The mindful brain: why practicing mindfulness can make you more resilient to stress Buddha goes West – how mindfulness conquered the capitalist world An increasing number of people practice yoga and meditation, according to new data from the US National Center of Health Statistics. From 2012 to 2017 the percentage Read more…
The mechanisms of mindfulness meditation Can you imagine staying two weeks in a house in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by people you are not allowed to talk to, where your daily task is being aware of the present moment, by paying attention, on purpose, in a non-judgmental manner? That’s Read more…
Albrecht Vorster: Bringing the science of sleep to the public Albrecht Vorster is a PhD student at the Institute for Medical Psychology and Behavioural Neurobiology who decided to take a year off during his doctoral studies to write a popular science book Why do we sleep? (original: Warum wir schlafen, Read more…
Mental Health of university students in Germany “One in four students in Germany feels strongly stressed. Almost equally high is the proportion of those who report exhaustion.” This is the result of a 2018 online study on mental health of students in Germany including data from about 6200 students, which Read more…
Collaborative Science Symposium in Africa Inspired by the educational programs of the non-profit organization TReND in Africa1, we – a group of seven volunteers – organized a two-week Collaborative Science Symposium at the Universities of Zambia (UNZA, Zambia) and Nairobi (Kenya). Our team consisted of highly motivated researchers that sought Read more…
The School of Athens is one of the most well-known frescoes in the world. It is a Renaissance masterpiece depicting the great philosophers of the classical era, painted by Raphael between 1509–1511. Figure 1: The School of Athens, Fresco by Raphael, 1509-11 While there is much to discuss in this Read more…
When Darwin handed over the baton to Churchland Inspired by Patricia Churchland’s talk “The Neurobiology of Moral Conscience” at the Forum Scientiarum (6 June 2018), I discuss the evolutionary basis of morality and how our moral norms started to build on the intrinsic nature of pro-sociality. Let’s take a closer Read more…
At what point must you euthanize an animal in scientific research? In this day and age, there are several areas of research using animals to propel scientific and medical advancements. Animal research has provided a stable foundation for the growth of basic and applied sciences. And, despite the modern development Read more…
Washington DC, 15th November 2017, Society for Neuroscience Conference 2017 In the classical book of Homer, Odysseus had to cross the island of Anthemoessa to be reunited with his homeland. “Dive thy ship swiftly past the island”, Circe warned the Greek hero: for the island was home to beautiful – Read more…
You have most surely seen an image of the iconic lab mouse, a pristinely white rodent with dark red eyes standing on its hindlegs while looking quizzically up at the camera. Less certain is what the mouse is used for, but at some level we imagine the mouse as a Read more…