Spinal injuries that can lead to complete paralysis are medical conditions that have no cure. The nerves in the spinal cord can’t be healed to restore motor function, but researchers are looking at other ways to bypass the injury and allow paralyzed people to perform some of the tasks that aren’t available to them after …
Among the many buzzy pet projects and aspirations which you sometimes hear tech moguls like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg talk about that fall outside of their company’s core missions is the development of a dystopian-sounding direct link between computers and the human brain. The creepiness factor notwithstanding, they’ll regale audiences and journalists about what …
Humans are the smartest living creatures on Earth. Well, maybe not “smart” entirely, but we’re at least the most advanced creatures when it comes to brain development, and scientists really want to know why. Evolution, sure, but the actual nuts and bolts of why our brains develop differently than those of other great apes and …
A Stanford team has figured out how to reverse aging in the brain and restore mental acuity, a breakthrough that could one day lead to drugs that treat medical conditions and cognitive decline. The researchers found a way to block the inflammation responsible for the cognitive decline that comes with age. Using drugs tailored to …
What if you could enhance your ability to learn and retain information with something as simple as a specific odor? Apparently, that’s a very real possibility, and a new research paper published in Scientific Reports reveals that the smell of a rose holds some curious powers. In the study, the scientists experimented with over 50 …
Of all the types of injuries a person can sustain, head injuries tend to be the scariest. Scientists have learned a lot about how the human brain works, but there are still many uncertainties. That’s especially true when it comes to brain injuries, where a person can appear medically healthy but still exhibit dramatic cognitive …
Studies in recent years have revealed that chronic head trauma often suffered by professional football players can have long-lasting effects, but it’s safe to say that there’s still a lot we don’t know about how frequent concussions can alter a person’s brain. Mood disorders, depression, and personality changes have already been linked to concussions endured …
The NFL and college football have come under fire in recent years due to the mounting scientific evidence that shows the damage that can be caused by simply playing the game. Everyone knows that concussions are bad, but repeated impacts to the head that aren’t severe enough to cause a concussion can be serious as …
A New York woman who was prepared for a long battle against brain cancer got some shocking news when doctors finally opened up her skull. 42-year-old Rachel Palma had been experiencing some bizarre symptoms that prompted doctors to perform a scan of her brain, and when the images came back they appeared to show a …
Everything we know about evolution tells us that humans have primate ancestors, and that the development of our complex brains is what allowed ancient humans to forge the path that we’re on today. Determining what changes in primate brains prompted our fork of the evolution tree to take shape is something scientists in China are …
