Proust was a Neuroscientist by Jonah Lehrer
Cool facts:
- In 1968, Dr. Motoo Kimura discovered that the rate of genetic change in species undergoing natural selection was 100 times the rate predicted by the equation of evolution.
- Why do identical twins have different personalities? Firstoff, the process of going from DNA to a complete structure doesn't happen the same way twice. This is why your left thumbprint differes from your right. It also explains why different parts of identical twins' brains will light up on the same task, and the brains will actually have different structures.
- Fred Gage discovered little pieces of junk DNA that jumps around the genome called retrotransposons. These scraps insert themselves into 80 percent of our brain cells, arbitrarily altering the cells' genetic program. The chaos contributes to our individuality.
- MSG specifically adds the flavor "umami," a Japanese word meaning "deliciousness." It is not dangerous for one's health.
- Odor receptors encompass over 3% of the human genome.
- Philsopher Henri Bergson's speech at Columbia University cause NYC's first traffic jam in 1913.
- Every time a rat recalls information, it must reform the idea and recode it, otherwise the memory shall be forever lost. Rats injected with a protein-blocker at memory retrieval lost long-term conditioned fear responses.
- It takes 3 months to die of sleep deprivation. Extreme insomnia, mad cow disease, and excellent memory skills are all caused by prions, or pieces of protein that can change form and function on their own.
- van Gogh drank kerosene, turpentine and absinthe on a regular basis.
- 10 times more fibers connect the cortex to the eye than the bundle that connect the eye to the cortex (all via the LGN).
