'); document.write('

Worms for brains: Can genes point the way to the cerebral cortex\'s common ancestor with marine annelids?
'); document.write('Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:10:00 EST
'); document.write('
Marine worms might seem like lowly, slow-witted creatures, but new gene mapping shows that we might share an ancient brainy ancestor with them. [More]

$\'Add$ $\'Add$ $\'Add$ $\'Add$ $\'Add$ $\'Email$
$\"\"$ $\"\"$ $\"\"$
Gene - Annelid - Cerebral cortex - Common descent - Worms'); document.write('
Mapping the Mind: Online Interactive Atlas Shows Activity of 20,000 Brain-Related Genes (preview)
'); document.write('Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST
'); document.write('
Scientists have long sought to understand the biological basis of thought. In the second century A.D., physician and philosopher Claudius Galen held that the brain was a gland that secreted fluids to the body via the nerves--a view that went unchallenged for centuries. In the late 1800s clinical researchers tied specific brain areas to dedicated functions by correlating anatomical abnormalities in the brain after death with behavioral or cognitive impairments. French surgeon Pierre Paul Broca, for example, found that a region on the brain’s left side controls speech. In the first half of the 20th century, neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield mapped the brain’s functions by electrically stimulating different places in conscious patients during neurosurgery, triggering vivid memories, localized body sensations, or movement of an arm or toe.
In recent years new noninvasive ways of viewing the human brain in action have helped neuroscientists trace the anatomy of thought and behavior. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, for instance, researchers can see which areas of the brain “light up” when people perform simple movements such as lifting a finger or more complex mental leaps such as recognizing someone or making a moral judgment. These images reveal not only how the brain is divided functionally but also how the different areas work together while people go about their daily activities. Some investigators are using the technology in an attempt to detect lies and even to predict what kinds of items people will buy; others are seeking to understand the brain alterations that occur in disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, autism and dementia.
[More]

$\'Add$ $\'Add$ $\'Add$ $\'Add$ $\'Add$ $\'Email$
$\"\"$ $\"\"$ $\"\"$
Brain - Functional magnetic resonance imaging - Neurosurgery - Health - Human brain'); document.write('
Shaky Ground: Can Seismologists Be Charged with a Crime for Not Predicting Deadly Quakes?
'); document.write('Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST
'); document.write('
The adage “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” does not quite capture the following pair of situations. It’s more like “damned if you could (but you can’t), damned if you couldn’t (but you kind of did).”
First, the “damned if you could (but you can’t)”. On April 4 at 3:40 p.m., a magnitude 7.2 earthquake rocked Baja, Mexico, and was felt well north. The event elicited the following post on Twitter 16 minutes later from New Age lifemeister Deepak Chopra: “Had a powerful meditation just now--caused an earthquake in Southern California.” (Lawrence Krauss, too, lays into Deepak on page 36 for his lack of understanding of quantum physics. There’s plenty to bust Chopra about.)
[More]

$\'Add$ $\'Add$ $\'Add$ $\'Add$ $\'Add$ $\'Email$
$\"\"$ $\"\"$ $\"\"$
Mexico - Southern California - Earthquake - New Age - California'); document.write('