Lifeboat Foundation

A small team of public health specialists from the University of Glasgow and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health reports a possible link between some cases of autism and prenatal diet.

In their study, published in JAMA Network Open, the group analyzed information in two large databases of medical information on thousands of mothers and daughters in Norway and England.

Prior research has suggested that there appears to be diet, genetic and environmental factors involved in the development of autism in children while they are still in the womb, though the exact cause is still unknown. For this new study, the research team looked more closely at the role of diet in its development.

Mindfulness training may cause altered states of consciousness, including disembodiment and unity, according to a University of Cambridge study. While often positive, these experiences can sometimes be unsettling. Awareness and open communication about these potential side effects are essential for both teachers and students.

A new study from the University of Cambridge suggests that participants in mindfulness training may undergo altered states of consciousness, experiencing sensations of disembodiment and unity.

The team says that while these experiences can be very positive, that is not always the case. Mindfulness teachers and students need to be aware that they can be a side-effect of training, and students should feel empowered to share their experiences with their teacher or doctor if they have any concerns.

From the article:

Ceyda Sayali, a cognitive neuroscientist at the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins University who was not involved with the study, said she was struck by the images that showed a marked change when participants on psilocybin were asked to answer…

A small new study shows reactions in the brain in people who were given psilocybin in a controlled setting.

Continue reading “This Is Literally Your Brain on Drugs” »

Unlocking the brain: how magnetic nanomaterials could transform neuroscience.

Mind-control magnet tech to regulate behavior, emotions, hunger.

Understanding the brain’s intricate networks and functions is a complex challenge.

Continue reading “Nano MIND: Scientists use magnetism to brain-control mice wirelessly” »

*Foresight Neurotech program & apply to join:* https://foresight.org/neurotech-improving-cognition-program/ A group of neuroscience researchers, entrepreneur…

Ozempic, Wegovy and other GLP-1 drugs are being investigated as treatments for many health conditions—from dementia to addiction to kidney problems.

By Allison Parshall

By Ariana Mendible

For the past several years, I have been closely involved with the Institute for the Quantitative Study of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (QSIDE). This nonprofit organizes events and facilitates research in quantitative justice, the application of data and mathematical sciences to quantify, analyze and address social injustice. It uses the community-based participatory action research model to connect like-minded scholars, community partners, and activists together. Recently, QSIDE researchers met virtually in a Research Roundup to share our progress. Hearing all the incredible work that QSIDE has spawned and supported prompted me to reflect on the role that the group has played in my budding career and the ways in which the institute itself has grown since its founding in 2019.

Like many PhD candidates, my final year of graduate school was rife with burnout and uncertainty about post-graduation plans. Add to this mix a global pandemic, social isolation, and confinement to the same one-bedroom dwelling for the last year plus and you get a stew of anxiety. I was approaching my mental limit on the research I had been conducting, somewhere at the intersection of data science and fluid dynamics. While the problem I had been working on for my thesis was interesting, I was ready for a major change. I couldn’t picture myself in the usual post-graduate tracks: a post-doc at an R1 institution or working for a Big Tech company. These careers felt hyper-competitive, a turn-off during a period of significant burnout. I also couldn’t see their direct positive impact, which felt acutely important in this time of global social disarray.

Elon Musk’s Neuralink company is building a $14.7 million site in Austin, Texas.

According to MYSA, Neuralink plans to build new offices in Central Texas. A recent filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) revealed that Neuralink’s new offices will be at 2,200 Caldwell Lane, Del Valle, TX 78617.

The filings also hint that Neuralink is working on a multi-building campus within a property that stretches 37 acres. The property is located 20 minutes away from Tesla Giga Texas.

For at least half a century, it has been popular to compare brains and minds to computers and programs. Despite the continuing appeal of the computational model of the mind, however, it can be difficult to articulate precisely what the view commits one to. Indeed, critics such as John Searle and Hilary Putnam have argued that anything, even a rock, can be viewed as instantiating any computation we please, and this means that the claim that the mind is a computer is not merely false, but it is also deeply confused.