Tag: remember
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The Case for Digital Dementia
A new study has found that storing important information in a digital device frees up the mind to remember other, less important details — which otherwise would be crowded out by the important stuff. It suggests that tech might be improving our memories, contrary to the popular notion that tech is giving us all “digital dementia.” Anthony and Jeff discuss whether this data changes their opinions about how devices are impacting human memory, and how new technology can make things even better. [more]
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Moon Trees and Watching Memories Form
One of the Apollo 14 astronauts took a bag of tree seeds to the moon. A few years after the astronauts returned home, some of the seeds were planted across the United States... and then forgotten. Anthony and Jeff discuss the effort to track down these Moon Trees, and if they really mean something. Then, researchers have directly observed what happens inside the brain of a zebra fish when it is being traumatized. Jeff and Anthony talk about what this breakthrough means, and how exactly the scientists traumatized those fish. [more]
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The Sour Paradox and Memory Loss is Memory Gain
Of the classic five categories of taste, sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami, only one of them has no discernible evolutionary purpose. Scientists do not understand why we even sense sour, let alone why it is so pervasive across species. Jeff and Anthony look at the evidence and consider the most prominent theories. Then, what if having a touch time remembering something isn't a bug, but a feature? Anthony and Jeff examine a new paper that suggests that out brain is optimizing for success when it limits recall. [more]
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See Holograms and Remember your Purpose
A San Jose company has announced a brand new technology that might finally deliver on the promise of real holograms. Jeff and Anthony define the term and dig into what makes this new tech so exciting. Then, a new study by Florida State University researchers showed a link between an individual’s sense of purpose and their ability to recall vivid details. Anthony and Jeff try to figure out their own purpose and whether it might help them remember where they put their keys. [more]
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Lucid Dreaming and Alone with Your Thoughts
An international team of researchers was able to achieve real-time dialogues with people in the midst of lucid dreams, according to a study published in Current Biology. Jeff and Anthony discuss whether they have experienced lucid dreaming, and if the excitement around this study is a bit overstated. Then, how difficult is it for humans to be alone with their thoughts? A new study shows just how far people will go to stop the silence. Anthony and Jeff make sense of the idea that people might hurt themselves rather than do nothing. [more]
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Memories For Snail
Biologists report they have transferred a memory from one marine snail to another, creating an artificial memory, by injecting RNA from one to another. This research could lead to new ways to treat traumatic memories with RNA -- perhaps a traumatic memory could be altered -- and perhaps new ways to restore lost memories. Jeff and Anthony wonder if this technique could be used to help them forget their awkward teenage years. [more]
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Photographic Memory
Though they may appear crystal clear in our minds, our memories are not a carbon copy of the events we witnessed. Every time we recall a memory, we may accidentally alter it or diminish its accuracy. Even trivial memories are easily corrupted with mere suggestions. Jeff and Anthony struggle to recall if they've done this story before. [more]
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Special Aged
It's pretty extraordinary for people in their 80s and 90s to keep the same sharp memory as someone several decades younger, and now scientists are peeking into the brains of these "superagers" to uncover their secret. The work is the flip side of the disappointing hunt for new drugs to fight or prevent Alzheimer's disease. Parts of the brain shrink with age, one of the reasons why most people experience a gradual slowing of at least some types of memory late in life, even if they avoid diseases like Alzheimer's. But it turns out that superagers' brains aren't shrinking nearly as fast as their peers'. And autopsies of the first superagers to die during the study show they harbour a lot more of a special kind of nerve cell in a deep brain region that's important for attention. Jeff and Anthony remember to try and stay on topic. [more]
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Retro Virus
Inside the brain, proteins don’t stick around longer than a few minutes. And yet, our memories can hang on for our entire lifetime. Recently, an international collaboration of researchers discovered something strange about a protein called Arc. This is essential to long-term memory formation. What they found was that it has very similar properties to how a virus infects its host. Jeff and Anthony consider what life could have been like without the ability to remember. [more]
Do NOT join our secret society. You’ll just wind up with a bunch of cool stuff. It’s gross.