Tag - brain

 
Menu
Search
 
July 02, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

BRAIN

Scientist Brett Kagan looks at cortical and hippocampal cells on cell culture plates as they attempt to decode morse code, at Cortical Labs' Physical Containment Level 2 laboratory in Melbourne.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
May 31, 2026
Australian researchers teach brain cells to play Doom video game
Each so-called “biological computer” contains around 200,000 living human brain cells, grown from stem cells that were harvested from blood donations.
Medical brain scans under analysis. Associate professor Ken-ichiro Kuwako at Shimane University’s School of Medicine, whose team has identified a set of proteins in mouse nerve cells that declines with age, hopes the research may ultimately offer potential for intervention in physiological aging of the human brain.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 22, 2026
Scientists discover molecular process of normal brain aging
The findings could one day help lead to therapies to preserve brain function.
An exhibit at a brain research facility at the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology in China in 2025
WORLD
May 12, 2026
Why brain implants are more than a sci-fi fantasy
Researchers have been working for decades on brain-computer interfaces to help those suffering from paralysis, blindness and hearing loss.
Charles Lieber was found guilty by a jury and convicted in December 2021 of making false statements to federal investigators about his ties to a Chinese state program to recruit overseas talent.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 1, 2026
Convicted former Harvard scientist rebuilds brain computer lab in China
Scientists at China’s People’s Liberation Army have investigated brain interfaces as a way to engineer super soldiers by boosting mental agility and situational awareness.
Tests for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease are displayed at the Memory Center in Geneva in June 2023.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 16, 2026
Alzheimer’s drugs targeting amyloid don’t help, review finds
Despite successfully removing amyloid from the brain, the drugs don’t improve cognitive function or slow its decline.
Lecanemab and donanemab aim to slow the progression of the neurodegenerative disease by removing a protein called amyloid-beta from the brain, whose buildup is believed to contribute to the death of brain cells.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 8, 2026
Less than 20% of patients in Japan interested in new Alzheimer’s drugs received one
Many were ineligible or decided against taking the medications due to potential side effects and the high cost, a study has found.
While hybrid intelligence via brain-computer interfaces may one day be possible, experts warn that for healthy adults — or children who cannot consent — the risks likely outweigh the benefits.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2026
Boosting your brain with a chip carries a price
While hybrid intelligence via brain-computer interfaces may one day be possible, experts warn that for healthy adults and children, the risks likely outweigh the benefits.
Long-term studies show that mentally stimulating activities such as games and targeted brain training can strengthen cognitive resilience and delay the onset of dementia.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2026
Tired of spending billions on dementia care? Try a brain workout.
Twenty years later, about 25% fewer people in the speed training group developed dementia compared with the people who weren’t offered the intervention.
Brain-computer interface scientist and National People's Congress delegate Yao Dezhong during an interview in Beijing on Saturday
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 8, 2026
China could see widespread use of brain-computer tech in 3-5 years, expert says
Recent high-profile trials have enabled paralyzed patients and amputees to regain partial mobility and operate robotic hands or intelligent wheelchairs.
Self-righteousness comes from judging the world by the perceived correctness of actions rather than by the quality of outcomes.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 17, 2026
Why is everyone so self-righteous?
Self-righteousness comes from judging the world by the perceived correctness of actions rather than by the quality of outcomes.
Studies involving Ai, a "genius" chimpanzee who has died at the age of 49, are said to have revealed "various aspects of the chimpanzee mind."
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2026
‘Genius’ chimpanzee Ai dies in Japan at 49
Aside from mastering Chinese characters and the alphabet, Ai could also identify the Arabic numerals from zero to nine and 11 colors, a primatologist said.
Chimpanzees show genuine reasoning and metacognition — the ability to weigh evidence, update beliefs and judge what they do or don’t know — while current AI systems do not.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 9, 2025
AI thinks it’s smart. Chimps may beg to differ.
Many people believe that animals with higher intelligence deserve to be treated more humanely, or at least not used for food.
Medical workers treat a patient in a COVID-19 ward at Chiba University Hospital in Chiba in August 2021.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 24, 2025
Japanese researchers link COVID-19 ‘brain fog’ to neural receptors
A study found that people who reported difficulty returning to daily life after contracting COVID-19 had a higher-than-usual density of a certain receptor.
People suffering from Parkinson's disease during a tango therapy session in Buenos Aires on Aug 26
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 31, 2025
Argentinean hospital uses the tango to keep Parkinson’s symptoms at bay
“We know that Parkinson’s requires pharmaceutical treatments. Tango is used to rehabilitate the motor part.
Recent preprint research suggests students who use ChatGPT to write essays engage in less critical thinking, with different areas of their brains connecting less often.
WORLD / Society
Jul 3, 2025
‘Writing is thinking’: Brain study prompts debate on ChatGPT use in education
The recent preprint research suggests students who use ChatGPT to write essays engage in less critical thinking, with different areas of their brains connecting less often.
The Neuralink device, called Blindsight, stimulated areas of a monkey’s brain associated with vision, said engineer Joseph O’Doherty.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 16, 2025
Neuralink device helps monkey see something that’s not there
The device, called Blindsight, stimulated areas of a monkey’s brain associated with vision.
A man holding a baby wades through a flooded road following heavy rainfall in Zhengzhou, China, in July 2021.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 13, 2025
Natural disasters may be shaping babies’ brains
The findings signal how new generations of children may be marked by climate crises that occur before they were born.
Scientists are increasingly exploring mechanisms that can help the body adapt to rising temperatures affecting our sleep and leading to health complications.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 13, 2025
Scientists exploring how to beat heat for better sleep
The human brain is very sensitive to heat, with higher temperatures raising the body’s central thermostat and activating stress systems.
A group of researchers including from Kyoto University confirmed that the TIM-3 protein, which exists in a type of immune cell in the brain, increases as the brain ages.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 8, 2025
Loss of immune-regulating protein seen easing Alzheimer’s disease
The findings are expected to help develop a new treatment for the disease.
A growing number of young professionals are becoming increasingly reliant on AI tools like ChatGPT for both work and personal tasks, leading to diminished confidence, critical thinking skills and potential emotional dependence.
COMMENTARY / World
May 7, 2025
Addicted to ChatGPT? Here’s how to reclaim your brain
Launched by OpenAI in late 2022, now regularly used by more than 400 million people.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

New Logistics Consortium baton to accelerate trucking efficiency
New Logistics Consortium baton to accelerate trucking efficiency

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER