Where the brain processes spiritual experiences
Yale scientists have identified a possible neurobiological home for the spiritual experience — the sense of connection to something greater than oneself. (more…)
Tag Archives: process
Trading changes how brain processes selling decisions
Market experience leaves people less susceptible to economic bias, study finds
Experience in trading changes how the human brain evaluates the sale of goods, muting a well-established economic bias known as the endowment effect, according to researchers at the University of Chicago. (more…)
New, fossil-fuel-free process makes biodiesel sustainable
A new fuel-cell concept, developed by an Michigan State University researcher, will allow biodiesel plants to eliminate the creation of hazardous wastes while removing their dependence on fossil fuel from their production process.
The platform, which uses microbes to glean ethanol from glycerol and has the added benefit of cleaning up the wastewater, will allow producers to reincorporate the ethanol and the water into the fuel-making process, said Gemma Reguera, MSU microbiologist and one of the co-authors. (more…)
Moths Wired Two Ways to Take Advantage of Floral Potluck
Moths are able to enjoy a pollinator’s buffet of flowers – in spite of being among the insect world’s picky eaters – because of two distinct “channels” in their brains, scientists at the University of Washington and University of Arizona have discovered.
One olfactory channel governs innate preferences of the palm-sized hawk moths that were studied – insects capable of traveling miles in a single night in search of favored blossoms. The other allows them to learn about alternate sources of nectar when their first choices are not available.
For moths, the ability to seek and remember alternate sources of food helps them survive harsh, food-deprived conditions. Scientists knew bees could learn, but this is the first proof that moths can too. (more…)
IBM Redefines Social Business with the Power of Analytics
Fortune 100 Clients Tout Returns on Social Investments
ARMONK, N.Y. – 12 Sep 2012: IBM today unveiled new software and services that bring the power of big data analytics into the hands of today’s social savvy workforce anytime, anywhere. Now, organizations can apply analytics to their social business initiatives, allowing them to gain actionable insight on information generated on networks and put it to work in real-time.
As part of today’s news, IBM is announcing the availability of its industry-leading social software platform, IBM Connections. IBM Connections incorporates sophisticated analytics capabilities, real-time data monitoring, and faster collaborative networks both inside and outside the organization, whether on premises, in the IBM SmartCloud or using a broad range of mobile devices. View the demo today. (more…)
Face to Face
Research finds infants classify faces by gender, race
Long before babies can talk — even before they can sit up on their own — they are mentally forming categories for objects and animals in a way that, for example, sets apart squares from triangles and cats from dogs, psychologists say.
Now, research conducted by the University of Delaware’s Paul Quinn, professor of psychology, and others indicates that babies as young as 3 months are also classifying faces by race and gender, showing a visual preference for the category they see most often in their daily lives, and that by 9 months they have difficulty recognizing the faces of people from less-familiar races. (more…)
How Megakaryocytes Get so Big — and The Bad Things That Happen When They Don’t
Yale researchers have discovered how megakaryocytes — giant blood cells that produce wound-healing platelets — manage to grow 10 to 15 times larger than other blood cells.
The findings, to be published March 13 in the journal Developmental Cell, also hint at how a malfunction in this process may cause a form of leukemia. (more…)
Scientists Use Animal-Free Reagents to Create Clinical-Grade Neurons from Skin Cells
Using a specially designed facility, UCLA stem cell scientists have taken human skin cells, reprogrammed them into cells with the same unlimited property as embryonic stem cells, and then differentiated them into neurons while completely avoiding the use of animal-based reagents and feeder conditions throughout the process.
Generally, stem cells are grown using mouse “feeder” cells, which help the stem cells flourish and grow. But such animal-based products can lead to unwanted variations and contamination, and the cells must be thoroughly tested before they can be deemed safe for use in humans. (more…)