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Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Aimless wandering is actually good for the brain
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. The brain is a complex organ. Not only is it made up of multiple parts, all of which have important roles to play in processing information, but the way that the brain learns can also change based on what activities you're taking part in. For the longest time, the act of zoning out and aimlessly wandering around town, a store, or any other venue has often been viewed in a negative light. However, new research published in the journal Nature suggests that it might actually be the opposite. Instead of being bad for you, aimlessly wandering can unlock new potential for the brain to learn faster. Today's Top Deals Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Best Ring Video Doorbell deals Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98 The act of learning without much structure, often called unsupervised learning, can actually be extremely helpful to the brain's development, the researchers discovered. According to their findings, mice that were exposed to unstructured environments and allowed to aimlessly wander through their surroundings were actually quicker to learn to complete reward-linked tasks than mice that weren't exposed to those environments. This research raises new questions about the way the brain learns. To discover this, researchers had to capture the activity of tens of thousands of neurons at the same time. When looking back at the data, the scientists uncovered a startling new truth: Learning can occur even when there aren't any specific tasks or goals involved. As the mice explored their environment, the neurons found in the visual cortex, a section of the brain responsible for processing information, actually encode visual features into the brain. This helps build an internal model of the world around the animal. Then, once a more goal-oriented task is placed in front of them, the information obtained by aimlessly wandering actually helped speed up learning for those more specific tasks. Of course, understanding exactly how our brains learn is a tough task. However, research like this is slowly helping us connect the dots. The researchers involved in this most recent study say that even though you might not feel like you're doing anything while aimlessly wandering around, you could be setting your brain up for faster learning down the line. It's unclear at the moment exactly how this might translate to the human brain. But given how similarly the brains of certain animals work compared to ours, it's likely that the way the brain learns in animals will be similar to how the human brain picks up new things, too. Hopefully, future research into the topic will provide us with even more data to dig into. For now, researchers at least have a good idea of where to look to start understanding the how the brain learns, and it starts with the visual cortex. More Top Deals Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2025: Get $2,000+ free See the
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Earthworm DNA may challenge everything we know about evolution
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. When Charles Darwin first proposed how evolution works in 1859, it seemed plausible. Tiny changes stack up over time, eventually leading a species to become something entirely different. Aside from the evidence we have already that this might not be the case, as the fossil records just didn't back it up, many, including Darwin himself, wrote it off as the records being broken and lost. But what if that wasn't the case at all? What if evolution works in a completely different way? Instead of waiting on tiny changes to stack up overtime, what if things stayed mostly the same for a while, but then suddenly something big happened and massive changes appeared? That may be exactly how it works, new research shows, as scientists studying earthworm DNA say that it completely contradicts Darwin's explanation for how evolution works. Today's Top Deals Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Best Ring Video Doorbell deals Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98 This new research was led by researchers at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Pompeu Fabra University (UPF). The researchers shared their findings in a new paper published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. These findings suggest that evolution may work with fast changes that ultimately lead to complete upheaval in how an organism is designed. The unlikely source of this new evidence is actually earthworm DNA. The researchers sequenced high-quality genomes of several different earthworm species for the first time ever. They then compared these genomes to those of leeches and even bristle worms. By digging deep, they were able to look back in the genome more than 200 million years. That's an unprecedented look at evolution at a scale previously reserved for studying the human genome. By looking at worm DNA, the researchers were able to get a glimpse at the evolution of life on our planet, as 200 million years ago would have been exactly when worms and other vertebrates like them ventured onto land for the first time. But instead of evidence of slow, tiny changes, the researchers discovered a massive 'upheaval' in the genome's history. This new evidence suggests that it isn't a broken record that's keeping us from fully understanding how evolution works. Instead, it's the theory itself that is holding us back. What's especially notable about the breakdown of the worm genome is that the changes seen within it 200 million years ago should have led to extinction if the changes were that chaotic. However, instead of leading to the species' demise, the worms adapted and even thrived. Of course, not every species will evolve the same way. Just because it works this way in worms doesn't mean it works that way in humans or other mammals. Each species' unique traits could play a part in the success or failure of their evolutionary journey. This could explain why other species of humans have died out, leaving only modern humans. But this is just the beginning. To truly understand how evolution works as a whole, we're going to need to dig even deeper. This new research might not have given us the complete answer, but it set us on the right path. More Top Deals Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2025: Get $2,000+ free See the
Newsweek
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Woman Finds Dog on Bed Wanting Cuddles, Hysterics as It Isn't Hers
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A woman found next door's dog sleeping in her bed, melting hearts across the internet. Shelby (@itsshelbs) shared footage of her neighbor's dog, Beni, in her bed, which amassed 93,000 likes and 307,900 views. "This isn't my dog. This is my neighbor's dog that can fit through the fence and just shows up at our house multiple times a day for cuddles," she wrote as the text overlay of the video. "We luv you, Beni," she captioned the post. The video shows Beni, a golden colored dog, sweetly nestled in bed whilst wagging his tail. Why Do Neighbor Dogs Roam? Many pet owners find themselves in a bind when dogs wander into neighboring yards—sometimes causing mess, and other times, like Beni, just seeking affection. If you discover a neighbor's dog trespassing in your garden, and you don't want them to, the first recommendation is to communicate with the owner, and, if needed, install fencing or deterrent signs, according to home security company Reolink. Can Dogs Find Their Way Home? Relying on scent and memory, dogs possess an incredible sense of smell—about 10,000 times stronger than humans. They can recognize familiar scents and retrace home routes, depending on their instincts, environment, distance, and motivation, according to TikTokers Weigh In The video sparked a torrent of relatable comments. "Ngl I'd be sooooooo butt hurt if my dog left me multiple times a day to get cuddles from someone else, It's like getting cheated on LOL," shared one user. "He's living a double life," said Alex. "Hes got dual citizenship," joked Robyn. "I'm his lawyer. He is simply spreading joy and love and cheer," said Diana. "He said 'Well it takes a village, doesn't it Shelby??!'" added Ann. A stock image showing a golden retriever lying in bed. A stock image showing a golden retriever lying in bed. iStock / Getty Images Plus/Prystai "What a wonderful little furry neighbor that comes to check on you and hang out!" said Amber. "My dog would be doing this all day if he had the option. He loves 'new' people," said Samia. "My dog would absolutely do this w my Nextdoor neighbors if he wasn't so limited by his tinyness," said another user. "My cat was like this but also bc they gave her food eventually but now they got a divorce and moved away so now she's back home," another user added. Newsweek reached out to @itsshelbs for comment via TikTok. We could not verify the details of the case. Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@ with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Research shows caffeine could help slow cellular aging
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. Health experts tend to go back and forth on whether or not caffeine is actually good for you, or how much you should ingest every day. No matter which side you land on, there's no arguing that a cup of caffeine (in the form of coffee or any other liquid) has become a big part of many of our lives. And now, researchers say that caffeine could actually help with cellular aging. According to a new paper published in Microbial Cell, caffeine may actually slow cellular aging by activating a primary energy-sensing pathway in your body called AMPK. The researchers involved in the new findings used fission yeast in lieu of human cells. When exposed to caffeine, they found that the AMPK activity in the yeast increased, allowing cells to better manage stress, repair their DNA, and even regulate their growth. Today's Top Deals Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Best Ring Video Doorbell deals Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98 This research follows closely on the heels of additional dives into whether or not coffee is good for you. As one of our primary sources of daily caffeine, the benefits of coffee have long been debated among the health community. This new development is deeper, though, as it looks at caffeine as a whole. Considering how much scientists have worked to try to get age-reversing medication, finding something that can help slow cellular aging could be a dream come true for some scientists. The key to how caffeine helps with cellular aging comes down to the switch that it interacts with. However, instead of interacting directly with the trigger, a growth regulator called TOR (Target of Rapamycin), caffeine only interacts with AMPK, which helps cells cope with lower energy. The effect that caffeine has on AMPK seems to influence how cells grow, as well as how they repair their DNA. Each of the attributes that caffeine has an effect on is tied to both aging and disease, which is why caffeine has long been heralded as being beneficial for health and longevity, at least in controlled amounts. Future research that digs deeper into this connection could help us understand the role caffeine plays in cellular aging even more. More Top Deals Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2025: Get $2,000+ free See the
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Turns out the human mind sees what it wants to see, not what you actually see
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. The human brain continues to surprise scientists. From how it learns to the fact that our brains glow, there's a lot we have yet to learn about the inner workings of the human brain. One especially surprising thing, though, is that the brain doesn't appear to see exactly what you see. Instead, scientists say the brain sees what it expects to see. According to scientists, the way that the brain interprets the data our eyes send it is very intriguing. Instead of waiting to see exactly how a scene plays out, your brain actually predicts what will happen. So, for instance, if you see a friend reaching for a pot, your brain interprets that their hand will reach the pot and grab onto the handle. Today's Top Deals Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Best Ring Video Doorbell deals Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98 In most cases, it's correct. Though, of course there can always be split section changes, which can result in how the brain sees not quite adding up to what really happens. The basis of this phenomenon is driven by what researchers call the action observation network, or AON. This is a set of brain regions that become active whenever you watch someone else interact with something. This setup has been confirmed by scientists over the course of decades, using snippets of data captured from a multitude of different lab tests. But those snippets, usually one- to two-second videos, don't show the entire picture. That's why a more recent study published in Cell Reports is based on research that wanted to dig deeper. More specifically, with this new research, the scientists wanted to answer whether or not the pipeline of information changes when the viewer can already forecast the next step in the process. To test this, and to test how the brain actually sees, the researchers set up two different versions of everyday scenes. In the natural scene, the actions played out exactly as expected. However, in the second scene, they scrambled the clips and then had volunteers watch both while recording their brain activity. Some of the participants were already implanted with intracranial electrodes for medical monitoring, too, so they were also able to capture electrical signals found deep inside the cortex with extreme precision. The researchers found that the brain worked exactly as expected when the order of clips in the scene made sense. The data even showed that when the brain could forecast what would happen next, it actually used its visual areas less. However, when the more jumbled cut played out, the data showed how the brain sees changes is based on whether or not it can properly forecast what will happen next. Since the clips were more jumbled and out of order, the brain couldn't properly determine what the next step in the process was, leading to more activity in other areas of the brain. These results also hint that our motor memories could play a prime role in how our brain handles the data that our eyes feed to it. Essentially, our brains use memory to see. While the entire idea here might seem a bit silly and even risky, the fact that the brain doesn't need to use its full power to see how a scene will play out is a prime example of just how efficient the human brain is. There's a reason that scientists are looking for ways to use brain cells in computers, because the brain is extremely efficient and powerful. More Top Deals Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2025: Get $2,000+ free See the
