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    High-Fat Diet Starves the Brain

    May 1, 2016, Categories  Biology/Biotechnology, Health/Medical

    Cross-section through the brain of a mouse: regions with reduced uptake of glucose after three days of a high-fat diet (blue: slightly reduced, white: greatly reduced). [less] © MPI f. Metabolism Research

    Cross-section through the brain of a mouse: regions with reduced uptake of glucose after three days of a high-fat diet (blue: slightly reduced, white: greatly reduced). © MPI f. Metabolism Research

    A high-fat diet of 3 days in mice leads to a reduction in the amount of glucose that reaches the brain. The mouse brain restored its sugar uptake after 4 weeks, albeit at the cost of the rest of the body. High-fat-content foods throw our bodies out of kilter. Obesity and diseases such as type 2 diabetes can be the result. But what does a high-fat diet actually do to our brain? Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Cologne have looked into the brains of mice to understand how obesity and diabetes develop.

    “A high-fat diet reduces the uptake of blood glucose into the ...

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    Here’s what the brain of an extremely selfish person looks like

    August 22, 2015, Categories  Biology/Biotechnology, Health/Medical

    Here's what the brain of an extremely selfish person looks like

    Here’s what the brain of an extremely selfish person looks like

    They deceive people for their own benefit, they see others as weak and untrustworthy, and they ignore moral codes.

    Psychologists have dubbed these people Machiavellians after the Italian political philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli, whose book “The Prince” includes many examples of this sort of unsavory character. Now, a recent study published in the journal Brain and Cognition reveals what goes on in the brains of these social deviants when they’re around others who are acting fairly.

    Machiavellianism — which is part of the “dark triad” of personality traits, along with narcissm and psychopathy — falls on a spectrum, from low Machs (aka normal people) to high Machs (aka jerks).

    Tamas Bereczkei and his colleagues at the U...

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