Hannah Rawlinson-Smith discusses the news that monkeys may beat humans in some decision-making
brain
Brain Awareness Week to bring Neuroscience to the Masses
Members of the public are being invited to campus to learn more about the marvels of the human brain as part of Brain Awareness Week at the University of Exeter. A diverse programme of events will be running across the week (12th – 18th March), which focus on increasing public awareness of the benefits and […]
Athletes Beware
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive degenerative disease found in the brains of athletes with a history of repetitive brain trauma, has been known to affect sportspeople such as boxers since the 1920s. Repeated traumatic events such as punches lead to the progressive degeneration of brain tissue that can begin years or even decades after […]
Booze on the brain
Alcohol is one of those things that will come up a lot at university, particularly during Fresher’s week. When I first started at Exeter, I was determined not to make a fool of myself and do something I might regret. This lasted for about a month, and once I started to drink, it was very […]
Disturbing or genius? Preserving consciousness through technology
Silicon Valley, hedge fund manager Joon Yun is currently offering a prize of $1m to those who manage to crack “the code of life”. The reward is awaiting anyone who manages to extend the human lifespan beyond its known maximum of 122 years. Biotech companies such as Google based Calico, aka ‘California Life Company’, are […]
Mechanisms of the mind
More than 40,000 people in the UK crave drugs and alcohol compulsively. And this happens at the expense of the harms associated with its long-term use, be it physical, such as withdrawal, or behavioural, such as quitting one’s job or alienating from friendships. Since any of those are unlikely to be on anyone’s bucket list, […]
Lecture series line-up announced
E xeter research and innovation will be celebrated in a series of lectures starting next Tuesday. Beginning with a talk by Dr Darren Schreiber on his upcoming book Your Brain is Built for Politics, the series will cover topics as diverse as biophotonics, bad decision-making and child soldiers, before concluding on Tuesday 8 March with a […]