http://newscenter.berkeley.edu News from the University of California, Berkeley Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:46:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/06/12/auditory-perception-coding/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/06/12/auditory-perception-coding/#comments Wed, 12 Jun 2013 18:45:10 +0000 Sarah Yang http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34208 Research News Brief: Neuroscientists find that people summarize sound sequences in a study that could help improve speech recognition programs and hearing aids. ]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/06/12/auditory-perception-coding/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/13/your-brain-on-sports/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/13/your-brain-on-sports/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 05:50:25 +0000 Barry Bergman http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34536 Author, J-School instructor and sports nut Eric Simons set out on a quest to figure out why he, and millions of other fans all over the world, act the way they do. He gathered his findings in a new book, The Secret Lives of Sports Fans.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/13/your-brain-on-sports/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/21/brainsearchparty/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/21/brainsearchparty/#comments Sun, 21 Apr 2013 17:00:54 +0000 Yasmin Anwar http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34465 A contact lens on the bathroom floor, an escaped hamster in the backyard, a car key in a bed of gravel: How are we able to focus so sharply to find that proverbial needle in a haystack? UC Berkeley scientists have discovered that when we embark on a targeted search, various visual and non-visual regions of the brain mobilize to track down a person, animal or thing.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/21/brainsearchparty/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/02/campus-poised-to-join-obamas-brain-initiative/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/02/campus-poised-to-join-obamas-brain-initiative/#comments Tue, 02 Apr 2013 17:40:54 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34294 President Barack Obama has announced a major national initiative to understand how the brain works and how it goes awry. Neuroscientist John Ngai, chemist Paul Alivisatos and chemical engineer Jay Keasling were on hand at the White House to lend support to the so-called BRAIN initiative, which Ngai termed "our moon project."]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/02/campus-poised-to-join-obamas-brain-initiative/feed/ 0 http://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/bakarfellows/mind-over-matter-jose-carmena-and-michel-maharbiz http://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/bakarfellows/mind-over-matter-jose-carmena-and-michel-maharbiz#comments Tue, 26 Mar 2013 17:30:35 +0000 Public Affairs http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34283 Neuroengineer Jose Carmena and bioengineer Michel Maharbiz are working to develop a brain-machine interface, an emerging technology for retraining the brain to operate a prosthetic device such as an artificial limb. They are supported by the campus’s Bakar Fellows Program, which helps early-career faculty pursue innovative research with commercial promise. The program is currently accepting applications for 2013/14.]]> http://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/bakarfellows/mind-over-matter-jose-carmena-and-michel-maharbiz/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/03/20/beyond-academia/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/03/20/beyond-academia/#comments Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:50:24 +0000 Yasmin Anwar http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34152 Traditionally, the holy grail for doctoral students has been a professorship at a prestigious university. But in a sign of changing times, many Ph.D. students are now seeking jobs outside higher ed. Enter "Beyond Academia," a career conference organized by Ph.D. students and postdocs.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/03/20/beyond-academia/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/03/01/physics-nobelist-and-biotech-pioneer-donald-glaser-dies-at-86/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/03/01/physics-nobelist-and-biotech-pioneer-donald-glaser-dies-at-86/#comments Fri, 01 Mar 2013 18:05:59 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34105 Donald Glaser, a Nobel-prize winning physicist who reinvented himself as a biotech pioneer and later dove into the field of neurobiology, died in his sleep Thursday morning, Feb. 28, at his home in Berkeley. Glaser, a professor emeritus of physics and of molecular and cell biology, was 86.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/03/01/physics-nobelist-and-biotech-pioneer-donald-glaser-dies-at-86/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/02/05/silence-olli/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/02/05/silence-olli/#comments Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:00:57 +0000 Barry Bergman http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=33929 Drawing its inspiration from John Cage, a six-week OLLI course delves into art, music, film, neuroscience, bliss, edginess, paradox and more in what Susan Hoffman, OLLI's director, calls "an experiment" in experiential learning.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/02/05/silence-olli/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/01/28/sleep-memory/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/01/28/sleep-memory/#comments Mon, 28 Jan 2013 18:50:25 +0000 Yasmin Anwar http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=33898 The connection between poor sleep, memory loss and brain deterioration as we grow older has been elusive. But for the first time, UC Berkeley scientists have found a link between these hallmark maladies of old age. Their discovery opens the door to boosting the quality of sleep in elderly people to improve memory.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/01/28/sleep-memory/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/12/19/semanticspace/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/12/19/semanticspace/#comments Wed, 19 Dec 2012 17:00:47 +0000 Yasmin Anwar http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=33707 Our eyes may be our window to the world, but how do we make sense of the thousands of images that flood our retinas each day? UC Berkeley scientists have found that the brain is wired to put in order all the categories of objects and actions that we see. They have created the first interactive map of how the brain organizes these groupings.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/12/19/semanticspace/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/08/22/intense-prep-for-law-school-admissions-test-alters-brain-structure/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/08/22/intense-prep-for-law-school-admissions-test-alters-brain-structure/#comments Wed, 22 Aug 2012 15:35:15 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=32620 Intense prep courses for tests like the Law School Admission Test are popular for good reason: They can improve scores significantly. Now UC Berkeley neuroscientists have revealed the underlying result of such preparation: the brain's neural connections change measurably, suggesting a bolstering of interconnections among reasoning areas of the brain.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/08/22/intense-prep-for-law-school-admissions-test-alters-brain-structure/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/07/25/drug-makes-blind-mice-see/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/07/25/drug-makes-blind-mice-see/#comments Wed, 25 Jul 2012 16:00:45 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=32451 Neuroscientists have synthesized a chemical that, when injected into the eyes of genetically blind mice, makes their retinas light sensitive. A newer version of the chemical, now undergoing tests, has better attributes and holds promise for treating retinitis pigmentosa and other degenerative eye diseases.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/07/25/drug-makes-blind-mice-see/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/03/04/brain-flexibility-gives-hope-for-neuroprosthetics/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/03/04/brain-flexibility-gives-hope-for-neuroprosthetics/#comments Sun, 04 Mar 2012 18:00:21 +0000 Sarah Yang http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=25418 Neuroscientists have shown that the same brain processes used to learn new motor skills, such as riding a bike or driving a car, are also necessary to master abstract skills, such as working out the next chess move, or controlling a robotic arm using brain activity alone. The findings could be a major boost to the development of thought-controlled, natural-feeling prosthetic devices. ]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/03/04/brain-flexibility-gives-hope-for-neuroprosthetics/feed/ 0 http://watch.discoverychannel.ca/daily-planet/february-2012/daily-planet---february-02-2012/#clip612247 http://watch.discoverychannel.ca/daily-planet/february-2012/daily-planet---february-02-2012/#clip612247#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:32:38 +0000 Roxanne Makasdjian http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=24776 Scientists have decoded electrical activity in the brain’s auditory system in order to predict the words a person has heard. Listen to the interview with Robert Knight on Canadian TV.]]> http://watch.discoverychannel.ca/daily-planet/february-2012/daily-planet---february-02-2012/#clip612247/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/01/31/scientists-decode-brain-waves-to-eavesdrop-on-what-we-hear/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/01/31/scientists-decode-brain-waves-to-eavesdrop-on-what-we-hear/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:00:37 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=22908 Stroke victims or paralyzed people unable to speak may someday be able to communicate via synthesizers that decode their internal speech and play it back. That hope comes from research by UC Berkeley neuroscientists Brian Pasley and Robert Knight, who have successfully decoded brain waves to predict what a person heard.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/01/31/scientists-decode-brain-waves-to-eavesdrop-on-what-we-hear/feed/ 0 http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june12/neuroscience_01-02.html http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june12/neuroscience_01-02.html#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:43:12 +0000 Public Affairs http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=22999 A team of neuroscientists led by Berkeley Professor Jack Gallant are beginning to figure out a way to reconstruct what we see, based on records of our brain activity. Jake Schoneker, a School of Journalism alum, reports on the PBS NewsHour.]]> http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june12/neuroscience_01-02.html/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/12/21/new-visionreconstructionvideo/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/12/21/new-visionreconstructionvideo/#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2011 23:16:45 +0000 Roxanne Makasdjian http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=22752 UC Berkeley scientists Jack Gallant and Shinji Nishimoto have wowed the world by using brain scans and computer modeling to reconstruct images of what we see when we're watching movies. UC Berkeley broadcast manager Roxanne Makasdjian has produced a video of how they achieved this breakthrough, and where they're headed. ]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/12/21/new-visionreconstructionvideo/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/11/23/dream-sleep/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/11/23/dream-sleep/#comments Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:00:54 +0000 Yasmin Anwar http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=20822 They say time heals all wounds, and new research from UC Berkeley indicates that time spent in dream sleep can help. UC Berkeley researchers have found that during the dream phase of sleep, also known as REM sleep, our stress chemistry shuts down and the brain processes emotional experiences and takes the painful edge off difficult memories.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/11/23/dream-sleep/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/09/22/brain-movies/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/09/22/brain-movies/#comments Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:00:49 +0000 Yasmin Anwar http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=16595 Imagine tapping into the mind of a coma patient, or watching one’s own dream on YouTube. With a cutting-edge blend of brain imaging and computer simulation, UC Berkeley scientists are bringing these futuristic scenarios within reach. Using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and computational models, researchers have succeeded in decoding and reconstructing people’s dynamic visual experiences – in this case, watching Hollywood movie trailers.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/09/22/brain-movies/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/09/12/tinnitus-discovery-could-lead-to-new-ways-to-stop-the-ringing/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/09/12/tinnitus-discovery-could-lead-to-new-ways-to-stop-the-ringing/#comments Mon, 12 Sep 2011 16:28:04 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=16298 People with tinnitus - a constant ringing or buzzing in the ears - can take heart from a new study by UC Berkeley neuroscientists that points to several new strategies for alleviating the problem.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/09/12/tinnitus-discovery-could-lead-to-new-ways-to-stop-the-ringing/feed/ 0