Tag: biology
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Ancestral asymmetries…
The left and right side of the brain are involved in different tasks. This functional lateralization and associated brain asymmetry are well documented in humans, but little is known about brain asymmetry in our closest living relatives, the great apes. Using endocasts (imprints of the brain on cranial bones), scientists now challenge the long-held notion […]
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Awareness.
A research indicates that trees might be ‘aware’ of their size: Scientists found out that birch trees adjust their stem thickness to support their weight. (1) We hold our consciousness so high. Never have we thought to look down to the dirt. Never have we thought that this might be the lowest of the possible […]
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Life. A mess…
Life is built with three major components: RNA and DNA – the genetic code – and proteins, the cells that carry out their instructions. Most likely, the first cells had all three pieces. But first, RNA, DNA or proteins had to form without their partners. One common theory, known as the “RNA World” hypothesis, proposes […]
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Knowing thy self…
Interoception is the awareness of our physiological states; it’s how animals and humans know they’re hungry or thirsty, and how they know when they’ve had enough to eat or drink. But precisely how the brain estimates the state of the body and reacts to it remains unclear. In a paper published in the journal Neuron, […]
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Drawing. Seeing.
Drawing an object and naming it engages the brain in similar ways, according to research recently published in JNeurosci. The finding demonstrates the importance of the visual processing system for producing drawings of an object. In a study by Fan et al., healthy adults performed two tasks while the researchers recorded brain activity using functional […]
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