This episode of The Anthill podcast delves into the world of memory. We talk to psychologists, historians and political scientists about how and why we remember some things and forget others.
Enzymes, the catalysts of biology, can engulf and break down hundreds of nerve agent molecules per second.
Image: Pymol. PDB 4E3T rcsb.org
Scientists invented chemical weapons; some are now working to destroy them. New biomolecular design techniques let researchers design proteins that can destroy nerve agents in bodies.
A noninvasive brain-computer interface based on EEG recordings from the scalp.
Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering (CSNE), Photo by Mark Stone
Brain-computer interfacing is a hot topic in the tech world, with Elon Musk’s announcement of his new Neuralink startup. Here, researchers separate what’s science from what’s currently still fiction.
There’s both money and prestige invested in the simple idea that different brain areas are responsible for certain functions. But that doesn’t make it true.
Neuroscience can now make a difference in the lives of people with severe brain injury, but will they get the care they deserve? More than a question of entitlements, this is an issue of civil rights.
The hormone oestrogen may play a role in a woman’s ability to perform two tasks at the same time.
mbeo/Flickr
In men and older women, a complicated thinking test appeared to overwhelm the part of the brain also responsible for moving one of their arms. They could only do one or the other.
Three stories about researchers who have dabbled in self-experimentation – with varying results.
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Trump supporters celebrating.
Michael Reynolds/EPA
Yossi Rathner, Swinburne University of Technology e Mark Schier, Swinburne University of Technology
It’s a long, hot summer’s day and you’re looking forward to an ice cream. But within seconds of your first bite, you feel a headache coming on: a brain freeze. What’s going on?
Jee Hyun Kim, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
The Florey Institute’s Dr Jee Hyun Kim explains how the different aspects of memory work and why attention is the most important element of improving your memory in this long-form comic explainer.
A discipline neither good nor evil.
Saturday Evening Post/Harris A. Ewing
Maybe you think neuroscience has a peaceable history of benign efforts to improve lives and enhance human capacities. But its origins and development tell a different story – with ethical implications.
Insights from psychology, neuroscience, economics and political science on how the incoming president might move people from the extreme right or left of the political spectrum to a sociable centre.