About half of the educators surveyed believed that people only use 10% of their brains.
Surveys of teachers in the UK, Turkey, Holland, Greece and China have revealed that many believe seven common myths about the brain, likely because the simple explanations are often attractive, even if totally wrong. The results of the surveys were reported in the journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience.
Continue reading… “Top 7 neuromyths that many teachers believe”
The parafacial zone (PZ) in the brain stem produces half of all the brain’s sleep-promoting activity.
For the first time ever, neuroscientists have used an innovative new method to identify a circuit in the brain that promotes deep sleep, which reinvigorates the brain from its daily activities.
Continue reading… “Neuroscientists discover on/off switch in the brain for deep sleep”
This is the first time researchers have been able to reverse the memory loss caused by the disease.
The first time ever, huge lifestyle interventions seems to have reversed memory loss caused by Alzheimer’s disease in some patients.. The findings stemmed from the joint efforts of a team from UCLA’s Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging.
Continue reading… “Memory loss from Alzheimer’s disease reversed with lifestyle changes”
Basic, deep-seated fluency in math and science—not just an “understanding,” is critical.
By Barbara Oakley: I was a wayward kid who grew up on the literary side of life, treating math and science as if they were pustules from the plague. So it’s a little strange how I’ve ended up now—someone who dances daily with triple integrals, Fourier transforms, and that crown jewel of mathematics, Euler’s equation. It’s hard to believe I’ve flipped from a virtually congenital math-phobe to a professor of engineering.
Continue reading… “Rewiring your brain to become fluent in math”
Nine out of ten patients with memory problems showed improvements with this novel multi-systems approach.
A small exploratory study has found that memory loss in patients with Alzheimer’s disease may be reversed — and the improvement sustained — using a novel treatment approach.
Continue reading… “Novel treatment may reverse memory loss in Alzheimer’s patients”
Artificial intelligence morality will be different from our human morality.
By Zoltan Istvan: I recently gave a speech at the Artificial Intelligence and The Singularity Conference in Oakland, California. There was a great lineup of speakers, including AI experts Peter Voss and Monica Anderson, New York University professor Gary Marcus, sci-fi writer Nicole Sallak Anderson, and futurist Scott Jackisch. All of us are interested in how the creation of artificial intelligence will impact the world.
Continue reading… “The 3 laws of transhumanism and artificial intelligence”
Futurist Thomas Frey: I had great difficulty completing this column. This is partly due to the complex nature of the technology and partly because its implications may indeed be so far reaching that I’ll sound over-reaching in describing it.
Continue reading… “Computing’s Next Big Transformation – Semantic Intelligence”
There is a 50% probability that human-level machine intelligence will have been attained by 2050.
Machines already have superhuman strength, speed and stamina. One day machines will have superhuman intelligence. Assuming that scientific and technological progress continues, human-level machine intelligence is very likely to be developed. And shortly thereafter, superintelligence.
Continue reading… “Top 5 ways the superintelligence revolution could happen”
Baby X, a 3D-simulated human child.
Zoltan Istvan writes In Singularity or Transhumanism: What Word Should We Use to Discuss the Future? on Slate:
“The singularity people (many at Singularity University) don’t like the term transhumanism. Transhumanists don’t like posthumanism. Posthumanists don’t like cyborgism. And cyborgism advocates don’t like the life extension tag. If you arrange the groups in any order, the same enmity occurs.”
Continue reading… “Peering into the future of AI and robot brains”
The humanized gene actually improved the animal’s behavior rather than messing up the system.
According to a new study, mice that receive a human version of a speech and language gene display accelerated learning. Don’t expect these findings to lead to a rush of smarter, “uplifted” animals—though they might just reveal something new and fascinating about the evolution of human speech and language.
Continue reading… “A mouse with a human speech gene learns faster”
Sending messages to other people using our cell phones is pretty convenient method, but wouldn’t it be a lot easier to just think messages to them? Telepathy is still relegated to the realm of science fiction, but an international team of researchers have gotten one step closer to making it a reality. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), scientists have managed to transmit words from one person’s brain to another 5,000 miles away.
Continue reading… “Scientists demonstrate direct brain-to-brain communication across 5,000 miles”
The new Electrical Prescriptions (ElectRx) (pronounced “electrics”) DARPA program aims to develop new high-precision, minimally invasive technologies for modulating nerve circuits to restore and maintain human health, initiated in support of the President’s brain initiative.
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.