Neuroblasts

You may have been told you can become anything you want, but it’s doubly true for these neuroblasts. These immature neural cells can grow into anything from neurons to glia as they populate the diverse cells that composes the nervous system.

Neuroblasts feature prominently in the explosion of growth that takes place while embryos develop. But they also hang around into adulthood, helping the production of new brain cells and aiding recovery from brain injury and stroke. Researchers are hoping to use their accommodating nature to boost that regenerative ability. A 2013 paper reported the successful transformation of astrocytes — a commonly found support cell —into neuroblasts, a feat that some hope could someday treat brain injuries

Link to present

A Link to the Present

When trying to tell neurons apart, count the limbs. While most human neurons feature at least three extensions, one variety–bipolar neurons–has only two, as seen here shining green in an adult zebrafish. 

Their shape, with the branches of one end bringing in signals and the other relaying them away, makes the cells well suited to gathering and then passing on information. 

For example, bipolar neurons in the inner nose connect the skin there with an odor-interpreting organ deeper in the brain. With similar connections in the retina and inner ear, these cells help link our brains with the external world via smell, sound, and sight.

Neural network

Neural Networks in a Mouse

Disruptions in the way the brain communicates may underpin common disorders like schizophrenia and autism. Information flows through collections of connected brain cells called neural networks. Teasing out and understanding the myriad of complex brain circuits may offer clues to how disruptions in these systems could cause disease. 

Using a number of different advanced techniques to map brain circuits, neuroscientists are discovering how cells respond when network activity is altered by artificially changing a single component. This helps researchers determine the importance of its role in the system.

One such component that can drastically change how networks work is GAD67, an enzyme important for production of the nerve cell communication chemical GABA. This image shows part of a mouse hippocampus, with all the neurons expressing GAD67 labeled in green. The protein parvalbumin, which helps the networks develop, is shown in red, and all cell nuclei are labeled blue.

child brain

How Does Parental Separation Affect a Child’s Brain?

In June 2018, medical and scientific associations including the Society for Neuroscience, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians, the American Psychiatric Association, among others, urged the U.S. government to halt the practice of separating immigrant children from their parents at the U.S. border. In doing so, these medical and scientific experts focused not on an abstract concept such as cruelty, but on the long-lasting damage that separation can do to a child’s developing brain. The U.S. government rescinded the practice on June 21, 2018.

The incident, however, raised questions about how stress and trauma affect the developing brain. To understand more, BrainFacts.org spoke with Charles A. Nelson, a professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at Harvard Medical School. Nelson, with his colleagues Charley Zeanah and Nathan Fox, studied children from Romania who had been abandoned by their parents and put in state-run institutions. Nelson and his colleagues randomly assigned half of the children to a foster care situation and then followed the children for almost 18 years. They have found changes in the brains of abandoned children that can be permanent. 

Water park of an inspired future

Visit the Water Park of an Inspired Future!

If there is a universal language, it is probably the one that’s shared by children at play. Anyone who has ever watched kids playing together, even when divided by the largest language barrier, has witnessed the amazing connective power of fun.

On this installment of Saturdays Around the World, we are going to a theme park unlike any other. Morgan’s Wonderland, located in San Antonio, Texas, is the brainchild of a man by the name of Gordan Hartman. He was inspired by his daughter, Morgan, to create a space of inclusion where people of all abilities can play together! And it looks pretty awesome.

So let’s discover the people and innovations that made this place built to celebrate the connective power of fun, a reality.

Since opening its doors in 2010, the park has been a haven for people across the globe to connect, play, and, most importantly, share in those moments together. In 2017, they expanded the park with the addition of Morgan’s Inspiration Island, a completely accessible water park.

But in order to make this dream a reality, Hartman and his team had to tackle a problem: how do you make a waterproof motorized wheelchair?

The New York Times did a beautiful profile of Morgan’s Inspiration Island, and how a remarkable team of innovators found an ingenious solution to that problem. It’s an amazing story of how vision, ingenuity, and out-of-the-box thinking can create life-changing experiences!

The layers of innovation here really do point to how amazing this world is! From the work that Human Engineering Laboratories is doing on projects like the Pneuchair to improve accessibility for individuals with disabilities, to the vision of passionate people like Gordon Hartman to build spaces of inclusivity and connection.

These are the innovators, particularly when combined in projects like Morgan’s Inspiration Island, that should make us all optimistic about our collective future.

DIY smartphone microscope

A DIY Smartphone Microscope!

Just imagine going from taking selfies to studying microbes in seconds, all with a device you carry around every day! We don’t need new innovations in technology for this to be a reality; if you have a cell phone, you have a microscope.

While this may sound unbelievable, the steps to make your own microscope at home are pretty easy and well worth a try for any science lover.

Here is Anna Rothschild from the YouTube Channel Gross Science explaining a simple DIY for anybody with access to a smartphone!

Cool, right?

It turns out microscopes for smartphones aren’t just for looking at puddle water. Scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have created a 3D printed microscope that clips on to your phone and costs a few cents to create. This simple technology can be applied to smartphones or tablets to create portable microscopes that can be used by everybody from first responders to school children.

Where can I get one? Well, if you (or a school you know) has access to a 3D printer, PNNL has made available the print files, as well as the assembly instructions.

What I find most incredible about the PNNL project is the accessibility of the technology. They took an object many of us have with us every day, and, with simple enhancements, made an entirely new world of discovery available to everyone.This is the beauty of the technological and manufacturing age we live in today. As more people have access to 3D printers, we allow for fields of technology, engineering, and science to be opened up to a broader range of people.

When we put the tools in people’s hands to inspire creativity and innovation, naturally, more brains, more ideas, more solutions will begin to appear.

If you want to see more about the way open source 3D printing is spurring on innovation, check out the Open Hand Project. They are dramatically reducing the cost of prosthetic hands and challenging the status quo of medical design.

changed us from agriculture to astronauts

The Innovations that Changed us from Agriculture to Astronauts

Think about the thousands of innovations you interact with every day, from the food we eat to the phones in our pockets, we have generations of our innovating ancestors to thank!

It’s easy to forget that progress is a compounding process with each new, world-changing innovation building on the last.

Today we’re going to take a moment to celebrate humanity’s remarkable innovation history. From ancient knowledge, right up to the advanced technology that makes exploration of deep space possible, our innovative journey is truly incredible. It’s hard not to be excited for our collective future when we are confronted with the ideas that have catapulted us into the modern age.

AsapSCIENCE is just one of the many YouTube channels we love, and over the next seven minutes, they take us on a journey through the innovations that changed history!

Ancient Knowledge to Advanced Technology

Take a second to absorb all of that. Those are just 71 of the endless innovations that have brought us to today!

When I watch something like this, I am reminded that our future is in good hands. Sometimes, it may feel like we’re headed in the wrong direction, but if we take a broader look at the world around us, beyond what we hear on the news, there is a world filled with remarkable innovators out there that are guiding us to a brighter future!

Fying machines of the future

Flying Machines of the Future

Do we have to be afraid of a tech-filled future? Or, can we pause and marvel at the doors that are opening before our eyes?

Technology is constantly pushing us past our comfort zones. In this era of technological revolution, it seems in building the next great thing we are forgetting to marvel at what we create.

When we pause and reflect on how far technology has come over the past 50 or even 10 years, we are truly in a magical era.

The world of drones is a field ripe with technological ideation. As major tech companies and innovators are taking on a drone-filled future, we are seeing unprecedented diversity in design.

Raffaello D’Andrea is one of the many incredible thought leaders in drone technology. His work bridges technology, art, and innovation.

In his awe-inspiring February 2016 TED Talk, D’Andrea brings us closer to the incredible flying machines of the future that he creates with the design lab Verity Studios. Here he is, from the TED stage, alongside the drones that will help shape our future…

Celebrating future flying machines!

We have actually featured D’Andrea’s work here before with the fascinating project Cubli. Yet another project that speaks to a world of technological wonder that sits just on the horizon.

When we look at projects like D’andrea’s drones, we understand that technology and artistic expression are beginning to move toward one another. Drones are not just utilitarian, they are becoming the brushes and canvas we are beginning to express ourselves with!

I look forward to a day when we no longer see the world in terms of academic disciplines but instead begin to innovate with reckless abandon between seemingly disparate field

Future designing our environments

The Future of Designing Our Environments

“How can we create places that are poetic and practical at the same time?”

The quote above is from a TEDx speaker we’d like to shine a light on today: Dutch artist and innovator, Daan Roosegaarde. Born and raised in the Netherlands, he grew up exploring a “natural” landscape that was entirely created by man. (As you may know, about one-third of the country is below sea level, so some of the landscape is highly unnatural.) This curiosity may have helped Daan develop a fascination for nature and technology, specifically how they can come together. 1

Studio Roosegaarde, his social design lab, focuses on creating experiences inside our everyday environments, bringing attention, thought, and interaction to places that are often overlooked, and most importantly, developing a world where sustainability is seen as beautiful.

sleek shark skin

                         Sleek shark skin

Sharks, the stealthy predators of the deep, may have a thing or two to teach the U.S. Navy. Shark skin contains sleek scales that resemble tiny teeth and are made of a tough material called dentin. The scales create tiny vortices in the water that reduce drag, studies have shown. Shark skin also prevents barnacles and other organisms from glomming on, something called bio-fouling (those sticky creatures cost the Navy at least $50 million each year, one Navy scientist estimated.) The scales are constantly in flux, limiting the surface area to which marine hitchhikers can attach.

Researchers in Germany have developed a synthetic shark skin made of elastic silicone that reduces bio-fouling by 67 percent in tests. The U.S. Navy has funded work to develop similar critter-repellent coatings.

Healthy diet

                                   Eat a healthy diet

Although making healthy selections at the grocery store and at mealtime can't guarantee cancer prevention, it might help reduce your risk. Consider these guidelines:

• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Base your diet on fruits, vegetables and other foods from plant sources — such as whole grains and beans.
• Avoid obesity. Eat lighter and leaner by choosing fewer high-calorie foods, including refined sugars and fat from animal sources.
• If you choose to drink alcohol, do so only in moderation.The risk of various types of cancer — including cancer of the breast, colon, lung, kidney and liver — increases with the amount of alcohol you drink and the length of time you've been drinking regularly.
• Limit processed meats. A report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the cancer agency of the World Health Organization, concluded that eating large amounts of processed meat can slightly increase the risk of certain types of cancer.

In addition, women who eat a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil and mixed nuts might have a reduced risk of breast cancer. The Mediterranean diet focuses on mostly on plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts. People who follow the Mediterranean diet choose healthy fats, like olive oil, over butter and fish instead of red meat.

How to avoid skin cancer

                           AVOID SKIN CANCER

Skin cancer is one of the most common kinds of cancer — and one of the most preventable. Try these tips:

• Avoid midday sun. Stay out of the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the sun's rays are strongest.
• Stay in the shade. When you're outdoors, stay in the shade as much as possible. Sunglasses and a broad-brimmed hat help, too.
• Cover exposed areas. Wear tightly woven, loosefitting clothing that covers as much of your skin as possible. Opt for bright or dark colors, which reflect more ultraviolet radiation than pastels or bleached cotton.
• Don't skimp on sunscreen. Use generous amounts of sunscreen when you're outdoors, and reapply often.
• Avoid tanning beds and sunlamps. These are just as damaging as natural sunlight.

           Tips to prevent infection

Sometimes it is just a daunting task to keep yourself and your family away from infections. It is not enough to keep the obvious runny nose and hacking cough at bay. You need to find useful and practical methods to keep infections at bay. Your skin behaves as a natural force-shield protecting you from harmful bacteria that causes infections. However, a new form of smarter and lethal bugs have founds alternate ways to get inside your body and cause infection.

Don’t worry, all hope is not lost. By making a few simple behavioural alterations, you can easily master the art of infection prevention.

Keep your hands clean – You will be surprised to know that microbes can survive on inert surface anywhere from a few minutes to as long as several months. It depends on the microbes and the environment it is in. However, these microbes can be taken care of by simply washing your hand effectively. You must wash your hand thoroughly and vigorously for at least 20 seconds with soap and water. If you can’t find water around you, then the best alternative solution would be a good hand sanitiser.

Avoid sharing personal items – Razors, toothbrushes, towels, nail clippers, and handkerchiefs breed a lot of infectious bacteria. Ensure you don’t share it with anyone.

Be careful when you cough and sneeze – In a similar manner, respectable personal hygiene is not only about grooming yourself, but also about following the golden rule of covering your mouth when you are coughing or sneezing. Now you would question, why should I do it if I am not sick? The reason being that the disease-causing bacteria in most infections start growing and multiplying way before the symptoms actually show up.

Be updated with recent news – A clear understanding of latest events can help you make wise decisions before travelling or indulging in recreational activities. For instance, a bird flu outbreak in Asia can make you reconsider about the trip you were planning. Lead in food products? Don’t eat those products. As Simple as that. (Move this point to the end)

Always have safe sex - Infectious diseases that are sexually transmitted are the easiest one to prevent. By using condoms you can prevent transfer of infectious bacteria or viruses from one person to another.

Exercise caution if you are an animal lover – Infections that spread from animal to people are called “zoonotic diseases”. These infections are more common than most people realize. So, if you are a pet lover, make sure they get timely check-ups and their vaccinations are up-to-date. Make sure you keep their litter box clean, and keep small kids away from animal feces.

Travel smart – Infectious diseases are easy to catch while traveling, especially if you are travelling to underdeveloped countries. If you travelling to a destination where the quality of drinking water is questionable, make sure you use bottled water for drinking and while brushing your teeth. Be sure to update every immunizations that are recommended or required for your journe and nedless to say – pack your basic medications along!

Sh

virtual reality

What’s the Deal with Virtual Reality?

By now, virtual reality (VR) has probably made it on to your radar screen in some way. Maybe you’ve only heard about it in bits and pieces, or maybe you’ve tried it yourself. Whatever the case, virtual reality feels like it could be the new generation of advanced technology.

So, what’s going on with virtual reality? How does it work? What impact is it having on your brain?

Though I have tried a virtual reality headset before, I realized I really didn’t know that much about it, or what is possible with this technology. I’d never really had virtual reality explained to me in a way I was able to understand.

So, I decided to look into it and found a great video from one of our favorite YouTube channels, The Good Stuff, that takes us into the world of virtual reality, exploring its history, psychology, and why it’s so darn fun!

A New Generation of Uses

I am most excited by all the possibilities that advanced technology like virtual reality present. The opportunities for connecting people across cultures, bringing worlds wonders to our homes, enriching the teaching power of classrooms, and so much more are boundless.

We are only in the early stages when it comes to fleshing out the broader applications for VR, and where it ends up taking us is unimaginable. It is fascinating to think about where this kind of technology will take us in the next 100 years, and the innovative thinkers that will move us forward.

Robots the future of food

Robots

 The Future of Food?

When you think about the future of robotics, your initial thoughts are probably far from the kitchen, and perhaps further away from preparing fresh meals. Yet this advanced technology is entering every corner of our lives, and robots are emerging as growing part of the future of food.

If thinking about a figure filled with robots making our food leaves you feeling a little uncomfortable, I have to admit, I was a part of that club until I watched the video we are sharing with you today.

My initial thoughts on robot-made food had created visions of processed junk food in my head. It turns out, though, that I was completely wrong! Advancements in technology and agricultural robots are making it easier for produce farmers to grow healthier foods like fresh fruits and vegetables in more affordable ways. While the presence of robots in food preparation gives more people access to freshly prepared foods!

snake robots

Snake Robots

Now here’s one of those new innovations in robotics that’s solving problems by combining two things that don’t quite seem to go together at first thought.

snake robot

Having the flexibility and movements of a slithering reptile allows these robots to squeeze into spaces that their human-form, mechanical cousins, and we humans, haven’t been able to explore. They will can do so much more! We will be able to identify structural problems in hidden places, perform minimally invasive surgery, and find survivors in fragile search and rescue missions (to name a few applications).

This impressive innovation, which obviously has adopted its looks from a little friend in nature, is just one incredible example of biomimicry; a growing field of science at the intersection of engineering

So, what really is the potential for the snake robot?

Just think of the many dirty jobs that, performed by humans, endanger lives. Or the jobs that require access to small spaces, spaces that even conventional robots, with limbs or wheels, could never access. Consider the possibility of assisting in minimally-invasive surgery, for inspection of power plants, for aiding in search and rescue efforts, in archaeological digs.When you think about all of the fields of work and disciplines of study in which we humans are engaged, and the number of associated problems we are trying to solve, it becomes clear that the snake robot has an immense amount of potential.

Here’s a short, exceptionally informative video, from the Engadget Expand that explores the reaches of this potential

Why else should we care?

Simply put, inventions like the snake robot remind us to look to nature in our search for solutions to our many problems.

Just think about it for a moment: humans have been perking along, solving problems with clever inventions since the dawn of simple machines, like the wheel. That’s about 5,500 years. But Mother Nature has been barreling along, solving every challenge an organism can face on this earth for 3.5 billion years!

That’s a lot of “research and development” and “institutional knowledge” that we can tap into!

And that’s essentially what the new field of science I mentioned – called “Biomimicry”, or in professional circles, “Biomimetics” – is doing to make the world a better place.

If you’d like to check out a few other great articles we’ve done on that remarkable innovation of the future, I can recommend a great article we wrote called Biomimicry and the Floating Islands. Or another that gets shared a lot is called, Turning Birds into Dinosaurs.