Cognitive Labs

Decline in Visuospatial Skills May Presage Alzheimer's

2009-10-12T22:48:00.000-07:00

Even marine mammals can take cognitive tests Scientists are finding that drops in combined visual and spatial processing skills can be an effective notification for possible onset of Alzheimer's. Visuospatial skills may be assessed through a combination of exercises that require acuity to detect changes in patterns across a field of view, often with lighted stimuli.

Empty Missile to Strike Moon in H-2-0 Assay

2009-10-08T12:44:00.000-07:00

Artist's rendering of moon impact mission How much water is on the moon? Scientists think there is quite a bit, potentially, hidden in dark craters. In addition, moon rock samples also have been found to contain water. Even rocks on earth, from magma to sedimentary deposits like borax, also contain water molecules in crystalline form. It's possible that the moon had a much wetter past, and

Cowabunga - Tsunami Waves

2009-10-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

Australian surfer Mark Visser catches a 36-foot ride off of Cow Barbie, Australia associated with the recent geological activity in the South Pacific.

Polyphenols in the brain

2009-10-04T17:06:00.000-07:00

New research by Purdue researchers published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease suggests that polyphenols may be able to cross the blood-brain barrier after 10 or more days of regular, moderate consumption - in that antioxidant compounds were found in the brains of an animal subject group after consistent utilization. On the other hand, irregular, heavy consumption of polyphenols does not

National Parks: Soap Salesman to the Rescue

2009-10-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

One takeaway from Ken Burns' National Parks... While National Parks existed prior to 1900, it was Stephen Mather, whose name adorns numerous facilities associated with Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and other parks who invented the business model, so to speak, that attracted additional speculative funding enabling the development of the traditional features in the parks that are known today, such as

Laser Evolution: Einstein, Townes, Schawlow

2009-09-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a little piece on the history of lasers and the predecessor maser at about.com. Among those mentioned, Einstein, Townes, Schawlow, Gould, Maiman, Patel, and Javan.

What if Your Parent(s) or Grandparents have Alzheimer's?

2009-09-26T22:33:00.000-07:00

photo tagged 'old family photo' on the internetA family history of the Disease is linked to greater prevalence of known genetic markers that act as signposts for Alzheimer's in some cases. Furthermore, recent investigative research asserts that children whose parents have a history of Alzheimer's Disease are more likely to be an APOE4 allele carrier (46% vs 21%, p < 0.001) than offspring without

Cognitive Willpower can Be Boosted

2009-09-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

You only have so much innate willpower, according to scientists who used the classic Stroop exercise to measure, and deplete, the directed mental energy that is required to master tasks from studying to dieting and exercise. [link to Stroop test at U of Michigan]"Cognitive tasks, as well as emotional tasks such as regulating your emotions, can deplete your self-regulatory capacity to exercise,"

Cognitive Science of Surrogates

2009-09-24T16:22:00.000-07:00

Scene from Surrogates (c) Touchstone Pictures | HD trailer Like many people, you may have seen the preview for the following...here's an excerpt from Alan Boyle's cosmiclog at MSNBC Bruce Willis' latest action movie takes place in a world where humans mostly stay behind closed doors and interact using lifelike cyber-substitutes. These robotic "surrogates" pass along all their sensations - via

Archaeological Breakthrough: Gold, Swords, and Dragons

2009-09-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

An amateur archaeologist/treasure hunter in England has unearthed a massive 7th century hoard of gold objects, dating to the country's Anglo Saxon period and lying in situ in the kingdom of Mercia, one of the 7 Anglo Saxon wards (from which is obtained the word warden). Mercia in Old English means 'boundary folk' and may refer to those sandwiched between Wales and the main body of Angle and Saxon

First Tiny Elvis, then Tiny T-Rex

2009-09-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

Just like Elvis once had a tiny understudy, so does T-Rex.U.S. Palaeontologists with access to a fossil from China have identified a new species of dinosaur, called Raptorex - that was a miniature version of the famed Tyrannosaurus Rex. The fossil that led to the discovery has a colorful background.150-lb. Raptorex may have had a distinctive plume

Alzheimer's Crisis Reaches a Crest

2009-09-22T10:32:00.000-07:00

Image: the divine wind brings a tsunami to JapanA new report from Alzheimer's Disease International reports that there are now 35.6 million cases of Alzheimer's and will be 115 million or more by the year 2050. At this rate, the incidence of the disease will double every twenty years, and this probably underreports the crisis since cases are normally only diagnosed when the patient is in the last

Brain Size and Aging: New Insights

2009-09-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

Dutch Scientists have found that the size of the brain may not actually decline in parallel with aging, over the course of a 6-year study - a finding that has been reported previously and considered somewhat axiomatic - but might be partially erroneous or an extrapolation based on limited sets of data.

Tomorrow is Today

2009-09-19T19:25:00.001-07:00

I heard yesterday about an amazing new capability while on a conference call reviewing new opportunities - enabling the blind to "see" and process images in the brain merely by laying a specialized, charged plate on the tongue - which short-circuits or "hacks" the optic nerve. In a way, the innovation is reminiscent of the dagguerotype, a process first invented in 1839 by the scientist Daguerre,

Scientists: Iran May Be Ready to Join Nukular Club

2009-09-17T16:32:00.000-07:00

Uh-oh. Scientists from the U.N. are asserting that Iran is on the cusp of joining the coterie of nations with the wherewithal and gumption [and capacity for strategic thought] to produce nukes.

Intelligence & Curiousity

2009-09-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

University of Toronto researchers have found a molecular connection between intelligence and curiousity.

I Want my Magazine-online

2009-09-16T10:08:00.000-07:00

A new way to experience magazines is here. For almost a decade since inquisitors like Michael Wolff popped the balloon of big media in exposes starting with Burn Rate, moguls have been striving to recreate the deliciousness of the print experience as exemplified in an ad-feature spread in mags like Vanity Fair in an online hybrid. Companies like zinio strove to fill this gap. Now, this is

Cheap Edge-of-space Flight Redux

2009-09-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

MIT students top Spanish students in cheap edge-of-space flight...

Health and Gov'mint

2009-09-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

Watching the reaction of the special session of the House and Senate last week with respect to healthcare reform was somewhat tortuous. Despite all the good intentions - the gap between care received and the national infrastructure; including health systems, insurers, eligibility rules, and intangibles such as attitude toward things like wellness, diet, and exercise across the country - continues

Antihypertensive Therapy may Slow Cognitive Decline

2009-09-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

As published in Nature, therapy for hypertension resulted in lessened rate of cognitive decline in 321 subjects studied in France - a result that was not expected in the hypothesis.

Achilles' Heel

2009-09-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

Watch your Achilles' heel. In the Harryhausen stop-motion film Jason & the Argonauts, the heel was the vulnerable spot of the giant titan...

Jim Thorpe, World's Greatest Athlete

2009-09-09T12:39:00.000-07:00

This independent film (2009), which premiered at the famed Pacific Film Archive - has been picked up by PBS and will air this Fall. Nephew Kerrigan Addicott edited and executed a variety of behind-the-scenes production responsibilities, outstanding for a 17-year old. The first film we ever witnessed at PFA was Ashes and Diamonds, directed by Wajda - favored as a classic of B&W technique, via the

The Nines and Pythagoras

2009-09-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

Does 9/09/09 may have some special significance? If so, blame it on Pythagoras, who created not only the famous theorem (a2 + b2 = c2) but also numerology. Pythagoras reputedly learned his knowledge of geometry from Egyptian priests or perhaps, the oracle of Delphi.

Saturated Fat and Alzheimer's Causality

2009-09-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

From Australian Broadcasting Corp...Researchers believe they have discovered why foods high in saturated fat increase the likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease.Researchers from Curtin University of Technology in Perth, found that saturated dietary fat damages the lining of blood vessels in the brains of mice, allowing a protein called amyloid to enter the brain.The study, to be published

09 Burning Man

2009-09-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

2009 Burning man test...image by Frederic Larson from sfgate.com