Knight Initiative News

The brain changes at different stages of life, and the way we weigh the pros and cons of our decisions changes with it.

Scientists at Stanford have developed a flexible skin-like material that can has the ability to "feel" touch.

The effects of mental health disorders can alter decision-making processes and compound the symptoms.

Groups of people make better or worse decisions depending on the composition of the group and experience of the leader.

The way we express an opinion – verbally, manually or on different devices - can change the very nature of the decision.

Our emotions can override the brain's calculations, leading to otherwise irrational decisions like charitable donations.

It’s worth a look at the Storify page to get a sense of the breadth of work encompassed under the banner of neuroscience.

Alcoholism is an immense national and international health problem. Alcoholism’s terrific toll is better sighted on city streets than in celluloid skyscraper scenarios.

A new study in mice shows that restoring the synthesis of a key brain chemical tied to inhibiting addictive behavior may help prevent alcohol cravings following binge drinking.

By year’s end, we may learn whether injecting old people with blood from young people can improve their memory and even reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

Stanford psychologists found that applicants for microloans are more likely to win approval if the photograph they send along with the application evokes a positive emotional response.

A blue glowing device the size of a peppercorn can activate neurons of the brain, spinal cord or limbs in mice and is powered wirelessly using the mouse's own body to transfer energy. Developed by a Stanford Bio-X team, the device is the first to deliver

A series of experiments has produced incredible results by giving young blood to old mice. Now the findings are being tested on humans. Ian Sample meets the scientists whose research could transform our lives.

Using high-field MRI technology and staining techniques, scientists have located inflamed, iron-containing scavenger cells in a memory-formation structure in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients who died.

Cells pull themselves through the world with the help a complex internal protein scaffold called the cytoskeleton. Given the ubiquitous role of that structure in cell movement – particularly a protein called actin – it seemed likely those same proteins wo

A team of Bio-X scientists applied microscopy know-how to a long-standing theory in neuroscience: if brain connections called synapses store memories, those synapses should last as long as the memories themselves. It turns out they do, as Mark Schnitzer w

If you find yourself forgetting information you have only your synapses to blame. These connections between neurons are what hold on to memories.

How do we reverse-engineer the most mysterious organ?

If you wanted to reverse-engineer a piece of electronics, the first thing you'd investigate is how the various parts are connected. In the brain, that means tracing the paths of 100 billion neurons.

When people are confronted with an unknown piece of electronics, one way they can figure out how it works and what it does is to twiddle with the knobs and switches. That's been hard to do with the slick, knob-less surface of the brain.