In this first of a new short run exploring the intricate workings of the mind, "Transplanting Memories?" investigates the phenomenon of transplant recipients taking on personality traits of the donors whose organs they've received and asks if scientists' understanding of the workings of human memory is in need of some revision
You might think it was simply coincidence that Claire Sylvia developed a liking for beer and green peppers following her heart/lung transplant, or that it was the trauma of the operation that made her handwriting change. But neither coincidence nor trauma can explain her vivid dream of a young biker called "Tim L" who, she later discovered, was the very same Tim who crashed his bike and whose organs were transplanted into her. And if you think that is far-fetched, you'll find references to at least ten other people with similar experiences in this unsettling start to the series.In this first of a new short run exploring the intricate workings of the mind,... more
"The fastest imaging system ever devised has been demonstrated by researchers reporting in the journal Nature.
Their camera's "shutter speed" is just a half a billionth of a second, and it can capture over six million images in a second continuously.
Its "flashbulb" is a fast laser pulse dispersed in space and then stretched in time and detected electronically.
The approach will be instrumental in imaging fast-moving or random events, such as communication between neurons.
Dubbed Serial Time-Encoded Amplified imaging, or Steam, the technique depends on carefully manipulating so-called "supercontinuum" laser pulses.
These pulses, less than a millionth of a millionth of a second long, contain an enormously broad range of colours.
Two optical elements spread the pinprick laser pulses into an ordered two-dimensional array of colours.""The fastest imaging system ever devised has been demonstrated by researchers... more
