What I am reading today:
“It was previously thought that the nerve cells in the brain associated with appetite regulation were generated entirely during an embryo’s development in the womb and therefore their numbers were fixed for life.
But research published today in the Journal of Neuroscience has identified a population of stem cells capable of generating new appetite-regulating neurons in the brains of young and adult rodents.
Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally. More than 1.4 billion adults worldwide are overweight and more than half a billion are obese. Associated health problems include type 2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and cancer. And at least 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese.”
“Many of our senses — vision, touch, and body orientation — come together to inform our perception of having and owning a body. Psychological scientist Dorothy Cowie of Goldsmiths, University of London and colleagues hypothesized that there might be age differences in how these processes come together. To test this hypothesis, they relied on a well-known sensory illusion called the “rubber-hand illusion.””
“The solution, Harvard researchers say, is to test students early and often.
By interspersing online lectures with short tests, student mind-wandering decreased by half, note-taking tripled, and overall retention of the material improved, according to Daniel Schacter, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Psychology, and Karl Szpunar, a postdoctoral fellow in psychology. Their findings are described in a paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”
“The researchers report their findings online April 24 in the journal Neuron.
“We measured the tau protein in the cerebrospinal fluid and identified several genes that are related to high levels of tau and also affect risk for Alzheimer’s disease,” says senior investigator Alison M. Goate, DPhil, the Samuel and Mae S. Ludwig Professor of Genetics in Psychiatry. “As far as we’re aware, three of these genes have no effect on amyloid-beta, suggesting that they are operating through a completely different pathway.””
taste on pinterest
“The Rolling Stones’ concert in Hyde Park this summer sold out in less than five minutes today — sparking immediate speculation that they could play a second date.
All 65,000 tickets for the band’s return to the site of their historic 1969 performance were gone almost as soon as public bookings opened at 9am.”
6 Comments
jhaskett · April 10, 2013 at 2:18 pm
Response to “Online Learning…the Good and the Bad”:
This article definitely pertains to people my age right now. The use of technology in every life is extraordinary. I am usually not a proponent for being connected 24/7 just because that significantly reduces the time people are present face to face with each other. And I believe that is one of the most important things in developing friendships and other social connections. However, for online learning, if done correctly, could be of benefit. This is because students learn at varying paces and if they are able to go at their own speed then they do not have to worry about being ahead or behind the rest of their classmates. But I do think online tests and tutorials could never fully replace the experience of having an actual professor in the class who can answer particular questions. Overall it was a well-thought out article and covered both the benefits and downfalls to online learning.
jhaskett · April 10, 2013 at 2:27 pm
Response to “Appetite Control through Neuroscience”:
As an American I hear about the problem of this country’s obesity on a weekly basis and for good reason too. Obesity shortens human’s lives and puts an overbearing stress on the economy. The only solution seemed to be a better diet and exercise plan. However, after reading this article I now know this may not be the case. Researchers discovered that there are “stem cells capable of generating new appetite-regulating neurons in the brains of young and adult rodents.” This means that there may actually be a permanent solution to obesity for humans. This does bring about controversy though. For example today’s society has this obsession with idolizing stick thin celebrities so who is to say that people who are only slightly overweight will not have these stem cells implanted just to get to their ideal, possibly unhealthy, weight. Also, there are so many unforeseen complications that could arise. Despite this though, these stem cells are a breakthrough and possibly the beginning to finding the near perfect solution to the growing epidemic of obesity.
a.azmoudeh · April 24, 2013 at 6:20 pm
“Appetite Control through Neuroscience”
This new information about appetite regulating neurons is shocking to me. It is crazy to think that we can alter the hypothalamus to regulate appetite. Although I believe that this new solution through stem cells could be extremely helpful for people with severe eating disorders, I believe that a lot of people would try to use this procedure in unhealthy ways. They would see it as the “easy way out”, just like many physical health procedures such as liposuction designed to help people who are overweight, many Americans and others around the world have used this procedure when it is not needed. This procedure could be helpful as well as harmful if used in excess by people who do not need it.
a.azmoudeh · April 24, 2013 at 6:33 pm
“Taste”-on pinterest
I found this image very interesting. It completely contradicted a science lab I did in the 4th grade. My teacher gave us a variety of sample foods including ones with a bitter, sweet, sour, and salty taste. She told us to place each item in our mouth and tell which part of our tongue we felt it on. She then told us the correct part of our mouth that we have those taste buds the most and we colored in a map of our tongue taste buds. With this new information I now know that all of our taste buds can taste all modalities.
karlyalysonchapman · May 24, 2013 at 6:04 pm
Response to “Discovery in Neuroscience Could Help Re-Wire Appetite Control”
The findings that were presented in this article were extremely fascinating and shocking to me. I think it is a wonderful finding to realize that there are actually nerve cells in our brain (a population of stem cells) that grow and generate new appetite-regulating neurons instead of believing that appetite regulation is fixed at birth. This finding is truly huge in the field of eating disorders, specifically obesity, and I believe that it can lead to a beneficial future for individuals who struggle with obesity. I do see one downside with this finding and it is the fact that people may rely on these findings too heavily and act in a way that is similar to botox and liposuction. I think that a healthy diet and exercise can help all individuals who struggle with obesity and I would be hesitant on this finding and the goal of “it could lead to a permanent intervention in infancy for those predisposed to obesity, or later in life as the disease becomes apparent.” I would hate to see more medical intervention and surgeries used for something that in many circumstances can be “cured” with a healthier lifestyle. Other than that, the fact that this finding was made is a huge step in this field and is excellent to understanding that these cells are not permanent!
karlyalysonchapman · May 24, 2013 at 6:30 pm
Response to “Online Learning: It’s Different”
I thought this article was particularly interesting due to the fact that I have taken both in-classroom classes as well as online classes. One point that really grabbed my attention was reading how it takes some students four hours to complete a one-hour course and why that was so interesting was because I have definitely experienced that. Online classes can be more difficult than regular classes due to the constant distractions. I love how these researchers are looking into so many ways in how we can improve online teaching since it is going to continually rise in the coming years and I agree that testing throughout the online lectures is a very good way to keep students attentive. I was surprised in reading that breaking up lectures does not help however, when looking at regular style classroom teaching that does make sense. I think that testing can really help lessen larger test anxiety and is the best way to keep students focused when taking online courses!