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Archive for the ‘Just For Fun’ Category

September 30, 2009

Does Losing One’s Sight Elevate The Other Senses? »

Fact or fiction? Losing one’s ability to use a particular sense will heighten the other senses. Neuroscientists at McGill University, home of the world-renowned Montreal Neurological Institute, set out to test this idea and discovered that in certain circumstances blindness can, in fact, heighten the other senses. By testing blind and sighted subjects for pitch perception and their ability to locate sounds, researchers found that blind subjects generally scored higher, not surprisingly. However, they also discovered that those who were born blind performed the best, while those who became blind as young children were slightly worse, and those who lost their vision after age 10 did no better than the sighted subjects. The theory is that a young brain could be rewired so that visual-processing areas were used for other purposes. And sure enough, by looking at MRI scans of subjects’ brains, they discovered that blind subjects who performed the best were using both the visual and auditory regions of their brains. [via New York Times]

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June 10, 2009

London Museum’s Top Scientific Discoveries »

The Science Museum of London has compiled a list of what they consider to be their top ten possessions, three of which have revolutionized the world of medicine. In the museum’s collection rests one of the world’s oldest x-ray machines, the original DNA double helix model created by Watson and Crick in 1953, and the original penicillin mold owned by Alexander Fleming that eventually led to the discovery of the penicillin antibiotic. Can you imagine medicine today without x-rays or antibiotics? Or what it must feel like to not know that DNA is the code to all life on Earth? The museum is currently displaying these items as part of their 100 Anniversary celebration. Visit the museum’s website to vote for your top scientific discovery.

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