neuroscience Archives - Breakpoint Book

Gold at the end of the Brainbow

July 2, 2013 By Catherine Shalloe

Video: Keep your kid’s brain active this summer

It’s summer time and to a kid just out of school, it’s fun time. The last thing a kid wants to think about is school, books, teachers or projects. So how do you keep their brains sprightly throughout their exciting summer? Here’s a video with a few tips and ideas in keeping your child’s brain up and running throughout their summer vacation.

Middle school teacher Jessica Lahey and psychologist Jennifer Hartstein discuss the “summer slide”: kids losing months of learning over the summer. They share tips and book suggestions to get your kids reading this summer so they’ll do better when they return to school. (TODAY)

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How the Rest of Us Can Build the Internet of Things

The amount of “things” connected through the internet remains endless and that’s where Ayla Networks sees the greatest opportunity. Ayla plans to connect “things” in as many ways possible in order to make “things” as simple as possible for it’s customers. See what Ayla Networks has already done and what they plan on doing in the future.

THE INTERNET OF THINGS Ayla The Internet of Things seems like a slam dunk if your perspective comes from roaming the halls of Google, Apple, Qualcomm or upstarts like Nest. Simply connect that “thing” to an Android or iPhone app and make it do what you want with a tap on a touchscreen.

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Gold at the end of the Brainbow

15 neuroscientists have been given the task to map out every brain circuit. Difficult? Obviously, yes. Now add a 10 year time limit. See what these neuroscientists have to say about the challenge given to them by President Obama, and how difficult, yet interesting this assignment proves to be.

Imagine opening a computer and finding that the manufacturer hasn’t bothered to provide multicoloured wires in the tangle of cords. Now multiply that tangle of grey wires by 100m, unplug the power …

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Traumatic Brain Injury May Raise Stroke Risk

New studies show that in the future, traumatic brain injuries may add an extra risk of stroke. After undergoing a traumatic brain injury, compared to those who just go through a trauma, people gain an extra 30% chance of experiencing a stroke.

Experiencing a traumatic brain injury could raise your risk of having a stroke in the future, a new study suggests. Researchers from the University of…

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Mobile Web Problems and How to Avoid Them

At some point everyone runs into a web design problem or two. Here’s a full list of different problems one may endure and why it’s a bigger problem then you think. So learn a little! See what mistakes others have made before you, learn from them, and save yourself the hassle of fixing them in the future.

Lessons learned from two years of collecting screenshots of poor experiences on mobile websites. Direct Link to Article – Permalink Mobile Web Problems and How to Avoid Them is a post from CSS-Tricks

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Hold Your IQ Close as Computers Transcend Human Knowledge

June 18, 2013 By Denali Tietjen

Last year, Google completed what was then the world’s largest neural network, advancing technology so far as to give computers human capabilities: The robots they created were able to recognize cats in YouTube videos (a slight slap in the face to our intelligence? I do love my cat videos though…).

But today, Stanford announced the completion of a neural network 6.5 times the size of Google’s impressive network. I’m no neuroscientist, but even I know 11 billion neural connections is a huge advancement. Though robots are still quite a ways from approaching the amount of neural connections in a our brains, their intelligence is increasing rapidly.

For those of us who can’t quite grasp the implications of neural networks, this powerful video of 17-year old Google Science fair winner Brittany Wenger, who created a neural network in her bedroom by watching YouTube videos, is a perfect example. Her completed network, Cloud4Cancer, detects the severity of breast cancer with a success rate of 99.11 percent:

[CC photo by epsos.de]

Control a Cockroach’s Brain

June 18, 2013 By Catherine Shalloe

Hey, kids: Now there’s a new kit that lets you control a cockroach’s brain

Trying to teach kids about neuroscience and neurotechnology? What better way to engage a class then by taking over a cockroach’s brain! The RoboRoach allows a class to perform brain surgery on a cockroach and after the brief surgery, they can control its every move through bluetooth on a smartphone. Definitely a thrilling, new way to excite students about science.

For $100 — and a little bit of surgery — the RoboRoach can control a cockroach’s brain patterns to make it move via smartphone app. It’s aimed at helping kids understand neuroscience and neurotechnology in a more hands-on way.

‘Tawny crazy ants’ invade Fla. by millions

We all know how irritating ants can be, but nothing tops the infuriation of technology killing, livestock attacking ants. Now spread in over 20 counties in Florida and extending into Texas, millions of “Twany Crazy Ants” are slowly, but surely spreading around the States.

Insects called “Tawny Crazy Ants” have invaded 20 Florida counties by the millions.
Researchers said these ants can reach densities 100 times greater than all other ants in the area combined.

Wow, A Lot Of Stuff Just Happened In SEO

SEO news skyrocketed in the past week. Between Apple, Google, Yelp, and Facebook all incorporating new products and features, companies are demonstrating how fast search engines are growing. Take a further look to see exactly what happened in the past week with SEO…

It’s been a pretty big week for search and SEO news. There have been a lot of announcements, not only from Google, but from Google competitors. Let’s recap, and discuss in the comments. Which of the latest announcements do you

Wearable technology: This time it’s a $2,000 helmet

Wouldn’t it be handy for a motorcyclist with no sense of direction to safely navigate while riding? Well LiveMap, a Russian startup, created a helmet that will do just that. Using augmented-reality LiveMap devised a way for cyclists to navigate with ease through their very own helmet.

Russian startup LiveMap is working on a state-of-art motorbike helmet with a built-in navigation system that can take voice commands.

Google Fiber Helped a Sick Boy Throw a Baseball Pitch with Robots

Nick LeGrande is a 14 year old who loves baseball. But unlike most 14 year olds he suffers from a life-threatening blood disease called Aplastic Anemia, which makes it impossible for him to go to his favorite sports games. After Nick was diagnosed, Google Fiber went to Kansas City looking for ways high speed internet could impact peoples lives. They connected with Nick and found a way for him to participate in a baseball game 1,800 miles away. Check out how Google Fiber helped Nick LeGrande throw out the first ever telerobotic pitch at the Oakland A’s v New York Yankee’s game all the way from Kansas City.

When you combine Google Fiber, a robot and a boy 1,800 miles away from a baseball game, you already know it’s going to be a good story. Like most boys, Nick LeGrande wanted to play ball when he …

Mozilla launches Science Lab to help researchers transform scientific practice through the open Web

Mozilla draws attention to the fact that scientists created the web. They also draw attention to the fact that science researchers have yet to fully use the web in order benefit the science community and furthermore, society. Mozilla’s Science Lab hopes to bring scientists together by starting a dialogue about ongoing projects that may better society. Check out what Mozilla’s hopes are for this project and their plan to make this website a successful one.

Mozilla today announced the Mozilla Science Lab, a new initiative to help researchers around the world use the open Web to shape science’s future, taking it out of the analog… Keep reading

Restaurant Industry Embraces Apps and Mobile Technology to Enhance Customer Service and Operational Efficiency

With the Age of Apps upon us, it’s not surprising that companies have begun creating apps to simplify the functionality of restaurants. Restaurants now have the option to download apps that help with seating, management, serving, and more. This innovation will most definitely serve as a victory for both the restaurant and the customer.

Restaurants Using Apps, Like the New Suite from HME Wireless, to Enhance Customer Service (PRWeb June 14, 2013)

Nuclear bomb tests reveal brain regeneration in humans

Nuclear bomb tests throughout the cold war prove beneficial to science. Scientists found that throughout adulthood a specific set of genes called dentate gyrus recreate themselves, staying forever youthful. Check out more about the idea of brain regeneration in News Scientist….

Carbon dating brain cells provides conclusive evidence that part of the adult human brain constantly renews itself – and that this neurogenesis persists in old age.

Google Glass Gets A Teardown, Revealing It Can Be Hacked To Prescription Glasses

The Google Glass has been broken down to see exactly how it pieces together, and may have some people wanting it more. See some of the key features of Google Glass and what it takes to make up this brand new product…

Google Glass isn’t in the hands of consumers yet, but a pair of intrepid Glass explorers didn’t let that stop them from taking the thing apart to see what makes it tick. This teardown is also …

Most Insurance Agencies Say Technology Helped Fiscal Growth: Survey

Insurance agencies are linking their use of technology to their bump in revenues. An astounding 92% of the medium sized firms grew in 2012. However are insurance companies also linking their successes to mobile technology or are they finding it to be a hinderance?

The majority of insurance agencies (77 percent) directly attribute their fiscal growth during 2012-2013 to the use of technology, according to a new industry survey. The survey, conducted by …

Goodread’s giveaway: Win an advance copy of Breakpoint!

June 7, 2013 By Divya Parameshwaran

CEO, entrepreneur and brain scientist Jeff Stibel‘s latest offering, Breakpoint is set to release on 23rd July 2013. But you can get an advance copy for free! Register by 13th June to win your copy!

Breakpoint is the intersection of the brain, technology and business. And if you’re into any of those, or social media, networks of any kind, cloud computing, biological systems and their behavior, or just the internet and how it came to be what it is to the world today, then Breakpoint is just the read for you… and it’s hitting the stands in less than 2 months!!