A mind-boggling trip into the 3-pound slimy, spongy mass that is the human brain

What weighs three pounds and is much more than a slimy, spongy mass? The human brain, of course. It’s the most complex organ in the body — home to 86 billion neurons that act like a miraculous supercomputer, allowing our bodies to function and our minds to roam freely.

But how much do you really know about your own brain? If you’re brain-curious, a visit to BrainFacts.org may be in order.

The site — a public initiative of the Kavli Foundation, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and the Society for Neuroscience — is a database of all things brain. It’s edited by neuroscientists who present a wealth of information about the human organ, from its anatomy to its place in society.

The site has articles, videos and interactive features designed to make brain learning fun. It’s appropriate for educators and students, but you don’t have to be in school to dip in.

Take the site’s 3-D brain feature, an interactive model that lets you explore brain structures and learn more about what they do. You can click on different structures, or use a drop-down menu that points out various parts and explains their functions. (Can you comprehend this article? You have Wernicke’s area to thank. The temporal lobe structure allows humans to understand spoken and written language.)

Informative articles about behavior, brain diseases and disorders, and research all provide different ways to approach the sometimes mind-boggling organ. The site’s “Ask an Expert” section lets readers submit brain- and neuroscience-related questions and read expert answers on topics, such as how much energy the brain uses and whether migraine and seizures are related. Many articles include reference lists so you can delve further into the science.

Videos are another way into the topic. A series on “Meet the Researcher” introduces neuroscientists and their work.

The site also offers a newsletter, various social media presences (BrainFacts’ Instagram account serves up surprisingly pretty brain imagery) and a “find a neuroscientist” feature that connects educators and event organizers with brain scientists.

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2:Human brain makes new cells throughout life, research shows

Humans continue creating new brain cells throughout their life, scientists have proved for the first time.

Analysis of the anatomy of 58 people who died between the ages of 43 and 97 found evidence of “neurogenesis” in even the oldest.

The findings are significant because for decades many experts believed that humans are born with all the brain cells they ever have.

However, the scientists behind the new study believe the necessity to keep learning new things even into old age creates a demand for new neurons.

The study may also prove a crucial fresh starting point in the so-far fruitless hunt for an Alzheimer’s cure.

The team found that the number of new brain cells tailed off with age across all the brains they studied — between the ages of 40 and 70, the number of fresh neurons spotted in the part of the brain studied fell from about 40,000 to 30,000 per cubic millimetre. However, in participants in the early stages of Alzheimer’s they fell dramatically, the number of new neurons forming falling from 30,000 to 20,000.

This occurred earlier than the accumulation of amyloid beta, which has been one of a major focus of drug development. Only last week a major trial which aimed to remove amyloid from the brain was abandoned.

Dr Maria Llorens-Martin, senior author on the study at the Autonomous University of Madrid, said: “This is very important for the Alzheimer’s disease field because the number of cells you detect in healthy subjects is always higher than the number detected in Alzheimer’s disease patients, regardless of their age.

“It suggests that some independent mechanism, different from physiological ageing, might drive this decreasing number of new neurons.”

She added: “I believe we would be generating new neurons as long as we need to learn new things. And that occurs during every single second of our life.”

The study is published in Nature Medicine.

3:A mind-boggling trip into the human brain

  By Erin BlakemoreThe Washington Post

Tuesday Mar 26, 2019 at 7:56 PM

What weighs three pounds and is much more than a slimy, spongy mass? The human brain, of course. It's the most complex organ in the body -- home to 86 billion neurons that act like a miraculous supercomputer, allowing our bodies to function and our minds to roam freely.

But how much do you really know about your own brain? If you're brain-curious, a visit to BrainFacts.org may be in order.

The site -- a public initiative of the Kavli Foundation, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and the Society for Neuroscience -- is a database of all things brain. It's edited by neuroscientists who present a wealth of information about the human organ, from its anatomy to its place in society.

The site has articles, videos and interactive features designed to make brain learning fun. It's appropriate for educators and students, but you don't have to be in school to dip in.

Take the site's 3-D brain feature, an interactive model that lets you explore brain structures and learn more about what they do. You can click on different structures, or use a drop-down menu that points out various parts and explains their functions. (Can you comprehend this article? You have Wernicke's area to thank. The temporal lobe structure allows humans to understand spoken and written language.)

Informative articles about behavior, brain diseases and disorders, and research all provide different ways to approach the sometimes mind-boggling organ. The site's "Ask an Expert" section lets readers submit brain- and neuroscience-related questions and read expert answers on topics, such as how much energy the brain uses and whether migraine and seizures are related? Many articles include reference lists so you can delve further into the science.

Videos are another way into the topic. A series on "Meet the Researcher" introduces neuroscientists and their work.

The site also offers a newsletter, various social media presences (BrainFacts' Instagram account serves up surprisingly pretty brain imagery) and a "find a neuroscientist" feature that connects educators and event organizers with brain scientists.