Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Neuroscience

New research suggests hawkmoths, like the one pictured above, slow down their brain's ability to process light in order to see at night.

New Research

Hovering Hawkmoths Slow Down Their Brains to See in the Dark

The insects’ night vision appears to be finely tuned to the movement of their flower food sources

Make New Memories But Keep the Old, With a Little Help From Electrodes

Matthew Walker thinks there may be a way to simulate deep sleep—vital for memory—by sending a low current to a person’s brain

None

Discussion

Reader responses to our May issue

10 New Things Science Says About Being a Mom

Such as, how much time she spends with her child doesn’t matter as much as we think

Human cortical neurons in the brain.

The Quest to Upload Your Mind Into the Digital Space

The idea is about as science fiction as it gets. But surprising progress in neuroscience has some entrepreneurs ready to press “send”

New Research

Cognitive Scientists Question a Journal’s Gender Balance

A major journal publishes a special issue with a striking lack of women authors

Currently, the only place the public can see Einstein's brain on display is at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia.

Urban Explorations

How Einstein’s Brain Ended Up at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia

Sixty years after the great scientist’s death, his gray matter is on display

Scientists are sharpening their focus on ways to revive a memory gone awry.

Brain Implants May Be Able to Shock Damaged Memories Back Into Shape

With funding from the Defense Department, scientists have begun work on devices that would use electric pulses to realign a memory process gone awry

MIT Researchers Think They Can Spot Early Signs of Parkinson’s in the Way People Type

By monitoring how long we hold down keystrokes, it may be possible to detect neurological diseases years before other symptoms appear

New Research

Study Suggests Thinking Less Is Key to Faster Learning

New research shows sometimes our own brains get in the way of acquiring new skills

Cool Finds

Men and Women See Things Differently (No, Literally)

Color perception may actually have something to do with gender

New Research

As We Get Older We Get More Tolerant of Discordant Music

Hearing loss isn’t the only thing that changes our music perception as we age

Cool Finds

A Tired Brain Could Actually Be More Creative

The wandering thoughts brought on by fatigue can lead to insight

New Research

Gold Nanoparticles Can Remote Control the Brain

It’s just the latest twist in nanotech that is using gold as medicine

Cool Finds

When Even the Simplest Word Looks Weird And Wrong You Have Wordnesia

We don’t really know why it happens, but at least there is a term for it

Cool Finds

Our Brains Hate Waiting So We Sped Up Everything Else

Sidewalk rage, road rage and anger at slow-loading web pages are all part of our evolutionary inheritance

New Research

This Might Be Why Handshaking Evolved

A new study shows that shaking hands is a covert way for us to unconsciously sniff out each other’s chemical signals

Cool Finds

A Paralyzed Woman Operated a Flight Simulator Using Only Her Thoughts

Electrodes implanted in the brain are shown to enable those with quadriplegia to achieve amazing feats

New Research

Like People, Bees Can Be Fooled by False Memories

Bumblebees gravitate toward unfamiliar flowers that merge two patterns they know—a classic error of long term memory

Trending Today

How One Doctor Proposes to Conduct the First Human Head Transplant

An Italian neuroscientists says that the surgery could be ready in as few as two years, but the scientific community remains very skeptical

Page 17 of 21