For many women, the ticking of your biological clock can be incredibly stressful. But here’s some good news: An international team of researchers presenting at the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology in Istanbul this week have pioneered a technique that puts menopause on hold indefinitely, allowing women to put off having children till much later in life, giving a woman more time to focus on her career, become financially stable, and perhaps most importantly, allowing her to start a family when she chooses to.
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In what is being called a “fundamental leap forward in our understanding of how brains work,” Japanese researchers have successfully caught on film a thought being formed in the brain. And while the brain in this study belongs to a zebrafish, not a human, the footage is captivating, and sheds light on how researchers could use a similar technique to see how our brains work.
To observe the zebrafish brain’s neurons in real time, researchers used a fluorescent probe that makes neurons light up when they’re active. What was the zebrafish thinking about? Something we humans obsess about all the time: Food. Researchers showed the fish a squirming piece of prey, and watched as the fish’s brain perceived it and considered consuming it. “In other words, you’re seeing what the fish thinks when it sees its lunch,” explains Jamie Condliffe at Gizmodo. In the video, parts of the fish’s brain light up like lightning in a storm before the light ripples through the neurons. It is, for lack of a better phrase, so cool.
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6 fascinating things we've learned from studying apes and monkeys
A committee from the National Institutes of Health recently recommended that scientists retire a majority of the chimpanzees currently being used for federally-funded medical research in the United States. It’s worth taking a look back at some of the things we’ve learned by studying chimps, monkeys, and other non-human primates over the years. The methodology of some research is unsettling — but the conclusions do lead to a better understanding of who we are.
- Stress early in life can lead to drinking later in life
This is, perhaps, not a huge surprise, but at least now you know you can blame your childhood for your drinking habits. Researchers compared the alcohol consumption of two different groups ofrhesus monkeys, one raised without adult contact and comfort, and another raised with their mothers. When the monkeys were roughly 4 years old, they were given access to alcohol, and the monkeys raised away from their mothers drank more alcohol more often than the mother-reared monkeys. Of course, even those of us with the most stable childhoods can be driven to drink. When the mother-reared monkeys were placed in stressful situations, they increased their alcohol consumption, too. - We’re not the only primates capable of selfless acts
Can non-human primates experience empathy? Can they understand and share in another’s feelings? Research suggests it’s very possible. In one 1964 study, a group of six rhesus monkeys were taught to pull a chain to receive a helping of food. At one point, a seventh monkey was introduced to the group, and each time the first six pulled the lever for food, the new guy would get a painful electric shock. In response, the monkeys did one of two things: Some pulled a separate chain that administered less food, but didn’t shock their companion. Others stopped eating entirely. One monkey went 12 days without eating to ensure it did not shock the others.
- Stress early in life can lead to drinking later in life
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Lake Vida, a salty lake buried under a 60-foot-thick sheet of ice in Antarctica, has renewed scientists’ hopes of finding alien life in space, even in the most inhospitable places.
The lake, which has been completely sealed off from the rest of the world for 2,800 years, is devoid of light and oxygen, but is surprisingly teeming with microbial life.
(Source: theweek.com)
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Analysis of 14 recently resurfaced photos reveals what we’ve suspected all along: Albert Einstein’s physical brain “was better than yours,” says Doyle Rice at USA Today. Though not at first glance.
More…
Photo: Keystone/Getty Images(Source: theweek.com)
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This does not equate to a loss of life, but it is extremely disheartening to see years of research go down the drain.
— An NYU source remarks on the loss of years of medical research, destroyed by Hurricane Sandy(Source: theweek.com)
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The British government’s meteorological service recently released new figures on global temperatures that prompted the Daily Mail, a conservative British tabloid, to declare: “Global warming stopped 16 years ago.”
The bold headline rekindled the often bitter debate over climate change, and what world leaders should do about it. Have climate scientists changed their minds about what’s happening to Earth’s temperatures, and how pollution affects those temperatures? Did global warming really stop 16 years ago?
Photo: Uriel Sinai/Getty Images
(Source: theweek.com)
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Photo: Thinkstock
In 1993, the average stroke victim suffered his first attack at age 71. In 2005, that number fell to 69. More disturbingly, the stroke rate of people under age 55 increased significantly from 13 percent of all stroke victims studied in 1993 to 19 percent in 2005. In other words, as of 2005, people under age 55 accounted for one in five stroke victims. That rise comes despite an overall drop in the number of people suffering strokes and was consistent across different ethnic groups, says BBC News.
Why are more young Americans having strokes?
(Source: theweek.com)
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This 2-foot-long Pegomastax africanus is a peculiar little beast that lived 200 million years ago. It had pig-like fangs, a parrot-like beak, and was covered in porcupine-like quills that made it look like a “strange little bird.” Despite its pointy teeth, recent research suggests it subsisted primarily on plants, baring its fangs primarily for self-defense.
Take a look at 5 of the most freakishly bizarre dinosaurs ever dug up
(Source: theweek.com)
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Vampyroteuthis infernalis, literally the “vampire squid from hell,” is a living fossil. It’s been on Earth for millions of years, has survived “all major extinction events,” and has hardly changed at all.
The foot-long cephalopod — a category that includes squid and octopi — brandishes an umbrella-like cloak and lives 3,000 feet below the surface, where there is very little oxygen. Part of the secret to its longevity, say researchers, is its “eclectic diet,” which consists of scraps like “fish eggs, bits of crustacean antennae and eyes and legs, larvae, and even larvae feces,” says Stephanie Pappas at LiveScience. In essence, they’re the “garbage disposals of the ocean.”
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Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Need to drink less? The secret may be in your choice of glassware. Researchers from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom closely monitored the drinking habits of scores of imbibers, and found that people who drank beer from curvy glasses downed their brews almost twice as fast as revelers who took their beer in a straight glass.
How the shape of a beer glass changes your drinking speed
(Source: theweek.com)
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Still afraid of the dark? It’s probably time to get over it. New evidence from Ohio State University found that, whether it comes from a night-light, or staying up late in front of a computer or TV, a dim light at night may be making you depressed.
(Source: theweek.com)
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Study: Marijuana could help cure obesity-related diseases
Researchers say marijuana leaves contain two compounds that boost the metabolism of mice, leading to lower levels of fat and cholesterol in the body — the latest addition to a growing body of evidence that marijuana may be useful in countering ailments related to obesity.
One study in March found that a brain chemical similar in structure to an active compound in cannibis could help people shed weight, while another study last September concluded that pot smokers were less likely to be obese than non-potheads, though for reasons that remain unclear.
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Discovered: A way to delay menopause… forever?
