University of Pennsylvania

Researchers show that suppressing the brain's 'filter' can improve performance in creative tasks

(Medical Xpress)—The brain's prefrontal cortex is thought to be the seat of cognitive control, working as a kind of filter that keeps irrelevant thoughts, perceptions and memories from interfering with ...

Neuroscience created Mar 14, 2013 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (15) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

Mammalian placenta reflects exposure to stress, impacts offsprings' brains, research finds

The mammalian placenta is more than just a filter through which nutrition and oxygen are passed from a mother to her unborn child. According to a new study by a research group from the University of Pennsylvania School of ...

Medical research created Mar 04, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Immunologists find a molecule that puts the brakes on inflammation

(Medical Xpress)—We couldn't live without our immune systems, always tuned to detect and eradicate invading pathogens and particles. But sometimes the immune response goes overboard, triggering autoimmune ...

Immunology created Sep 28, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (11) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Research finds key molecules involved in forming long-term memories

How does one's experience of an event get translated into a memory that can be accessed months, even years later? A team led by University of Pennsylvania scientists has come closer to answering that question, identifying ...

Medical research created Sep 10, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Researchers show 'neural fingerprints' of memory associations

Researchers have long been interested in discovering the ways that human brains represent thoughts through a complex interplay of elec-trical signals. Recent improvements in brain recording and statistical methods have given ...

Neuroscience created Jun 26, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

T cells 'hunt' parasites like animal predators seek prey, study shows

By pairing an intimate knowledge of immune-system function with a deep understanding of statistical physics, a cross-disciplinary team at the University of Pennsylvania has arrived at a surprising finding: T cells use a movement ...

Medical research created May 27, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists identify genes linked to Western African Pygmies' small stature

If Pygmies are known for one trait, it is their short stature: Pygmy men stand just 4'11" on average. But the reason why these groups are so short and neighboring groups are not remains unclear. Scientists have proposed various ...

Genetics created Apr 26, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

6- to 9-month-olds understand the meaning of many spoken words: research

At an age when "ba-ba" and "da-da" may be their only utterances, infants nevertheless comprehend words for many common objects, according to a new study.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Feb 13, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (4) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Gene therapy research cures retinitis pigmentosa in dogs

Members of a University of Pennsylvania research team have shown that they can prevent, or even reverse, a blinding retinal disease, X-linked Retinitis Pigmentosa, or XLRP, in dogs.

Genetics created Jan 23, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (15) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers find neural signature of 'mental time travel'

Almost everyone has experienced one memory triggering another, but explanations for that phenomenon have proved elusive. Now, University of Pennsylvania researchers have provided the first neurobiological evidence that memories ...

Neuroscience created Jul 18, 2011 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (8) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

New research overturns theory on how children learn their first words

New research by a team of University of Pennsylvania psychologists is helping to overturn the dominant theory of how children learn their first words, suggesting that it occurs more in moments of insight than gradually through ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 23, 2011 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (9) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Quitting marshmallow test can be a rational decision

(Medical Xpress)—A psychological experiment known as "the marshmallow test" has captured the public's imagination as a marker of self control and even as a predictor of future success. This test shows how well children ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Mar 21, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers uncover a pathway that stimulates bone growth

(Medical Xpress)—Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have discovered that a protein called Jagged-1 stimulates human stem cells to differentiate into bone-producing cells. This ...

Medical research created Feb 13, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Eat to dream: Study shows dietary nutrients associated with certain sleep patterns

(Medical Xpress)—"You are what you eat," the saying goes, but is what you eat playing a role in how much you sleep? Sleep, like nutrition and physical activity, is a critical determinant of health and well-being. With the ...

Health created Feb 07, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study reveals promising new target for Parkinson's disease therapies

With a new insight into a model of Parkinson's disease, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have identified a novel target for mitigating some of the disease's toll on the brain.

Parkinson's & Movement disorders created Jan 19, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast