MS-LS1-8
Gather and synthesize information that sensory receptors respond to stimuli by sending messages to the brain for immediate behavior or storage as memories.
- Animals
Squirrels use parkour tricks to leap from branch to branch
Squirrels navigate through trees by making rapid calculations. They have to balance trade-offs between branch flexibility and the distance between tree limbs.
- Animals
Birds could get their sense of direction from quantum physics
Songbirds could detect north and south using a protein in their eye. It works somewhat like a compass.
- Space
Here’s why people picked certain stars as constellations
Patterns of human eye movement help explain why particular sets of stars form iconic shapes, a high school student showed.
- Brain
Explainer: What is a neuron?
From the moment you are born, cells called neurons sense information, process it and then pass it on. Neurons allow you to do everything that you do.
- Brain
Search for ‘rewards’ is big driver in remodeling a teen’s brain
Communication ‘highways’ in the brain undergo a major overhaul as children morph into adults. Dopamine plays a big role in this remodeling project.
- Brain
Scientists Say: Neuron
Neurons are the foundational cells in the nervous system. They pass along and process information using electrical signals.
- Health & Medicine
Teen depression linked to how the brain processes rewards
Depression in teens alters their brains’ pathways in ways that may put those kids at risk of lifelong mental-health problems — unless they get help.
- Brain
Active bodies build stronger brains
Aerobic fitness and physical activity correlate with widespread brain health in adolescents, according to a new imaging study in England.
- Science & Society
New technology can get inside your head. Are you ready?
New technologies aim to listen to — and maybe even change — your brain activity. But just because scientists can do this, should they?
- Brain
Loneliness makes our brains crave people
An area of the brain that lights up when hungry people see food also revs up when lonely people see social activities.
- Animals
Touching allows octopuses to pre-taste their food
Special sensory cells in their arms’ suckers sense chemicals. Those cells allow them to taste the difference between food and poison.
- Psychology
Can’t remember? Maybe you multitask too much between screens
Splitting your attention between devices can make it hard to create new memories, even when you’re not multitasking.
