All too often we fail to realize that other species—even those closest to us—can be downright alien in some respects, especially in terms of how they perceive the world. This is especially true of dogs: despite having been one of humanity’s closest companions for nearly 15 thousand years, the brain ofread more
One of medical science’s indispensable diagnostic and research tools over the past quarter-century has been functional magnetic resonance imaging technology, or fMRI. This is a non-invasive imaging technique that makes use of strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce three-dimensional images of the interior of the human body, and has revolutionized research into brain activity, using increased blood flow to indicate corresponding increases in neural activity. However, a new study has called the accuracy of the device’s software into question, after discovering a bug in commonly-used MRI interpretation software packages — a bug that may very well call the results of over 40,000 medical research studies into question.
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