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Source: Guardian Unlimited Science
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Total 9 results found since Jan 2013.
The robot suit providing hope of a walking cure
Clothing that can help people learn how to walk again after a stroke is the brainchild of a Harvard team reinventing the way we use robot technologyConor Walsh ’s laboratory at Harvard University is not your everyday research centre. There are no bench-top centrifuges, no fume cupboards for removing noxious gases, no beakers or crucibles, no racks of test tubes and only a handful laptop computers. Instead, the place is dominated by clothing.On one side of the lab stands a group of mannequins dressed in T-shirts and black running trousers. Behind them, there are racks of sweatshirts and running shoes. On another wall of s...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - November 20, 2016 Category: Science Authors: Robin McKie Tags: Medical research Robots Technology Science Source Type: news
If you can't imagine things, how can you learn?
We know some people can’t conjure up mental images. But we’re only beginning to understand the impact this “aphantasia” might have on their educationNever underestimate the power of visualisation. It may sound like a self-help mantra, but a growing body of evidence shows that mental imagery can accelerate learning and improve performance of all sorts of skills. For athletes and musicians, “going through the motions,” or mentally rehearsing the movements in the mind, is just as effective as physical training, and motor imagery can also help stroke patients regain function of their paralysed limbs.For most of us,...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - June 4, 2016 Category: Science Authors: Mo Costandi Tags: Students Education Higher education Neuroscience Psychology Source Type: news
Glyn Humphreys obituary
Key figure in cognitive neuroscience whose research helped many stroke victimsWhen the neuropsychologist Glyn Humphreys, who has died suddenly aged 61, took up his first lectureship, at Birkbeck College, London, a student with a background in physiotherapy joined his class. She asked about the implications of David Marr’s theory of visual perception for the understanding of patients who experience visual disturbances after suffering a stroke. This led to a lively discussion and a subsequent visit to a stroke clinic. It proved to be a turning point in Glyn’s research, highlighting the many ways in which brain damage can...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - February 9, 2016 Category: Science Authors: Maggie Snowling Tags: Neuroscience Psychology Birkbeck, University of London Disability University of Oxford Source Type: news
Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery review
Patients see neurosurgeons as gods, but what is the reality? Henry Marsh has written a memoir of startling candourWe go to doctors for help and healing; we don't expect them to make us worse. Most people know the aphorism taught to medical students, attributed to the ancient Greek Hippocrates but timeless in its quiet sanity: "First, do no harm." But many medical treatments do cause harm: learning how to navigate the risks of drug therapies, as well as the catastrophic consequences of botched or inadvised surgical operations, is a big part of why training doctors takes so long. Even the simplest of therapies carries the ri...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 19, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Gavin Francis Tags: The Guardian Private healthcare Culture Society Reviews Books Neuroscience UK news Hospitals NHS Source Type: news
No pain, no gain? Getting the most out of exercise
Staying in shape has all sorts of benefits, from maintaining heart health to warding off dementia and cancerInactivity – fuelled by cars and a sedentary work life – has been dubbed the biggest public health problem of the 21st century, a global pandemic with dramatic impact on peoples wellbeing. The latest reports suggest that around the world it was responsible for 5.3 million deaths in 2008 – around one in 10 – more deaths than smoking.Not only does exercise make you fitter, it can also ward off numerous and often unexpected diseases, from heart attacks, to diabetes, some forms of cancer and dementia. There are t...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - January 13, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Catherine de Lange Tags: Cycling Fitness Sport Running Transport Yoga Weightlifting Features UK news Life and style Cycle hire schemes The Observer Swimming Science Source Type: news
Heparin, grad students, a clinical revolution and giving credit where it's due
The story of a grad student who overcame remarkable odds only to be denied his moment of glory, or a tale of dark deceit and devilish doings? The story of heparin is as complicated as the chemistry itselfBlood is remarkable.A liquid that carries nutrients, waste products and the ever-vigilant cells of the immune system around the body, blood rapidly turns into a solid when it leaves its veins and arteries and becomes exposed to bodily tissues or the air outside. This process of solidification – clotting, or coagulation – is executed and controlled by a complex set of reactions and interactions primarily involving the e...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - September 4, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Richard P Grant Tags: theguardian.com Blogposts Science Source Type: news
Bill Bowman obituary
Pharmacologist and academic who made a huge contribution in the field of anaesthesiaAnyone who has had a general anaesthetic in the last 40 years has reason to be grateful to Bill Bowman, who has died aged 83. Bill played a pivotal role in both understanding how muscle-relaxing drugs work and developing safer and shorter-acting replacements.A person under anaesthetic twitches alarmingly unless a drug is used for "paralysis" or temporary muscle relaxation. This allows surgery in the chest and abdomen without the need for very deep anaesthesia and makes it possible for a tube to be passed into the windpipe to keep a patient'...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - August 20, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Caroline Richmond Tags: theguardian.com Obituaries Medical research Pharmacy and pharmacology Second world war Scotland University of Strathclyde Medicine Education Source Type: news
Any defence of sugar is pure confection | Aseem Malhotra
More and more people are challenging the food industry's PR machine. The evidence shows that sugar, not fat, is the enemyThe public health minister, Anna Soubry, has commented that the poor are more likely to be obese. It is well known that social status is linked to health, but her comments were also motivated by a mentality that victimises the most vulnerable. She should really be directing her criticism at the food industry. There is no doubt that an oversupply of cheap junk food fuelled by unregulated and irresponsible marketing limits our ability to make healthy choices. But there is an equally important question that...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - January 24, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Aseem Malhotra Tags: Comment Food & drink industry Obesity Health guardian.co.uk Health policy Society UK news Life and style Business Science Comment is free Source Type: news
What will be the next great invention? Ask a teenager
From the lightbulb to the web, the British have a great history of innovation. We must help young people to keep inspiring usFrom the sewing machine to ice cream, the railway to the telegraph, the 19th century was awash with invention. It seems you couldn't turn your back without someone inventing the flushing toilet, the typewriter, the light bulb, X-ray, or the wireless.The Victorians certainly had a knack for recognising a need, an opportunity, a better way of doing things – as a recent poll of Britain's greatest inventions shows. And recognising needs is what innovation is all about. It's not about widgets for the sa...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - January 9, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Maggie Philbin Tags: Comment guardian.co.uk Society Technology UK news Young people Education Science Comment is free Source Type: news
