Lots of us daydream about how different the world would be if the 9/11 attacks had never happened (or maybe only happened in a parallel universe). Is daydreaming a sign of intelligence or creativity? It turns out that it’s a sign that our memories are working just fine.

Studies have found that our minds are wandering half the time, drifting off to thoughts unrelated to what we’re doing–did I remember to turn off the light? What should I have for dinner? In fact, you’re probably not going to make it all the way through this story without thinking about something else.
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We know that we inherit genes from our ancestors, but can we inherit their memories? This happens among animals and insects: Birds are born with their migration patterns within them and the Monarch butterfly, for instance, makes a long trip every year from North America to a small, 23-acre plot in Mexico, even though it may take 3 generations to make the trip one way.
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Can’t remember where you put your keys? (How about your Key!) Are you more forgetful than you used to be? It could be because you’re EATING TOO MUCH.

New research suggests that consuming between 2,100 and 6,000 calories per day may double the risk of memory loss among people age 70 and older. Neurologist Yonas E. Geda says, "We observed a dose-response pattern which simply means; the higher the amount of calories consumed each day, the higher the risk of (memory loss)." His study revealed that the odds of being forgetful in old age more than doubled for those in the highest calorie-consuming group compared to those in the lowest calorie-consuming group.
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Ever gone to the movies and forgotten where you parked the car? New research may one day help you improve your memory.

Neuroscientists have demonstrated that they can strengthen memory in patients by stimulating a critical junction in the brain. The finding could lead to a new method for boosting memory in patients with early Alzheimer’s disease.

Neurosurgeon Itzhak Fried says, "The entorhinal cortex is the golden gate to the brain’s memory mainframe. Every visual and sensory experience that we eventually commit to memory funnels through that doorway to the hippocampus. Our brain cells must send signals through this hub in order to form memories that we can later consciously recall."
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