Study shows that electrical impulse treatment to senior brains could help resist effects of Alzheimers
A new study with the following dense title, "Long-lasting, dissociable improvements in working memory and long-term memory in older adults with repetitive neuromodulation" is pretty hard to grok and I bounced off of it. I heard about it from this article on Verge.com.
The Abstract:
The development of technologies to protect or enhance memory in older people is an enduring goal of translational medicine. Here we describe repetitive (4-day) transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) protocols for the selective, sustainable enhancement of auditory–verbal working memory and long-term memory in 65–88-year-old people. Modulation of synchronous low-frequency, but not high-frequency, activity in parietal cortex preferentially improved working memory on day 3 and day 4 and 1?month after intervention, whereas modulation of synchronous high-frequency, but not low-frequency, activity in prefrontal cortex preferentially improved long-term memory on days 2–4 and 1?month after intervention. The rate of memory improvements over 4?days predicted the size of memory benefits 1?month later. Individuals with lower baseline cognitive function experienced larger, more enduring memory improvements. Our findings demonstrate that the plasticity of the aging brain can be selectively and sustainably exploited using repetitive and highly focalized neuromodulation grounded in spatiospectral parameters of memory-specific cortical circuitry.
Will be curious to see if further studies come out of this and perhaps a new treatment for seniors becomes standard in an effort to improve memory recall for them.
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Pakistan reports 777 killed during floods over past 2 months
Just heartbreaking. And you'll barely see it reported on US news. And of course politicians will continue to deny climate change.
Redditor dives deep on every team in Serie A which got relegated and never made it back into the top league
Redditor /AntajaSW has these amazing super long posts (they've also done posts about Bundesliga, post 1 and post 2) and they are fascinating reads for soccer fans to learn about these clubs. Economically, a team getting relegated is going to be in dire straits unless their owner(s) pony up cash to cover the shortfall in income until they can get back up.
Specifically to the Serie A post I linked above, they came out with Part 2 of it today.
Chinuk Wawa - A PNW trade pidgin language
I fell down a Wikipedia hole for a bit this afternoon between calls and while resting my brain from Excel work. I had gone looking for some history about Seattle which led me to began to wonder where the local area "Alki Beach" got its name. As it turns out "alki" is from this Chinuk Wawa pidgin. As with pidgins and creoles, definitions are loose and contextual - here are the definitions for 'alki':
- eventually
- someday
- in the future
- times to come
- presently
- directly
- later
- in a little while
- after a while
- shortly
- will
- shall
Now, before I dive further into the topic, I was stop and acknowledge that this creole language is closely intertwined with the settlement and imperialism in the PNW region. I do not want to gloss over that that imperialism and cultural erasure is a big reason why this pidgin language both came to exist but also eventually died out. The video I embedded below does a good job discussing this and highlighting it.
Dr. Fauci announces intention to step down in December 2022
Fauci said in a statement on Monday that he will leave both his post as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), as well as that of top medical adviser to President Joe Biden, to “pursue the next phase” of his career.
"What Happens When You Offer Grammar Advice to Complete Strangers in the Middle of Manhattan"
She set up a table in New York City to answer grammar questions for passerby. She encourages people to vent to her about their grammatical frustrations, and sometimes she settles debates for people, but she also found that people who were learning English would come and ask questions to help their understanding. A nice and entertaining read!
For All Mankind (2019) - 5 of 5 Lunas
Just finished Season 1 of the show. When I tweeted that I was watching it, a friend of mine replied as follows:
Oh boy, another into the fold.
— James Turner (@James_LRR) August 19, 2022
Enjoy!
Overall, I loved the first season. It wasn't perfect and I have my gripes, but I heartily recommend it to others to check it out.
Bird was the greatest of all time
Sue or Larry? Yes.
To be clear, I'm not actually looking for a debate on this. I don't feel strongly about it other than appreciating the name confusion which should be common in the future.
"The Trump Mar-a-Lago search was justified"
Perhaps the only time I will link to Fox News. A good editorial which dives into the legitimacy of the Mar-a-Lago search.