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Basic neuroscience

How ant brains use moonlight for navigation

How ant brains use moonlight for navigation

Ants use polarized light from both the sun and the moon to navigate. Polarized light, which is light waves vibrating in a specific direction, serves as a natural compass. Ants can detect this pattern and adjust their direction based on the orientation of the light. In this study, foragers responded

Signals from within. How the heart talks to the brain

Signals from within. How the heart talks to the brain

Interoception is the mind's ability to sense its internal state. While traditionally studied as a whole-body experience, researchers now suggest breaking it into specialized domains. One key domain, cardioception, focuses on how the brain perceives signals from the heart. This involves unique neural pathways and specialized structures that

Space week day 6: Faster than light makes you younger, but otherwise spaceflight ages us

Space week day 6: Faster than light makes you younger, but otherwise spaceflight ages us

Time dilation, a concept of Einstein's, occurs when an object moves close to the speed of light. For astronauts traveling at near-light speeds, time would pass more slowly for them relative to people on Earth. In theory, astronauts could age slower compared to individuals on Earth if they

Space week day 4: Sleeping with altered circadian rhythm, nights and day turmoil and no gravity

Space week day 4: Sleeping with altered circadian rhythm, nights and day turmoil and no gravity

Astronauts rely heavily on mental sharpness and emotional stability to perform their duties during space missions. And adequate sleep is critical for maintaining physical and behavioral health. Extensive evidence indicates that regular nightly sleep of 7–8 hours is sufficient to maintain health. But despite having scheduled sleep times of

Space week day 3: Is there gender equality on Mars?

Space week day 3: Is there gender equality on Mars?

Space travel presents a range of challenges to the human brain, and sex and gender do play roles in how individuals respond to cosmic voyages. The human brain (on Earth) shows key differences between men and women in structure, neuron development, and chemical pathways, which may affect how astronauts cope

Space week day 1: Brain health in space - stress and inflammation.

Space week day 1: Brain health in space - stress and inflammation.

Spaceflight poses a wide range of brain health challenges for astronauts, extending far beyond the obvious dangers of venturing into space - to advance human exploration (Thx!). The effects on the central nervous system of being that far away from home are profound, leading to changes in brain function and

Theme Food III: Short-term fasting doesn’t hurt brain power

Theme Food III: Short-term fasting doesn’t hurt brain power

My dad always stressed the importance of eating breakfast before school, insisting that an empty stomach would “dull my brain and make learning much harder.” I dutifully ate my oats—but was he right? There are two main theories about how fasting could affect the brain. One hypothesis suggests that