In this article, I argue that the Problem of Evil becomes more difficult if it is plausible that certain invertebrate animals suffer, as this would increase the amount of evil in ...

Invisibly to us, insects and other tiny creatures use static electricity to travel, avoid predators, collect pollen and more. New experiments explore how evolution may have influenced this phenomenon.

Beth Shapiro, the lead researcher on Colossal Biosciences’ dire wolf project, has argued that the goal of de-extinction research should be to restore lost ecological interactions. But the recent cr...

Should we simply assume that all animals can feel pain and are of moral concern? Or is that taking things too far?

Understanding how the brain represents experienced time and how representations of space and time are integrated to form episodic memories has been a goal of much neuroscientific research. In this Per...

Oxford University boffins say the octopuses are likely to take over the world after humans.

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A semelhança entre o padrão de interação dos neurônios do cérebro humano e a colônia de formigas torna esta última objeto da hipótese de ser uma estrutura apta a ter uma ...

The similarity between the interaction pattern of neurons in the human brain and the ant colony makes the latter an object of the hypothesis of being a structure capable of having ...

It’s fun to entertain the possibility of panpsychism – that all the physical things around you have some level of experience. But that doesn’t mean it’s how reality works

Understanding the biophysical basis of consciousness remains a substantial challenge for 21st-century science. This endeavor is becoming even more pressing i...

Although in vitro neuronal models are accessible and versatile systems for functional electrophysiological studies, the spontaneous and random formation of neural circuits often compromises the structural control and reproducibility. Here, we introduce a robust method for engineering human neuronal networks in vitro with single-cell precision and reproducibility. Our integrated platform combines direct laser-written microstructure templates and soft lithography-based fabrication of microscaffolds with functional multielectrode array recordings. This system enables high-throughput production of diverse circuit designs and allows for the exact placement of neurons within confined microenvironments. The system enables precise recording of spontaneous neuronal activity, as well as electrical and optogenetic stimulations. Using this approach, we constructed reproducible, bottom-up neuronal circuits composed of a defined number of human neurons. As a proof of principle, we employed these circuits to investigate ephaptic coupling, which refers to the modulation of neuronal activity by endogenous electric fields. Although it is believed to play a role in neural computations and cardiac conduction and is associated with epilepsy and arrhythmia, its mechanisms are unclear due to limitations in experimental models, both in vivo and in vitro. By controlling axonal proximity within microchannels and the number of neurons in the engineered circuits, we can quantify ephaptic coupling at different strengths, which validates theoretical predictions, including reduced action potential velocity, increased activity synchronization, and lower stimulation thresholds. Furthermore, the platform has broad potential for studying synaptic and nonsynaptic interactions, myelination processes, advancing disease modeling, and fundamental neuroscience research.

Lançamento da obra: "As colônias de formigas são conscientes?: Mentes coletivas e implicações filosóficas" (Editora Fi).  O livro foi concebido com o...

As demand for seafood grows, a remote Indiana farm is harvesting thousands of pounds of salmon every year — on land.

Conheça os dilemas filosóficos e éticos por trás da edição gênica capaz de acabar com a trissomia do cromossomo 21

Possibilidade de eliminação da trissomia do cromossomo 21 desperta debate sobre individualidade e em que ponto a edição genética não só altera uma pessoa, mas apaga um indivíduo para produzir outro

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