My favorite of all and I remember playing it when it first came out! #Nintendo
What I am reading today:
“Researchers studying honeybees during learning activities have shown that memory management in the bee brain is controlled by small genetic elements called microRNAs that help regulate gene expression.
Queensland Brain Institute researchers Professor Charles Claudianos and Dr Judith Reinhard have led an international team which has discovered that these microRNAs could directly target the key developmental gene ‘actin’, which controls the ability of nerve cells to connect with other nerve cells.”
“To capture the details of the aerodynamics of the hummingbird’s ability to hover, Tyson Hedrick, associate professor of biology at UNC, put tiny dabs of non-toxic paint at nine places on a female ruby-throated hummingbird’s wing. Then he took high-speed videos at 1,000 frames per second with four cameras while the bird hovered in front of an artificial flower.
Then at Vanderbilt Haoxiang Luo, associate professor of mechanical engineering, and doctoral student Jialei Song took the video, extracted data on the position of the points in three dimensions and reconstructed the varying wing shape and position for a full flapping cycle.”
“During brain development, neurons extend projections called axons to connect with other neurons. Axons from groups of neurons with the same function tend to extend together, but the mechanisms involved in keeping the growing axons in contact for collective extension have been unclear. Masatoshi Takeichi, Shuichi Hayashi and colleagues from the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology and RIKEN Quantitative Biology Center have now revealed that the protein protocadherin-17 (Pcdh17) plays a crucial role in this coordinated axon growth and correct development of the nervous system.”
““The clinical histology slide offered us a great opportunity to generate the first genome sequence of this elusive class of tapeworms,” says Dr Hayley Bennett, first author of the study from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. “However, we only had a minute amount of DNA available to work with – just 40 billionths of a gram. So we had to make difficult decisions as to what we wanted to find out from the DNA we had.”
To identify the exact species of worm, the researchers sequenced one particular gene, the so-called “barcode of life”. Fortunately for the patient, the gene’s DNA sequence revealed that the parasite was the more benign of the two sparganosis-causing worm species.”
““We think that the degree of plasticity in the cortex gets more and more limited with older people,” said Takeo Watanabe, the Fred M. Seed Professor at Brown University and a co-author of the study published in Nature Communications. “However, they keep the ability to learn, visually at least, by changing white matter structure.”
The study’s lead authors are Yuko Yotsumoto of the University of Tokyo and Li-Hung Chang of Brown University and National Yang Ming University in Taiwan. The corresponding author is Yuka Sasaki, associate professor (research) of cognitive, linguistic, and psychological sciences at Brown University.”
“To date, roughly 85 people worldwide have undergone hand replant or transplant surgery, an 8- to 10-hour procedure in which surgeons reattach the bones, muscles, nerves, blood vessels, and soft tissue between the patient’s severed wrist and their own hand or one from a donor, often using a needle finer than a human hair. After surgery, studies have shown that it takes about 2 years for the peripheral nerves to regenerate, with sensation slowly creeping through the palm and into the fingertips at a rate of roughly 2 mm per day, says Scott Frey, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Missouri, Columbia.”
20 Comments
ksomasek · November 26, 2014 at 9:29 pm
In the article “Brain Dwelling Worm in UK Man’s Head Sequenced”, a tapeworm from a UK patient’s brain was genetically sequenced. This was done for the first time and the genetically sequenced information is seen as invaluable mostly because it has now opened doors to possible new treatments and cures for brain worms. The behavior and morphology of the particular tapeworm was analyzed with the sequenced information and again gives rise to suggestions of new drug targets and therapy. The data obtained from this tapeworm adds to the growing global database of parasites identified and contributes to the discovery its new treatments.
michelle.georgette · November 29, 2014 at 1:44 pm
After reading the article on bees and the brain, I found it interesting that memory processes in such a small creature can relate to humans. Recently, bees are not showing up as much in our enviornment. I think we overuse the resources of bees. This article clearly shows how important honey bees are to our enviornment and knowledge about our brain. We should work to incorporate more sustainable ways to collect resources from honey bees in order to ensure they are still prevelant among our enviornment.
michelle.georgette · November 29, 2014 at 2:00 pm
In reading the article discussing brain worms, I find the many causes to be quite scary. Although there are very few cases reported in the last four decades, it seems that the causes are not direct. Brain worms can come from the consumption of raw meat, but researchers cannot predit which meat has more of a chance to bring about the rare case of worms. Since researchers are looking into the rare case, it is possible they will be able to find the cause to the majority of brain worm reports.
evaschung · November 30, 2014 at 5:41 pm
I read “People with hand transplants can gain near-normal sense of touch”. This article was actually really interesting. I can not believe that people are able to regain near normal touch once a hand is reattached even after a long period. It amazes me of the work that our medical industry is capable of because I never would have imagined a man regaining ability in his hand who had it amputated over ten years ago. This is a great example of how plastic our brains are.
Another aspect that really surprised me was the almost instantaneous disappearance of phantom limb. I wonder if this is due to the neurons losing their role and then when the limb is reattached, these same neurons take their roles back up.
evaschung · November 30, 2014 at 5:41 pm
I read the article “Bee brains offer insights into how human memories form”. I would have never believed that it was possible to understand human thinking, learning, and forming memories through an insect as small as the typical bee. It is amazing how through understanding how the brain is wired to memorize that we can possibly cure a disease as depressing as dementia. However, this makes sense because in class we spoke about how dementia is more common amongst people who do not constantly use their brains to read or learn. We discussed that people who tend to watch television which require little to no attention or active learning have a higher tendency to get it. And if we understand how our neurons interact with one another to control our memories we can possibly prevent dementia amongst humans.
eengelsgaard · November 30, 2014 at 5:43 pm
After reading “How the Hummingbird achieves its aerobatic feats”, I am now even more amazed at how hummingbirds fly. I am one of those persons that can watch hummingbirds all day long if I have the chance. They are fascinating creatures that truly fly like the speed of light. This article really broke down the aerodynamics of how they fly. My favorite part was when they described how they recorded their flight with red paint. I also thought that it was interesting that they said the flight of hummingbirds resemble insects more so than bird. Thats an interesting discovery because I always thought that they looked more like insects more so than birds.
eengelsgaard · November 30, 2014 at 5:53 pm
I also read “Many older brains have plasticity, but in a different place”. This was a very interesting article because I feel that there are a lot of common misconceptions about the brain out there. A big one that many people worry about as they get older is having your brain loose its plasticity to learning new things. I feel like this is a great article and study to show society that older people can learn new things just as well as the younger generation. Of course at the end of the article it does mention that we don’t know why the white matter plasticity enables people to learn well, but I feel that if they continue this research than we will have all the answers we are looking for.
aflor · November 30, 2014 at 6:36 pm
The article that I found interesting to read was “People with hand transplants can gain near-normal sense of touch.” It amazes me how far in technology and medical research we have gone to see that neurons can redevelop after a hand transplant has been made. This breakthrough finding proves that hand transplants go a long way in helping an amputee. It shows that with time, the brain can restore sensation which restores the sense of touch almost back to normal for the new hand. The article mentioned that only 85 people have received surgery for a new hand, and I believe findings such as these will encourage more people to want to get a new hand since there are possibilities of regaining sensation for their new hand.
ACapanna · November 30, 2014 at 8:52 pm
The article on the hand transplant is really amazing. It’s incredible that we have the medical knowledge to be able to succeed at such a complicated surgery. The brain’s plasticity and the ability of nerves to regenerate is also pretty amazing. I had a discussion with some of my family members and their consensus was that they would prefer to have a prosthetic hand and were not emotionally open to having a cadaver hand. But, it may be different when the scenario is real and not hypothetical, especially if a person is missing both hands. Still, it will be interesting in the future to see how individuals emotionally deal with these situations. The more common it becomes in society, the easier it will probably be. My brother was born with Spina Bifida, and while I don’t think he would elect a reparative surgery at this point in his life, I wonder what capabilities could exist for curing paralysis. I imagine it would be a very long and difficult road, but it may be worth it to some people, such as Christopher Reeves.
camandrew · November 30, 2014 at 9:03 pm
In the article “Bee brains offer insights into how human memories form,” found microRNA’s could have a direct influence on memories. MicroRNA’s help regulate gene expression but according to Professor Charles Claudianos he believes that “[microRNA] switch off key genes that shape, connect and signal between neurons.” The researchers believe that this new discovery could lead to treatments for memory related diseases such as alzheimer’s disease.
camandrew · November 30, 2014 at 9:38 pm
In the article “Many Older Brains Have Plasticity, but in a Different Place,” scientists have found that older brains actually learn about as efficiently as younger brains. The biggest difference is that the older brain uses different parts of their brain to learn then newer ones. Specifically, older brains use more white matter in learning, while younger uses grey matter. Personally, i find this research exciting! It’s interesting to find out that the brain is constantly adapting to be as efficient as possible even as we get older. So much so that older brains can compete with younger brains in terms of efficiency and learning.
susannayu · November 30, 2014 at 10:10 pm
I read the article “People with hand transplants can gain near-normal sense of touch,” and I found it very promising that researchers found that with time, the nerves that connect the new hand improve drastically. I think that shows just how amazing the human brain and body is at adapting to anything. It gives hope to people who have lost not just a hand, but other limbs or body parts–it gives them confidence that eventually, the sensations could be restored almost back to normal. The long and intensive procedure that is required to be endured in order to get the hand transplant would be worth it and rewarding for both the patient and the surgeon.
emilyventimiglia · November 30, 2014 at 11:03 pm
I read the article titled “Older brains are not that bad.” I had always thought that the older an individual is, the slower that person is going to learn information. Knowing that older people have the ability to learn just as quickly as younger kids makes me think of the elderly in a different way. I think it is important for older individuals to be aware of this fact so that they can have confidence in their learning abilities. I also wonder what kind of exercises and activities can strengthen the white matter. This also makes me wonder whether the “good learners” and the “poor learners” differ in their degrees of learning because of their genetics or because of how much they exercised that part of their brain in their life time.
emilyventimiglia · November 30, 2014 at 11:16 pm
I read the article “Is that your hand or mine?” I knew about the ability to reattach cadaver’s hands to those who have lost their own hands, however I did not know that this works with people who have not had their hand for 13 years. It is astounding that the brain can go so long without sending or receiving signals from a certain part of the body and then all the sudden just begin allowing sensation information to come and go from that spot. This also makes me wonder if this has been done to legs or feet. Because more weight is put on those limbs it may produce some more issues, however it seems to me that it could be very likely. Instead of prosthetic legs, in the future I’m sure entire legs will be able to be reattached to those with injuries.
emmathompson95 · December 1, 2014 at 10:39 am
I read the article, “Many older brains have plasticity, but in a different place.” I think this article is valuable because it can help stop one of the most common discriminators against old people, which is that they can’t learn anything new after a certain age and lose their mental ability as they get older. This article corrects a lot of those common thoughts because it states that research has shown that older people did just as well on a learning task than younger people, but they used a different part of their brain than is usual.
anneke_bleeker · December 2, 2014 at 5:25 pm
I have always been delighted to see hummingbirds hover around flowers and dart back and forth. I had never given much thought to how hummingbirds fly, I had just accepted the fact that they seem to magically float from flower to flower. After reading the article “How the Hummingbird achieves its aerobatic feats,” I am beyond intrigued by these little birds. What fascinated me the most is how the article states that the way hummingbirds fly is more similar to an insect than other birds. I thought it was very cool that not only do hummingbirds create positive lift from their downstroke like other birds, but also do so from their upstroke because of evolution.
sabrinayoukhane · December 5, 2014 at 7:42 pm
I read the article “Brain Dwelling Worm in UK Man’s Head Sequenced.” This article was very interesting because of what little information is known about the tape worm. I was curious, however, in understanding why doctors left the worm inside the man’s brain for four years knowing it could be potentially hazardous to his health. I wonder if it was for research purposes because it is obvious that they were tracking its movements through his brain.
sabrinayoukhane · December 5, 2014 at 7:49 pm
I also read the article “How the Hummingbird Achieves Its Aerobatic Feats.” I enjoyed reading this article because hummingbirds are my favorite types of birds! This article is also relateable because I believe that everyone has stopped to admire Hummingbirds while they hover around flowers. Especially at Cal Poly, with so many of them flying around, it is impossible not to notice them and wonder how they hover. I was not surprised to learn that the way a hummingbird flies is more like insects than like other birds because both hummingbirds and insects have the characteristic of darting around.
sarahdelossantos · December 5, 2014 at 10:12 pm
After reading the article about cadaver hand transplants, I was initially disgusted. The concept of receiving a hand from a deceased body is simply gut-wrenching! On second read, however, I was able to appreciate the positive side of this story. This discovery could lead trauma survivors, combat veterans, etc to be more receptive to hand transplants, greatly improving their quality of life. It is amazing that the brain is capable of two nearly opposite phenomenons: “phantom limb” and the very different “restoration of sensation”. On another note, I was surprised to hear that only 85 people have recieved hand transplants in the world. I expect that further research will lead others to pursue hand transplants–perhaps even, as suggested in earlier comments, patients with paralysis.
sarahdelossantos · December 5, 2014 at 10:18 pm
I was very interested by the article about older brains and migrated plasticity. As medical advances have drastically increased life expectancies in first world countries, more and more senior citizens are pursuing active lifestyles even after retirement. In my sociology classes I’ve learned it’s become the norm for senior citizens to take up new hobbies or even work as volunteers (e.g. museum docents, professors). It was interesting to see the possible science behind this phenomenon. I also found it interesting that the lead authors are of Asian–mostly Japanese, based on last names–descent. Japan has one of the world’s “oldest” populations due to a prevalence of healthy diet and lifestyle (seafood-heavy diet, mandatory daily aerobic exercise in most workplaces). As a sociology major it was interesting to see how the researchers’ backgrounds possibly influenced their choice of study. This information could greatly reduce the stigma against senior citizens in both Japan and America.