But every so often we are reminded that we aren't totally on top of things yet. For example, it turns out that migrating birds seem to have the equivalent of a GPS unit in their brain... and we don't really have a clue how it works. Go us.
Speaking of brains, researchers recently were poking around in an obese man's head with electrodes, hoping to find the part of the brain that would suppress his appetite. (Is brain surgery really that trivial now, that we're using it to treat overeating?) When they zapped a particular spot in his brain, he found himself remembering a scene from thirty years prior. If they ramped up the juice, he would recall more intricate details, right down to what people were wearing. Turn off the power, though, and the memories would fade. They're hoping to use the technique to treat Alzheimer's patients. I predict that one day, grateful husbands everywhere will be using it to remember anniversaries, and their wives' birthdays....
Oh, by the way, we can talk to apes. It turns out they like candy as much as obese-brain-surgery-guy.
March, science, march...
