Category Archives: Neuroscience: Mysteries Of The Brain

Humans Are Already Cyborgs

Above: Humans Are Already Cyborgs.

“Our destiny is to become what we think, to have our thoughts become our bodies and our bodies become our thoughts” – Terence McKenna.

“If human history is the story of a creature who molts from ape to
angel – or, as Nietzsche claimed, from beast to Superman – then
somewhere along the way it seems that we must become machines” – Erik Davis.

Why Do We Blink Our Eyes?

Above: Why Do We Blink Our Eyes?

Have you ever wondered the real reasons why we blink our eyes? Trace decided to explain and talk to us about a few of the different reasons why we close our eyes so many times each day. Did you know that babies blink their eyes less than adults? In fact, parents of babies and newborn children sometimes notice an unusual phenomenon: normal babies rarely close their eyes, except of course when they are sleeping.

Why do we blink our eyes so frequently? We all blink a lot. In fact, the average person blinks some 15-20 times per minute, which is so frequently that our eyes are closed for roughly 10% of our waking hours overall. But why do we blink our eyes? We have to blink our eyes to cleanse and moisten the eyes, but there is another very important reason why we blink our eyes so many times each minute.

Does Life Experience Change Your Cell Biology And Genetic Structure? Are Humans Software That Can Be Programmed?

Above: Does Life Experience Change Your Cell Biology And Genetic Structure? Are Humans Software That Can Be Programmed?

Gene Expression

“A cell is a machine for turning life experiences into biology.”

Have you ever wondered if your life experiences can change your cell biology? Are humans truly powerful beings with the capacity to change our very own genetic structure based on our daily activities and things that we experience throughout our lives?

Gene expression is the process by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product. These products are often proteins, but in non-protein coding genes such as transfer RNA (tRNA) or small nuclear RNA (snRNA) genes, the product is a functional RNA. The process of gene expression is used by all known life—eukaryotes (including multicellular organisms), prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea), and utilized by viruses, to generate the macromolecular machinery for life.

Why Is Alcohol So Dangerous For Babies? How Much Alcohol Can A Pregnant Woman Drink?

Above: Why Is Alcohol So Dangerous For Babies?

When women drink while pregnant, there is a chance that it will severely damage the brain of the fetus, but what happens to a baby if the baby gets drunk outside of the womb? Did you realize that given the same exact amount of alcohol, the level of intoxication varies according to physiological and biological factors such as being a baby girl instead of a baby boy as well as the amount of muscle versus fat in the baby’s body?

Alcohol affects two crucial parts of a baby’s brain which are extremely vulnerable when a baby is developing. This drinking of alcohol by a developing baby girl or baby boy can result in irreversible brain changes or even brain damage that can impact decision making, personality, memory, and learning. Continue reading

Can You Live With Only Half Of Your Brain?

Above: Can You Live With Only Half Of Your Brain?

People have been known to survive with huge pieces of their brains missing, but just which brain parts could we live without? Strange but true: when half a brain is better than a whole brain. The operation known as hemispherectomy, where half the brain is removed, sounds too radical to ever consider, much less perform. However, in the last century, surgeons have performed it hundreds of times for disorders uncontrollable in any other way. Unbelievably, this type of brain surgery where half of your brain is removed has no apparent effect on personality or memory.

Opia: The Ambiguous Intensity Of Eye Contact

Above: Opia | The Ambiguous Intensity Of Eye Contact.

I really hate making eye contact with people, I’m not sure I can physically do it for extended periods of time. Society says its rude to be staring off into the distance or at your feet but when I try to look at someone directly in the eye its like this intense weight is pushing on me until I have to look away.

Its a similar feeling to look out a window at night, the certain fear of the unknown beyond the dark little window, or the unsettling feeling when looking into a mirror too intently for too long, when everything kinda melts away into a dark blur and only the eyes remain. Maybe in a way by having my own existence observed so strongly it makes me question what my existence really is and the lack of answers is sometimes frightening.

The ambiguous intensity of looking someone in the eye, which can feel simultaneously invasive and vulnerable. Their pupils glittering, bottomless, and opaque, as if you were looking through a hole in the door of a house, able to tell that there is someone standing there, but unable to tell if you are looking in or looking out.

What Does A Stroke Do To Your Body? The Danger Of Having A Brain Stroke | Symptoms And Treatment | Stroke Recovery

Above: What Does A Stroke Do To Your Body? The Danger Of Having A Brain Stroke.

A stroke can occur at any time to anyone, but what causes them? And can you recover once you’ve had one? Permanent brain damage from a stroke may be reversible thanks to a developing therapeutic technique, a study has found. The novel approach combines transplanted human stem cells with a special protein that the US Food and Drug Administration already approved for clinical studies in new stroke patients.

Stroke affects everybody differently. Many stroke survivors continue to improve over a long time, sometimes over a number of years. Recovery from stroke involves making changes in the physical, social, and emotional aspects of your life. You will make changes to prevent additional strokes as well as to facilitate your life-long recovery. Continue reading