2021's Breakthroughs in Neuroscience and Other Biology

A paradigm shift in how we think about the functions of the human brain. A long-awaited genetic sequence of Rafflesia arnoldii, the strangest flower in the world. A revelation in sleep science. These are some of the year's biggest discoveries in neuroscience and other areas of biology.

[BoltzmannVoid]

with the current acceleration of Breakthroughs in science, I wish this was like a monthly thing it would be awesome to get updated by these great videos.

[th]

Truly interesting to learn that sleep isn't restricted to organisms with a brain.

[sarastojkoviv]

0:00 - neuroscience (the way we percieve the functions of the brain)
3:31 - botany ("the death flower")
6:18 - sleep (new discoveries)

[primenumberbuster]

I was waiting for this. This blew my mind. Gotta wait for the physics and math one. !!! There are so much to tell!!! Great work!

[KevinRyann]

I swear once a month I would show someone this page and I’ve been anticipating these videos for a whole year, i have NEVER seen anyone make science so entertaining and digestible for people of any age. Thank you. So much.

[jamesr]

Quanta Magazine always does a brilliant job at condensing scientific discoveries for a wider audience. I love what you do.

[billyk]

I just completed my first year if psychology and neuroscience at university! Scientists are learning new things about the brain all the time, it’s super cool

[yuslog]

I’ve been keeping my eyes on my subscriptions just in case Quanta Magazine posts this year’s science break through and it’s finally here! Great episode as usual, I’m also excited for the maths and physics ones!

And thank you Quanta Magazine for your great work!

[ericsalles]

I must confess that one of the best finds of the past year is discovering this channel. Looking forward to seeing and learning more. THANKS.

[PasDeMD]

Regarding sleep and metabolism, there's already good evidence of that being the case with various endocrine functions related to metabolism being affected by sleep disorders like sleep apnea and narcolepsy.

The functional systems model of the brain has also been an emerging conceptualization for a while now and loosely touches on the artificial distinction between neurology and psychiatry.

[primorock]

These breakthrough videos are something I didn't know I needed, will definitely be tuning in next year

[KxNOxUTA]

That's soo cool! I can have updates on the findings of the year summed up this nicely? We may have many problems, but living in this time is still really really fantastic!

[suponjubobu]

I usually hold pop-sci in disdain, but this series is an exception. Actually communicating the discoveries in a way that is suited to those who are scientifically literate but not experts in the field, and not exaggerating/mystifying things for the sake of click-bait.

[ammaro]

love you Quanta people! favorite mag of the year, thank you for keeping us effortlessly up to date!

[PlzPrssply]

Aaaaand I just switched my notification bell to "all". The latest information about the evolution of sleep is just fascinating. Keep these coming.

[munda_music]

Always a good time in the year when these come out

[purushottam_paramdharma]

I love these videos sooo much, I am waiting for this one since last year

[senseofmindshow]

This was fascinating. However, I think the section on neuroscience was a bit too one sided. There are different perspectives in the field, and to say that neuroscience is dissolving the traditional boundaries of psychology or that we can’t map any psychological functions to any specific areas of the brain is to ignore a lot of important insights in the history of neuroscience. From the way they speak in this video, you might walk away thinking that there are no functionally distinct anatomical brain areas. But that is false. The hippocampus really is the brain’s main memory maker. The motor cortex really does plan and execute movements. The basal ganglia really does store habitual movements. The dopaminergic system really does allow for anticipation and reward. The brain is not a homogenous goo.

[ryankroeger]

The issue i'm facing with in vivo imaging of the mouse brain is that experience changes neurological activity and and neurological activity influences behavior which influences experience. For instance, we use isoflorine as a anesthetic and mice that have been put to sleep more show different activity than mice that have not been put to sleep often. It is very difficult to avoid confounds with voltage sensors.

[maiaallman]

As a major stroke survivor, I find this fascinating.