Science News: Our Weekly Picks from Around the Web

The Benefits of Berries to the Brain
“The Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University has reviewed the studies and found that berry fruits protect brain cells from damage and prevent inflammation.”
www.theatlantic.com (04/04/2012)

Study: Women Have Harder Time Quitting Smoking
“Breaking the habit is a big challenge for just about everyone, but according to a new study, women have a harder time quitting than men.”
www.fox8.com
(04/04/2012)

Brain disease database promises to spur research
“A new initiative by the Ontario Brain Institute is putting a massive set of information about people with brain conditions into a single, searchable database.”
www.theglobeandmail.com (04/05/2012)

Chance derails brain’s short-term memory
Mathematicians are using computational models to better understand how the structure of neural variability relates to short-term memory and decision-making.
www.futurity.org (04/05/2012)

Extreme eaters show abnormal brain activity
Pictures of food revs up reward circuits in the obese, slows them down in severely underweight
www.sciencenews.org (04/05/2012)

Brain scans hint at root of consciousness
Imaging internal brain activity under anesthesia has provided researchers with revealing insights into what happens when the subjective phenomenon of consciousness first vanishes and then re-emerges.
www.scienceagogo.com (04/06/2012)