brain

Ifedamola Adefisoye is the co-founder and chief technology officer at the healthcare start-up, Chekker. He previously founded another healthcare start-up. He speaks with freelance journalist, Tony Ademiluyi, about his latest healthcare start-up, his technological diagnosis of the challenges in the Nigerian healthcare sector, the vision for his start-up, and the expansion plans for it beyond the shores of Nigeria. Below are the excerpts: What was your motivation for becoming an IT Professional? Was it a case of…

A recent clinical trial involving undergraduate students found that consuming walnuts had a positive impact on self-reported mental health and general health biomarkers during their university studies.Stressed university students might want to add walnuts to their daily diet in the weeks leading up to their next exam.A new clinical trial of undergraduate students during their university studies has shown positive effects of walnut consumption on self-reported measures of mental health and biomarkers of general health.The…

A new computational model has been developed that explains the connection between our breathing and how it influences the brain’s expectations.Breathing is essential for survival, but taking in a breath of fresh air does more than just keep us alive.“Breathe in… Breathe out…”It’s common knowledge that taking deep breaths can help calm us down in stressful situations. But now, Professor Micah Allen from the Department of Clinical Medicine at <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt"…

A group of neuroscientists has found brain cells that control the motivation of mice to perform tasks for rewards. When these cells are activated, mice work harder and avoid becoming addicted to rewards. The discovery could lead to new treatments for mental illnesses such as depression that affect motivation.Neuroscientists have discovered a set of brain cells that influence the motivation of mice to perform tasks for rewards. Increasing the cells’ activity makes a mouse work harder or more vigorously. The neurons come…

According to research from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, elementary school-age children who get less than nine hours of sleep per night have differences in brain regions that impact memory, intelligence, and well-being compared to those who get the recommended nine to 12 hours of sleep per night. These differences are associated with increased mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and impulsive behaviors, as well as cognitive difficulties with memory, problem-solving, and…

Earlier this year, the developer of a promising antibody designed to slow Alzheimer’s disease strengthened a key warning given to participants in an ongoing trial of the experimental drug. Taking the antibody alongside blood clot medications, the Japanese biotech company Eisai cautioned, increases the risk of possibly fatal brain hemorrhages. That revision of its informed consent form, revealed in a 14 July version obtained by Science, appears to challenge the…

For humans to ever venture out among the stars, we will have to solve some hefty logistical problems.Not the least of these is the travel time involved. Space is so large, and human technology so limited, that the time it would take to travel to another star presents a significant barrier.The Voyager 1 probe, for instance, would take 73,000 years to reach Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the Sun, at its current speed.Voyager launched more than 40 years ago, and more recent spacecraft might be expected to travel…

(A) Cerebral microbleeds (CMB) visualized as round, dark lesions (arrow) on SWI sequence in the left temporal lobe in a migraine case with aura. (B) Asymmetry in the appearance of the cortical vessels is more prominent on the left side (arrow) ipsilateral to the CMB. Credit: RSNA and Wilson XuFor the first time, a new study has identified enlarged perivascular spaces in the brains of migraine sufferers. Results of the study were presented recently at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America…

When we eat food that's been contaminated by potentially harmful bacteria, vomiting is a key way the body expels the toxins. To get a closer look at the process from go to throw, a team of researchers tracked a similar process in mice, from their gut to their brain.Strangely, mice don't actually vomit, perhaps because compared to their body size their esophagus is too long and muscle strength is too weak.They do retch, however, which is a good enough sign for examining the biological signals behind food poisoning."The…

Scientists have discovered the role of cerebrospinal fluid in cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer’s disease.Immune cells in brain and spinal fluid become dysregulated and ‘a little angry’ as we age.Cerebrospinal fluid immune system is drastically altered in individuals with cognitive impairmentDiscovery could potentially be used to treat inflammation of the brain First thorough analysis of important brain immune system The reason your three-pound brain doesn’t feel heavy is because it floats in a reservoir of…