Cognitive Labs: August 2006

8.31.2006

Star Trek Club of Deutschland
>

Here is a hot new top referrer.

Not sure why they like us, but this is a cool site.

It is the offical Star Trek Fan Club of Deutschland.

// posted by neurofuture 7:40 PM permanent link

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Single Celled Metamorph with as many distinct Genes as Humans
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Scientists have defined the function of a one-celled paramecium with almost as many genes as humans. The genetic abundance enables the organism to change form and function of structures within the cell and it also is duonucleonic (e.g., it has 2 nuclei). When a nutrient is detected the paramecium builds a structure to aborb it and turn it into cellular biomass quickly. Depending on environment, the organism can change appearance and form, adapting - therefore it is a metamorph.

more at Ciliate.org

// posted by neurofuture 5:14 PM permanent link

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Researchers: Juice Reduces Alzheimer's Risk by up to 76%
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Ron Popeil might be right about the benefits of juice.

According to a new study of 2,000 people, the risk of developing Alzheimer's was cut by 76 percent among those who drank fruit or vegetable juice more than three times a week.

Among those who drank juice once a week, the risk was reduced by 16 percent.

The study focused on 1,836 dementia-free people in Seattle beginning in 1991. They were tracked by questionnaires on their lifestyle and eating habits, as well as by cognitive function tests that were conducted every two years.

Although the scientific community had long thought that antioxidant vitamins like vitamins C and E or carotene had protective benefits against Alzheimer's, the study confirmed their belief that "there was maybe something else," Dr. Dai, the study's principal investigator said, pointing to polyphenols, natural antioxidants found in juice, tea and wine. Polyphenols appear to impact the formation of amyloid plaque, the material associated with the morbidity of the disease

"Animal studies and cell culture studies confirmed that some polyphenols from juices showed a stronger neuroprotective effect than antioxidant vitamins. So we are now looking at polyphenols," Dai said.

read the abstract in situ

// posted by neurofuture 4:40 PM permanent link

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The Scream is Back
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Norweigan police have recovered Munch's famous painting "the scream"

// posted by neurofuture 1:14 PM permanent link

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Search and Memory: A Natural Combination
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There is a lot of talk about the long tail, and go into any bookstore such as Barnes and Noble and you will see the book displayed amongst the best sellers.

With comments on the jacket from both Terry Semel and Eric Schmidt, it's a surefire hit.

Search and the long tail are a natural combination, whether the medium is print, audio, video, or something undefined.

Imagine human memory. Human memory (and advanced communication) is composed of a series of images or an image stream because ideograms can be regarded as a higher form of communication than domain-specific writing because you could say, it is platform independent. Imagine the pictogram on the Pioneer spacecraft, which years ago passed the orbit of the former planet, Pluto, which recently got sent down to AAA ball for some seasoning.

If I combine search, memory, audio, and time, we have a long tail demonstration.

For example, just a few minutes ago somebody typed in 'naqsh-i-rustam' into a search engine. Well, what's that? To most people, it's a foreign term.

But to the person who typed in the term, it is a pictographic memory.

What was the search result?

One of the results was this. Therefore, an infinite collection of ideograms, representing an infinite number of human memories, becomes the searchable universe. The search result can itself carry the memory booster. The same phenomenon happened with '40's celebrities' also a recent search. That search returns this

// posted by neurofuture 12:11 PM permanent link

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8.30.2006

Researchers: No Locus in the Brain for Consciousness of "God"
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Scientists using MRI on a study population of nuns have been unable to determine an exact location for the seat of spiritual consciousness in the brain.

Mystical experiences appear to be mediated by several brain regions and systems normally implicated in a variety of functions (self-consciousness, emotion, body representation). The study was published in the current issue of Neuroscience Letters was conducted by Dr. Mario Beauregard from the Department of Psychology at the Université de Montréal and his student Vincent Paquette.

The main goal of the study was to identify the neural correlates of a mystical experience," explained Beauregard. "This does not diminish the meaning and value of such an experience, and neither does it confirm or disconfirm the existence of God."

Fifteen cloistered Carmelite nuns ranging from 23 to 64-years-old were subjected to an fMRI brain scan while asked to relive a mystical experience rather than actually try to achieve one. "I was obliged to do it this way seeing as the nuns are unable to call upon God at will," said Beauregard. This method was justified seeing as previous studies with actors asked to enter a particular emotional state activated the same brain regions as people actually living those emotions.

This study demonstrated that a dozen different regions of the brain are activated during a mystical experience. This type of research became very popular in the United States in the late 1990s. Some researchers went as far as suggesting the possibility of a specific brain region designed for communication with God. This latest research discredits such theories.

// posted by neurofuture 8:59 PM permanent link

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8.29.2006

Study Shows that Brain Recovers from Alcoholism, Except for Map-Reading
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Alcoholics who can stay sober regain most, if not all, brain function despite years of heavy drinking, new research suggests.

"We've looked at long-term abstinence among middle-aged people who stopped drinking in middle age and found virtually full recovery," said study author George Fein, a senior scientist and president of Neurobehavioral Research Inc. (NRI), based in Corte Madera, Calif. and Honolulu.

The findings are reported in the September issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

The work was funded by the U.S. National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse and conducted by Fein's team at NRI, a private research group focused on the effects of drugs and disease on the brain. Additional research was conducted at the Alta Bates Medical Center in Berkeley, Calif.

In the study, Fein's group tracked the neurological abilities of 48 middle-aged alcoholic men and women living in the San Francisco Bay area. All of the participants had been abstinent anywhere from six months to 13 years. While drinking, the male patients had consumed a minimum of 100 drinks per month while the women had consumed at least 80 drinks per month.

The researchers compared the cognitive ability of these ex-drinkers to that of 58 nonalcoholic men and women who either didn't drink at all or drank only in moderation. Each participant was assessed for memory, abstraction, attention, psychomotor abilities, reaction time, spatial processing, and verbal skills.

There was no significant difference in scoring, other than with spatial processing, which concerns scalar evaluation of objects relative to other objects, such as reading a map....

// posted by neurofuture 6:57 PM permanent link

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Greed is Good Memory Test by G. Gekko
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Well the 80's are back...including higher interest rates and a deficit.

What better way to remember it than with the quintessential 80's figure, Gordon Gekko? This is for our friends in all of the U.S.' major Financial centers.

Workout your financial memory. According to Forbes Magazine, Gekko was 44 in 1987. That would make him 63 today and possibly, concerned with memory loss and Alzheimer's. Those of us in college around that time are either in our mid-to late 30's or (early) 40's.

Money Never Sleeps, Pal

// posted by neurofuture 2:50 PM permanent link

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8.28.2006

Who has the fastest brain
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Take a fastest brain quiz, if you've got an idea submit it. Let's see which colleges do best.

The first respondent was from Costa Rica.

// posted by neurofuture 7:36 PM permanent link

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Mental Sharpness the Number One Health Concern for Seniors
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A survey of people 63 and older placed "maintaining mental sharpness" as their number one health concern, according to United Health Care, a Health Maintenance Organization, with 59% of participants ranking it number one. Interestingly, older seniors choose to receive health-related information from their physician, while younger seniors prefer the Internet.

some additional details

-- More Seniors Care More About Health than Wealth: Nearly seven out of
10 seniors (69%) expressed concerns about their health and well-being,
a larger percentage than those who expressed concern about other
categories such as personal finance (52%), often considered a top
source of anxiety among older Americans, spiritual well-being (58%)
and receiving adequate care in old age (56%).

-- Most Staying Up-to-Date on Health Care: Eighty percent of seniors
reported that they keep up-to-date on the latest health news. Doctors,
at 43%, are the most popular source of health information for seniors.
The Internet (25%) is the second most common resource consulted by
seniors, although younger respondents were more likely to go online
for health answers than older ones.

-- Maintaining Mental Sharpness a Priority: Preserving their mental
function is a bigger concern among seniors than the relationship
issues, mood disorders and emotional problems that can accompany
aging. Nearly six out of 10 seniors (59%) are concerned about staying
mentally sharp. Less than half (48%) say they are concerned about
maintaining social relationships. Less than one-third are concerned
about dealing with depression (32%) and loneliness (31%).

// posted by neurofuture 12:12 PM permanent link

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8.27.2006

Sounds of the Mosque Test: PsyOps
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The History Channel had a show on about the Ottoman Empire last night...there was a re-enactment of the siege of Constantinople including a shot of the mehteran or janissary band. This band revved up the spirits of the troops before battle, you can hear it right here in conjunction with the mosque test.

Mehmet the Conqueror converted the most famous church in Christendom (Hagia Sophia) into a mosque in 1453, which it still is today. As the tempo of the march speeds up it sounds more like a marching band of kazoos and a few drummers. Still, the sound of the massed band struck fear into the hearts of the European Christians - for 300 years until the 18th century the (Sunni) sultan campaigned against the West on an almost annual basis, setting up the band outside the walls to play for hours on end in the first psy-ops operation (instead of Guns 'N Roses). The sound influenced the music of the Hapsburg court and their musicians...including eventually, Beethoven.

// posted by neurofuture 8:46 PM permanent link

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Cognitive Service Interruption.
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We experienced an approximately 1-hour service outage (probably due to high traffic aimed directly at the home page) this morning...our apologies - everything appears to be restored

// posted by neurofuture 10:37 AM permanent link

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8.26.2006

Back to School: College Brain [beta] Kicks Off
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Besides fighting Alzheimer's and all kinds of cognitive impairment, we're opening up a second front in the college world with College Brain.

It's a little competition between people at colleges and between colleges to see who (and which institution) have the fastest brains. The larger purpose is to collect in real-time whatever ideas people have for an improved world --taking us one step closer to a global brain. Let's hope that the extra neurons made possible are put to good use. If you don't see your college on the list (and we provincially started out with just the U.S.) then you can submit your college, university, or institution.

We flicked the switch on the database and started signing up people within seconds.
The first person is right here:

Visit Start Time 8/26/2006 8:40:59 PM
Location San José, 08, Costa Rica
Organization Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad y Telecom.
Campaign Non-Campaign
IP --------

You see, the first participant was not technically in the U.S., that's why adding to the list - wherever you are in the world, is so important

// posted by neurofuture 9:27 PM permanent link

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8.25.2006

Memory Resurrected in Mice Suffering from Alzheimer's Disease
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Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have successfully restored normal memory and synaptic function in mice suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The study was published today on the website of the journal Cell.

Scientists at Columbia's Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain have identified an enzyme that is required for normal cognition but that is impaired in a mouse model of Alzheimer's. They discovered that mice regained the ability to form new memories when the enzyme's function was elevated.

The research suggests that boosting the function of this enzyme, known as ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (Uch-L1), may provide a promising strategy for battling Alzheimer's disease, and perhaps reversing its effects.

stories related to Columbia University - 48 hours 300 milliseconds ago

The source: cell.com

// posted by neurofuture 3:01 PM permanent link

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The New Tests
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Good news. We are getting ready to launch two fast and fun 'competition' sites which will do 2 things - give everybody a chance to take a test and also, contribute to solutions for our earth (whatever that means to you)- it's up to you to decide what that is.

Also, featured is a 'nanosecond' test that is much faster than anything we've put out yet---a reading can be taken in literally just a few seconds. That's why it's so fun. In a blink of an eye, in the time it takes to utter a soundbite, you will be done. And whatever you decide to write, that will be seen by 50,000 people (and growing) per month

// posted by neurofuture 1:52 PM permanent link

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8.24.2006

New Michigan stadium trumps Stanford
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University of Michigan officials released a first look at the new expanded stadium in Ann Arbor, MI. Ostensibly, the stadium will now be able to seat everyone in Michigan. The shot is from Google Earth, I guess.

Locally, former Stanford Coach Bill Walsh, who has been involved with the right-sizing of Stanford Stadium down to about 50,000 this season, said tersely, "size isn't everything"

pic source: the onion

// posted by neurofuture 3:04 PM permanent link

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8.23.2006

Cognitive Labs Demolishes 2nd Quarter Numbers
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Here it is on August 23rd and we already beat our numbers for last quarter. The next month and change of a few days is gravy...not sure what the top limit is, or if there is one. But there is still much more room for growth, to wit, we will be launching some interesting competitive sites that we hope will get everyone in America, Europe and India to sign up.

// posted by neurofuture 5:13 PM permanent link

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Man Machine Interface Targets Slackers
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Soon, neuroscience technologies will be embedded into various user interfaces (even GUIs) so that handlers or a central computer will know that the human operator's performance is less than optimal. DoublePlus Good! Just think of all the implications.....

CHERRY HILL, N.J., Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The Office of Naval Research awarded Lockheed Martin $724,000 from its Disruptive Technology Fund to help evaluate prospective modifications to the Tactical Tomahawk Weapons Control System (TTWCS) user interface. TTWCS controls missile launches from surface ships and submarines.

Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories (ATL) will leverage its neuroscience-based technologies in augmented cognition by integrating cognitive-state gauges into the TTWCS Tool for Interface Design Evaluation with Sensors (T-TIDES).

A human's physiological markers typically depart from norms during high workload, distraction or drowsiness. As a result, performance may decline, reducing overall effectiveness of the interface. The technology underlying T- TIDES results from a program called Improving Warfighter Information Intake Under Stress, where cognitive state gauges reported an operator's cerebral electrical activity, blood oxygenation, heart rate, skin conductance, and pupil dilation to monitor cognitive activity in real time. T-TIDES will use this technology to collect similar data that human factors engineers can then use to design better prototypes of interfaces.

Teammates include Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems and Solutions and Lockheed Martin Information and Technology Services.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 135,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

For information on Lockheed Martin Corporation, visit: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/

// posted by neurofuture 2:13 PM permanent link

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Yellowjacket Nest Fills a Car!
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read all about it

Scientists speculate that the lack of winter freezing this past year is responsible for the creation of giant sized Yellowjacket nests in Alabama this summer.

// posted by neurofuture 2:43 AM permanent link

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8.22.2006

12 Caesars Memory Test
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A new memory test was published....12 Caesars.

Actually it's just nine - the last 3 will be rolled into a future test with the so-called 5 good emperors ending with Marcus Aurelius.

The aptly named age of "iron and rust" started with the bad apple Commodus, who personally participated in gladiatorial combats.

The first Ad that shows up is Caesar's Palace in Vegas, of course:
bread and circuses

// posted by neurofuture 12:11 PM permanent link

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8.21.2006

LBL plays BrainAging game...
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They're playing the BrainAging game at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab right now. Maybe you should, too.

// posted by neurofuture 1:53 PM permanent link

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Smart Link
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Smart Link is now live. Wherever you see this sign

you can click and submit links that you think are related or people should know about...if there is a test running on World War II, for example, or monkeys (as someone in Australia created) go ahead and submit your related links.

If I was at historychannel.com, for example, and reading about World War II, I could share this content with test takers at cognitive labs, and enrich the experience for people who were surfing for more information after watching "Mail Call" or whatever.

This is what folks are already doing, so all we're doing is painting a crosswalk on the street to make it easier.

// posted by neurofuture 9:53 AM permanent link

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8.20.2006

War in the Pacific: Volume I
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New test submitted:

War in the Pacific I by user telOS....

Give it a try

// posted by neurofuture 11:12 AM permanent link

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8.19.2006

Kistler and SpaceX in $500 Million NASA deal: Space Brain
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Two of the Contract Winners have just been announced by NASA for private launch vehicles:

Two emerging space companies have won a NASA competition to provide low cost commercial transport to the International Space Station. SpaceX, founded by PayPal's Elon Musk, is developing its two-stage reusable Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon spacecraft, but it is making changes after the loss of Falcon 1 during its maiden launch. Rocketplane Kistler's K-1 is a two-stage reusable launch vehicle that has been in development for over a decade. Both companies represent a departure from business as usual at NASA. Boeing and Lockheed Martin are the largest companies in the aerospace industry and win most NASA contracts.
Here, Dr. Arthur Jensen of our advisory board won the 2003 Kistler Award given by the Foundation for the Future for his contributions to science. Another UC-Berkeley professor, Dr. Vincent Sarich, whom I recall from a large lecture hall at Berkeley, won the 2004 award.

A strong secondary interest we have is space travel and the commercialization of space, of which cognitive training (such as with the Cognitive Labs' tests) is a component and will only become more important over time to deal with subtle changes in the brain and body. Here is what we learned at NASA regarding modifications that accrue from space travel. The cognitive effects are not completely understood; people such as Dr. Yesavage at Stanford and another expert at UC-Davis have studied consciousness in spaceflight and pilots; in addition to the former astronauts (at the Stanford-VA they have a flight simulator for research on interactions between substances and cognitive performance, e.g., medications for Alzheimer's effects or even nicotine, and have been a leader in studies of retired Air Force and Naval Aviators)

The effects on the body are known to researchers but not really noticed by the public. Here are a few effects:

1. The body loses mass; the longer you stay in space, the thinner you get. Weight loss of 50 lbs is not uncommon
2. Water leaves the tissues of the body
2. The limbs become longer and thinner
3. Acclimating upon return to earth can in some cases be fatal, particular if the individual is over 50 years old
4. Physical anomalies will become worse upon return than before departure

The above related to trips of a year or less to the ISS.

Witnessed effects on longer stays or even a second generation in space (space baby) are not yet known, but would presumably be more exaggerated....for both mind and body

// posted by neurofuture 11:07 PM permanent link

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Scientsts Propose Skin Test for Alzheimers's
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Imagine being able to detect the early stages of Alzheimer's by swabbing your skin with a specially prepared pad; waiting, then finding out after laboratory assessment if you have the Disease.

Published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; resarchers investigated 70 subjects. The BRNI biomarker (named after an institute affiliated with Univ. of West Virgina) showed high accuracy when tested with human skin cells from a tissue bank, as well as for samples obtained in a previous, unpublished study of patients with autopsy-confirmed diagnoses. The biomarker could also potentially be used with blood samples.

"When it begins, Alzheimer's disease is often difficult to distinguish from other dementias or mild cognitive impairment," says Daniel L. Alkon, M.D., scientific director of BRNI and coauthor of the study with Tapan K. Khan, Ph.D., assistant professor. "Potential treatments of Alzheimer's, however, are likely to have their greatest efficacy before the devastating and widespread impairment of brain function that inevitably develops after four or more years."

Some researchers have noted the systemic effects of Alzheimer's on the body, encompassing circulatory and other body systems in addition to the brain. By testing for signs of Alzheimer's-related inflammation in skin cells called fibroblasts, the BRNI team has located a biomarker for the disease that can be tested without the invasive tests previously required.

The researchers found that Alzheimer's disease stimulates a change in the enzyme, MAP Kinase Erk 1/2. When fibroblasts are tested by exposing them to Bradykinin, a common inflammatory signal, the Erk 1/2 response in skin cells of Alzheimer's patients was sharply distinguished from the results in cells from age-matched controls. It was also differentiated from the skin cells from patients with non-Alzheimer's dementias, such as Parkinson's disease, multiple infarct dementia and Huntington's chorea.

A possible 'skin' test for human use, assuming the results are replicable; is five to ten years away.

// posted by neurofuture 10:15 PM permanent link

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MemoryTV World War II
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Here's another one to try....

click and start the test, click the link to hear A. Hitler's speech...on the eve of invasion, alluding to '2 German soldiers who were fired upon by the Poles' and stating that "Germany couldn't tolerate anymore provocation...bombs will now be met by bombs..."
See what we have in store for the Battle of Midway.

// posted by neurofuture 4:02 PM permanent link

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8.18.2006

MemoryTV Now has Sound.
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The Blade Runner Memory Test now has sound...as well, adding another spatial dimension...in this case, the lush floating sound of Vangelis.

Think Ken Burns combined with Scientific Algorithms.

// posted by neurofuture 9:39 PM permanent link

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How Your Brain Boots Up Like a Computer
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How Your Brain Boots Up Like a Computer

As we yawn and open our eyes in the morning, the brain stem sends little puffs of nitric oxide to another part of the brain, the thalamus, which then directs it elsewhere.

Find Your Brain's Age | Blade Runner Memory Test

Like a computer booting up its operating system before running more complicated programs, the nitric oxide triggers certain functions that set the stage for more complex brain operations, according to a new study.

In these first moments of the day, sensory information floods the system—the bright sunlight coming through the curtains, the time on the screeching alarm clock—and all of it needs to be processed and organized, so the brain can understand its surroundings and begin to perform more complex tasks.

"The thinking part of the brain is applying a sort of stencil to the information coming in and what the nitric oxide is doing is allowing more refinement of that stencil," says Dwayne Godwin, an associate professor at Wake Forest University and lead author of the study, which was funded by the National Eye Institute.

The little two-atom molecule, it seems, is partly responsible for our ability to perceive whatever it is we're sensing.

The finding, published last week in the journal Neuroscience, changes the way scientists understand nitric oxide's role in the brain, and it also has them rethinking the function of the thalamus, where it is released. The thalamus was thought to be a fairly primitive structure, sort of a gate that could either open and allow sensory information to stream into the cortex, the higher functioning part of the brain, or cut off the flow entirely.

Godwin says the new research shows it's more accurate to think of the thalamus not as a gate but as a club bouncer, who doesn't simply allow a huge rush of people to go in or no one at all, but picks and chooses whom to let in and out.

"Instead of vision being a process going straight from eye to cortex, it's more of a loop," Godwin explained. "This constitutes a new role for the thalamus in directing, not just modulating."

While this study is the first to identify nitric oxide's role in the thalamus, elsewhere in the body it was already known to have an important, if somewhat different function. The molecule is actually integral to controlling blood flow and is, in fact, the molecule Viagra targets in order to increase blood flow to the penis.

The teeny molecule might have other medical uses.

"This study shows a unique role for nitric oxide. It may help us to someday understand what goes wrong in diseases that affect cognitive processing, such as attention deficit disorder or schizophrenia, and it adds to our fundamental understanding of how we perceive the world around us," Godwin said.

// posted by neurofuture 11:34 AM permanent link

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Move to the top...
>

Blockbreaker has moved to the top of Game Central with 500,000 plus plays...

// posted by neurofuture 10:07 AM permanent link

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8.17.2006

Our Cognitive Avatar
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Say hello to our avatar, A.E.

complete with a "C" sweatshirt for Cognitive Labs...though I believe he was
a Princeton man. Say, we're going to have to start selling those plus gadgets.

"C" could also mean c as in the speed of light, or as in "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe...I've watched C-beams glittering in the dark near the Tannheuser gate" (that from HalfLife2)

e=mc(2) or (e/m)/c = c

Regardless, give the test a try, old sport.

// posted by neurofuture 10:36 PM permanent link

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Apelink.com: Reality is Stranger than Fiction
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New online dating service is planned for our simian relatives.
(oh, really?) :-)

Have you evolved? Take the Darwin Test

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Single male (red hair, long arms, interests include hanging in trees and grooming) seeks female for long-distance relationship and possibility of meeting up in future to help save species.

Zookeepers in the Netherlands are planning to hook up Dutch and Indonesian orangutans over the Internet and believe the link could at some stage be used as an online dating service where apes could get to know one another and keepers could work out whether they would be compatible mates.

First things first: A romantic dinner for two.

"We are going to set up an Internet connection between Indonesia and Apeldoorn so that the apes can see each other and, by means of pressing a button, be able to give one another food, for example," said Anouk Ballot, a spokeswoman for the Apenheul ape park in the central Dutch city of Apeldoorn.

She said the chance of two orangutans actually mating as a result of the online interaction was small due to the problem of transporting them between the Netherlands and Indonesia. "But I wouldn't rule it out completely," she told The Associated Press.... read more at LiveScience.com

// posted by neurofuture 2:14 PM permanent link

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8.16.2006

Largest Trek Convention in Vegas
>

Largest Trek convention set to take place in Vegas.

see Yahoo! News

add us as a friend
Aaron, who created the hilarious Chad Vader, the story of Darth's convenience store clerk night-manager younger brother ("L" on the forehead) is our friend...click on his profile and watch the vid

// posted by neurofuture 12:37 PM permanent link

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GoTo the Beach. Take Along the Classics
>

If you are headed to the beach (we're not...because we are working to keep up our whopping 30% growth over last month, July) then might I suggest taking along some lighthearted summer reading according to Slate.

How about the Loeb Classical Library The volumes are thick and won't bend. At the same time, they are small-spined and fit into a bag for the beach along with SPF 50 lotion and sunglasses. They contain the original languages: Greek on the left page, and an obtuse English translation on the right; vice-versa for Latin.

Start with Homer and end with St Jerome, Augustine of Hippo, or Ammianus Marcellinus.

Throw in Petronius'Satyricon and the description of Trimalchio's ribald dinner party as the equivalent of Desperate Housewives

Augustine attempted to transmigrate the collapsing Roman world and urbs roma into the urbs dei the great city of God in heaven. By this time civic service, like serving on a city council, became a financial burden since imperial revenue officers held local notables accountable for the assessed taxes...any discrepancy between the popular collection and the imperial quota had to made up by these individuals. By the year 330 almost 1% of the population of the Empire was in arms, with a field army of several hundred thousand men, vast numbers of 2nd tier local troops (limitanei) and also barbarian auxilaries, whilst inflation, famine, unending warfare and disease removed the incentive to invest in new projects. The cities declined as the notables fled to their country estates for good, and erected fortifications. The idea of the great city with public works became a concept related to a heavenly ideal, since reality was almost unbearable for the urban aristocrats.

Julian (361-363 A.D.)

Ammianus, as a senior army officer, has much to say about warfare, invasions, the guerilla tactics of the enemy, limits of power and a detailed digression on Iraq's climate, canals between the rivers, and species of palm trees, almost in the style of a web blog: eyewitness, factual reporting.

Of the tribes of the Euphrates:

"The (Saracens) are led by tribal chieftains, each having authority over his clan. If a wrong is done to a member of a clan by another, they will lay aside all to avenge the cause of the wrong, even a generation later."

Of the climate:

"Our men were not used to the heat, the flies, and the giant insects; moreover, our wily foe chose the hottest time of the day to attack, inured as they were from birth to such a condition."

Of the Persian Cataphracts, or heavy-cavalry entirely encased in steel:

) "All the companies were clad in iron, and all parts of their bodies were covered with thick plates, so fitted that the stiff joints conformed with those of their limbs; and forms of the human faces were so skillfully fitted to their heads, that since their entire bodies were covered with metal, arrows that fell upon them could lodge only where they could see a little through tiny openings opposite the pupil of the eye, or where through the tips of their noses they were able to get a little breath."

He is the main source for the Emperor Julian, for whom he served as a senior army staff officer. He is probably the last great historian writing in Latin, with his history being composed around the year 390 A.D.

If you get that far, that would be almost at volume 500.

// posted by neurofuture 10:49 AM permanent link

tags:

tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

8.15.2006

AJAX Memory Test
>

Tune Up Your Brain and Make it Shine with AJAX

Pic from Scott Kepler's Blog

// posted by neurofuture 9:04 PM permanent link

tags:

tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

Google pop
>

This cream-pie visage is a popular link and test at Google. They're playing right now.

Actually I remember a little about this. This happened when we were just starting the supply chain project at Sun Microsystems, that is the people who founded the software co. Saltare, which was Java-based.

// posted by neurofuture 12:30 PM permanent link

tags:

tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

8.14.2006

Sound for Memory TV??>
>

Do you think that we should add sound to MemoryTV?

We can...it's a matter of interlacing the .mp3, ogg, or .au files

sound can be powerful, just go here and listen for about 20 seconds.

do let us know what your opinion is

// posted by neurofuture 7:30 PM permanent link

tags:

tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

Apollo 11 Tapes Mysteriously Misplaced
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The search is on to create high-quality tapes of Neil Armstong's momentous moment on the moon. It turns out there is a little bit of a mystery as to the whereabouts of the 'tapes...'

The blade runner test was already released, next, will be Apollo 11.

>>read more on the story at Yahoo News

// posted by neurofuture 3:11 PM permanent link

tags:

tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

For Fall 2006, the BrainAging Game from Cognitive Labs
>

Cognitive Labs Releases "BrainAge"-type "BrainAging Game" based on a decade of research on IQ, chronometrics, speed of processing in cognitive evaluation, memory assessment, and usability.

Our FREE game encompasses research at UC-Berkeley, Stanford, UC-Irvine, Scripps, Palo Alto Veterans Healthcare system, and additional institutions coupled with an understanding of how to deliver a power-packed, scientifically-relevant experience with a minimum of fuss such as downloads, installing software, driving to the store, buying cartridges, and buying a Nintendo DS.

Dr. Ryuta Kawashima's work (underpinning Nintendo's Brain Age) falls into the middle of this continuum, as Dr. Jensen's (bio)work on chronometrics in the U.S. predates Dr. Kawashima's in Japan.

Contact us if you want to collaborate on the mobile phone version of BrainAging.

// posted by neurofuture 1:17 PM permanent link

tags:

tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

8.13.2006

Band of Brothers
>

If you watched Band of Brothers, you might want to try our first WWII test, as we're getting some visitors from historychannel.com.

A fun quiz on historychannel.com concerns gladiators and the Jewish revolt of 66-69 A.D. which culminated in the destruction of the 2nd temple by the soldiers of Titus.

// posted by neurofuture 8:14 PM permanent link

tags:

tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

Gunga Din and the War on Terror
>

So, no drinks on airplanes thanks to OBL&Co.
OBL is still hanging out somewhere in the mountains of Pakistan...
not too far from the setting of the film Gunga-Din with Douglas Fairbanks.

The union jack keeps fluttering.
If you are stressed about it, here's a game for stress reduction

next, Charlton Heston as General Gordon in Khartoum, facing the fuzzy-wuzzies (Kipling) of the Mahdi in his dress white uniform and pith helmet. The Mahdi was the self-proclaimed Hidden Imam, whom, also al-Sadr and Ahmenejdad are waiting for...

// posted by neurofuture 6:37 PM permanent link

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tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

Newton vs. Einstein: grudge match
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Who was brainier and faster?

a) Newton b) Einstein c) you

Find your own BrainSpeed

// posted by neurofuture 2:08 PM permanent link

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tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

8.12.2006

The Pieta
>

Hey, we are just about ready to 'launch' our myspace page, that is, make it halfway decent, hopefully by masking the godawful CSS of the original myspace template. I hope it is easier than the carving of Mt. Rushmore, but it may not be. You can already see our 2001 flavored profile box...you've got to call the style elements from the little 'edit my profile' box, there is no specifying the CSS class in the header or doing anything normal as in blogger or livejournal.

It's like changing the New York skyline with a little sheet of instructions you've got in your lunchbox while you sit on a steel girder....

// posted by neurofuture 10:48 PM permanent link

tags:

tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

8.11.2006

Molecular Dynamic Duo Might Halt Alzheimer's
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Amyloid plaque in the brain

The August 10th issue of the journal Science highlights work that according to the Alzheimer's Association's Sam Gandy, represents the first time that a molecular-level theory has been proposed that might offer a genetic solution to the problem of amyloid plaque formation in the brain.

As the brain ages, the genes HSF-1 and DAF-16 respectively destroy toxic proteins in the cells in the first case and, acting as a sanitary engineer in the second case, remove harmful tangle accumulations.

It is believed that as the brain ages the mechanism governing these genes can malfunction, leading to decline of self-regulation and abnormal accumulations of plaque and Alzheimer's disease. Other genetic factors affect predisposition, including particularly the homogenous zygote APOEe4 genetic marker, which is involved in a high percentage of early onset cases. [Note: In Stanford research, the symbol reversal test was 94% effective in identifying cognitive performance issues in asymptomatic individuals who possessed the above genetic marker]

"Something in the aging process is let loose . . . and this (finding) looks really promising because it leads to a very early event of Alzheimer's," researcher Andrew Dillin of the Salk Institure in San Diego said of the gene discoveries.

The researchers concluded that it's inside the cells where beta amyloid proteins drive the onset of Alzheimer's, and that keeping the HSF-1 gene active will be critical to stopping the disease before it gets started.

"That gives us one molecular link," Dillin said. "If we can detect that in very early Alzheimer's patients, then we can say, 'Ah, you may get it so you need to start taking drug x, y and z.' "

Co-author Jeffery Kelly said he developed new technology that can detect the formation of toxic proteins at sensitivities 1,000 times greater than current techniques.

"If we could detect very small amounts of these things, very early on, then we do have a good window to start preventive treatment – if one existed," Dillin said.

The search for Alzheimer's genes has shifted attention away from aging processes as a cause, but the new study points back at aging, said Dr. Sam Gandy, chairman of the medical and advisory council of the Alzheimer's Association.

The researchers made their discoveries studying a roundworm called c elegans – a widely used animal model because it has several of the same genes as humans. They plan to replicate their findings in mice.

Abstract:

Aberrant protein aggregation is a common feature of late-onset neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer disease (AD) which is associated with the misassembly of the A1-42 peptide. Aggregation-mediated A1-42 toxicity was reduced in C. elegans when aging was slowed by decreased insulin/insulin growth factor (IGF)-1-like signaling (IIS). The downstream transcription factors, heat shock factor-1 (HSF-1) and DAF-16 regulate opposing disaggregation and aggregation activities to promote cellular survival in response to constitutive toxic protein aggregation. Because the IIS pathway is central to the regulation of longevity and youthfulness in worms, flies and mammals, these results suggest a mechanistic link between the aging process and aggregation-mediated proteotoxicity.

// posted by neurofuture 11:56 PM permanent link

tags:

tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

Stress: Shrinking Your Brain and Speeding Aging
>

Avoid Stress or Exercise to Mitigate its Effects.

New research from Rockefeller University in NY shows that stress actually makes you older by unraveling the ends of DNA. But there's good news too: Exercise can make a huge difference. And, in the case of the brain at least, time might heal the wounds caused by stress.

"The brain is very resilient," said Bruce McEwen, head of the neuroendocrinology laboratory at Rockefeller University in New York City. "Give it a chance and it will make every effort to repair itself."

McEwen said his research has found even more signs that repeated stress actually causes neurons in the brain to shrink, at least in rats.

Earlier research showed that the neurons shrink in the hippocampus, and that seems to impair memory in response to stress, he said. More recent research suggests that the same thing happens in the brain region called the prefrontal cortex, which is crucial for decision-making and attention, he said.

When stressed, rats lose what McEwen calls "mental flexibility" - "the ability of the animal to use a familiar set of cues in a different way when the location of a food reward is shifted."

What does this mean for humans? "Stress hormones act on the brain to remodel it and change it," McEwen said. "The brain of a stressed animal or human being is a different brain. It has different capacities, and it may be more anxious and have less ability to pay attention or learn or remember."

But there are potential fixes for those with mental stress, McEwen said. "A combination of psychotherapy, cognitive behavior therapy and pharmaceuticals could actually change the brain and restore it more or less to normal," he said.

Exercise is another potential booster, he said, adding, "there's growing evidence that exercise has very powerful effects."

Outside the brain, stress can wreak havoc on the immune system, according to another study to be presented at the meeting.

Research suggests that stress can shorten the chunks of DNA at the tips of chromosomes in cells, making it harder for them to work properly, according to the researcher, Elissa Epel, a psychologist at the University of California, San Francisco. The bits of DNA "are like the plastic caps on the ends of our shoelaces. They prevent the ends from fraying," she said.

What does this mean? "We examined healthy women and found that psychological stress was related to shortened" tips, she said. As a result, the immune system of the stressed-out women is apparently aging at a faster rate.

The treatments for this problem are what you might expect. "Everything we already know about fighting off chronic disease, like getting sufficient sleep, staying active throughout life, and having a healthy diet" may stave off premature aging of the immune system, too, Epel said.

// posted by neurofuture 6:19 PM permanent link

tags:

tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

Professor in Birkenstocks Raises Fish to Feed the Masses
>

At Brooklyn college, a professor is raising thousands of tilapia (which have shown up in most supermarkets like Whole Foods or Trader Joe's) in an experiment to show that sustainable living is possible.

Right now, virtually all of these fish are imported. Why import them if they can be grown here, creating new industries and jobs....

// posted by neurofuture 2:00 PM permanent link

tags:

tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

8.10.2006

It's The Network
>

Cognitive Labs is getting ready to launch a new site. This will fit into our overall theme of brain fitness, performance, and competition - at any age.

One of things that you probably don't know is that we did a study affiliated with the University of Texas that shows a correlation between brainspeed and IQ. In fact, it was possible, given regular practice, to actually improve IQ. And, as many educators have noted (those who design standardized tests) that IQ is linked to those ever-popular standardized tests that we all dread.

Another thing that you may or may not know is that regular practice can actually enhance scores on standardized tests such as the SAT. Several years back, when we were in the build-up and R&D phase a study was done at a prominent Southern California High School...and that's what the results showed. No one has showed that sodoku or translating Livy (and the exploits of the barbarian, Hannibal in getting his elephants across the Alps) translates into improved SAT scores. However, using our tests may build reserves of concentration and focus enabling this outcome.

More news on this exciting new development is forthcoming

// posted by neurofuture 5:44 PM permanent link

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tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

Viacom's MTV Acquires Atom Entertainment for $200 Million
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Atom Entertainment and its sites get acquired for $200 Million by MTV Networks. That's Cool

// posted by neurofuture 1:26 PM permanent link

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tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

The Pink Test, Everything Pink
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Top Game today....THINK PINK test

// posted by neurofuture 11:38 AM permanent link

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tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

8.09.2006

How Fast is Bill Gates brain?
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How fast do you think Bill Gates brain is? a) 100 milliseconds b) 200 milliseconds c) 300 milliseconds d) 400 milliseconds

who knows? but you can find out yours' quickly

Humorous photo circa 1998. I don't recall if this was really in Apple's campaign or not, memory fails me.

// posted by neurofuture 8:52 PM permanent link

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tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

Football season
>

Stanford Stadium (not shown) looks to be ready by the time the season starts, so says Bill Walsh, while the Cardinal looks to rebound from its loss to UC-Davis. Yahoo! Sports has a major feature on college football, though this is a little bit away from now. California (surprise!) looks to battle USC for leadership of the Pac-10. The first game is against the Vols of Tennessee on September 2nd at Tennessee. California reloaded by adding the offensive coordinator from Northwestern U. who implemented the spread offense there, so it looks to be a pretty full arsenal. If you can't wait, check out some of the highlights from last season in the form of memory tests. Just wait for the classic moments of Notre Dame, USC-UCLA, or even, Flutie's Hail Mary pass from two decades ago...

// posted by neurofuture 7:52 PM permanent link

tags:

tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

8.08.2006

Can Apples Keep Alzheimer's Away?
>

Some of the mind-healthy foods we have reported on include blueberries, salmon, and by some accounts - coffee. According to researchers, two apples a day, or a glass of apple juice, could keep Alzheimer's at bay by boosting levels of a neurotransmitter, according to results from an animal study.

"We anticipate that the day may come when foods like apples, apple juice and other apple products are recommended along with the most popular Alzheimers medications," said the leader of the study, Professor Thomas Shea, from the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML).

Although the mechanism of Alzheimer's is not entirely clear, evidence is gathering in support of the build-up of plaque from amyloid deposits. The deposits are associated with an increase in brain cell damage and death from oxidative stress.

The UML team previously showed the benefits of feeding apple juice in mice bred to be prone to Alzheimer's disease, as well as benefiting naturally aged mice – an effect attributed to the antioxidant content of apples and apple juice (Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Dec. 2005, Vol. 8, pp. 283-287).

The results from the new study however appear to show that the benefits may not be exclusively related to the antioxidant properties of the fruit since the data indicate that apple juice consumption could increase the production of the essential neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the brain, resulting in improved memory. Neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine are chemicals released from nerve cells.

Fascinating.

// posted by neurofuture 1:07 PM permanent link

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tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

8.07.2006

Yahoo features Raiders of the Lost Ark
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Today's featured "flashback" on the Yahoo! home page was 'Raider's of the Lost Ark.' As you might know this film was made into a fun ride by the Walt Disney Company, even though in theatrical release, it was produced by Paramount Pictures.

Ever imagine what it is like to crawl through a hole in the rock and find a secret chamber? Well, we've done it, and it's great! You can even find things that were painted by workmen on delicate frescoes of mud plaster that may not have been seen by human eyes since 1,200 B.C. It can get a little hot though, and you'll want to keep your head down when you hear the high-pitched squeaks of nocturnal bats, disturbed from their slumber by the sound of your boots on limestone talus....

Yes, there is a new test on the way...

// posted by neurofuture 6:35 PM permanent link

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tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

8.05.2006

X-rays decode ancient manuscript over the web
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Researchers at Stanford University yesterday used the Internet to broadcast across the world the decoding of a mathematics text written by the philospher Archimedes. In a twist of irony, without the calculus defined by Archimedes the Internet itself would not be possible.

The focus of all the attention was a manuscript -- called "The Method of Mechanical Theorems," and it included as many diagrams as it did words. New letters, words and partial equations were discovered in the text Friday by researchers at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in Menlo Park by zapping the fragile 10th century parchment (in itself a copy of earlier Greek documents probably located in Alexandria that do not survive) with a high-powered X-ray beam... read more

// posted by neurofuture 12:30 PM permanent link

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tags: help build archive | brain games | more brain games

8.04.2006

Long Live Nascar and Talladega
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Talladega Motor Speedway....one of the interesting landmarks between Atlanta and Birmingham, AL, heading West.

Long live Nascar--sure you're ready to drive? Watch those lights carefully...