Memory

Between the Flu (so I wasn't allowed to come to Uni) and my home Internet connection going down, there's been a small hiatus. Things should be back to normal again soon.

Touch wood.

In the meantime....

From PopSci:

Scientists have achieved a new milestone in brain imaging: we have seen a memory in the process of being formed. Using brain cells from a lowly sea slug, which actually makes a good model for our brains, images were captured of proteins forming between the neurons. These proteins distinguish the memory as a long-term one rather than short-term, as the proteins solidify the memory in the neurons. This process had been suspected but not visualized until now.




Kelsey Martin's team at the University of California focused their imaging on the synapse, the communication junction between two neuron cells. Scientists first coated certain proteins with a fluorescent dye that starts out green, but turns red when exposed to UV light. They blasted the neurons with UV light and shifted everything to red, just to prove the dye was there. Then they bathed the cells in serotonin, a chemical that can stimulate memory formation. They were then able to watch as new green fluorescent proteins were created as the memory was made.

UPDATE:I spoke too soon - due to a mixup, the technician to fix my ISP didn't turn up, and as they don't work on weekends, I'm in an Internet-Free zone at home. Worse, my Uni Card expired, and so I can't get into the building after hours. This is MOST inconvenient, as I have a paper due soon, and it was going to be touch-and-go getting it in on time even with nothing going wrong.

Oh well, as Boxer said, "I will work harder".

Even if it means using the wi-fi at Mackers. Bringing the textbooks along that I need is tricky, and I'm limited by battery life. *SIGH*