That's Fit

In my family it's well known that my dad has a great "sniffer." He detests perfume so, of course, when I was in high school I wanted to wear perfume terribly! I remember buying some with a subtle scent, then putting on the tiniest bit imaginable while I was up in my bedroom. My father, from downstairs, shouted up to me to "wipe that stuff off!" It was amazing. While I don't think many people have a sense of smell quite as attuned as my dad's, it turns out that most of us can be trained to sense danger through our sense of smell.

Scientists have determined that the human sense of smell can be trained to detect even subtle changes in smells associated with danger. Study volunteers were exposed to two grassy odors and none could differentiate between the smells. The volunteers were then given a mild shock during one of of the smells; after being given the shock they were all able to tell the difference between the two odors. MRI brain scans taken before and after shocks were administered showed a change in the olfactory cortex after the shocks.

It's official... the nose knows!

We may be getting closer to HAL 9000 before too long. Scientists have tested a computer which can accurately predict what you are looking at 90 percent of the time. In the study, the system was able to tell what people were seeing just by watching test subjects' brain patterns.

By exposing people to various stock photography, the computer literally "got to know" the person. After it learned a little about how they reacted when seeing fruit, for example, it could simply watch their brains later and tell the next time that person was seeing fruit.

Even if it was a different photo, it could predict what they were looking at. This could be a building block to construct systems capable of reading people's mind in more advanced ways later on. Wouldn't it be neat to peer into dreams at night? We may be able to do exactly that in the future!

MRIs aren't fun, and for some they can be downright scary. But what if you could just walk in and stand in what amounts to a small closet with an open door? The world's first upright walk-in MRI machine will let you do just that!

There are obviously several advantages in using a machine like this, among them the fact that people can be scanned in weight-bearing states and in positions of pain for a better idea of what's really wrong, in addition to sitting and the traditional lying down positions. And children can even be scanned while sitting on their parent's lap, which means they probably won't need to be sedated.

I wonder how long before these make it to a hospital near us?


Via Book of Joe

According to a June, 2007 New York Times article, Americans are being exposed to inordinately high amounts of radiation, due almost chiefly to the increase in exposure to X-rays.

From 1980 to 2006, the average per capita exposure to ionizing radiation from imaging exams (such as CT scans, mammograms, and traditional X-rays), rose by almost 600%. There is no question that imaging of this kind has revolutionized modern medicine and, specifically, diagnosis. However, there are risks inherent to X-ray exposure, which is why the World Health Organization and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have classified them as carcinogenic.

Again, there's simply no disputing the fact that imaging procedures are often necessary. But, what should be taken into account is the overall exposure to X-rays over a given period of time.

As if we all don't need another good reason to engage in regular exercise, U.S. researchers reported yesterday that exercise boosts brainpower by building new brain cells. In fact, the new brain cells are built in an area of the brain linked with memory and memory loss. As our very own Rigel adds here, boosting brainpower can be the result of a frequent dose of exercise, and even specific workout routines can be prescribed to specific patients for the most optimal results. I agree completely.

What does this mean? To me, it says that brain cells are organized in a better fashion (over time) as a result of exercise that allows better memory retention -- which is definitely a plus to those who have to remember large and small details all day long for school, work, kids, home, car, shopping, etc. In other words, almost every one of us.

The findings were determined by studying mice, who grew new brain cells in a brain region called the dentate gyrus. Researchers MRI scans to help document the process in mice -- and then used MRIs to look at the brains of people before and after exercise. Low and behold, they found that people also grow new brain cells when they exercise as a main conclusion of the research.

Here's an interesting tidbit: Did you know that in their sleep, songbirds practice their songs? Or that rats who are in the process of learning a new maze do practice runs in their head while they doze? Recently, researchers recently built on those findings while trying to answer the question: Do humans learn in their sleep too?

Have you ever got a whiff of certain smell, only to have it trigger a memory long thought lost? Smell has long been known to be a powerful trigger for memory. During the study, researchers asked volunteers to play a Concentration-style memory game. During game play, some of the participants got a "whiff" of roses while others didn't. Later, they went to sleep inside MRI machines (eek!), and while they slept the same scent was piped in. The next day, the participants who had smelled the roses during play and during sleep played the Concentration game with 97.2% accuracy while the control group only got 86% correct.

The MRIs showed that when the scent of roses was piped in during slow-wave sleep (but interestingly, not REM sleep), a part of the brain that is linked to new learning was activated. It seems the smell triggered the brain to "learn" while sleeping. I'm not sure what this means for you and I in our day to day life, but I think that this research -- and really any research on sleep -- is fascinating. Do you?

Recent research suggests that surrounding yourself with happy people may make you smile more. Participants in the study listened to other people laughing, while researchers measured brain activity using MRI. They found that when a participant heard other people laugh, the part of his or her brain that controls smiling and laughter became active.

This response likely helps people build stronger emotional bonds by mirroring appropriate behavior in social situations. Laughter and cheering -- another sound that caused this brain center to light up -- are common in group situations, where people's social skills are put to the test.

Everyone needs a little more laughter in their life, so test this study out today by smiling at everyone you can. Personally, I just like the idea that when I smile or laugh, I'm doing more than spreading a little sunshine -- I'm lighting up brain centers!