“Creepy ‘brain in a bucket’ study spurs medical, ethical debates” … “Yale experiment to reanimate dead brains promises ‘living hell’ for humans” … “Scientists have managed to reanimate disembodied pigs’ brains – but for a human mind, it could be a living hell” … These are just a few of the sensational headlines that came […]
Category Archives: Uncategorized
September
27
Close Encounters of the Robotic Kind: A Glimpse of Autonomy
posted by Caroline Sferrazza
Earlier this summer, people around the world were gripped by the story of the young boys from a Thai soccer team who had been trapped inside of a cave after a flood. We watched with fascination – and a healthy dose of apprehension – as plans were formulated to rescue the boys, whose situation was […]
September
20
Glioblastoma: John McCain’s final battle
posted by megkirch
On August 25th, I received a news notification on my phone that Arizona Senator John McCain had passed away, just one day after halting treatment for glioblastoma and little more than one year after diagnosis. I was taken aback. I’d known this was coming, but not that it would happen so quickly. Moreover, the sorrow […]
September
06
Spinal Cord Injury and how to treat it
posted by cdorrier
More than a quarter of a million Americans live with a spinal cord injury (SCI) [1], which occurs when a physical injury damages or severs spinal cord tissue. This injury can break neural connections from the brain to the limbs that are used to initiate voluntary movement, which in extreme cases results in full or […]
August
16
The Plastic Brain: Neurotransmitter Switching
posted by Seraphina Solders
What comes to mind when you think of the word “plastic”? For me, this word conjures images of water bottles and tupperware. So in my high school psychology class, when we were told that our brains are “plastic”, I was pretty confused. However, we soon learned that the word “plastic” can be used to describe […]
August
09
The Power of Neuroscience Compels You!
posted by Elena Blanco-Suarez, Ph.D.
[En español] Last February the Vatican announced that it was offering an exorcism training course* for priests. At first I thought it was a great way to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the release of the wonderful horror classic The Exorcist, but as it turned out, this initiative was in response to an alarming rise in […]
July
05
Where does Alzheimer’s disease begin?
posted by Seraphina Solders
Sometimes I forget what day of the week it is, where I put my keys, or when a friend’s birthday is- but I never stop to wonder if these brief moments of forgetfulness are normal or a sign of something more serious. For many, occasional short-term memory loss is a normal part of getting older, […]
June
21
Apply now for ComSciCon-SD 2018!
posted by Catie Profaci
In many ways, science is like a foreign language. While the technical words that scientists use often mean very little to those not daily immersed in science, science is–at its heart–a logical process of asking questions and searching for answers. This journey of asking and answering does not require any extraordinary intelligence. It instead necessitates […]
June
14
Does imagination make us human?
posted by Catie Profaci
Do you take your coffee with milk? Would you like a slice of pizza? Oh hold on, that pizza will have to wait—someone is calling on the plastic phone on the kitchen wall. Who? Obviously my best friend Phoebe from down the street. Uh oh, now the coffee is cold. I’ll put on a fresh […]
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