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ColeSloth, in Your brain finds it easy to size up four objects but not five — here’s why

Well which neurons immediately decide to shove it off to the 4 or less neurons or the 5 or more neurons? Because they must be the ones running the show.

DrYes,
@DrYes@kbin.social avatar

Talking out of my ass here but I guess the initial information from the eyes goes to many pathways and reaches both and more. It's just a question of which ones react.

Rayston, in Zapping Away Cigarette Cravings: A Novel Approach to Tackling Nicotine Dependence

The headline made me think of this immediately.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxy3lP-mH3Y

Legisign, in A sixth basic taste may join sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami on the tongue
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rhythmisaprancer, in Fear of the human “super predator” pervades the South African savanna
@rhythmisaprancer@kbin.social avatar

It was just a recording of a human voice! It would be interesting to test this on other continents with large predators and prey.

Treczoks, in A sixth basic taste may join sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami on the tongue

So, basically, ammonium chloride tastes sour if I got this right. I would not classify this in the same league as sweet, sour, salt, bitter, and umami, as it is not a separate flavor, just a new molecule that bonds.

Compare this to the thousands of different molecules considered “bitter”.

Catoblepas,

I skimmed the actual publication (the Nature Communications link in the article) and from what I saw they made no claims about a ‘new flavor,’ just explained the exact mechanism the body uses to detect it, the potential reasons animals are sensitive to it, and a taste preference test with mice.

This is probably 100% university PR department fluff. It’s a very common complaint that these departments trying to advertise and drum up prestige for the university don’t really understand the research the scientists that work there are doing, and either accidentally or intentionally misrepresent it. People in the field roll their eyes and read the paper instead of the press release, and it impresses some people who don’t know anything about it.

Zima,

Thanks for saving us the time to understand it was bs.

DavidB, in Ancient technology turns plant-based cheese into 'something we want to eat'
@DavidB@kbin.social avatar

Ancient technology turns milk into something we want to eat and that's delicious and that's been eaten since the dawn of time.

Ganondorf, in New Study: How Often Should You Exercise for Optimal Benefits?
@Ganondorf@kbin.social avatar

No question, exercise is the foundation of good health.

So, once again a study discovered very common and obvious knowledge that most people still choose to ignore.

palordrolap, in Ancient technology turns plant-based cheese into 'something we want to eat'

Anyone remember the "Gary" meme? Can't believe that was 7 years ago.

wildncrazyguy, in Ancient technology turns plant-based cheese into 'something we want to eat'

I’m surprised this is news. I mean how else do you make cheese? Isn’t most dairy cheese just fermented milk and rennet?

Likewise, weren’t a lot of the original vegan cheeses different forms of tofu?

Itty53,
@Itty53@kbin.social avatar

Ancient. Technology.

FatLegTed, in Ancient technology turns plant-based cheese into 'something we want to eat'

Good news. A fair few of the plant based cheese taste disgusting.

And the good ones are difficult to get and very expensive.

ForestOrca,
@ForestOrca@kbin.social avatar

Indeed 10-20 years ago the 'fake cheese' that was available had no lasting appeal. However, a taco shop near me has a vegan cheese from Mexico. And DANG!, it's super tasty and the texture is right. And the shops prices are very reasonable.

FatLegTed,

Lucky you ;-)

ForestOrca,
@ForestOrca@kbin.social avatar

My point being, in case you missed it, is that it's neither "difficult to get", nor "very expensive".

FatLegTed,

Like I said, Lucky you. I don’t have a taco shop nearby, nor anywhere that sells Mexican cheese. The Mexican place here in Ware only has the generic stuff they ise in gast food places that tastes of coconut and plastic.

Good ones (Tyne Chease) are usually mail order. The deli near me occasionally has some blue from somewhere at £8.50 for a small piece.

I’ve settled for Violife and Morrisons dairy free block.

Anything that improves the quality, price and availability is good news though.

Midnitte, in How Insect Brains Melt and Rewire During Metamorphosis
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The researchers suggest that these relocating neurons are only temporary guests in the larval mushroom body, taking on necessary larval functions for a while but then returning to their ancestral tasks in the adult brain. That’s in keeping with the idea that the adult brain is the older, ancestral form within the lineage and the simpler larval brain is a derived form that came much later.

Huh, that's pretty interesting.

sheepishly, in Scientists investigate mysterious case of orca that swallowed 7 sea otters whole
@sheepishly@kbin.social avatar

She was hungy

Encromion, in Unlocking the Brain’s Secrets: Where Does Conscious Experience Truly Reside?

Relatedly, where are memories stored? How can we have flashes of memory from decades ago? Why can we not access certain memories until something traumatic or triggering happens and then it comes flooding back? Why do smells trigger memory?

There’s…a lot…we don’t know about the brain, wow.

eighthourlunch,
@eighthourlunch@kbin.social avatar

Long term memories are stored in the hypothalamus as you sleep at night.

Smells are tied to more primitive structures in in the brain. I'm a little rusty on why it makes the memories so strong, but there's quite a bit of research out on that one.

Trauma is also encoded differently, but there's a lot of garbage research that muddies the waters on that particular subject.

ReallyKinda, in Open letter asking to reinstate a censored book chapter and problematizing the fact that commercial publishers are in a position to directly censor academic publications

Grad students are definitely in a precarious position in reference to their advisors and to ‘notable’ profs working in their area. Working abroad at the pre-PhD stage (especially somewhere where you don’t know the language) sounds like it compounds the issues. I think home institutions need to do a better job preparing and then protecting their students in this respect including creating avenues for reporting and legal protection.

Gordon_Freeman, in 6x Tougher Than Kevlar: Spider Silk Is Spun by Genetically Modified Silkworms for the First Time
@Gordon_Freeman@kbin.social avatar

What happened to the goat that was genetically modified to produce spider silk more than a decade ago?

readbeanicecream,
@readbeanicecream@kbin.social avatar

@Gordon_Freeman As of 2019:

Well, all went a bit quiet. Partly because the Montreal-based company leading the way, Nexia Biotechnologies, a company spun out of McGill University, swiftly went bust and sold its two GM goats — Sugar and Spice — to the Canada Agriculture Museum in Ottawa, which in 2013 removed its genetically-engineered goats from display amid public pressure.

Quiet momentum continues, however, under Dr Randy Lewis of Utah State University and his team. Though he is unaware of the whereabouts of Sugar and Spice today, his lab looks after over twenty goats capable of producing silky milk.

Source: https://agfundernews.com/what-happened-to-those-gm-spider-goats-with-the-silky-milk

AmidFuror,

I haven't heard this one. Did it walk into a bar?

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