feed info

8 articles from Guardian Unlimited Science

People in comas showed ‘conscious-like’ brain activity as they died, study says

‘Potential neuro-signatures of consciousness’ observed in unresponsive patients at time of death, scientists saySome recall bright lights at the end of a tunnel, feeling the presence of loved ones or floating above their body after a near-death experience. Now, scientists say they have captured “conscious-like” brain activity in dying patients in findings that give new insights into the...

Couple unearths one of world’s greatest fossil finds in mid-Wales

Discovery could help plug gaps in understanding of evolution after Cambrian explosion more than 500m years agoMany people discovered new interests closer to home as a result of Covid-19 lockdowns. For Dr Joseph Botting and Dr Lucy Muir, it was a 10-metre-wide quarry in a sheep field near to their home in Llandrindod, central Wales, which appeared to be teeming with tiny fossils.Now researchers...

Did you solve it? Chicken or egg

The answers to today’s puzzlesEarlier today I set you these puzzles, in memory of Ivan Moscovich, the toy and puzzle maestro who died last week. (Click here to find out more about him.)Here are the puzzles again, with solutions. Continue...

AI makes non-invasive mind-reading possible by turning thoughts into text

Advance raises prospect of new ways to restore speech in those struggling to communicate due to stroke or motor neurone diseaseAn AI-based decoder that can translate brain activity into a continuous stream of text has been developed, in a breakthrough that allows a person’s thoughts to be read non-invasively for the first time.The decoder could reconstruct speech with uncanny accuracy while...

Plastic is already in blood, breast milk, and placentas. Now it may be in our brains | Adrienne Matei

The particles could be linked to cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’sResearchers at the University of Vienna have discovered particles of plastic in mice’s brains just two hours after the mice ingested drinking water containing plastic.Once in the brain, “Plastic particles could increase the risk of inflammation, neurological disorders or...

Can you solve it? Chicken or egg

Brain games from a master puzzlerToday’s column is a tribute to Ivan Moscovich, a legend in the world of puzzles, who died last week aged 96. Ivan was a prolific inventor of toys and games, a pioneer of interactive science museums and a bestselling author of puzzle books. The following questions are taken from his magnum opus, The Big Book of Brain Games, which sold around half a million...

Air pollution spikes linked to irregular heartbeats, study finds

Study of 200,000 Chinese hospital admissions finds acute exposure to air pollution raises risk of heart arrhythmiasSpikes in air pollution increase the risk of cardiac arrhythmias, a large study has found.The research, based on nearly 200,000 hospital admissions in China, found a significant increase in risk of arrhythmias in the first few hours after an increase in air pollution levels. Heart...

Starwatch: moon makes close pass of Virgo’s star performer

Spica, the 16th brightest star in the night sky, is 11 times larger than the sunWe start the month with the almost full moon making a close pass of Spica, the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo, the virgin. The conjunction takes place across the evening of Wednesday 3 May, continuing past midnight into the pre-dawn hours of Thursday.The chart shows the view looking south from London at...