed the connection between brain hemispheres reveals that those halves see the world in vastly different ways.

The Roots Of Consciousness: We're Of Two Minds

10:48pm June 15, 2017

by Kerin Higa

Surgery that severs the link between brain hemispheres reveals that those halves have way different views of the world. We ask a pioneering scientist what that tells us about human consciousness.

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NIH Director Francis Collins and Renée Fleming, who is Artistic Advisor at Large for the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., sing a duet.

The Soprano And The Scientist: A Conversation About Music And Medicine

5:31pm June 02, 2017

NIH Director Francis Collins and Renée Fleming, who is Artistic Advisor at Large for the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., discuss music and medicine. They also sing a duet.

Sometime between grade school and grad school, the brain's information highways get remapped in a way that dramatically boosts self-control.

As Brains Mature, More Robust Information Networks Boost Self-Control

7:10pm May 26, 2017

by Jon Hamilton

Sometime between grade school and grad school, the brain's information highways get remapped in a way that dramatically reins in impulsive behavior.

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Researchers found that a protein in human umbilical cord blood plasma improved learning and memory in older mice, but there's no indication it would work in people.

Human Umbilical Cord Blood Helps Aging Mice Remember, Study Finds

7:57pm April 19, 2017

by Rae Ellen Bichell

Researchers found that a protein in human umbilical cord plasma improved learning and memory in older mice, but there's no indication it would work in people.

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There is a hot zone in the back of the brain that can reveal what we are dreaming, according to new research.

A 'Hot Zone' In The Brain May Reveal When, And Even What, We Dream

8:08pm April 10, 2017

by Jon Hamilton

When people have dreams, an area near the back of the brain seems to wake up. And specific patterns of brain activity in that area can even reveal what we're dreaming about.

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State and federal policies now limit the use of lead in gasoline, paint and plumbing, but children can still ingest the metal through contaminated soil. The effects of even fairly small amounts can be long-lasting, the evidence suggests.

Health & Safety

Childhood Exposure To Lead Can Blunt IQ For Decades, Study Suggests

12:36pm March 28, 2017

by Rae Ellen Bichell

Researchers following a group of New Zealanders over the course of 40 years found an association between childhood lead exposure and declines in intelligence and socioeconomic status later in life.

Compared to leaf-eaters, primates who ate fruit had around 25 percent more brain tissue.

What Gave Some Primates Bigger Brains? A Fruit-Filled Diet

9:27am March 28, 2017

by Jessica Boddy

A new study suggests that diet had a big influence in driving the evolution of brain size in primates. Monkeys who thrive on fruit have bigger brains than their plant eating neighbors.

Embryoids like this one are created from stem cells and resemble very primitive human embryos. Scientists are studying them in hopes of learning more about basic human biology and development.

Harvard Scientists Call For Better Rules To Guide Research On 'Embryoids'

8:01am March 21, 2017

by Rob Stein

Some recent studies in synthetic biology, they say, raise new questions about the ethical limits of creating entities that might feel pain or resemble human embryos — or mimic humans in other ways.