Philippe Matthews Show Guru Advice, Author Reviews, Tech Reviews, Entertainment News

Image courtesy of iStockphoto/fotokon Although cocaine makes people feel more alert and on top of things in the moment, it can leave users vulnerable to a much slower brain in the long run.

Whether surgeons slice with a traditional scalpel or cut away with a surgical laser, most medical operations end up removing some healthy tissue, along with the bad. This means that for delicate areas like the brain, throat, and digestive tract, physicians and patients have to balance the benefits of treatment against possible collateral damage.

What are the structural differences in the brain between animals that are self-aware (humans, apes) and other vertebrates? [More]

This Valentine's Day, Scientific American traces the flow of chemicals in the brain during different phases of romance and describes surprising insights from the science of attraction.

Is there a difference between the brain of an atheist andthe brain of a religious person? [More]

Early research on the sharpest octogenarians reveals unusually youthful brain regions A nasty affliction sets into humans as they advance in years. The hair either disappears or thins into a fuzzy halo, the skin sags and bunches, while inside the brain, changes set in that slow our reaction times and cause our memories to fade. A steady, widespread thinning out of the brain s cortex, the outermost layer of the brain, is thought to underlie some of this cognitive transformation

By Virginia Gewin of Nature magazine Nicotine causes changes in gene regulation that enhance the brain's subsequent response to cocaine. [More]

How much can the brain recover from years of excessive alcohol consumption? --Paul Howlen, London [More]

Where are the images and ideas from dreams located in the brain, and is there any way to capture them? --Derek Meier, Chicago [More]

British researchers say the muscular exertion involved in laughing triggers an increase of endorphins in the brain, making it enjoyable. Jeff Glor reports

By Geoff Brumfiel of Nature magazine Today IBM unveiled a new "cognitive computing" microchip that, according to the company, emulates some of the brain's abilities. [More]

What happens in the brain when we experience a panic attack? --Davide Razzoli, Italy [More]