People have always believed in miracles, but why? Scientists are now trying to figure this out. In 2007, a baby in Rhode Island was born very early and had serious health problems. The doctor prayed to a priest who had passed away long ago, and the baby's heart started beating again. Eighteen years later, the Pope said this was a miracle. The Vatican has a special g...
Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are making waves, but they're not perfect. The current tech, which relies on EEGs, is a bit of a mystery. It's like having a puzzle with missing pieces. You see the big picture, but you're not sure how it all fits together. The main issue? EEGs pick up brain signals from various spots and frequencies. But the algorithms used to inter...
Music has always been a part of healing, but now science is showing just how much it can help. In Cleveland, Ohio, cancer patients can ask for a special kind of medicine: live music at their bedside. Studies show that music can make pain feel less intense, reducing it by about 20%. This doesn't mean music replaces medicine, but it can work alongside it to make patien...
A researcher decided to scan her own brain 26 times to learn more about how pregnancy affects the brain. This is something that hasn't been studied much before. The researcher, who studies learning and memory, had her brain scanned before, during, and after her pregnancy. She wanted to see if there were any changes in her brain during this time. The researcher was i...
A new technique has been developed to control brain activity without the need for invasive surgery or genetic changes. This method uses special nanoparticles to stimulate neurons deep within the brain using near-infrared light. This is a big deal because it allows scientists to study how the brain works in a more precise and less harmful way. The nanoparticles used ...
A tiny piece of a mouse’s brain has just given scientists a massive breakthrough in understanding how our brains work. This isn’t just any piece; it’s a speck smaller than a grain of sand from the mouse’s visual cortex. Inside this tiny speck, there are 84, 000 neurons connected by about half a billion synapses. That’s roughly 5. 4 kilometers of neuronal wiring! Thi...
Eye-tracking technology is a hot topic in the worlds of virtual reality, neuroscience, and psychology. It's crucial for making VR experiences more immersive and for helping researchers understand how we process information. However, creating an eye-tracking system that is both accurate and speedy is no easy task. Current methods, like glint tracking, have their limit...
Imagine being able to move a robotic arm just by thinking about it. That's exactly what a man who was paralyzed by a stroke achieved. This wasn't a short-lived experiment, but a seven-month journey using a brain-computer interface (BCI) enhanced with AI. The BCI worked by picking up signals from the brain when the man imagined moving his body. The AI part of the sys...
Every two years, a unique event brings together people from all corners of the globe. This event is not a sporting competition or a scientific conference. It's an art competition. The theme? Neuroscience. The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience hosts this international art competition. It's open to anyone who has been touched by neuroscience in some way. This coul...
Electric fish, specifically Gymnotus omarorum, are proving to be super useful in understanding how our brains work. These fish live in murky waters and use electric fields to navigate and communicate. This makes them perfect for studying how the brain processes information and controls movements. The brain works in cycles, taking in information from our senses and t...