Topic description and stories

Brain cholesterol associated with increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease

07 May 2018

Researchers have shown how cholesterol – a molecule normally linked with cardiovascular diseases – may also play an important role in the onset and...

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Identification of brain region responsible for alleviating pain could lead to development of opioid alternatives

27 Feb 2018

Researchers from the UK & Japan have identified how the brain’s natural painkilling system could be used as a possible alternative to opioids for...

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Scientists link genes to brain anatomy in autism

26 Feb 2018

A team of scientists at the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge has discovered that specific genes are linked to individual differences in brain anatomy in...

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Artificial intelligence is growing up fast: what’s next for thinking machines?

06 Feb 2018

Our lives are already enhanced by AI – or at least an AI in its infancy – with technologies using algorithms that help them to learn from our...

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Lucy Kivlin and her baby Ginny

Eye contact with your baby helps synchronise your brainwaves

29 Nov 2017

Making eye contact with an infant makes adults’ and babies’ brainwaves ‘get in sync’ with each other – which is likely to support communication and...

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Lead researcher Dr Danny Longman rowing with the Cambridge ̽»¨Ö±²¥ Boat Club. This is an example of the type and standard of the sample population used in the study.

'Selfish brain' wins out when competing with muscle power, study finds

20 Oct 2017

New research on our internal trade-off when physical and mental performance are put in direct competition has found that cognition takes less of a...

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Brain showing hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (plaques in blue)

Computer-designed antibodies target toxins associated with Alzheimer’s disease

22 Jun 2017

Researchers at the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge have designed antibodies that target the protein deposits in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease...

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Opinion: Brain scanners allow scientists to ‘read minds’ – could they now enable a ‘Big Brother’ future?

13 Feb 2017

Brain imaging can reveal a great deal about who we are and what is going inside our heads. But how far can – and should – this research take us...

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Drain Brain Spider

Personality traits linked to differences in brain structure

25 Jan 2017

Our personality may be shaped by how our brain works, but in fact the shape of our brain can itself provide surprising clues about how we behave –...

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Vegetable and fruits

Mediterranean diet may protect your brain in old age, new finding suggests

06 Jan 2017

Could a Mediterranean diet keep your brain young? That is the tantalising finding from a study out this week. Writing on ̽»¨Ö±²¥Conversation website...

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Deer skulls

Larger brain size linked to longer life in deer

14 Dec 2016

̽»¨Ö±²¥size of a female animals' brain may determine whether they live longer and have more healthy offspring, according to new research led by the...

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Brain showing hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (plaques in blue)

New imaging technique measures toxicity of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases

23 Nov 2016

A new super-resolution imaging technique allows researchers to track how surface changes in proteins are related to neurodegenerative diseases such...

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