Ants can’t be fooled: Scientists discover the insects use their memory to help them avoid traps and predators the second time around Ants usually find their way back to their nests by following trails of pheromones Researchers tested how the insects would react when a pit was dug in the trail They found the ants fell … Read more
Air pollution ‘harms the memory and thinking of city dwellers’, researchers find New research has been conducted on the impact of high-smog cities Those who live in urban areas with high levels of pollution scored lower on thinking and memory tests Scientists examined the link between air pollution levels and cognitive impairment in two separate … Read more
Pregnant women who use marijuana heavily to treat morning sickness affect part of the baby’s brain associated with memory Prevalence of pregnant women using pot increased by 62% from 2002 to 2014 Researchers exposed pregnant female rats to a synthetic chemical that acts similarly to marijuana, equivalent to heavy use in humans Baby rats exposed in … Read more
Do you ever go upstairs to look for something, then realise you have no idea why you were going upstairs in the first place? Or what about putting rice on to cook, then leaving the room and only returning when you smell the burning? I find that as I get older I am increasingly doing … Read more
Children who use computers, tablets or smartphones every day have BETTER working memory and early literacy scores than if they hardly ever use them, new research shows Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development carried out research The differences in memory outcomes were far more pronounced in girls There was a forty four point difference for … Read more
A dementia-striken husband who doesn’t speak has been able to reconnect with his wife with the help of a ‘music memory box’. The Music Memory Box is a kit which families fill with significant objects such as photographs which also plays songs. Steve Garrity, 82, and his wife Monica, 74, of Bristol, use the innovative … Read more
UK and U.S tourists were asked to draw some of the world’s most famous landmarks from memory and the results range from the amazingly good to the shockingly bad. And overall, it seems that it’s Americans who are the better artists with higher accuracy scores than the Brits. In total, 132 people aged 18 to … Read more
A simple blood test can detect Alzheimer’s disease early in people who visit their doctor with worsening memory. Scientists in the US say the test could be used by practitioners within five years, and is more accurate and quicker than current methods. The tool measures levels of a protein called tau in the blood, which … Read more
Pets have been a companion to humans for millennia. In fact, according to Greger Larson, director of the University of Oxford’s palaeogenomics and bio-archaeology research network, humans have likely kept baby animals for amusement as long as humans have lived. But the story of exactly how animals became domesticated is much debated and often only glimpsed at … Read more