neurodudes

this experiment claims to show that

(1) when rats are sleep-deprived, small populations of rat brain neurons can fall asleep while the rest of the rat is awake, and
(2) this may correspond to performance degradation

summary:
http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2011/04/if-you-only-feel-half-awake-you-probably-are.ars

article:

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v472/n7344/full/nature10009.html

i haven’t read the actual article yet…

Sahay A, Scobie KN, Hill AS, O’Carroll CM, Kheirbek MA, Burghardt NS,
Fenton AA, Dranovsky A, Hen R. Increasing adult hippocampal neurogenesis is sufficient to improve
pattern separation. Nature. 2011 Apr 3

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature09817.html

Abstract after the break.

(more…)

http://www.google.com/events/sciencefair/

“Google’s worldwide Science Fair competition …is calling for entries over the next few days. It gives kids the opportunity to join in a new kind of online science competition…offering them the chance to win … prizes including a 10-day trip to the Galapagos Islands or a $50,000 scholarship.”

They paid us to post this video of a Rube Goldberg machine (you don’t need sound, it’s just random music):

(you won’t be able to see it if you have AdBlock enabled)