Lifeboat Foundation

At the mere flick of a magnetic field, mice engineered with nanoparticle-activated ‘switches’ inside their brains were driven to feed, socialize, and act like clucky new mothers in an experiment designed to test an innovative research tool.

While ’mind control’ animal experiments are far from new, they have generally relied on cumbersome electrodes tethering the subject to an external system, which not only requires invasive surgery but also sets limits on how freely the test subject can move about.

In what is claimed to be a breakthrough in neurology, researchers from the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in Korea have developed a method for targeting pathways in the brain using a combination of genetics, nanoparticles, and magnetic fields.

Aging is a universal experience, evident through changes like wrinkles and graying hair. However, aging goes beyond the surface; it begins within our cells. Over time, our cells gradually lose their ability to perform essential functions, leading to a decline that affects every part of our bodies, from our cognitive abilities to our immune health.

To understand how cellular changes lead to age-related disorders, Calico scientists are using advanced RNA sequencing to map molecular changes in individual cells over time in the roundworm, C. elegans. Much like mapping networks of roads and landscapes, we’re charting the complexities of our biology. These atlases uncover cell characteristics, functions, and interactions, providing deeper insights into how our bodies age.

In the early 1990s, Cynthia Kenyon, Vice President of Aging Research at Calico, and her former team at UCSF discovered genes in C. elegans that control lifespan; these genes, which influence IGF1 signaling, function similarly to extend lifespan in many other organisms, including mammals. The genetic similarities between this tiny worm and more complex animals make it a useful model for studying the aging process. In work published in Cell Reports last year, our researchers created a detailed map of gene activity in every cell of the body of C. elegans throughout its development, providing a comprehensive blueprint of its cellular diversity and functions. They found that aging is an organized process, not merely random deterioration. Each cell type follows its own aging path, with many activating cell-specific protective gene expression pathways, and with some cell types aging faster than others. Even within the same cell type, the rate of aging can vary.

Ending Alzheimer’s Disease Everywhere — Dr. Tim MacLeod, PhD & Dr. Vaibhav Narayan, PhD, Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative.

Summary: A new study reveals that the epigenetic state of neurons determines their role in memory formation. Neurons with open chromatin states are more likely to be recruited into memory traces, showing higher electrical activity during learning.

Researchers demonstrated that manipulating these epigenetic states in mice can enhance or impair learning. This discovery shifts the focus from synaptic plasticity to nuclear processes, offering potential new avenues for treating cognitive disorders.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarrollBlog post with audio player, show notes, and transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2024/07/29…

There is also chaotic computation.

The study “Chaotic neural dynamics facilitate probabilistic computations through sampling,” published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), explores how the brain’s inherent chaos aids in processing information.

RIKEN researchers have developed a model to explain how the brain computes probabilities using chaotic dynamics.

July 17, 2024 – The changes can begin in middle age, but they’re not usually noticeable until decades later. By age 60 and beyond, the changes can pick up speed and may become obvious.

“As we get older, our brain actually starts to shrink and lose mass,” said Marc Milstein, PhD, a Los Angeles brain health researcher. The start of that shrinkage, as well as the path it takes, can vary, said Milstein, who wrote The Age-Proof Brain.

“Starting at 40, our overall brain volume can start shrinking about 5% every 10 years,” he said. “Our brain has connections where our memories are stored, and as we age, we lose some of these connections. That can make it challenging to remember and to learn new information.”

Discussion at the Moving Naturalism Forward workshop, October 2012. Participants include Sean Carroll, Jerry Coyne, Richard Dawkins, Terrence Deacon, Simon DeDeo, Daniel Dennett, Owen Flangan, Rebecca Goldstein, Janna Levin, David Poeppel, Massimo Pigliucci, Nicholas Pritzker, Alex Rosenberg, Don Ross, and Steven Weinberg.

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Keith Frankish is an Honorary Reader at the University of Sheffield, UK, a Visiting Research Fellow with The Open University, UK, and an Adjunct Professor with the Brain and Mind Programme at the University of Crete. He specializes in philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology, and philosophy of cognitive science. His books include Illusionism: As a Theory of Consciousness, Consciousness: the Basics, and Consciousness.

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