Integrative States within the Brain
Policy
United States Extends Fetal Tissue Contract and Revives One Experiment
February 22, 2019 | Science
The U.S. government’s leading medical research agency is quietly extending and reviving research that relies on human fetal tissue, even as President Donald Trump’s administration ponders the future of the controversial work in a far-reaching review.
Huge Variations in US Postdoc Salaries Point to Undervalued Workforce
February 18, 2019 | Nature
A peer-reviewed report on the salaries of nearly 14,000 postdoctoral researchers working at 52 US institutions has revealed wide disparities. Salaries ranged from US $23,660 — the minimum wage set by the US Fair Labor Standards Act — to well over $100,000. The figures, which refer to salaries on 1 December 2016, were obtained through US Freedom of Information Act requests by members of the Future of Research, a science-advocacy group in Boston, Massachusetts.
Science in the News
Meet the Neuroscientist Shattering the Myth of the Gendered Brain
February 24, 2019 | The Guardian
Cognitive neuroscientist Gina Rippon explains how our futures are heavily influenced by the entrenched belief that males and females do all kinds of things differently, better or worse, because they have different brains. Rippon discusses how these pre-notions have influenced research, reflecting its inability to challenge deep prejudices.
Integrative States within the Brain
February 22, 2019 | Science Magazine
The brain constantly integrates enormous amounts of information. While dynamically synthesizing cognitive processes as a function of an everchanging environment, the brain must stay flexible enough to adapt to continuous challenges. Read some of the newest types of research related to integrative brain sciences that have been making headlines.
New MRI Sensor Can Image Activity Deep within the Brain
February 22, 2019 | MIT News
Calcium is a critical signaling molecule for most cells, and it is especially important in neurons. Imaging calcium in brain cells can reveal how neurons communicate with each other; however, current imaging techniques can only penetrate a few millimeters into the brain. MIT researchers have now devised a new way to image calcium activity that is based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and allows them to peer much deeper into the brain.
Brain Cells Combine Place and Taste to Make Food Maps
February 18, 2019 | Science News
Sometimes a really good meal can make an evening unforgettable. A new study of rats, published online February 18 in the Journal of Neuroscience, may help explain why. A select group of nerve cells in rats’ brains holds information about both flavors and places, becoming active when the right taste hits the tongue when the rat is in a certain location.
