Tag Archives: mathematical models

Human Cognition Depends Upon Slow-Firing Neurons

Good mental health and clear thinking depend upon our ability to store and manipulate thoughts on a sort of “mental sketch pad.” In a new study, Yale School of Medicine researchers describe the molecular basis of this ability — the hallmark of human cognition — and describe how a breakdown of the system contributes to diseases such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease.

“Insults to these highly evolved cortical circuits impair the ability to create and maintain our mental representations of the world, which is the basis of higher cognition,” said Amy Arnsten, professor of neurobiology and senior author of the paper published in the Feb. 20 issue of the journal Neuron. (more…)

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How Nature’s Patterns Form

*Alan Newell, a UA mathematics professor, studies patterns in nature, which he said have features that are universal*

When people on airplanes ask Alan Newell what he works on, he tells them “flower arrangements.”

He could also say “fingerprints” or “sand ripples” or “how plants grow.” (more…)

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Listen Up: Ocean Acidification Poses Little Threat to Whales’ Hearing

Contrary to some previous, highly publicized, reports, ocean acidification is not likely to worsen the hearing of whales and other animals, according to a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientist who studies sound propagation in the ocean. (more…)

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