Lightning & Migraine
Migraine headaches are associated with lightning storms.
Parkinson’s Test
A salivary gland biopsy may finally make it possible to definitively diagnose Parkinson's Disease in living patients.
Making Room for Memories
Children are better at forming long-term memories than adults for a surprising reason.
Parkinson’s & Creativity
Side effects of meds for Parkinson's disease may include bursts of creativity.
Newborn Language
Newborn babies have a preference for their mother's language over foreign languages.
Your Brain on Fructose
A brain imaging study supports growing evidence linking fructose to weight gain.
Podcast for 30 November 2012
CHILD DEVELOPMENT - Are kids naturally stingy? Why children's self-control could depend on the adults around them. And why math anxiety "hurts". Also: What monsters from Dungeons & Dragons can tell us about the importance of eyes.
Sleepy Roundup
Researchers think they’re found the cause of hypersomnia, a condition which causes people to feel constantly sedated.
Listening to Football Helmets
Measuring the acoustical signatures of colliding football helmets could help improve helmet safety.
Eyes vs. Faces
Monsters from the role playing game “Dungeons & Dragons” help reveal what’s most important to us.
Podcast for 9 November 2012
SURVIVAL - Why female Komodo dragons die young, a whale that sounded like a person, and algae that flee their predators. Also: how the brain's insulation differs between us and chimpanzees, and why that insulation is so important to social development.
Forgetting Bad Memories
The brain has two very different mechanisms for erasing bad memories.
Reversible Bee Brains
When worker bees and nurse bees switch roles, their brains get a genetic re-boot.
Socially Deprived Brains
Neglect keeps young brains from developing adequate insulation.
Blocking Alzheimer’s
A new mouse model for Alzheimer's treatment gets striking results.
Happiness Roundup
Researchers identify a gene that may influence women’s contentment with their lives.
Teen Brains on Pot
Smoking marijuana regularly as a teenager may be associated with cognitive decline later in life.
Human vs. Chimp Brains
DNA modifications in chimp brains may help protect them from cancer.
Podcast for 7 September 2012
MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS - A new drug that could block heroin addiction, how mice could speed up AIDS research, and why we're more prone to cancer than our closest living relatives. Also: the two brain chemicals behind sleep paralysis.
Addiction Blocker
A drug called (+)-naloxone blocks the brain’s addiction to heroin and other opiates.
Robotic Gait
Engineers have developed a two-legged robot with a more lifelike walking gait.
Social Poker
Neuroscientists used poker games and MRI scans to separate social from purely strategic decision making.
Parroting Genes
Birds and people have similar genes for learning and producing vocalizations.