Some new work in how memories are formed. It looks like certain mRNAs are molecularly masked and unmasked based on activity in the neuron, so that translation occurs based on which synapses are active.
Watching Molecules Morph into Memories | Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Injecting good copies of a gene directly into the retina of patients with a genetically-based progressive blindness causes significant improvement in many of them.
This article is from IO9, a fun but non-peer-reviewed site. They do link to the actual Nature Communications article, though.
“Neuromyths” can merely perpetuate misconceptions about the brain. Of greater concern is when they influence how we are raised or educated. You may be familiar with the idea of different types of learner. For example, if you are a “visual learner” you need content delivered primarily visually. But there is very little scientific evidence to support this idea, and labelling pupils by type of learner and delivering content accordingly limits the richness of their learning experiences and may reduce what is learned.
“…senescence, as W.D. Hamilton wrote in 1966, ‘is an inevitable outcome of evolution.’ Except when it’s not.”
“Reports trumpeting basic differences between male and female brains are biological determinism at its most trivial.”
via Why it’s time for brain science to ditch the ‘Venus and Mars’ cliche | Science | The Observer.
“I don’t see the point of singling out the egghead scientists for being slow to identify Nylanderia fulva when the real trouble is bigger and structural. Americans simply don’t value basic research enough to support a system that rapidly pinpoints emerging pest problems.
“If we want to quickly identify new pests, we need to salary thousands of positions for taxonomists where rapid response to emerging threats is part of the job. Instead, we’re doing the opposite. Taxonomists are being laid off. Congress is defunding science. The result is that when a new problem like invasive crazy ants arises, we depend on retirees and hobbyists to volunteer their expertise, if they want to. As a response to billion-dollar invasions, that’s just not good enough.”
via – Crazy ants, the New York Times, and the failure of Americans to support basic research.
“When the news broke recently that a team of Belgian scientists had “discovered” a new body part — a ligament located just outside the knee — the first place my mind went was to Padua, Italy…”