brain | Common News Update

Apr92021 by adminNo Comments

Elon Musk’s brain implant firm teaches monkey to play Pong with its mind

Technology

Elon Musk's brain implant company Neuralink has released a video showing how it has taught a monkey - Pager, a nine-year-old macaque - to play the video game Pong with its mind.The video follows Mr Musk's assertion in February that the company has "a monkey with a wireless implant in their skull with tiny wires" that it uses to play video games. Neuralink Corporation, which Elon Musk owns alongside his SpaceX and Tesla businesses, previously claimed to have implanted coin-sized wireless sensors inside the brains of two pigs, describing the sensors as "a Fitbit in your skull with tiny wires". Image: 'He's a happy monkey,' says Elon Musk At the time of the video, Pager was six weeks on from having had the Neuralink devices installed - o...

Apr62021 by adminNo Comments

Friday Night Dinner star Paul Ritter dies of brain tumour aged 54

Entertainment

Friday Night Dinner star Paul Ritter has died of a brain tumour at the age of 54.The actor, who also starred in Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince and James Bond film Quantum Of Solace, died at home with his family by his side. His agent said: "It is with great sadness we can confirm that Paul Ritter passed away last night. He died peacefully at home with his wife Polly and sons Frank and Noah by his side. He was 54 and had been suffering from a brain tumour. Image: Paul Ritter, pictured with Friday Night Dinner co-stars Tom Rosenthal, Simon Bird and Tamsin Greig "Paul was an exceptionally talented actor playing an enormous variety of roles on stage and screen with extraordinary skill."He was fiercely intelligent, kind and very fu...

Apr12021 by adminNo Comments

Study: Some general anesthesia affects region of brain responsible for memory

Health

April 1 (UPI) -- Different general anesthetics used during surgical procedures cause chemical changes in patients' brains, affecting memory, a study published Thursday by PLOS Biology found. Three commonly used combinations of anesthetics, tested on mice, all changed brain activity in the hippocampus -- the region of the brain responsible for memory -- compared to "wakefulness," or not being under anesthesia, or natural sleep, the study showed. Advertisement All anesthetics tested in the study affected the stability of synaptic connections between brain cells in the hippocampus. Two of the three combinations also caused retrograde amnesia, a form of memory loss impacting events occurring immediately before surgery, the researchers said. "Anesthetic procedures are among the safest medical...

Mar252021 by adminNo Comments

Mysterious brain disease killing bald eagles traced to unknown cyanobacterium

Science

March 25 (UPI) -- North America's bald eagles, once severely threatened by DDT exposure, have rebounded dramatically over the last 50 years. In pockets of the American South, however, scientists have found local eagle populations suffering from outbreaks of a mysterious neurodegenerative disease, called avian vacuolar myelinopathy Advertisement Now, nearly 30 years after an outbreak of AVM killed hundreds of eagles in Arkansas, scientists have traced the origins of the deadly disease to a previously unknown cyanobacterium that grows exclusively on an invasive aquatic plant. The revelation -- detailed Thursday in the journal Science -- was made possible by a series of vital breakthroughs, and a fruitful collaboration between scientists in Georgia and Germany. Several years ago, a group of...

Mar92021 by adminNo Comments

Study: Mixing brain, nervous system-related drugs risky for dementia patients

Health

March 9 (UPI) -- Older adults who take three or more drugs for dementia or its complications could accelerate memory loss and declines in thinking ability as a result, according to a study published Tuesday by JAMA. Despite this risk, one in seven adults with dementia in the United Stated who is older than 65 and lives outside of a nursing home takes three or more drugs to treat dementia or related disorders, such as depression, the data showed. Advertisement This so-called "poly-pharmacy," or taking multiple prescription drugs, also can raise the risk for injury and death in the elderly, as some of these medications can cause fatigue, weakness and delirium. "Dementia comes with lots of behavioral issues, from changes in sleep and depression to apathy and withdrawal, and providers, patien...