brains

If you're prone to lying about your age, steer clear of structural magnetic resonance imaging. When used to scan your brain, no matter how good (or bad) you may look, a new imaging technique that uses MRI won't lie. In fact, it probably knows your age to the exact year.

"We have uncovered a 'developmental clock' of sorts within the brain -- a biological signature of maturation that captures age differences quite well, regardless of other kinds of differences that exist across individuals," Timothy Brown of the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine says in a news release.… Read more

There are lots of ways to measure the speed of your personal computer, but how about that most personal computer of all, the human brain? Brain Speed Test from Brain Computers is an ultrasimple, ultracompact program that tests your mental reaction time and makes it possible to compare your results with others'. It doesn't test your intelligence or mental ability, just your brain speed. Anyone who has mastered second-grade math and basic typing can take the Brain Speed Test, and none of the tests uses numerals larger than 9. Because you must type in your answers, Brain Speed Test … Read more

It sometimes seems like there's a car tune-up shop at every major intersection, but that's nothing compared to the amount of brain tune-up software you can find, and nearly all of it compact freeware. Take, for example, the two mental tests bundled in Brain Tease from Custom Solutions of Maryland. Virtually anyone of any age can use this portable freeware's simple but challenging mental exercises to sharpen their cognitive skills. The first uses simple word and color associations to illuminate how the brain defines words using more clues than just the meaning of the word, and how … Read more

There are several things I find hard to understand. Tennis' Williams sisters, for example. Or why diesel prices can be $1 a gallon different a mere five miles apart.

The things that go around Stephen Hawking's highly sophisticated brain, I wouldn't even try to fathom.

However, scientists at Stanford, led by Dr. Phillip Low (who is also CEO of Neurovigil), are working with him in order to access his brainwaves directly.

The tool they are using they call iBrain. It is designed to take brainwaves and have them be communicated on a computer. It consists of a black … Read more

First off, congrats to Andrew P. of Ann Arbor, Mich., for winning a Zoom Q3HD HD video recorder in our last giveaway. Now, get your gray matter in gear. This week, we're giving away a bundle of fun from Marbles: The Brain Store, a purveyor of games, puzzles, books, and software aimed at strengthening your brain. (If you happen to live in the Los Angeles area, Marbles opens its first West Coast store tomorrow at the Westfield Topanga Mall in Canoga Park.)

The giveaway package will include The GeekBox, a collection of wooden puzzles that employ your memory, visual perception, and strategic thinking skills.; Mindstein, "a trivia game where it pays to be a know-it-all"; and daVinci's Catapult, a build-it-yourself throwing machine perfect for ambushing pesky siblings or co-workers.

You'll also get a Daily Brain Perpetual Calendar, which offers 365 puzzles.

Normally, this package of brain-teasing entertainment would cost you about $110, but you have a chance to get it gratis.How? There are a few rules, so please put down The Astrophysical Journal for a moment, brainiacs, and listen up. … Read more

People are willing to tweet just about anything -- in 2009, Erykah Badu famously tweeted away during labor, and just this past month, the National Zoo live-tweeted the artificial insemination of a giant panda.

So it should come as no surprise that earlier today folks at the Houston-based Memorial Hermann Hospital live-tweeted via the handle @houstonhospital the "rabid play-by-play" of the removal of a tumor from a 21-year-old woman's brain.

The procedure spanned several hours and resulted in dozens of tweets, video uploads on YouTube, and a dizzying array of graphic photos via Twitter and Pinterest.

Dr. … Read more

In what could be a major boon for the study of brain disorders such as schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, autism, and epilepsy, researchers at MIT and Georgia Tech say they've figured out how to automate finding and recording information from neurons in live brains.

The process, described this week in the journal Nature Methods, involves a robotic arm guided by a cell-detecting algorithm that can identify and record data from neurons faster and more accurately than we mortal humans.

"In all [the abovementioned disorders], a molecular description of a cell that is integrated with [its] electrical and circuit … Read more

The power of the average Cornell brain is slightly greater than the power of the average brain.

Not every Cornell brain is useful, though. Some might offer those of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Andy Bernard of "The Office" as among the more dispensable examples. Still, you know that Cornell minds often offer a taste of the next world, rather than this.

So play along with me for a moment as we observe together two Cornell students playing Brain Pong.

This is exactly what it sounds like: the famous and much-underrated game Pong powered by the force of … Read more

Woody Allen famously said, "My brain. It's my second favorite organ."

Even if the brain falls below second on your own favorite-organ hierarchy (personally, I really like my spleen), it's hard not to be struck by its mystery and complexity.

An exhibit running at the Wellcome Collection in London through June 17, "Brains: The mind as matter," takes a unique approach to the subject.

Rather than focusing on the hard science of neurons, lobes, and dura, the exhibit explores how humans have related to the brain over time -- how it's been studied … Read more