Brain – Page 18 – Impact Lab

Brain, Health & Fitness, Medical Breakthrough, Science & Technology News

Prosthetics of the future will be powered by bodily fluids

June 13, 2012

Prosthetics of the future may draw their power from juices in the brain.

These days, the most advanced robotic prosthetics take their commands from the brain. And pretty soon, they may be drawing their power from juices in the brain. Cerebrospinal fluid, that is. Electrical engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing a novel platinum-coated fuel cell that runs off the glucose found in bodily fluids. Their specific aim is to implant the fuel cells in liquid pockets of the brain and use them to run low powered components in a neural prosthetic. They described a prototype this week in the journal PLoS One.

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Analysis, Brain, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

Brainiest cities across America

June 6, 2012

The map from Zara Matheson of the Martin Prosperity Institute maps the brainy metro index across U.S. metros.

We are often told the smartest cities and nations do the best in the knowledge economy. Smart cities typically are measured by education level, calculating the cities or metros with the largest percentage of college grads or the largest shares of adults with advanced degrees. Others do it by charting the kinds of work people do and the occupations they hold, differentiating between knowledge or creative workers and others who do more routine manufacturing and service jobs.

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Analysis, Brain, Education, Science & Technology News

Making it harder to learn beneficial to students

June 5, 2012

“Making material harder to learn can improve long-term learning and retention.”

Three researchers, in January 2011, published the results of an experiment in which they showed that students who read material in difficult, unfamiliar fonts learned it more deeply than students who read the same material in conventional, familiar fonts.

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Analysis, Brain, Breakthrough Thinking, DIY, Education, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Human Behavior

Why Creative People Are Eccentric

May 15, 2012

Dean Kamen on his Ibot invention.

He is one of the world’s best known and most successful entrepreneurs, with hundreds of patents to his name—including the Segway scooter. But you will never see Dean Kamen in a suit and tie: the eccentric inventor dresses almost exclusively in denim. He spent five years in college before dropping out, does not take vacations and has never married. Kamen presides (along with his Ministers of Ice Cream, Brunch and Nepotism) over the Connecticut island kingdom of North Dumpling, which has “seceded” from the U.S. and dispenses its own currency in units of pi. Visitors are issued a visa form that includes spaces on which to note identifying marks on both their face and buttocks…

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Brain, Breakthrough Thinking, Education, Entertainment, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Human Behavior, New Viewpoints

We’re heading towards a future where brain scans replace the SAT

May 14, 2012

No memorization will be necessary in the future.

Imagine if the extent your natural intelligence could be determined with a simple scan where you’d have to do nothing at all. What if it became the new standard for college admissions. Deterministic as it may seem, at least we wouldn’t have anymore goddamn vocab flash cards to memorize.

According to Duke University professor Jonathan Wai, writing in Psychology Today, there’s been a study conducted at UC Irvine since 1988, in which test subjects were put through various aptitude tests while conducting brain scans. What they discovered is the smartest patients required less brain power to accomplish a task. Efficiency!

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Analysis, Brain, Breakthrough Thinking, Education, Entertainment, Health & Fitness, Human Behavior, New Viewpoints, People Making a Difference

15 powerful things happy people do differently

May 4, 2012

Happiness has to be allowed.

What is the difference between happy people and unhappy people? Of course, it may be very obvious, happy people are happy while unhappy people are unhappy, right? Well, that is correct, but we want to know what are the things that these people do differently and that is why, I have put together a list of things that HAPPY people do differently than UNHAPPY people…

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Analysis, Brain, Science & Technology News

Slackers’ brains are hard-wired to be lazy

May 2, 2012

Brain scans can show the difference between ”go-getters” and ”slackers”.

Scientists have identified neural pathways that appear to influence an individual’s willingness to work hard to earn money. Lazy people who prefer to live off others may have brains that are wired for under-achievement, according to a new study.

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Analysis, Brain, Breakthrough Thinking, Culture, Historical Perspectives, Human Behavior, New Viewpoints

Word usage predicts dating success

May 1, 2012

Function words – those unassuming “filler” words like the, this, though, I, an, there, and, that – are mightier than you think. For one, they’re a very good predictor of sex and love.

Yes, sex and love. Now that I’ve got your attention, on to the story of how analyzing the patterns of the use of these words in speech between two strangers in a speed dating scenario can be a very good predictor of who will get the date…

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Analysis, Brain, Crazy Stuff, DIY, Education, Entertainment, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Human Behavior, New Discoveries, People Making a Difference

Here’s how much body parts cost on the Black Market

April 23, 2012

If you were ever curious as to how much body parts can fetch on the black market,Medical Transcription created a snazzy infographic to show you. Some parts are shockingly cheap! Like would you want a new shoulder or a new iPad? Both cost 500 bucks.

Other organs are prohibitively expensive, like a kidney. That little sucker costs $262,000 in the US (other countries have it for cheaper)! Here’s the full list of body parts and their cost…

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Brain, Breakthrough Thinking, Entertainment, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Human Behavior

How to make yourself smarter

April 22, 2012

If you do lots of push-ups, you get stronger – but if you do a lot of mental exercises, do you get smarter?

For most of human history, it’s accepted that you’re either born smart or (sadly) not and that there’s no amount of Sudoku that will make you smarter (sure you can be more knowledgable – say by educating yourself, but not intrinsically more intelligent).

But that common wisdom may be wrong: studies show that you can increase your smarts by improving your memory through certain types of games…

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Analysis, Brain, Health & Fitness, Science & Technology News

Brain scans can predict who will gain weight or have sex in the next 6 months

April 18, 2012

Women whose nucleus accumbens reacts strongly to pictures of appealing food are more likely to gain weight in the next six months.

The activity in the nucleus accumbens, a region of the brain associated with reward, can predict who will gain weight or have sex in the next six months, according to new research.

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Analysis, Brain, Health & Fitness, New Discoveries, Science & Technology News

New blood test can screen teens for depression: Study

April 17, 2012

Scientists showed that teenage depression could be diagnosed through a panel of 11 genetic markers.

One day a simple blood test may be all that’s needed to help parents figure out whether a child is suffering from clinical depression or normal teenage angst, according to a new study.

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