Mapping The Brain During Creative Thinking

Tom Patriot

Creativity is often defined as the ability to come up with new and useful ideas. Like intelligence, it can be considered a trait that everyone – not just creative “geniuses” like Picasso and Steve Jobs – possesses in some capacity. It’s not just your ability to draw a picture or design a product. We all need to think creatively in our daily lives, whether it’s figuring out how to make dinner using leftovers or fashioning a Halloween costume out of clothes in your closet. Creative tasks range from what researchers…

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What Is Unicorn Root, And Should You Be Moisturizing With It?

Tom Patriot

Just when you thought you’d seen the last of the unicorn beauty trend, here it is, creeping into 2018. An ingredient called “true unicorn root,” otherwise known as Aletris farinosa, is showing up in beauty products. It’s an herb that grows in North America, and unfortunately, it’s neither sparkly nor particularly colorful. But like the mythical creature from which it takes its name, true unicorn root (not to be confused with false unicorn root) does seem pretty magical. The herb ― specifically its underground stem, or rhizome ― is said to have been used by some Native…

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Alzheimer’s Drug Turns Back Clock In The Powerhouse Of Cells

Tom Patriot

The experimental drug J147 is something of a modern elixir of life; it’s been shown to treat Alzheimer’s disease and reverse aging in mice and is almost ready for clinical trials in humans. Now, Salk scientists have solved the puzzle of what, exactly, J147 does. In a paper published January 7, 2018, in the journal Aging Cell, they report that the drug binds to a protein found in mitochondria, the energy-generating powerhouses of cells. In turn, they showed, it makes aging cells, mice and flies appear more youthful. “This really…

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