Memories evolve throughout our lifetimes, changing as we learn and experience new things and as we recall a memory repeatedly. And then, memories degrade as we age. Previously, scientists thought that this malleability was the result of changes in the brain cells that originally encoded the memory, and they believed these cells stored just one … Read more
Brain organoids are 3D, lab-grown models designed to mimic the human brain. Scientists normally grow them from stem cells, coaxing them into forming a brain-like structure. In the past decade, they have become increasingly sophisticated and can now replicate multiple types of brain cells, which can communicate with one another. This has led some scientists … Read more
Psilocybin, the compound that makes magic mushrooms trippy, works its magic by desynchronizing the brain network responsible for a person’s sense of self, new research finds. Psilocybin warps people’s sense of time and space, as well as shifts their feelings of connection to the world around them. While most of these subjective effects wane pretty … Read more
Some memories last a lifetime — and now, scientists have revealed a type of molecular “glue” that helps those memories stick around. Memories form when collections of neurons in a region of the brain called the hippocampus activate in response to a particular experience. Each time you recall that experience, the same set of cells … Read more
Scientists have identified a vulnerability in virtual reality (VR) headsets that could let hackers access private information without the wearers’ knowledge. A hacker can insert a new “layer” between the user and the device’s normal image source. Hackers can then deploy a fake app in the VR headset that might trick the wearer into behaving … Read more
Within the next few decades, NASA aims to land humans on the Moon, set up a lunar colony and use the lessons learned to send people to Mars as part of its Artemis program. While researchers know that space travel can stress space crew members both physically and mentally and test their ability to work … Read more
A tech startup is building a headband that it claims can induce stabilized lucid dreaming in a wearer — letting them take control of their own dreamscapes. Prophetic described how its device, called “the Halo,” works in a post on X on Jan. 25. The headband will use an artificial intelligence (AI) platform dubbed “Morpheus-1” … Read more
For the first time, scientists have generated functional human brain tissue using a 3D printer. Scientists printed the tissue to be less than 0.01 inch (0.02 centimeter) thick, and it contains both nerve cells and supporting cells called glia. All of these cells can communicate with one another and form networks, as they would in … Read more
Using only a sensor-filled helmet combined with artificial intelligence, a team of scientists has announced they can turn a person’s thoughts into written words. In the study, participants read passages of text while wearing a cap that recorded electrical brain activity through their scalp. These electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings were then converted into text using an … Read more
Mysterious, spiral signals have been discovered in the human brain, and the scientists who found the swirls think they could help to organize complex brain activity. The signals, which appeared as swirling spirals of brain waves across the outer layer of the brain, were discovered in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scans of 100 … Read more
