Latest news with #cognitive
The Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Everyone can see the footballs but only those with a high IQ can spot the 3 odd ones out in under 30 seconds
WITH the FIFA Club World Cup kicking off, now is the perfect time to test your vision with this football-themed brain teaser. The tricky brainteaser image was created by Betboo to test your visual awareness skills. 2 Featuring red and white footballs on a grassy pitch, the puzzle asks you to find the three mistakes in the image. Get ready and set yourself a timer as the record to beat the challenge is 30 seconds. Challenges like these help to keep your brain active and improve your critical thinking skills. Image-based puzzles can be particularly good for improving your observational skills as it forces you to use your peripheral vision. It can also improve your organisational skills as you have to use a methodical approach to notice the mistakes. The best way to approach the puzzle is to carefully look at each row of footballs. This method makes it easier to spot any differences in their appearance. The real test comes when you set yourself a timer for the puzzle, as regularly doing brainteasers can keep your focus sharp. How can optical illusions and brainteasers help me? Engaging in activities like solving optical illusions and brainteasers can have many cognitive benefits as it can stimulate various brain regions. Some benefits include: Cognitive stimulation: Engaging in these activities challenges the brain, promoting mental agility and flexibility. Problem-solving skills: Regular practice enhances analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Memory improvement: These challenges often require memory recall and can contribute to better memory function. Creativity: They encourage thinking outside the box, fostering creativity and innovative thought processes. Focus and attention: Working on optical illusions and brainteasers requires concentration, contributing to improved focus. Stress relief: The enjoyable nature of these puzzles can act as a form of relaxation and stress relief. Make sure you've found the three mistakes as we're going to reveal the answer below. For those of you struggling to find the answer, the key is looking closely at the pentagon design. On the middle right white circle of each incorrect football, the bottom line of the pentagon is missing. If you've spotted it once it should make it easier to find the other mistakes. 2 The three faulty footballs can be found in the bottom right corner, just below the line on the left, and on the upper right side of the circles. With such an intricate design, these brainteasers help to improve your attention to detail. Different types of brainteasers can challenge different parts of your brain. Puzzles that ask you to find the hidden object are a good way to improve your visual skills, while spotting the odd one out might be a good IQ test. Maths-based visual puzzles can also be a good way to improve your mental maths skills. All of these puzzles help to keep your brain active and can be a good part of your daily routine.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Your Brain Is Glowing, and Scientists Can't Figure Out Why
Life, for the most part, is bathed in light. The sun immerses the planet in energy that supports the vast majority of ecosystems that call Earth home. But life also generates its own light—and not just the bioluminescence of glowworms and lamp-headed anglerfish or the radiation produced by heat. In a phenomenon scientists refer to as ultraweak photon emissions (UPEs), living tissues emit a continuous stream of low-intensity light, or biophotons. Scientists think that this light comes from the biomolecular reactions that generate energy, which create photons as by-products. The more energy a tissue burns, the more light it gives off—which means, of our body's tissues, our brain should glow brightest of all. In a new study published in the journal iScience, researchers detected biophotons emitted by the human brain from outside the skull for the first time. What's more, emissions of biophotons from the brain changed when participants switched between different cognitive tasks—though the relationship between brain activity and biophoton emissions was far from straightforward. The study authors think this may be hinting at a deeper role these particles of light might be playing in the brain. [Sign up for Today in Science, a free daily newsletter] On some level, all matter emits photons. That's because everything has a temperature above absolute zero and radiates photons as heat, often with longer wavelengths (infrared light) than can be seen with our eyes. UPEs are orders of magnitude more intense than this thermal radiation, with wavelengths in the visible or near-visible light range of the electromagnetic spectrum. As living cells generate energy through metabolism, they create oxygen molecules with excited electrons as by-products. When these worked-up electrons return to a lower energy state, they emit photons through a process called radiative decay. Researchers studying biological tissues, including neurons in petri dishes, can detect this as a weak but continuous stream of light—from a few photons to several hundred photons per square centimeter each second. 'Scaling this up to humans, we wanted to know if those photons might be involved in some information processing or propagation [in the brain],' says senior author Nirosha Murugan, a biophysicist at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario. Scientists have been proposing that biophotons play a role in cellular communication for at least a century. In 1923 Alexander Gurwitsch conducted experiments where he showed that photon-blocking barriers placed between onion roots could prevent the plant from growing. In the past few decades, a handful of studies have added weight to the possible role biophotons play in cellular communication, which influences an organism's growth and development. With this work in mind, Murugan and her team wanted to see if they could detect hints of this phenomenon at the level of the human brain. First, they needed to see if they could measure UPEs emitted by a working brain from outside the skull. In a blacked out room, 20 participants wore head caps studded with electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes to measure the brain's electrical activity. Photon-amplifying tubes to detect UPEs were positioned around their head. The photon detectors were clustered over two brain regions: the occipital lobes in the back of the brain, which are responsible for visual processing, and temporal lobes on each side of the brain, which are responsible for auditory processing. To distinguish brain UPEs from background levels of photons in the room, the team also set up separate UPE detectors facing away from the participants. 'The very first finding is that photons are coming out of the head—full stop. It's independent, it's not spurious, it's not random,' Murugan says. Next, she wanted to see if the intensity of these emissions would change depending on what sort of cognitive task people were performing. Because the brain is such a metabolically expensive organ, she reasoned that UPE intensity should increase when people were engaged in tasks that required more energy, such as visual processing. This is roughly what happens to neurons in a dish—more neural activity means more UPE emissions. But while biophotons coming from participants' heads could be easily distinguished from background levels of photons in the room, increased EEG activity in a given brain region didn't result in higher levels of biophotons being captured by the closest detector. Clearly, something changes when you move from a few cells on a petri dish to a living brain. 'Maybe [UPEs] are not getting picked up by our detector because they could be getting used or absorbed or scattered within the brain,' Murugan suggests. The researchers did find, however, that changes in the UPE signals came only when participants changed cognitive tasks, such as opening or closing their eyes, suggesting some link between brain processing and the biophotons it emits. This leaves researchers with more questions than answers about what these UPEs are doing in the brain. 'I think this is a very intriguing and potentially groundbreaking approach [for measuring brain activity, though] there are still many uncertainties that need to be explored,' says Michael Gramlich, a biophysicist at Auburn University, who was not involved in the new study. 'The essential question to address,' he says, is whether 'UPEs are an active mechanism to alter cognitive processes or if UPEs simply reinforce more traditional mechanisms of cognition.' Daniel Remondini, a biophysicist at the University of Bologna in Italy, points to another open question: 'How far can these photons travel inside biological matter?" The answer could shed some light on the lack of clear relationship between brain activity and photon detections in different regions, he says. To answer these new questions, Murugan and her team want to use more precise sensor arrays to find where in the brain these photons are coming from. Scientists at the University of Rochester are also developing nanoscale probes to determine whether nerve fibers can transmit biophotons. Even if our brain's steady glow doesn't play a role in how it works, the technique of measuring biophotons alongside electrical signals—what Murugan and her colleagues call photoencephalography—could still one day be a useful way to noninvasively measure brain states. 'I suspect the technique will become widely adopted in the coming decades even if the theory that UPEs support cognition proves not to be true,' Gramlich says.
The Sun
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Everyone can see the 6's but only the most intelligent can spot the 0 in this mind boggling illusion in under 8 seconds
THINK you're clever? Try this optical illusion. In the photo below, viewers are asked to spot the zero in amongst endless rows of the number six. 2 The classic number illusion puzzle has rows and rows of nearly identical digits designed to mess with your eyes - and patience. But it's not as easy as it appears - inside the sea of sizes is a sneaky zero. The colour of the background doesn't help either - the dark blue makes it trickier to see. Meanwhile, we tend to view images from the centre outwards, meaning our periphery can be neglected, particularly when focusing on intricate details. Can you spot it? If that's a yes, how long did it take you? Optical illusions like this one are not just quirky brain teasers, they are a legitimate workout for your brain. Think of them as being Sudoku's cooler, visual cousin... They boost focus and attention to detail; finding the odd one out forces your brain to slow down. They also improve visual memory as your brain starts to learn how to memorise patterns and shapes. If you still haven't spotted the zero... keep scanning through the patterns line by line and zoom in on the subtle variations. Everyone can see the pearls, but you need the eyes of a hawk to spot the diamond in less than 10 seconds Since six and zero are circular cousins, the difference is really subtle. Still not found it? Count eight lines from the bottom upwards, and then 10 inwards from the right. There it is! 2 If you enjoy that optical illusion, why not see if you can spot the number 879 in under eight seconds in this one? There's also a sea of B's in this optical illusion, but where is the number eight hiding?
The Sun
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Only those with a high IQ can find the missing number in this brainteaser – but can you beat the three minute record?
TWIDDLING your thumbs this bank holiday Sunday? We have just the thing to keep you and your brain busy. The new brainteaser challenges readers to correctly work out the value of each of the symbols to find the value of the missing number at the end of the sequence. 2 Although this seems like an easy task, just one in five readers can correctly work out the missing number in under a minute. On average, the puzzle, devised by tombola, takes readers three minutes to solve, however be warned as two in five readers either answer incorrectly or give up altogether. If you're still struggling, scroll down to find the answer... Certain brainteasers and optical illusions, particularly those that involve patterns or sequences, can help strengthen both short-term and long-term memory. By working through puzzles on a regular basis, you will actively engage the brain's memory systems and directly improve your future attempts at visual challenges. Many brainteasers, like this one, require challengers thinking outside the box. This improves creative problem-solving skills by encouraging the brain to come up with innovative solutions. How can optical illusions and brainteasers help me? Engaging in activities like solving optical illusions and brainteasers can have many cognitive benefits as it can stimulate various brain regions. Some benefits include: Cognitive stimulation: Engaging in these activities challenges the brain, promoting mental agility and flexibility. Problem-solving skills: Regular practice enhances analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Memory improvement: These challenges often require memory recall and can contribute to better memory function. Creativity: They encourage thinking outside the box, fostering creativity and innovative thought processes. Focus and attention: Working on optical illusions and brainteasers requires concentration, contributing to improved focus. Stress relief: The enjoyable nature of these puzzles can act as a form of relaxation and stress relief. It also translates to real-life situations where you might need to approach challenges in new and inventive ways. 99 percent of people can't find the hidden objects in under 20 seconds - are you up to the challenge If you're after another brainteaser to challenge yourself, try this one - as apparently only those with a high IQ are able to find the heart hidden among the spring flowers. Or you can have a go at figuring out the hidden message in this band's cover art that has confused fans for years. Lastly, puzzle fanatics have been left scratching their heads trying to find the lost feather in just 12 seconds. 2
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
Purple Alert can help find missing people with developmental disabilities
CONNECTICUT (WTNH) — An alert is now available to help find people dealing with intellectual or developmental disabilities when they go missing, which is encouraging news for their loved ones. It's called the Purple Alert, and Connecticut is now the fifth state in the country to establish it. According to the CDC, the number of people in American living with some form of intellectual or developmental disabilities is about seven-to-eight million. Connecticut sees over 50% decline in firefighter workforce: OSC survey finds 'We want to make sure that public understands that this Purple Alert is specifically for the I.D.D population that is over 18,' State Rep. Eleni Kavros DeGraw (D- 17) said. 'It can also be issued for someone who has other cognitive disabilities like Alzheimer's.' The Purple Alert, passed by the state legislature in 2023 , is designed to help and locate patients when they go missing. Organizers say the Purple Alert is similar to an Amber Alert or the Silver Alert. 'It's very important for law enforcement, first responders and the general public to learn how to communicate with someone who has this disease, learn how to communicate with cognitive difficulties, signs to look for, learning to speak slowly, look them in the eye,' said Kristen Cusato of the Alzheimer's Association Connecticut Chapter. state police say the purple alert will also use data from the 'bring them back home registry.' It allows family members to enter information about their loved ones with cognitive issues, which allows police to know more about them once they're found. 'And time is a critical factor particularly for the police department in terms of searching, because the fact is, as time goes by the search area expands,' Connecticut State Police Lieutenant Colonel Mark Davidson said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to
