If you look at an MRI scan of the brain, you will see a wave pass through the entire brain like a heartbeat once every few seconds! It’s an ultra-slow rhythm recognised decades ago, but no one did quite know what to make of it. MRI data are inherently noisy, and the ultra-slow waves were simply ignored. Neurologist Marcus E. Raichle recently discovered that the waves are anything but noise. They are more like waves in the sea, and everything the brain does is taking place in boats on that sea. Early research focused on the goings-on inside the boats, without much thought for the sea itself. The waves play a central role in how the complex brain coordinates itself and that the waves are directly linked to consciousness. When the wave goes up, areas become more excitable; when it goes down, they become less so. There is this assumption that the brain quiets itself when it’s not actively engaged in a task but your brain is still humming along, even when you feel like you’re doing nothing, “burning almost as much energy daydreaming as solving a tough math problem.
SNEAK PEEK
1. Via vacuum: One
There is virtually no way heat can move through empty space but “empty space” can’t be truly empty. There are still some quantum field fluctuations in a vacuum. So, energy can leap across a few hundred nanometers of a complete vacuum. What force is at work here?
1. Casimir effect (after physicist Hendrik Casimir)
2. Via vacuum: Two
We hear sounds because sound travels by vibrating molecules in the air. The newly discovered mode of heat conduction, across a complete vacuum, is likely to be relevant to sounds as well. Who proposed the idea and stated that “now, you can shout through a vacuum”?
2. Xiang Zhang (UC, Berkeley)
3. Thick isn’t stronger
Natural materials have undergone thousands of years of evolution in strange ways. Thick hair is not stronger. A study of the hair strength of various mammals shows that elephants’ hair is four times thicker than human hair but is only half as strong. Who did the study?
3. Nanoengineering researcher Wen Yang (UC, San Diego)
4. What we really see
Our visual system doesn’t represent exactly what we see; it just represents the physical world. What we actually see emerges later in the processing hierarchy, in the frontal areas of the brain that aren’t usually associated with visual processing. Who studied how it works?
4. Sirui Liu, a student at Dartmouth College
5. Intoxicated victims
How accurate could be the testimony by sexually assaulted people if they were drunk during the assault? “Don’t know” is more likely to be their answer to many questions but the information they provide would be accurate. Who figured it out in a placebo-controlled trial?
5. Neuroscientist Dr. Heather Flowe (University of Leicester)
6. Sharing is risky
“When people are being creative, they’re not just solving problems. They’re actually revealing something deeply personal, derived from their unique idiosyncratic perspective. This means that it makes sharing the ideas “risky, personal and consequential”. Who found it?
6. Jack Goncalo (Gies College of Business)
7. Not real donation
Religious people believe that prayer directly contributes to people’s well-being, but it can’t act as a substitute for donations. Who, based on real-life data, showed that people who offer prayers for victims of natural disasters may be less likely to donate to those victims?
7. University of Wyoming economist Linda Thunstrom
8. Motivation source
Success calls for perseverance, but where does the motivation come from? It depends on the neurotransmitters dopamine and octopamine, at least in fruit flies. Dopamine increases motivation; octopamine reduces the willingness to make an effort. Who noted it?
8. Ilona C. Grunwald Kadow (Technical University of Munich)
9. Toe-to-heel trend
Many runners prefer a toe-to-heel trend — running on the balls of their feet. In fact, doing so (instead of running on their heels) may make them less efficient. Besides, there is no evidence that running on the balls of your feet reduces injury. Who established it as a fact?
9. Dr. Christian Barton (Complete Sports Care)
[ANSWERS]
1. Casimir effect (after physicist Hendrik Casimir)
2. Xiang Zhang (UC, Berkeley)
3. Nanoengineering researcher Wen Yang (UC, San Diego)
4. Sirui Liu, a student at Dartmouth College
5. Neuroscientist Dr. Heather Flowe (University of Leicester)
6. Jack Goncalo (Gies College of Business)
7. University of Wyoming economist Linda Thunstrom
8. Ilona C. Grunwald Kadow (Technical University of Munich)
9. Dr. Christian Barton (Complete Sports Care)
QUIZ No. 934
1. Who evinced that drummers, using two hands, can do things that change the brain?
– Dr. Lara Schlaffke
– Duchenne de Boulogne
– Donald Olding Hebb
1. Dr. Lara Schlaffke
2. Who showed that ageing is a process occurring on average at ages 34, 60 and 78?
– Laura Schlessinger
– William Bosworth Castle
– Tony Wyss-Coray
2. Tony Wyss-Coray
3. Listeners can readily distinguish a scream from other human calls. Who tested this?
– Harold Gouzoules
– John Hughlings Jackson
– Roderick MacKinnon
3. Harold Gouzoules
4. Who coined the term “satisficing” (satisfy + suffice) for a decision-making strategy?
– Herbert A. Simon
– Stanley Lewis Engerman
– Maria-Carmen Guisan
4. Herbert A. Simon
5. Which board game honours women who have contributed to inventions like Wi-Fi?
– Fantasy Grounds
– The Great Train Robbery
– Ms. Monopoly
5. Ms. Monopoly