Thirteen years ago, scientists of the NIH embarked on a journey to do the seemingly impossible: create a map of the human brain. They coined this undertaking the Human Connectome Project (HCP). This crusade is nothing new to the field. Starting with Santiago Ramón y Cajal, who discovered intricate neuronal networks in the late 1800s […]
Human Connectome Project Read More »
At any given second, the human eye is processing billions of visual stimuli — trees changing color, flashing sirens, people in the distance — and turning them into understandable information. This means that what is seen is only understood after it has been processed by the brain. In other words, perception defines reality. But what
Is seeing really believing?: How Humans Process Optical Illusions Read More »
Resting in our polar ice, nanoplastics are a small force about the size of a virus silently contaminating our environment and creating potentially devastating consequences. A team of international scientists set out to measure the precise concentration of nanoplastics in polar ice cores. For the first time, there are figures on the extent to which
Nanoplastics officially cover every part of the Earth Read More »
What if humans created a leaf better at utilizing sunlight than plants? And what if that leaf was engineered with such efficiency that it could feed the future world? Researchers at Harvard University have created and improved their “bionic leaf” to do just that and are now ready to bring this new technology into the
Foliage of the future: How Harvard’s new tech aims to prevent a global food shortage Read More »
The rain is pouring outside. It’s only 1 p.m. on a Monday, yet you feel the day has already dragged on for ages. You’ve only made it through two lectures, an hour of unproductive studying, and about half a protein bar. Naturally, you end up at a local — new — coffee shop for a
For the first time, again: Investigating the neuroscience behind déjà vu Read More »