Nerdy Science Blog

When I just came Australia, I immediately fell in love with Krispy Kreme. Krispy Kreme is a doughnut shop. Everytime I know a newcomer come to Australia, I would definitely bring them to Krispy Kreme. My favourite doughnut from Krispy Kreme is Original Glazed.

Now Krispy Kreme does not only sell doughnuts, but they also involve in neurological research.

When the subjects saw pictures of donuts after the eating binge, their brains didn’t register much interest. But after the fast, two areas of the brain leaped into action upon seeing the donuts. First, the limbic brain — an ancestral part of the brain present in all animals from snakes to frogs to humans — lit up like fireworks.

There is a saying that we are what we eat. This research shows that human brain is able to detect things from environment and sort out what is relevant to the needs. This research also proves that if you want to lose weight, don’t stop eating. On diet is one of the worst thing to do in losing weight. The best way to lose weight is exercise and control your diet.

(news)

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Scientists from Harvard has successfully map the brain by turning brain tissue into high-resolution neural maps.  The researchers have done this by using the new machine, automatic tape-collecting lathe ultramicrotome (ATLUM) machine.

(Wired)

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Do you remember “anatomically correct bone socks“?

I came across another pair of socks which showed all the sites for acupuncture. Acupuncture is traditional Chinese treatment which uses thin needles to insert to specific points on the body to relieve pain, cure diseases, or anesthetize body part for surgery.

I would not recommend you to acupuncture yourself with needles after wearing this pair of socks as the acupoints on the socks may not match the one on your legs (depends how you wear your socks). You may massage the acupoints.

(link)

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I confess, I watch TV and online before I sleep.

Nearly half of the respondents associated their lack of sleep with electronic media use before bedtime. Those reporting longer electronic media use were also more likely to report insufficient sleep.

But many lecturers are boring, you can’t deny that. I notice that even though some lecturers present in an attractive way, but their voices are just dull.

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Read this news from nature. Scientists from Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovo, Israel had discovered the protein that can erase long-term memories. Yadin Dudai and Reut Shema found that the polypeptide ZIP is useful in “zipping” memories.

They then looked to see what would happen if they injected the rat cortex with ZIP, a small protein Sacktor’s laboratory previously used to block spatial memories held in the hippocampus. ZIP silences an enzyme called PKM-zeta, which Sacktor thinks is key to perpetuating long-term memory.

This is exciting, but there are something else that concern me. Will this discovery be used in military acts or by terrorists? Will it be commercialize just for someone to forget their past becoming the next popular drugs? Maybe it will become the next important thing in the future spy movies like the Bourne series.

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I haven’t see sun for a long time. My activities start after sunset, and stop before sunrise. I do my works, studies, haave funs during night time, the darker it is, the more hyper I am. People say my genes mutated.

If you think that the idea of a morning person or an evening person is nonsense, then postgraduate student Martin Sale and his colleagues from the University of Adelaide have news for you.

—— Science Daily: Brains Learn Better At Night

This piece of news is nonsense, different people has different body and brain. There are still lots of people learn better in the morning. I can learn good in both time, just that I’m easily fall asleep in the morning and easily got distracted at night.

Now you might caught me waking up this early morning writing this post, the fact is I haven’t sleep for days without the help of caffeine. Just doing my assignments and reports.

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