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Modern brains have an ancient core
06-29-2007 · EurekAlert!Researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory now reveal that the hypothalamus and its hormones are not purely vertebrate inventions, but have their evolutionary roots in marine, worm-like ancestors. In this week's issue of the journal Cell they report that hormone-secreting brain centres are much older than expected and likely evolved from multifunctional cells of the last common ancestor of vertebrates, flies and worms.
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Keywords: modern, brains, ancient, core, brain
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- Putting feelings into words produces therapeutic effects in the brain
06-21-2007 · EurekAlert!
A new brain imaging study by UCLA psychologists reveals why verbalizing our feelings makes our sadness, anger and pain less intense. A second UCLA study combines modern neuroscience with ancient Buddhist teachings to provide the first neural evidence for why "mindfulness" -- the ability to live in the present moment, without distraction -- seems to produce a variety of health benefits.
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- FSU anthropologist finds earliest evidence of maize farming in Mexico
04-09-2007 · EurekAlert!
A Florida State University anthropologist from Tallahassee, Fla., has new evidence that ancient farmers in Mexico were cultivating an early form of maize, the forerunner of modern corn, about 7,300 years ago -- 1,200 years earlier than scholars previously thought.
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- Ancient arches guide modern work
05-16-2007 · Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
John Ochsendorf, assistant professor of architecture at MIT who studies historical design procedures, says we can learn a lot from studying exactly why and under what loads flexible lines will keep hanging and rigid arches will keep standing.
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- Did early Southwestern Indians ferment corn and make beer?
12-05-2007 · EurekAlert!
The belief among some archeologists that Europeans introduced alcohol to the Indians of the American Southwest may be faulty.Ancient and modern pot sherds collected by New Mexico state archeologist Glenna Dean, in conjunction with analyses by Sandia National Laboratories researcher Ted Borek, open the possibility that food or beverages made from fermenting corn were consumed by native inhabitants centuries before the Spanish arrived.
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- Man's earliest direct ancestors looked more apelike than previously believed
03-24-2007 · EurekAlert!
A computer-generated reconstruction by NYU College of Dentistry Professor Dr. Timothy Bromage, shows a 1.9 million-year-old skull belonging to Homo rudolfensis with a surprisingly small brain and distinctly protruding jaw. Dr. Bromage's is the first scientist to produce a reconstruction of the skull that questions Richard Leakey's depiction of modern man's earliest direct ancestor as having a vertical facial profile and a relatively large brain -- an interpretation widely accepted until now.
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- Sex on the brain
05-07-2007 · EurekAlert!
New evidence on sex differences in people's brains and behaviors emerges with the publication of results from the British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) Sex ID Internet Survey. Survey questions and tests focused on participants' sex-linked cognitive abilities, personality traits, interests, sexual attitudes and behavior, as well as physical traits. The Archives of Sexual Behavior№ has devoted a special section in its April 2007 issue to research papers based on the BBC data.
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- Stroke study sheds light on left-right brain divide
06-10-2007 · EurekAlert!
Research into the effects of strokes has furthered our understanding of the different roles of the left and right sides of our brains. A study led by the University of Exeter has highlighted differences in the ability of people to perform basic tasks, depending on whether the left or right sides of their brains have been damaged by a stroke. The research identified the role of the right side of the brain in noticing and correcting errors.
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- Lipids in the brain an important factor for Alzheimer's disease?
12-10-2007 · EurekAlert!
As the most common form of dementia in the Western world, Alzheimer's disease carries enormous implications for our ageing society. It is generally accepted that the disease is caused by Alzheimer peptide (A -peptide) protofibrils. Until now, the conditions under which this type of protofibril is formed and leads to the disease remained unknown. VIB researchers have now discovered that certain lipids, present also in our brains, promote the formation of this protofibril.
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- Chemical signature of manic depression discovered by scientists
02-05-2008 · EurekAlert!
People with manic depression have a distinct chemical signature in their brains, according to a new study. The research, published today in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, may also indicate how the mood stabilisers used to treat the disorder counteract the changes in the brain that it appears to cause.
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- MIT researcher: Learning about brains from computers, and vice versa
02-15-2008 · EurekAlert!
For many years, Tomaso Poggio's lab at MIT ran two parallel lines of research. Some projects were aimed at understanding how the brain works, using complex computational models. Others were aimed at improving the abilities of computers to perform tasks that our brains do with ease. But recently Poggio has found that the two tasks have begun to overlap to such a degree, that it's now time to combine the two lines of research.
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