Brain | Page 1582 | Science Codex

'Nanonet' circuits closer to making flexible electronics reality

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers have overcome a major obstacle in producing transistors from networks of carbon nanotubes, a technology that could make it possible to print circuits on plastic sheets for applications including flexible displays and an electronic skin to cover an entire aircraft to monitor crack formation.

The so-called "nanonet" technology - circuits made of numerous carbon nanotubes randomly overlapping in a fishnet-like structure - has been plagued by a critical flaw: The network is contaminated with metallic nanotubes that cause short circuits.

1 missing gene leads to fruitless mating rituals

DURHAM, N.C. – Male fruit flies missing a gene for one particular odor receptor become clueless in matters of love, scientists at Duke University Medical Center have discovered.

Because they lack the ability to read important chemical cues, these flies will indiscriminately attempt to have sex with other males, and with females who have already mated. The signals they're missing are pheromones wafting from mated females and male flies. The work appears online in Nature Neuroscience.

August 2008 Geology and GSA Today media highlights

Boulder, CO, USA – GEOLOGY topics include confirmation that East Java's "Lusi" mud volcano was most likely triggered by a blowout in the Banjar Panji-1 well; evidence of the oldest human presence yet discovered along Egypt's northern Nile delta; analysis of Yellowstone's hotspot; and GPS measurements that show why no large earthquakes occur in the Snake River Plain. GSA Today's science article studies the impact of Glen Canyon dam in Grand Canyon on sandbar ecosystems along the Colorado River.

'Stuffy nose' mouse: A promise to help treat 31 million with sinusitis

Mice with inflamed nasal tissue being tested at a Johns Hopkins laboratory may be unable to tell if something smells bad or good, but their sensory deficit is nothing to turn up a nose at.

Age-old magic tricks can provide clues for modern science

Revealing the science behind age-old magic tricks will help us better understand how humans see, think, and act, according to researchers at the University of British Columbia and Durham University in the U.K.

Their study in the current online issue of the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences concludes that elements of human cognition and perception not yet fully understood by scientists may be clarified by analysing tricks and techniques used by magicians over thousands of years.

Heart disease is linked to worse mental processes that, in turn, predict the onset of dementia

Coronary heart disease is associated with a worse performance in mental processes such as reasoning, vocabulary and verbal fluency, according to a study of 5837 middle-aged Whitehall civil servants. The study also found that the longer ago the heart disease had been diagnosed, the worse was the person's cognitive performance and this effect was particularly marked in men.

Identification of protein able to stimulate production of T-cells

A team of Canadian and Finnish scientists has identified a protein able to stimulate the production of T-cells, the white blood cells involved in the recognition and the elimination of infectious agents. The discovery by researchers of the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) at the Université de Montréal in Canada and the University of Oulu in Finland – published in the latest edition of the journal Immunity – could help to combat age-related declines in immune response.

Sugar study is sweetener for stem cell science

Scientists at The University of Manchester are striving to discover how the body's natural sugars can be used to create stem cell treatments for heart disease and nerve damage – thanks to a £370,000 funding boost.

All cells that make up the tissues of the body – such as skin, liver, brain and blood – are surrounded by a layer of sugars that coat the cells.

These sugars help the cells to know what type of cell they are and to respond to the other cells which surround them and the chemical messages that pass between cells.

Reflecting on values promotes love, acceptance

No one enjoys being told that their behavior is harmful to themselves or others. In fact, most people respond defensively when confronted with evidence that their behavior is irrational, irresponsible, or unhealthy. Fortunately, research has shown that just a few minutes of writing about an important value can reduce defensiveness.

How carrots help us see the color orange

One of the easiest ways to identify an object is by its color -- perhaps it is because children's books encourage us to pair certain objects with their respective colors. Why else would so many of us automatically assume carrots are orange, grass is green and apples are red?

STAR*D study leaders at UT Southwestern test two-drug approach to depression in new CO-MED trial

DALLAS – July 22, 2008 – Hoping to answer a question raised by the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) study, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have designed the Combining Medication to Enhance Outcomes of Depression (CO-MED) trial to test multiple-medication treatment of depression.

MIT identifies cells for spinal-cord repair

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A researcher at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory has pinpointed stem cells within the spinal cord that, if persuaded to differentiate into more healing cells and fewer scarring cells following an injury, may lead to a new, non-surgical treatment for debilitating spinal-cord injuries.

It takes nerves for flies to keep a level head

The nerve connections that keep a fly's gaze stable during complex aerial manoeuvres, enabling it to respond quickly to obstacles in its flight path, are revealed in new detail in research published today (22 July 2008).

Scientists from Imperial College London have described the connections between two key sets of nerve cells in a fly's brain that help it process what it sees and fast-track that information to its muscles. This helps it stay agile and respond quickly to its environment while on the move.

Blood-related genetic mechanisms found important in Parkinson's disease

MADISON – What does the genetics of blood cells have to do with brain cells related to Parkinson's disease? From an unusual collaboration of neurologists and a pharmacologist comes the surprising answer: Genetic mechanisms at play in blood cells also control a gene and protein that cause Parkinson's disease.

Microbes beneath sea floor genetically distinct

Tiny microbes beneath the sea floor, distinct from life on the Earth's surface, may account for one-tenth of the Earth's living biomass, according to an interdisciplinary team of researchers, but many of these minute creatures are living on a geologic timescale.