Nobel Conference BlogPage 5
Neural iPhones, Telepathic Helmets and Thought Chips
Read a recent article in the NYTimes “The Cyborg in Us All” and come to Nobel 47 The Brain and Being Human to learn more about how human communication may be revolutionized when mind is melded to machine.
The Game of Love
Read what neuroscientist David Linden, author of The Compass of Pleasure, has to say about the neurobiology of love in his answers to the “Five Questions” series in the Washington Post. Come learn more about this topic from Dr Larry Young on Tuesday October 4 at the upcoming Nobel Conference 47, The Brain and Being […]
When the Melody Takes a Detour, the Science Begins
A NYTimes article reports on a recent World Science Conference on Music and Spontaneity when a panel of neuroscientists and musicians discussed the “neurological processes underlying improvisation and what they tell us about human creativity and the structure of the brain”. One may wonder whether the scientific study of music a worthwhile endeavor? Or perhaps […]
Neuromarketing: Music Sales
ScienceNow reports that when neuroeconomist Gregory Berns used functional magnetic resonance to image the brains of teenagers while they listened to songs, he found that the average activity elicited by a song in the reward centers of the brain was a better predictor of a song’s commercial success than the likability ratings for the song […]
Brain Implants: Restoring Memories
The NYTimes reported that scientists at Wake Forest and USC implanted an electrode into the hippocampus of a rat that played memories “like a melody on a piano”, thus restoring a forgotten learning rule. On October 4 and 5, speakers invited to Nobel 47 The Brain and Being Human will discuss some of the exciting […]
Bina Agarwal, 2010 Nobel speaker, interviewed in NEWSWEEK
During the recent round of climate change talks in Mexico, Bina Agarwal was interviewed about the significance of climate change for women, particularly in developing nations like India. Find it here: Bina-Newsweek-Interview[1]
Paul Thompson: Field Philosopher
Nobel Conference lecturer Paul Thompson received a shout out in today’s New York Times, for his work as a “field philosopher.” In“The Stone” (an occasional opinion column written by philosophers), Robert Frodeman highlights the work of philosophers who, “rather than seeking to identify general philosophic principles …, begin with the problems of non-philosophers, drawing out […]
Biomass and biogas information
During the question and answer session following Bina Agarwal’s talk at Noble Conference 46, several audience questions asked for more resources about biomass stoves in mentioned during her talk. As promised by the moderator, here are several links to websites that will serve as a good introduction to these topics. First, a good primer on […]
Patenting Seeds: Conference Lecturers Weigh In
Here are the first two responses we received to our query of the Nobel lecturers, regarding the matter of patenting seed life. Marion Nestle notes “I wrote about the patenting issue in my book, Safe Food, half of which is about genetically modified foods.” She also points to the film FOOD, INC., and the work […]
Patenting Seeds: The Question Not Taken
Shortly after the final lecture of the conference was completed, a woman approached me to ask “does Gustavus take money from Monsanto?” Is the college in the pay of the multinational agriculture biotechnology firm? She posed her sardonic question as offering the only explanation for the fact that I had not elected to read the […]