brain – News Stories About brain - Page 5

Cosmetic Surgery Turns Woman Into 'Temporary Klepto'

Woman Develops
'Temporary
Kleptomania'
After Surgery

Feb 18, 2016 10:52 AM CST

Woman Develops 'Temporary Kleptomania' After Surgery

Brazilian went in for a tummy tuck and boob job, came out with a desire to steal

(Newser) - A woman who went under the knife for a little nip-and-tuck in 2013 ended up with a case of pocket-and-run as well. Per Live Science , the 40-year-old Brazilian had cosmetic surgery on her stomach, arms, and breasts, but just a few days after the procedure, she started having "recurring...

The Female Brain Isn't Wired for Modern Obesity Meds

Obesity Drugs May Not
Work So Great for Women

NEW STUDY

Feb 2, 2016 6:00 AM CST

Obesity Drugs May Not Work So Great for Women

Male mice see much greater benefit in study

(Newser) - Bad news, ladies: Your brain may be wired in a way that doesn't help you lose weight—at least when compared with male brains. That's what scientists led by the University of Aberdeen conclude after observing how mice shed extra weight. In a Molecular Metabolism study, pointed out...

When It Comes
to Mood Disorders,
Girls May Be
Like Mom

Jan 28, 2016 12:38 PM CST

When It Comes to Mood Disorders, Girls May Be Like Mom

Mothers and daughters have similar brain circuitry

(Newser) - A woman with depression might have her mother's brain circuitry at least partly to blame, suggests a new study out of the University of California San Francisco . In the small but potentially groundbreaking study led by psychiatry professor Fumiko Hoeft, researchers discovered that the structure of the part of...

Girl With Almost
No Brain Is
Still Alive at 10

Jan 12, 2016 7:27 AM CST

Girl With Almost No Brain Is Still Alive at 10

Most people with hydranencephaly don't live to see their first birthday

(Newser) - When Alex Simpson was born, she seemed to be a typical baby in many respects—but she would cry for 20 hours a day. For two months, her parents didn't know why. Then, an answer, reports KETV in Omaha, Neb. Alex was diagnosed with a rare congenital disorder called...

Lumosity to Pay $2M
for Deceiving Customers

Jan 5, 2016 1:36 PM CST

Lumosity to Pay $2M for Deceiving Customers

Its brain games are not proven to stave off cognitive decline

(Newser) - Vitaminwater isn't actually a health drink , Almond Breeze might not actually have many almonds in it , and Lumosity may not actually protect your brain from cognitive impairment. The so-called "brain training" company, which offers users online and mobile app subscriptions for the use of its "cognitive games,...

Most of Us Have
Brains That Are Both
Male and Female

new study

Dec 1, 2015 6:27 PM CST

Most of Us Have Brains That Are Both Male and Female

'Human brains cannot be categorized into two distinct classes'

(Newser) - Maybe this explains why we're hooked on both fantasy football and Gilmore Girls. Researchers studying more than 1,400 brains found it impossible to categorize them as either male or female, the Los Angeles Times reports. "Brains with features that are consistently at one end of the '...

Here's What
Potent Pot Does
to Your Brain

NEW STUDY

Nov 27, 2015 6:40 AM CST

Here's What Potent Pot Does to Your Brain

Study finds damage in white matter used to send signals

(Newser) - A new study raises concerns for those who indulge in potent forms of marijuana. Researchers out of King’s College London and Rome's Sapienza University studied brain scans of 56 patients who had reported an episode of psychosis and 43 healthy volunteers. They found that those who regularly smoked...

Scientists
Might've Just
Revolutionized
Brain Medicine

Nov 11, 2015 1:03 PM CST

Scientists Might've Just Revolutionized Brain Medicine

Canadian scientists breach blood-brain barrier for first time

(Newser) - Inside your head, there's something called the blood-brain barrier—a natural defense system that keeps germs in your bloodstream from entering your brain. While it's great when it comes to preventing bacterial infections, the barrier makes treating some brain diseases impossible, since it prevents drugs from reaching the...

Man's Headaches Turn Out
to Be Tapeworm in Brain

Man's Headaches Turn Out to Be Tapeworm in Brain

Tiny, wriggling worm was removed from Luis Ortiz

(Newser) - It's something most of us have done before: ignored a headache. A 26-year-old California man did just that beginning in late August, but then the pain got worse. The cause turned out to be almost unimaginable: a tapeworm larva that had made its way to his brain. The Napa ...

Here's Why You
Can't Draw a
Perfect Circle

Nov 1, 2015 5:00 PM CST

Here's Why You Can't Draw a Perfect Circle

It requires the use of several joints, while your brain prefers to move only one

(Newser) - If you've felt disappointed at not being a genius who can draw a perfect circle, well, take solace: BrainDecoder explains the matter in detail, and it's not exactly your fault. The site starts by pointing out that we can recognize a perfect vs. imperfect circle pretty easily, and...

150-Year-Old Question
About the Brain Is Answered

Oct 16, 2015 7:52 AM CDT

150-Year-Old Question About the Brain Is Answered

A bigger brain doesn't equal a bigger IQ, meta-analysis finds

(Newser) - If brain size relative to body size determines IQ, the venerable shrew would be the smartest creature on the planet. But it doesn't, and it's not, and scientists from Austria, the Netherlands, and Germany have combed through 88 studies with more than 8,000 participants to confirm in...

Brain Scan
'Fingerprints'
Can Show How
Smart We Are

NEW STUDY

Oct 13, 2015 8:38 AM CDT

Brain Scan 'Fingerprints' Can Show How Smart We Are

Scientists say 'connectivity profiles' may predict how well we do on cognitive tasks

(Newser) - Each person's brain activity, or "connectivity profile," may be as unique as a set of fingerprints, YaleNews reports—and could prove useful in IDing individuals, assessing intelligence, and predicting future success on certain tasks. In a study published Monday in Nature Neuroscience , scientists reviewed fMRI scans for...

Scientists Link Brains
Over the Internet

Sep 24, 2015 1:00 AM CDT

Scientists Link Brains Over the Internet

They say it's the most successful mind-meld yet

(Newser) - University of Washington scientists say they pulled off the amazing feat of linking two minds over the Internet—and they didn't have to stick electrodes into anybody's brain to do it. Instead, pairs of study participants a mile apart wore caps—one connected to an EEG machine monitoring...

Your Liver Is Younger
Than Your Brain

Sep 18, 2015 11:54 AM CDT

Your Liver Is Younger Than Your Brain

Scientists learn what makes our organs age at different rates

(Newser) - It's well established that our most vital organ, the heart, doesn't necessarily age at the same rate as we do—based in part on lifestyle factors, some of us have hearts that are older or younger than our chronological age. Now researchers are reporting in the journal Cell ...

First Head Transplant
Has a Patient and a Date

Sep 15, 2015 7:44 AM CDT

First Head Transplant Has a Patient and a Date

A 30-year-old Russian computer scientist has volunteered to be the first in 2017

(Newser) - Italian surgeon Sergio Canavero made headlines in 2013 when he said the first human head transplant is just years away, and again earlier this year when he said the surgery could happen as soon as 2017 . Now he is announcing that, if everything goes "smoothly," he will be...

A Small Shock Could Zap Your Motion Sickness

NEW STUDY

Sep 6, 2015 7:50 AM CDT

A Small Shock Could Zap Your Motion Sickness

Scientists think they could eradicate travel misery within a decade

(Newser) - Motion sickness is, some scientists think, caused by conflicting messages that our ears and eyes send to our brain when we are in motion. In three out of 10 of us, it can be downright debilitating, resulting in cold sweats, dizziness, severe nausea, and more. But now researchers at Imperial...

Could This
Discovery End
Alcoholism?

NEW STUDY

Sep 3, 2015 12:57 PM CDT

Could This Discovery End Alcoholism?

Blocking D1 receptors in brain blocks alcohol cravings: study

(Newser) - Scientists say a cure for alcoholism could be on the horizon thanks to the remarkable discovery of neurons in the brain that play a role in whether one glass of wine turns into a bottle. Texas A&M researchers explain the part of your brain known as the dorsomedial striatum...

Study of Rare, Terrible Brain Disease Yields Huge Find

Sep 1, 2015 6:33 AM CDT

Study of Rare, Terrible Brain Disease Yields Huge Find

Multiple system atrophy quickly destroys the brain

(Newser) - Multiple system atrophy, or MSA, is a rare and horrible disease that will destroy your brain and inevitably kill you, and the study of it has now yielded a major breakthrough in our understanding of brain diseases. Researchers have discovered that MSA is caused by a prion, a kind of...

Daydreaming
May Be Why
Neurotics Are
So Creative

Aug 30, 2015 1:41 PM CDT

Daydreaming May Be Why Neurotics Are So Creative

So, does this explain Woody Allen?

(Newser) - Is there a reason neurotic people tend to be bigger worriers but also more creative than the rest of us? A newly published theory says yes, and it has to do with daydreaming. Neurotics—famous ones include Isaac Newton, Winston Churchill, and, of course, Woody Allen—get anxious and obsessed...

Whistled Language Brings
Surprising Brain Discovery

Aug 18, 2015 9:10 PM CDT

Whistled Language Brings Surprising Brain Discovery

People must use both sides of their brain to understand it, a first

(Newser) - The rapidly disappearing "bird language" that is spoken—or whistled, actually—by about 10,000 residents in the mountains of Turkey is changing the way scientists think about language and the brain. The left hemisphere has always been dominant when interpreting language, be it spoken, written, signed, or even...