geekosystem

If you're anything like me, you still haven't given up on that dream of being an astronaut one day, breaking the surly bonds of Earth and experiencing the wonder and vastness of space firsthand. That's why I bring you the following story with a heavy heart -- according to a recent study by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center, the list of dangers involved in space travel just got a little longer, with "alien attacks," "insane computer AIs," and "being sucked out of an airlock" joined by a new hazard to space flight -- an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Zebrafish are the guinea pigs of the undersea world, used by countless researchers across the world to study neuroscience, genomics, and just about everything in between. Though the fish are well understood, they also have qualities that still flummox researchers. Topping that list is the fishes' inexplicable ability to regrow brain cells. The neat trick -- which is severely limited in humans and other mammals -- may have an unlikely origin, as new research suggests that the regenerative process is jumpstarted by inflammation that can be severely damaging to the brain as well.

Is there any other way than "evil" to describe a company pressuring one of their employees, that had almost half their brain removed after a work-related accident, to leave the hospital? Thought not. That's what Foxconn -- Apple's largest contract manufacturer -- is doing, though. Zhang Tingzhen, one of Foxconn's employees, was left unable to speak or walk correctly after doctors surgically removed parts of his brain following an electric shock received at the factory. Unfortunately, it appears Foxconn is tired of footing the bill.

The next time you make a mistake, just remember that you're not alone. Everybody makes huge mistakes that irrevocably change their lives from which they never truly recover. It just, happens, y'know? Maybe not for much longer, though. Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center are hard at work developing a neural implant that shows promise in repairing the decision making abilities of primates who have suffered brain damage. If the research pays off, it could develop into a similar implant in humans with the potential to not only repair damage to the brain's decision making center, but improve decision making in general.