The size of the human brain increased profoundly during evolution. A certain gene that is only found in humans triggers brain stem cells to form a larger pool of stem cells. As a consequence, more neurons can arise, which ...
Jan 7, 2020
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In a new study, Jennifer Caputo, research scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, found that women who worked consistently during their prime midlife working years had better physical health than non-working ...
Dec 18, 2019
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Meaning is central to language. But how do we combine the building blocks of thought and language to compose meaning? A special issue of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, edited by Andrea E. Martin from ...
Dec 16, 2019
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Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is becoming the most common chronic liver disorder in developed countries. Histological analysis of liver tissue is the only widely accepted test for diagnosing and distinguishing different ...
Dec 3, 2019
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Without hardly noticing, we make countless decisions: to turn left or right on the bus? To wait or to accelerate? To look or to ignore? In the run-up to these decisions the brain evaluates sensory information and only then ...
Dec 2, 2019
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More than ten percent of the cerebral cortex is involved in processing information about our sense of touch—a larger area than previously thought. This is the result of a joint study by researchers from the Max Planck Institute ...
Nov 25, 2019
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In order to remember where important events happened, or how to get from A to B, brains form mental "maps" of the environment. An important component of these mental maps are the so-called grid cells. Different grid cells ...
Nov 19, 2019
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The constant battle against infectious pathogens has had a decisive influence on the human immune system over the course of our evolution. A key role in our adaptation to pathogens is played by HLA molecules. These proteins ...
Nov 8, 2019
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Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) work on the principle that measurable changes in electrical brain activity occur just by thinking about performing a task. Signals can be read, evaluated, and then converted into control signals ...
Nov 7, 2019
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Do people with autism have differently organized brains? A large-scale MRI study, published in Nature Communications, reports fewer differences between the right and left hemispheres in people with autism spectrum disorder. ...
Oct 31, 2019
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