Friday, March 16, 2007

Making memories that last a lifetime. Neurobiologists have discovered a mechanism by which the constantly changing brain retains memories. They have found that the brain co-opts DNA methylation, the same machinery by which cells stably alter their genes to specialize during embryonic... [KurzweilAI.net Accelerating Intelligence News] 10:09:54 PM      Google It!.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Wipe out a single memory. A single, specific memory has been wiped from the brains of rats, leaving other recollections intact, using a drug known to cause limited amnesia (U0126). Greg Quirk, a neurophysiologist from the Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico, thinks t... [KurzweilAI.net Accelerating Intelligence News] 9:57:07 AM      Google It!.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Kurzweil issued patent for AI poetry-writing software. Ray Kurzweil has been issued the first patent for AI software capable of writing poetry. United States Patent 7,184,949, "Basic poetry generation," issued February 27, 2007, covers "a method of analyzing an author's work, including reading a text ... [KurzweilAI.net Accelerating Intelligence News] 11:48:45 AM      Google It!.

Can computers make life-or-death medical decision?. A simple formula can predict how people would want to be treated in dire medical situations as accurately as their loved ones can, say researchers.... [KurzweilAI.net Accelerating Intelligence News] 11:46:45 AM      Google It!.

TR10: Neuron Control. Karl Deisseroth's genetically engineered "light switch," which lets scientists turn selected parts of the brain on and off, may help improve treatments for depression and other disorders.... [KurzweilAI.net Accelerating Intelligence News] 11:45:33 AM      Google It!.

Why Exercise Boosts Brainpower. aditi sends us a report from Reuters on research indicating that exercise boosts brainpower by building new brain cells in a brain region linked with memory and memory loss. Quoting: "Tests on mice showed they grew new brain cells in a brain region called the dentate gyrus, a part of the hippocampus that is known to be affected in the age-related memory decline that begins around age 30 for most humans. Researchers used magnetic resonance imaging scans to help document the process in mice [~] and then used MRIs to look at the brains of people before and after exercise. They found the same patterns, which suggests that people also grow new brain cells when they exercise."[Slashdot] 11:34:04 AM      Google It!.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Study Probes Odor, Sleep and Memory Link. Researchers have found that an odor smelled while in deep sleep might help consolidate some kinds of memory if the same odor was used during learning. ... [KurzweilAI.net Accelerating Intelligence News] 11:57:47 AM      Google It!.

Subliminal advertising leaves its mark on the brain. University College London researchers have found the first physiological evidence that invisible subliminal images do attract the brain's attention on a su... [KurzweilAI.net Accelerating Intelligence News] 11:56:41 AM      Google It!.

Scientists say nerves use sound, not electricity. Copenhagen University researchers theorize that propagation of sonic solitons is a much more likely explanation for propagation of signal in neurons than electrical impulses. The physicists say because the nerve membrane is made of a material simi... [KurzweilAI.net Accelerating Intelligence News] 11:55:12 AM      Google It!.

Nanoparticle Research Offers Hope of Artificial Retinas, Prostheses. The world's first direct electrical link between nerve cells and photovoltaic nanoparticle films has been achieved by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and the University of Michigan. The development opens the doo... [KurzweilAI.net Accelerating Intelligence News] 11:51:30 AM      Google It!.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Subliminal Messages Might Actually Work. GrumpySimon writes "New research indicates that subliminal messages may actually work. In a paper titled Attentional Load Modulates Responses of Human Primary Visual Cortex to Invisible Stimuli, Bahrani et al. demonstrate that even though stimuli may not be available to consciousness, they are processed by the visual cortex. While I'm sure that marketing agencies all over the world are rubbing their hands in glee at this news, the authors report that there's no evidence that this can make people buy things against their will. So with any luck the use of subliminal messages in advertising will remain an urban legend."[Slashdot] 9:31:21 PM      Google It!.

Friday, March 9, 2007

Omega-3s may affect mood and behavior. Omega-3 fatty acids are associated with increased gray matter volume in areas of the brain commonly linked to mood and behavior, according to a University of ... [KurzweilAI.net Accelerating Intelligence News] 7:10:37 PM      Google It!.

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Connecting Your Brain to the Game. Emotiv Systems has announced that video-game makers are able to buy Emotiv's electro-encephalograph (EEG) caps and software developer's tool kits so that they can build games that, they claim, can use the electrical signals from a player's brain to c... [KurzweilAI.net Accelerating Intelligence News] 8:18:16 AM      Google It!.