Latest news with #brain
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Startling Percentage of Neuroscientists Say We Could Extract Memories From Dead Brains
When you die, your memories die with you, never to be experienced again. Or at least, that's always been how the case. Now, though, in an exercise to assess shifting scientific consensus, a cohort of 312 neuroscientists were quizzed by researchers on whether memories might live on in the structure of deceased brains. And a surprisingly larger number — 70.7 percent of the group — believe they may, findings which were newly published in the science journal PLOS One. In addition, about 40 percent of those surveyed said they think it will be possible in the future to extract these memories from actual preserved parts or the entire brain of the deceased. The neuroscientists also gave a tentative roadmap for how that could unfold. They estimated that scientists would be able to resurrect memories from dead roundworms by 2045, and then from lab mice brains by 2065. For humans, scientists might achieve this incredible feat by 2125, the neuroscientists estimated. "That's a substantial chunk of neuroscientists who think there's a very real chance that it will work, and my guess is that actually that number will creep up over time as we get better at doing these brain implants, emulations, all these other things," Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston, a research fellow at Monash University in Australia and the paper's first author, told IFL Science, which flagged the research. One major roadblock: there isn't yet a consensus on exactly how memories are stored. Zeleznikow-Johnston told IFL Science he thinks preserving the brain's connectome, which are neural pathways, would probably be the key to preserving, extracting and recalling memories from the dead. Before all this stuff happens, lots of major work needs to happen. But advanced tools such as AI could give scientists a significant boost in efforts to decode the human brain and possibly even decode memories from the deceased. If it does come to pass, we can barely imagine the ethical questions that would arise from such a feat. More on neuroscience: Scientists Scanned the Brains of Authoritarians and Found Something Weird
Medical News Today
2 days ago
- Health
- Medical News Today
Stroke's facial symptoms and what they look like
During a stroke, the face can droop on one or both sides. The eyelids and corners of the mouth may appear pulled down, and a person may be unable to smile or speak clearly.A stroke happens when there is a disruption in blood flow to a part of the brain — either due to a clot or bleeding in the brain. The lack of oxygen-rich blood in a part of the brain causes cells in these areas to die, leading to impaired communication between nerve cells.A stroke may cause facial drooping, paralysis, numbness, and vision difficulties. These symptoms can also affect other parts of the body, such as the arms or does a stroke affect the face?Stroke can cause facial drooping and muscle weakness that affects the eyes, lips, and mouth on one or both sides of the stroke affects the lower part of one side of the face and not the forehead. However, if the stroke is in the brainstem, it may affect the may cause:pulling down of the eyelids, cheeks, or corners of the mouthdifficulty smiling voluntarilyinvoluntary appearance of smilingdroolingslurred speechOther signs of strokeStroke can also cause other symptoms, such as:numbness or weakness on one side of the bodysudden confusion or difficulty understanding speechsudden difficulty seeing in one or both eyessudden difficulty walking or loss of balance and coordinationa sudden, severe headacheSome symptoms are more subtle. These include:confusion, disorientation, or memory problemsgeneral weaknessnausea or vomitingThe acronym F.A.S.T. is a helpful way to remember stroke symptoms:F = face droopingA = arm weaknessS = speech difficultyT = time to call 911What to doIf a person has sudden facial drooping or any other potential stroke symptoms, call 911 sooner a person gets medical attention, the sooner treatment can begin. This may save a person's life and reduce the long-term impact of the waiting for the emergency services to arrive, a person can administer first aid by:ensuring that the area around the person is safelooking at a clock to see when symptoms begantalking to them and asking them to squeeze a hand if they cannot respondloosening tight clothingkeeping them warm if they are coldmaking sure they do not eat or drink anythingIf the person is conscious, lay them on their side with their head on a pillow. If they are unconscious, place them in the recovery is important to monitor their breathing. A person can do this by listening to their breath, observing the rise and fall of the chest, or placing the back of a hand close to their mouth to try to feel their the person is unconscious and not breathing, administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). A 911 emergency responder can instruct someone with no CPR training on how to do this over the people without training in CPR, the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends hands-only CPR, which involves pushing hard and fast in the center of the chest and avoiding mouth-to-mouth the facial symptoms get better?The facial symptoms of stroke often improve over time, although the recovery process may take months or even years. Physical therapy and rehabilitation programs can help people regain strength in the affected muscles and relearn movement facial drooping always happen with a stroke?Facial drooping and paralysis do not always happen during a stroke. So, their absence does not mean a person is not having a stroke. If other stroke symptoms are present, they may need emergency facial paralysis, or palsy, is a common stroke symptom, which is why it appears in the F.A.S.T. causes of face droopingStroke is not the only condition that causes facial drooping. Other potential causes include:Bell's palsy: Bell's palsy causes sudden and usually temporary one-sided facial weakness. It is responsible for 70% of cases of facial paralysis and typically improves over several weeks. Doctors may also call it 'acute peripheral facial palsy of unknown cause,' as they are not always sure why it happens. Sometimes, a viral infection triggers the Roughly 10–23% of facial paralysis cases are due to fractures and wounds that damage the facial The chickenpox virus, herpes zoster, can live in the nerves for years after the initial infection. It can then reactivate and affect the facial nerves. This is Ramsay Hunt syndrome. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that can also cause facial conditions: Multiple sclerosis and myasthenia gravis may cause facial Rarely, tumors on the face or in the brain compress or damage facial nerves, leading to asked questionsWhat does a stroke face look like?A stroke face may include drooping on one side of the face, or an uneven lopsided face.A stroke face may include drooping on one side of the face, or an uneven lopsided are the symptoms of a mini stroke face?A mini stroke may also have the same symptoms as a stroke, including facial paralysis. However, the symptoms or stroke do not last as long.A mini stroke may also have the same symptoms as a stroke, including facial paralysis. However, the symptoms or stroke do not last as your body warn you a month before a stroke?Symptoms such as numbness in the body may appear as warning signs of an impending such as numbness in the body may appear as warning signs of an impending facial symptoms include drooping, muscle weakness, and paralysis. A person's eyelids, cheeks, or mouth may droop on one or both sides, and they may have an involuntary smile or be unable to smile intentionally. The drooping may also cause difficulty palsy does not occur in all cases of stroke, so it is important to know all of the potential symptoms. An easy way to remember them is via the F.A.S.T. acronym. If a person is having a stroke, dial 911 causes of facial drooping include Bell's palsy, trauma, infections, neurological conditions, and tumors.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Scientists Intrigued to Discover That Human Brains Are Glowing Faintly
Scientists have some exciting news: your brain is likely glowing, whether you can see it or not. The news comes from researchers at Algoma University in Ontario, who found evidence that the human brain, of all things, possesses luminescent properties. Essentially, they found that as the brain metabolizes energy, it releases super-faint traces of visible light. Called ultra-weak photon emissions (UPEs), the flashes of light are emitted when electrons break down and lose momentum, letting go of their protons. As Popular Mechanics notes, UPEs don't technically count as bioluminescence, a chemical process found in organisms like fireflies and anglerfish. Nor does it count as phosphorescence, which refers to energy released in the form of a faint light, as in glow-in-the-dark toys. And before you ask, it also isn't thermal radiation, the electromagnetic energy released by thermal motion. The findings on UPEs came as researchers dug into the left occipital lobe, the visual processing center of the brain, along with the right temporal lobe, the center of nonverbal communication. Their task was to test whether UPE flashes from those parts of the brain could be distinguished from other brain signals. While earlier studies have explored the broader human body's ability to glow, this one zeroed in on the brain specifically, yielding the exciting results. Beyond the fun fact that we literally do have bright ideas, the test results have some implications for medical technology. For example, UPEs could help doctors analyze neurological conditions in the future. "Because UPEs are related to oxidative metabolism, the most immediately relevant applications might include the detection of budding brain tumors, excitotoxic lesions, mild traumatic injuries, and neurotoxic insults," said Hayley Casey, the lead researcher. This could all be possible, the researchers say, without invasive testing methods like PET and MRI scans, which have the potential to interfere with brain activity. All that said, the next time you have a brilliant idea, just know your brain's literally lighting up the room. More on Science: Physicists Say We Were Completely Wrong About How Gravity Works
Yahoo
6 days 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
25-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
People Are Correcting Super Common "Fun Facts" That Everyone Keeps Repeating, But Are Actually False
You know those "fun facts" we all know and that somehow make it into every dinner party or trivia night? Turns out, sometimes they are totally wrong, but that hasn't stopped people from repeating them like gospel. Mainly because a lot of us have heard them throughout our lives and tend to take them at face value. Recently, redditor ColdAntique291 was curious about those "facts" when they asked: "What's a super common 'fun fact' that everyone keeps repeating but is actually false?" The thread got over a 1K responses. Below are the top and most often repeated "fun facts" that were actually a big lie: 1."That bats are blind. They hunt by echolocation, but they can actually see quite well." —blue_eyed_magic "It gets better: only about 1/3 of all bat species can use echolocation. Others just look where they're going." —rkaw92 2."That we only use 10% or 30% of our brain capacity. This is nonsense. We use 100%." —abraxasnl "You're correct. Our brains are being used to maintain the body's functioning, and there is not a secret hidden 90% we can use unless we want organ failure, I suppose." —maruhchan 3."That you swallow eight spiders a year in your sleep. And that it takes seven years for gum to be digested." —Special_Discipline94 "Wouldn't the spiders get stuck in the gum? 🤣" —One-Bodybuilder309 4."Not exactly a 'fun fact,' but 'Let them eat cake.' It's attributed to Marie Antoinette, but she never actually said it." —Minibearden 5."I was told my entire life that cracking your knuckles is bad for you and causes arthritis. This is not true." —Forward_Age6247 "I actually believed it, up until i read your comment. And I'm 54 lol" —CHICKADEE7dee Related: Older Women Are Revealing Their Biggest "Life Regrets," And Every Young Person Needs To Hear This 6."Sorry, but you can't see the Great Wall of China from orbit." —disturbednadir 7."If you make a face, it will stay that way. It absolutely does not, Mom." —ExxxemplaryVegitable 8."That the tongue has different taste zones, they taught us in school, ffs." —simonko1 "They hadn't even identified 'umami' as the fifth taste when I was in school." —jack-jackattack 9."Napoleon wasn't short; he was actually above average height for his time." —clemoh "Britain's propaganda just made him that way to make fun of the French. He also wasn't actually French, he was Corsican." —squid_ward_16 Related: 25 Life-Changing Habits People Added To Their Everyday Routines To Improve Their Lives For The Better 10."People say your hair grows back thicker if you shave. Absolute twaddle." —Botheuk 11."The idea that local honey can treat or cure seasonal allergies. Not true, never been true, people repeat it anyway." —chemicalysmic 12."That blood is blue inside your body until it touches air. Your blood is still red in your body, just darker." —wowza6969420 "As if there's no oxygen in your blood while it's in your body." —OriginalKriWolf 13."The Jonestown Massacre: they drank Flavor Aid, not Kool Aid, but as everyone repeatedly says, 'Drank the Kool Aid.'" —Ned_Braden1 14."Turning the inside car light will get you pulled over by the cops." —Available_Ad2852 "Parents myth, lol" —airb00st1 15."Dog year = seven human years. Not true! Sincerely, someone who works in veterinary." —Fun-Engineering7877 16."Dogs are pack animals. They are not. They are social animals. The person who coined that term of them being pack animals, the same exact person responsible for that myth, is the person who completely 180'd when he realised his studies were extremely flawed, and upon review re-published to correct his mistake, but nobody paid any the fact that if you research yourself what pack animals actually do and the behaviours they engage in, none of it aligns with dog behaviour. 🤦" —No-Wolverine296 17."You lose most of your body heat from the top of your head." —Boglikeinit "In the military, during training, I heard 'keep your head cold and your feet warm.'" —Ilirot 18."Sweating like a pig. Pigs do not have sweat glands, which is why they wallow in the mud to keep cool. Horses, on the other hand, sweat profusely." —MoreQuiet3094 19."That you can catch a cold from being outside in cold weather. A cold is a viral infection. You're more likely to catch one inside from being in close proximity to people." —Turdwienerton 20."Everyone believes that the captain of a ship can perform weddings. It was even referenced in an episode of The Office once, but it's not true." —-Brother-Seamus- "Well, they can perform one, but the marriage won't be legal." —PlanetLandon lastly, "Sugar makes kids hyper." —Bulky_Algae6110 "Sugar doesn't actually make you hyper; it just makes you tired." —squid_ward_16 You can read the original thread on Reddit. Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity. Also in Goodful: This Woman Is Going Viral For Begging Women Not To Get Married Right Now, And Personally, I Couldn't Agree More Also in Goodful: "I Can't Wait For This To Go Out Of Style": People Are Sharing Popular Modern Trends That Are Actually Pretty Toxic Also in Goodful: Boyfriends Are Sharing What They Never Knew About Women Until They Started Dating One, And These Discoveries Are Pure Relationship Gold
