New Scientist - The Human Brain

The evolutionary story of the 'language gene'

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

When biologists discovered the role of FOXP2 in language, they thought it would set us apart from other animals. How wrong they were. (full text available to subscribers)

Why real and imagined disgust have the same effect

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:01:00 +0100

Reading something disgusting and actually experiencing it have effects in the same part of the brain - test it for yourself with this disgusting prose

Mind games reveal people who are 'blind' to trust

Thu, 7 Aug 2008 19:00:00 +0100

Borderline personality disorder can cause great disruption in sufferers' lives, now there may be a simple way to diagnose the illness

Is 'miracle' Alzheimer's cure too good to be true?

Wed, 6 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

A controversial treatment for the neurological condition is claimed to reverse symptoms in minutes. Daniel Elkan investigates (full text available to subscribers)

Screensaver reveals new test for synaesthesia

Mon, 4 Aug 2008 17:00:00 +0100

Some people experience movement and flashes as noise. Find out if you are one of them with a simple video test

Wheelchairs may impair spinal-cord recovery

Fri, 1 Aug 2008 10:43:00 +0100

Injured rats strapped to tiny "wheelchairs" that restrict their movements recovered less well than those left to fend for themselves (full text available to subscribers)

Babies use grown-up memory tricks

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:55:00 +0100

Psychologists have found that babies can expand their working memory by grouping objects into categories, just as adults do

'Sleepless' gene hints at the nature of slumber

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:00:00 +0100

Flies with a genetic mutation that controls how brain cells fire have been found to sleep 80% less than normal flies

Brain's response to being spurned is affected by race

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:44:00 +0100

A study with black and white students finds that being snubbed on racial grounds activates different regions of the brain (full text available to subscribers)

Brains apart: The real difference between the sexes

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

The human brain is complex enough. But imagine if there were not one, but two, says Hannah Hoag (full text available to subscribers)

How we can learn from children with half a brain

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 08:22:00 +0100

Nico and Brooke have both had brain hemispheres removed yet the boys are defying neuroscientific wisdom to do things they shouldn't be able to do (full text available to subscribers)

Should researchers tell over bad news brain scans?

Sun, 6 Jul 2008 09:00:00 +0100

Scientists face a dilemma over what action to take when an MRI scan finds something untoward in a study participant's brain (full text available to subscribers)

Interview: The language detective

Wed, 2 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Linguist Steven Pinker says that grammar can reveal a huge amount about how we think and the way we act (full text available to subscribers)

Did 'burrowing' placenta give us big brains?

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 10:22:00 +0100

A hormone which allows the placenta to push into the wall of the uterus in some primates might also have played a key role in brain evolution (full text available to subscribers)

Disgust comes in three revolting flavours

Wed, 2 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Brain scans reveal the origins of disgust towards putrid pathogens, inappropriate sexual behaviours and moral transgressions (full text available to subscribers)

Omega-3s are twice as important for girls as boys

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:03:00 +0100

Young women need more of the fatty acids to build both their brains and the breast-feeding fat deposits on their hips and buttocks (full text available to subscribers)

Secret sleep of birds revealed in brain scans

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:53:00 +0100

Zebra finches show many features of sleep, which had previously been assumed to be the sole preserve of mammals

Gay brains structured like those of the opposite sex

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:13:00 +0100

Brain scans have provided the most compelling evidence yet that being gay or straight is a biologically fixed trait

Mirror neurons control erection response to porn

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:15:00 +0100

The firing of mirror neurons in one region of the brain correlates with the strength of erection produced whilst viewing sex films, a study finds

Is a sniff of coffee as good as a sip?

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:20:00 +0100

The way genes in sleep-deprived rats respond to the smell of coffee could explain why humans find the smell invigorating

'Consciousness meter' may predict coma recoveries

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:12:00 +0100

Analysing part of the brain responsible for daydreaming may separate people who are brain-damaged but "in there" from those who are brain-dead (full text available to subscribers)

Friends turn mental mountains into molehills

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 11:49:00 +0100

Standing near or thinking of very close friends and family alters the perceived steepness of a hill, finds a study

Longevity gene keeps the brain ticking over

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 10:17:00 +0100

A gene that influences cognitive ability in senior citizens also helps predict how long they will live (full text available to subscribers)

'Circadian eye' could be key to insomnia

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:45:00 +0100

Killing off a handful of retinal cells in mice leaves them able to see, but with their circadian rhythms askew – it may explain why insomnia often strikes the elderly

'Party chat' brain filter discovered

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:00:00 +0100

The brain region that lets humans distinguish one voice from many others talking at once has been mapped for the first time

Are autistic savants made not born?

Wed, 4 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Do autistic savants learn their amazing abilities? An 18-year-old girl, who has been described as a "proto-savant", may help answer the question (full text available to subscribers)

Exploding the myth that boys are better at maths

Fri, 30 May 2008 15:47:00 +0100

Reports of boys doing better in mathematics are often put down to superior ability, but a study finds no difference where the sexes are treated equally

Interview: Why our brains are so clumsy

Fri, 30 May 2008 16:00:00 +0100

If evolution is so powerful, why did the human brain end up so flawed, asks psychologist Gary Marcus

Robo-monkeys use brain power to grab a bite

Wed, 28 May 2008 18:00:00 +0100

In the first successful experiment of its kind, two monkeys have used a brain-controlled robotic arm to feed themselves

Space particles play with the mind

Wed, 28 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100

If high-energy particles trigger hallucinations by interfering with astronauts' brains, can it ever be safe to travel in space, asks Stuart Clark (full text available to subscribers)

Is this a unified theory of the brain?

Wed, 28 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100

A researcher claims to have discovered a model that describes the entire brain in one fell swoop. Gregory T Huang does some hard thinking (full text available to subscribers)

Review: The Political Mind by George Lakoff

Wed, 28 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100

If winning elections is a matter of manipulating brains, then George Bush and his team are experts in neuroscience - but Owen Flanagan isn't convinced

So you think humans are unique?

Wed, 21 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Over the past decade, hard scientific fact has steadily chipped away at our supposedly unique qualities. Now, even language is no longer something we can call our own (full text available to subscribers)

Body's own drug damps down fear

Wed, 21 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Morphine-like drugs produced in the body can have a damping effect on how much fear we feel – a finding that may shine new light on phobias (full text available to subscribers)

Perspectives: Reinventing human identity

Wed, 21 May 2008 10:22:00 +0100

Susan Greenfield argues that we need to think seriously about what 21st century technologies will do to the minds of future generations (full text available to subscribers)

How culture made your modern mind

Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Our great leap forward was driven not by the brain alone, but by its interplay with the material world, say researchers (full text available to subscribers)

Why blind brains never stop seeing

Wed, 14 May 2008 18:00:00 +0100

Years after someone loses their sight, their brain preserves some of its original ability to process visual information, raising hopes that some people could have their vision restored (full text available to subscribers)

Eight ways to get exactly what you want

Wed, 7 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Winning people over is a key element of human interaction – from politics to marketing to everyday dealings with friends and family. New Scientist lifts the lid on the science of persuasion

Intelligence can be improved with training

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:00:00 +0100

A task has been found that can seemingly add to your "fluid intelligence" – and the harder you train, the more you gain (full text available to subscribers)

Religion a figment of human imagination

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:01:00 +0100

Only humans have religion, because only humans have the brain architecture to imagine things that don't exist

Memories of your last meal can help you stay thin

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:35:00 +0100

Concentrating on your last meal significantly reduces the desire to snack, say researchers (full text available to subscribers)

Worm-on-a-chip boosts understanding of nerves

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:00:00 +0100

The new glass chip restrains a popular research worm during surgery, allowing scientists to study nerves as they recover from damage

Interview: The stroke survivor who trained her own brain

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Jill Bolte Taylor recovered from a devastating stroke by retraining her brain from the inside, and says the stroke was the best thing that ever happened to her (full text available to subscribers)

Brainwave-reading headphones need no batteries

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:00:00 +0100

The headset converts body heat and sunlight into energy to continuously monitor a person's brain – an approach that could boost gaming and medicine

Laser beams to the brain reveal seizures in real time

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:39:00 +0100

Vibrating the brain with a laser beam provides a way to find the focus of epileptic seizures without surgery

Brain scanner predicts your future moves

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 18:00:00 +0100

Scans reveal that part of the brain lights up seconds before we make a conscious decision – the discovery has implications for free will

Boléro: 'Beautiful symptom of a terrible disease'

Mon, 7 Apr 2008 11:24:00 +0100

A painting of Ravel's Boléro, by a woman who shared a brain condition with the composer, provides a scientific window into the creative mind

Stretchy chips to monitor the brain

Sat, 5 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

The first flexible silicon microchips could be used in seizure-detection circuitry attached to the brain (full text available to subscribers)

Blue LEDS could rouse sleepy drivers

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000

The light could be used to trick the brains of drowsy night-time drivers into thinking it is morning

Being self-centred is the key to empathy

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000

The way we judge people is more egocentric than we'd like to admit, but it seems that's the key to understanding them (full text available to subscribers)

Perspectives: The flip side to multiple personalities

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Rita Carter challenges conventional theories about personality and argues that in today's complex world it may even be a good thing to have multiplicity

Do we read too much into our need for sleep?

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000

We spend around a third of our lives doing it, so we assume sleep must be crucial for our survival. But that may not be the case, says Emma Young (full text available to subscribers)

Brain map project set to revolutionise neuroscience

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:07:00 +0000

An unprecedented effort to chart the human brain is launched in the US – the atlas should transform our knowledge of the brain

Imagination is the key to vocal mimicry

Fri, 7 Mar 2008 17:30:00 +0000

Impressionists seem to use visual images to "become" the people they are imitating, according to a brain-scanning study

Brain scans reveal smokers' clouded judgment

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:13:00 +0000

Smokers are fully aware that making a bad decision can lead to disaster, it seems they just can't act on it

Review: Big Brain by Gary Lynch and Richard Granger

Sat, 8 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000

A popular account of how brains enlarge, in both evolutionary and developmental terms (full text available to subscribers)

How the immune system fine-tunes the brain

Sat, 1 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000

The brain isn't supposed to need an immune system. So what are some of its key players doing there, asks Bijal Trivedi (full text available to subscribers)

It's not fair: Brains may compel teens to tantrum

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:00:00 +0000

Scans reveal differences in the brain structures that control emotions in teens who flare up easily, and those who are more self-controlled

Music special: The roots of music

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:00:00 +0000

Why is music so important to us, and can engaging with music change the way our brains work, even as adults?

Music special: Singing in the brain

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Learning to sing changes the way your brain works and it is never too late to start (full text available to subscribers)

Music special: The illusion of music

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000

The music you hear may be quite different from the sounds that are actually "out there"