Why big brains are rare

Why big brains are rare

0
The brain of Gnathonemus petersii is larger in proportion to its body than a human's. To keep up with the energy demands of its big brain, it has evolved a Schnauzenorgan, a chin appendage covered with electroreceptors that helps...
Pathways that exist before kids learn to read may determine development of brain’s word recognition area.   Neuroscientists have long wondered why the brain has a region exclusively dedicated to reading — a skill that is unique to humans and only...
Always surrounded by an aura of mystery, the moon and its possible influence over human behavior has been object of ancestral fascination and mythical speculation for centuries. While the full moon cannot turn people into werewolves, some people do...
Liam Satchell with a participant.Credit: Image courtesy of University of Portsmouth The way people walk can give clues to how aggressive they are, a new exploratory study from the University of Portsmouth has found. The researchers from the Department of Psychology...
Ability grouping places students of similar skills and abilities in the same classes. Image Credit: Flickr/breadfortheworld Schools should use both ability grouping and acceleration to help academically talented students, reports a new Northwestern University study that examined a century of...
First-time parents are only somewhat satisfied with their sex lives according to Penn State health researchers who checked in with parents regularly after their baby was born. And one factor that appears to be reducing their sexual satisfaction is...
For the first time, MIT researchers have shown that nerves made to express proteins that can be activated by light can produce limb movements that can be adjusted in real-time, using cues generated by the motion of the limb...
Early in learning (left) the shock is unexpected and sends a powerful signal to the amygdala (lateral portion, LA) to trigger a memory of the tone-shock association. After learning (right) the tone fully predicts the shock and engages a...
EPFL scientists propose a new way of understanding of how the brain processes unconscious information into our consciousness. According to the model, consciousness arises only in time intervals of up to 400 milliseconds, with gaps of unconsciousness in between. The...
Even if you haven't ridden your bike in years, you probably remember how to do so without giving it much thought. If you're a skilled piano player, odds are you can easily sit down and play a song you've...
Cornell University researchers found that music can have important effects on the cooperative spirits of those exposed to music. Credit: Cornell University From casual acoustic melodies at the coffee shop to throbbing electronic beats at teen clothing outlets, music is...