Different learning patterns lead to different type of memory formationOctober 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - McGill University researchers in Canada have shown that different patterns of training and learning lead to different types of memory formation. Describing a study they conducted in the Journal of Neuroscience, they say that its significance lies in the fact that it identifies the molecular differences between spaced training (distributed over time) and massed training (at very short intervals), shedding light on brain function and guiding learning and training principles.
Your handwriting can show if you're lyingSeptember 19th, 2009 LONDON - If you want to know if someone is telling you the truth, just go through his or her handwriting, say scientists in Haifa, Israel. According to psychologists, handwriting changes when someone lies, and this is so because the brain has to work harder to invent facts, which then in turn interfere with the normal writing process.
Sleep can reduce mistakes in memorySeptember 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Here's a pointer for students flubbing multiple-choice tests: Sleep can reduce mistakes in memory, says a new study. The first-of-its-kind study led by a cognitive neuroscientist at Michigan State University, appears in the September issue of the journal Learning and Memory.
Metal catalysts in carbon nanotubes block critical signalling pathway in neuronsAugust 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In what may prove very useful in improving treatments for human neurological disorders, Brown University scientists have found out why carbon nanotubes tend to block a critical signalling pathway in neurons. Writing about their findings in the journal Biomaterials, the researchers have revealed that it is not the tubes, but the metal catalysts used to form them, that are to blame.
Memory exam better than IQ test in assessing students' abilitiesAugust 16th, 2009 LONDON - Testing students' working memory is better than IQ test for assessing their learning potential, according to a study. Scientists say that "working memory"-the ability to retain and juggle information for brief periods-could be as much a measure of modern mental abilities as traditional IQ tests.
Orchids entice hornets with their prey's scentAugust 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have found that a species of orchid attracts pollen-carrying hornets by wearing the scent of their prey. Dendrobium sinense grows on the Chinese island of Hainan, where hornets capture honeybees to serve as food for their larvae.
Honeybees form 'bee balls' to mob and smother invading hornetsJuly 5th, 2009 LONDON - Honeybee hordes form "bee balls" to mob and smother their predators, giant hornets, killing them within 10 minutes of trapping, scientists have observed. According to the journal Naturwissenschaften, honeybees use heat and carbon dioxide as part of their mechanism to guard themselves from their natural enemies.
Ageing honeybees' learning ability remains intact when social roles are switchedJuly 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - While scientists have been aware of the fact that cognitive function among humans declines as they get older, a research team in Germany have found that ageing honeybees can keep their learning ability intact or even improve it by switching their social roles. Experts at Technische Universitat Berlin are now planning to use honeybees as a model to study general ageing processes in the brain, and hope that they may provide some clues on how to prevent them.
Indian origin scientist shows electric fields can be used as ON/OFF switchesJune 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Ramamoorthy Ramesh, a scientist of Indian origin, along with his colleagues at Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division in the US, successfully demonstrated that electric fields can be used as ON/OFF switches in doped multiferroic films. Multiferroics are materials in which unique combinations of electric and magnetic properties can simultaneously coexist.
Sea cucumbers inspire sponge that absorbs CO2May 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - An Australian researcher has suggested that the porous structure of sea cucumbers could be the perfect model to create a sponge that absorbs C02 (carbon dioxide) and boosts hydrogen fuel production. According to a report by ABC News, the researcher in question is Chemical engineer Dr Andrew Harris of the University of Sydney.
If you think your memory worsens with age, it willApril 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Thinking your memory will get worse as you become older may actually make it come true. Researchers found that the elderly who thought that seniors would perform poorly on memory tests scored worse than their counterparts who didn't buy this outlook.
Thinking that memory deteriorates with age may actually damage yoursApril 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Think memory worsens with age? Then yours probably will, says a new study. The study found that senior citizens who think older people should perform poorly on tests of memory actually score much worse than seniors who don't buy in to negative stereotypes about aging and memory loss.
Heather Mills will sue anyone printing lies about herApril 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - English charity campaigner Heather Mills has warned publications and websites against printing damaging lies about her, lest she should sue them. The former wife of Sir Paul Mccartney insists that she does not want her daughter to read any damaging lies about her as she grows up.
Honeybees change roles to avoid mid-life crisisApril 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Adding to the impressive list of bee qualities, scientists have now found that honeybees go through a metamorphosis in their mid-life and perform different social roles as they age. Female worker bees work in the hive as they venture into adulthood, and perform tasks like taking care of the baby bees.
Honeybees and bumblebees prefer flying shortest distance between two flowersMarch 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Insects like honeybees and bumblebees prefer the shortest distance when they have to fly from one flower to another, according to an American study. S. Alan Walters of Southern Illinois University and Jonathan R.
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