Older ones decide better
Recent research has already challenged what we thought we knew about the capability of the brain. What has become clear, says Dr Gregory Samanez-larkin of Vanderbilt University, is that despite a decline in some types of cognitive function, “older people often make better decisions than younger people.” As we age, we become more selective about what we remember, says Dr Alan Castel of UClA, one of the study’s lead researchers. In an earlier study, his team tested older and younger adults’ ability to recall a list of words. The initial findings, as one would expect, showed that younger subjects remembered more of the words.
A fuel free journey
Nearly 15 years after he completed the first non-stop balloon trip around the world, Bertrand Piccard has not lost his appetite for adventure. The Swiss explorer embarked on the first leg of a coast-to-coast flight across the United States on May 3 in a solar-powered airplane that can fly day or night without using any fuel. The plane, called Solar Impulse, is on the first stretch of a months-long journey that will take it from California to New York as part of a campaign to promote solar technology and renewable energy. Piccard departed from Moffett Airfield in Mountain View, Calif. The Solar Impulse plane, which has a cruising speed of about 53 mph (85 km/h), was expected to land at Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport after 19 hours in the air. For Piccard, being able to make the cross-country flight with zero fuel has been a decade-long dream.
Benefits of self-affirmation
It's no secret that stress increases your susceptibility to health problems, and it also impacts your ability to solve problems and be creative. But methods to prevent associated risks and effects have been less clear — until now. Published in PlOS ONE, new research from Carnegie Mellon University provides the first evidence that self-affirmation can protect against the damaging effects of stress on problem-solving performance. Understanding that self-affirmation — the process of identifying and focusing on one's most important values — boosts stressed individuals' problem-solving abilities will help guide future research and the development of educational interventions.
Play to prevent decay
Challenging yourself with a brain-teasing game for just two hours a week may help slow the degree of mental decay associated with the natural aging process, a new study finds. Researchers at the University of Iowa in Iowa City conducted a study of 681 healthy individuals, ages 50 and older. They found that people who played 10 hours of a specially designed video game that focussed on improving the speed and quality of mental abilities were able to delay the natural decline of a range of cognitive skills — by up to seven years, said Professor Fredric Wolinsky.
Buzz shot!
Researchers have created the camera that mimics an insect’s compound vision. So far, the results seem pretty buzzworthy, producing images that likely rival what many bugs see. The insect-inspired camera consists of a hemispherical surface studded with a dense array of lenses and photo detectors. The device could be used in applications ranging from surveillance to the scoping of the human body. The compound eyes of insects have many advantages: a wide field of view, good motion sensitivity and an infinite depth of field (the distance between objects in the image that appear sharp). Each eye contains hundreds to thousands of imaging units called ommatidia — each with a tiny lens and crystalline cone that transports the light to light-sensitive cells.