7/23/14
Report #6: Ballet dancers’ brains adapt
to stop them getting in a spin
Researchers have found that dancers
can suppress signals from the balance organs in the inner ear and the feeling
of dizziness stems comes from the vestibular organ in the inner ear. They did
an experiment where dancers and normal females were spun around and were asked
to turn a handle in time with how quickly they felt they were spinning after
they had stopped. The researchers observed that the dancers eye reflexes and
their perspective of spinning lasted a shorter time than the normal females.
After scanning the ballet dancers brains, they saw that the cerebellum was
smaller than normal females and this part of the brain is responsible for the
perception of dizziness. In another experiment, dancers and normal females were
to sit in a chair that span and they were suppose to turn a wheel with their
hands with the amount of rotation they felt they were experiencing. In the
results, the dancers felt less turns than the normal females and they moved
their eyes less. The dancers sense of turning and the vestibular ocular reflex
was disconnected, so though their eyes moved as a reflex they couldn’t feel
that they were spinning.
7/17/14
Report #5: A System that Reverses
Paralysis
For decades researchers have been
trying to find a way to help millions of people with spinal chord injuries
recover the control of their limbs. They have created a device that is implanted
into the lower spinal chord to help reawaken the connection between the brain
and the body. The patients benefited in having a better bowel and bladder
control and improved blood pressure. These improvements remained even when the
switch was off. A handheld remote allows the users to select which circuit they
want to stimulate. Andrew Meas, a patient, was able to move his toes for the
first time since his accident that happened four years ago and then within a
week he was able to stand. Researchers say: “It opens up a whole new mechanism
of recovery.”
7/10/14
Report #4: Magic Mushrooms Expand Your
Mind and Amplify
Your Brain’s Dreaming Areas
In this research psilocybin, a
chemical found in magic mushrooms that gives a psychedelic experience, was
injected into a group of volunteers. The scientists discovered that this
chemical increased the activity in regions of the brain that are normally
activated during dream sleep and it easily expanded the consciousness. Scientists
have also found this compound can be a potential treatment for depression and
anxiety. People say that after eating these mushrooms they feel more
optimistic, less self-centered, and even happier for months. Fifteen
participants were found to increase their brain function in emotion and memory.
The patients benefited from having their emotions “unlocked” giving them a
style of psychotherapy and permanently changing their point of view.
7/2/14
Report #3: Solar panels light the way from carbon dioxide to fuel
Researchers in Princeton have come up with a way to trap
sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into a potential alternative fuel known as
formic acid. Using a commercial solar panel, they were able to transform carbon
dioxide and water to formic acid. This process takes place in an
electrochemical cell consisting of metal plates. The amount of power the
electrochemical cell can handle must be the same as the amount of power produced
by the solar panel to have an efficient system, and this process is called impedance
matching. This product uses waste carbon dioxide and machine particles to make a
renewable fuel.
6/26/14
Repot #2: Super-Elastic
Battery Gets Ready for Electric Clothes
Scientists in China have
revealed a lithium ion battery that can be stretched by 600%. This battery can
be woven into textiles for wearable devices in the future. The scientist were
able to create this battery by twisting two carbon nanotubes-lithium oxide
composite yarns, which served as positive and negative electrodes, that is
covered with a gel. Other scientists have produced a stretchable battery but it
was in a flatter format that made it difficult for wearable electronics. Their
next step would be to increase the amount of energy stored in the battery.
6/19/14
Report #1: Breakthrough in the study of
aluminum should yield new technological advances
Researchers announced on October 28th that
after more than one hundred years they had a breakthrough in the study of
aluminum. Aluminum, one of the most important metals of the world, can now be
combined into aqueous aluminum clusters that are used in soil chemistry and
plant growth. Aluminum is used in many things like in cooking, eating utensils,
food packaging, construction, etc. The researchers new findings expand the
aluminum use making it widely available in electronics, transistor, and solar
energy cells. This new discovery would have a great impact in the production of
green products, lowered equipment cost, and aluminum applications that work
better.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131028162924.htm
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