Genes on the move help nose make sense of scents

The human nose can distinguish one trillion different scents—an extraordinary feat that requires 10 million specialized nerve cells, or neurons, in the nose, and a family of more than 400 dedicated genes. But precisely ...

Tracking dragonflies on the wing

(PhysOrg.com) -- Duke University electrical engineers have developed a wirelessly powered telemetry system that is light and powerful enough to allow scientists to study the intricate neurological activity of dragonflies ...

Snake uses tentacles to 'see' in the dark

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study of a snake with tentacles on its snout has found it has a unique system for sensing prey: its tentacles allow it to "see" in murky water.

Diamond quantum sensors measure neuron activity

A recent study by European scientists shows that highly sensitive sensors based on color centers in a diamond can be used to record electrical activity from neurons in living brain tissue. The work is published in the journal ...

Team creates nano-magnets that could restore damaged nerve cells

Neurons are the fundamental units of the brain and nervous system, the cells responsible for receiving sensory input from the external world, for sending motor commands to our muscles, and for transforming and relaying the ...

Identifying the basic structure of the language of fungi

Andrew Adamatzk, a professor at the University of the West of England's Unconventional Computing Laboratory, UWE, in the U.K. has found that the electrical signal clusters sent by several types of fungi resemble human vocabularies. ...

Sun compass on demand

Monarch butterflies are famous for their annual long-distance migration, which takes them over several thousand kilometers from the north of the USA to their overwintering habitat in central Mexico. On their migration, the ...

An unusual molecule protects nerve cells from degeneration

An international research team led by Professor Stephanie Grond from the Institute of Organic Chemistry at the University of Tübingen has found that the natural substance collinolactone reduces artificially-induced stress ...

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