Excerpt: In a mind-control experiment that demonstrates the astonishing power of new neuroscience tools, MIT researchers planted a false memory in the mind of a mouse using genetic techniques that allow them to trigger specific brain cells with light. The scientists were able to make the mouse recall something that had never occurred—having its foot painfully zapped when in the…
ISG faculty Dr. Stefan Timmermans describes how “giving parents a torrent of information about a child’s genetic disease risk will profoundly change the experience of bringing a new life into the world”. He writes, “Opening up newborn screening for genetics has mostly been viewed as an issue of technological capacity: Is the technology sufficiently fast and reliable to make…
We all know at least one of those so-called “born competitors.” It’s the coworker who’s obsessed with beating everyone else in sales each month. It’s the guy at the gym who always picks weights that are 10 pounds heavier than yours. Whether you thrive from the pressure of being pitted against your peers, or it leaves you with a racing…
A new genetic analysis of hundreds of American dog breeds reveals that the canines’ ancient roots trace back to Asia. On average, less than 30 percent of their DNA comes from Europe, suggesting dogs came to the Americas with the ancient humans who established pre-Columbian civilizations. The study also found that the Chihuahua really does come from an ancient lineage of dogs…
Is Antarctica’s Lake Vostok a prehistoric aquarium populated by exotic fishes and crustaceans? A study now hints at the possibility. But the idea that the pitch-dark lake might host complex animals — as some media reports have suggested — is vastly premature, leading researchers warn. Nestled beneath a glacier 4,000 metres thick, Lake Vostok is the largest of hundreds of…