Mapping how the 100 billion cells in the brain all fit together is the brave new world of neuroscience
Scientists have been mapping the brain for centuries. New visualization tools bring them one step closer to understanding where thoughts come from and new ways to treat neurological disorders.
Yongsoo Kim, Associate Professor of Neural and Behavioral Sciences, Penn State
• conversation
Nov. 18, 2021 • ~8 min
Nov. 18, 2021 • ~8 min
Astrocyte cells in the fruit fly brain are an on-off switch that controls when neurons can change and grow
Adaptable neurons are tied to learning and memory but also to neurological disorders. By studying fruit flies, researchers found a mechanism that controls neuroplasticity.
Sarah DeGenova Ackerman, Postdoctoral Fellow, UO Institute of Neuroscience and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Oregon •
conversation
April 12, 2021 • ~6 min
April 12, 2021 • ~6 min
The neural cruelty of captivity: Keeping large mammals in zoos and aquariums damages their brains
Life in captivity causes observable harm to the structure and function of large mammals' brains.
Bob Jacobs, Professor of Neuroscience, Colorado College
• conversation
Sept. 24, 2020 • ~10 min
Sept. 24, 2020 • ~10 min
Synthetic odors created by activating brain cells help neuroscientists understand how smell works
Brains recognize a smell based on which cells fire, in what order – the same way you recognize a song based on its pattern of notes. How much can you change the 'tune' and still know the smell?
Edmund Chong, Ph.D. Student in Neuroscience, New York University •
conversation
July 8, 2020 • ~8 min
July 8, 2020 • ~8 min
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