Researchers Push 'Brain Steroids' for All

(NEWSER) - Shelling goblins and building medieval empires may be perfect ways to stave off cognitive decline, Anita Hamilton writes in Time. Research already shows that challenging tasks can keep brains sharp in old age, but now multi-million-dollar studies are getting the elderly to play video games—not puzzle or math games, but shoot-'em-ups like Wii's Boom Blox. "Part of it is making it fun so it does not feel like work," says one researcher. More»

Magnetic pulse boosts learning, study shows; headgear next?

(NEWSER) - A magnetic pulse directed at a certain area of the brain may enhance learning and memory, the Telegraph reports. Canadian researchers subjected volunteers to a test that required they track a dot moving on a computer screen with a joystick, and volunteers who received stimulation fared much better. More»

Researchers investigate the science of early memories

(NEWSER) - Why is it that we struggle to remember events from before we were 3 or 4 years old? Canadian researchers found that 4- to 6-year-olds remembered events from age 2 or younger as their “earliest memories,” but two years later had largely forgotten them and named a different memory as their earliest. Kids over 10, on the other hand, mentioned the same earliest memories at both the start and end of the study. That suggests those memories “are crystallized” by age 10, says an expert. But despite more than a century of study, scientists still aren’t sure why we can’t recall earlier moments. More»

Stress hormones alter brain cells, aiding in memory storage

(NEWSER) - If studying for exams stresses you out, be glad: It could help you remember the material, a study suggests. Hormones produced when we’re stressed, like cortisol and adrenaline, help us store memories by altering the way our brain cells work, reports the Telegraph . The hormones “reprogram” DNA in our brains in a process called epigenetic modification, says the lead British researcher. More»

Johnson & Johnson division under scrutiny for manufacturing practices

(NEWSER) - After multiple drug recalls and an FDA safety probe, federal authorities are taking control of three Tylenol plants, CNNMoney reports. The plants, run by Johnson & Johnson’s McNeil division, are in trouble for dodging federal manufacturing rules; now, the company has agreed to let the FDA supervise the three—two in Pennsylvania and one in Puerto Rico—a decision that effectively wards off a threatened FDA lawsuit. The agreement, a so-called "consent decree," is subject to a Pennsylvania judge’s approval. More»