A bad press release makes a good excuse to look at how developmental biology works. Late last week, we started […]
Tag: neurobiology
Finding the cells that put our brain to sleep
Rare cells with widespread connectivity seem to be able to trigger sleep. For a long time, sleep research has treated […]
Second complete map of a fruit fly brain completed
Every neuron and connection in the brain of a fly has been mapped—twice. On Friday, researchers announced the completion of […]
Just like a fruit fly, a new algorithm never forgets old scents
Insect-inspired “sparse coding” does fast learning, avoids catastrophic forgetting. Fruit flies aren’t exactly famous for their brainpower; you’ve probably drowned […]
Putting mice into hibernation causes a major loss of synapses
Hibernation cuts down on synapses, but mice seem to retain memories anyway. Our leading hypothesis for how our memories are […]
How fruit flies chase invisible ribbons of smell to get to their source
Is that the smell of success? Tracking smells in turbulent air takes a keen sense of direction and sharp memory. […]
Whatever the mirror test tells us, beluga whales pass it
The white whales join the short, contested list of animals that see themselves. In hours of underwater video footage from […]
Male octopuses guided through mating by female hormones
A receptor that’s used to find prey is also activated by progesterone. A two-spot octopus in its normal habitat. Credit: […]
From chickens to humans, animals think “bouba” sounds round
Does “bouba” sound round to you? How about “maluma”? Neither are real words, but we’ve known for decades that people […]
Researchers make “neuromorphic” artificial skin for robots
The nervous system does an astonishing job of tracking sensory information, and does so using signals that would drive many […]