Category Biology/Biotechnology

Neuroscientists from Bochum have investigated why the brain stores some odours in a special way. Credit: © Leigh Prather / Fotolia

Neuroscientists Dr Christina Strauch and Prof Dr Denise Manahan-Vaughan from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum have investigated which brain area is responsible for storing odours as long-term memories. Some odours can trigger memories of experiences from years back. The current study shows that the piriform cortex, a part of the olfactory brain, is involved in the process of saving those memories; the mechanism, however, only works in interaction with other brain areas. “It is known that the piriform cortex is able to temporarily store olfactory memories. We wanted to know, if that applies to long-term memories as well,” says Christina Strauch.

Synaptic plasticity...

Omega 3 consumption is linked to better sleep, which may explain the higher IQ in kids who eat fish at least once a week. Credit: © mikitiger / Fotolia

Children who eat fish at least once a week sleep better and have IQ scores that are 4 points higher, on average, than those who consume fish less frequently or not at all, according to new findings from the University of Pennsylvania published this week in Scientific Reports, a Nature journal. Previous studies showed a relationship between omega-3s, the fatty acids in many types of fish, and improved intelligence, as well as omega-3s and better sleep. But they’ve never all been connected before...

Especially persons with lesions in certain areas of the right posterior temporal lobe experienced difficulties recognizing voices. The MPI scientists assume that the posterior superior temporal gyrus, the STG, is crucial for voice recognition. © MPI CBS

Amazon recently announced that its language assistant Alexa is now able to recognise voices. What is celebrated as a tech revolution is an everyday process for our brain. So far, it has been unclear as to which areas of the brain we use to differentiate voices. The Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences has just uncovered new findings: Our personal assistant for voice recognition uses a convolution in the right temporal lobe.

We regularly find ourselves in situations in which we talk to others...

Comparing of the cascaded GHz approach with Kinect-style approaches visually represented on a key. From left to right, the original image, a Kinect-style approach, a GHz approach, and a stronger GHz approach. Credit: Courtesy of the researchers

Computational method improves resolution of time-of-flight depth sensors 1,000-fold. For the past 10 years, the Camera Culture group at MIT’s Media Lab has been developing innovative imaging systems – from a camera that can see around corners to one that can read text in closed books – by using “time of flight,” an approach that gauges distance by measuring the time it takes light projected into a scene to bounce back to a sensor.

In a new paper appearing in IEEE Access, members of the Camera Culture group present a new approach to time-of-flight im...