Have you seen the Christmas edition of the BMJ? That's always fun. My favourite was the statistical breakdown of the reduction in contents of a Quality Street tin left on an A+E floor on Christmas Eve.Thank you!
I don't have time right now for any in-depth discussion but I'd like to kickstart this thread with one of the best titles I've come across in the literature:
Fantastic yeasts and where to find them: the hidden diversity of dimorphic fungal pathogens - PubMed
Dimorphic fungal pathogens are a significant cause of human disease worldwide. Notably, the dimorphic fungal pathogens within the order Onygenales are considered primary pathogens, causing disease in healthy hosts. Current changes in taxonomy are underway due to advances in molecular...pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Scientists can sometimes have a sense of humour
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What did I miss? Quite a few comments deleted from this morning.Given all of the deleted comments I'm assuming an argument started. That's a shame
This is a (pretty long) article about the value of failures in science. It uses Grandmother Cells as an illustrative case, so might appeal to those interested in neuroscience.The Value of Failure in Science: The Story of Grandmother Cells in Neuroscience - PMC
The annals of science are filled with successes. Only in footnotes do we hear about the failures, the cul-de-sacs, and the forgotten ideas. Failure is how research advances. Yet it hardly features in theoretical perspectives on science. That is a ...www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
The paragraph below particularly resonated with me. The “impact” and “relevance” of research is such a key aspect of securing funding and there is a constant pressure to have "successful" outcomes. I do feel that the system doesn't acknowledge that the majority of your work will have absolutely no beneficial impact on society, but it is still essential work in order to make discoveries that could be significant.
It is one thing to say that science fails and that we should think about the decisive role of failures. It is another to highlight the particular aspects of failure that benefit our concrete dealing with science. Different attitudes toward science from the practitioner to the non-expert are the easiest to situate the lack of understanding of failure’s role in the scientific process. Such divergence of attitudes is apparent when it comes to the status of the scientific method. The scientific method is our most popular characterization and explanation for the success of science. But it has limits when it comes to reality. Being a traditional analytical tool and teaching device, it also paints a problematic picture of science because it never makes explicit the ubiquitous presence and influence of failures at the laboratory bench and modeling board (Medarwar, 1959/1999; Firestein, 2015; Schickore, in review).
Please everyone be nice on here. 
@Unspiralled thank you for this article, it was a really thought provoking read and got my brain working hard.
This particular point I think is spot on regarding science and research:“Instead of a hindrance to scientific progress, a frequently overlooked positive characteristic of science is that it inevitably must fail to achieve an important job it sets out to do: discovery.”
Sometimes in research and academia, your hypothesis can fail. I looked further into ‘grandmother cells’ and they are also known as ‘Jennifer Anniston neuron’
“A recent experiment showed that single neurons in people's brains react to the faces of specific people. Researchers see the findings as evidence that our brains use fewer cells to decode a given image than previously thought.”
Jennifer Aniston strikes a nerve - Nature
Single brain cells show selective response to specific celebrity photos.
www.nature.com
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No idea, and now it's unclear again whether we can talk about vaccine scienceWhat did I miss? Quite a few comments deleted from this morning.
If I look like Jennifer Aniston when I'm a grandmother then I will be chuffed.I looked further into ‘grandmother cells’ and they are also known as ‘Jennifer Anniston neuron’
“A recent experiment showed that single neurons in people's brains react to the faces of specific people. Researchers see the findings as evidence that our brains use fewer cells to decode a given image than previously thought.”
Haha that's great!
And probably the only materials & methods section that I've enjoyed reading.Does that mean I cannot repost the article that talks about syncytin-1?No idea, and now it's unclear again whether we can talk about vaccine science
I’m confused again about what is okay and not okay as I don’t know what went down yesterday.I have always found this research on London taxi drivers really interesting - posterior hippocampi (plays a big role in memory and learning) of taxi drivers were significantly larger when compared to control subjects.
Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers
Structural MRIs of the brains of humans with extensive navigation experience, licensed London taxi drivers, were analyzed and compared with those of control subjects who did not drive taxis. The posterior hippocampi of taxi drivers were significantly larger relative to those of control subjects...
Did they distinguish between sexes?
Just amused by the idea of checking which bit of a male brain might have been responding to an image
It was right-handed male taxi drivers. They did not include females in the study.Did they distinguish between sexes?
Just amused by the idea of checking which bit of a male brain might have been responding to an image
I thought that was a really nice accessible paper, as someone who doesn't know a lot about neuroscience.Does that mean I cannot repost the article that talks about syncytin-1?
I have always found this research on London taxi drivers really interesting - posterior hippocampi (plays a big role in memory and learning) of taxi drivers were significantly larger when compared to control subjects.
Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers
Structural MRIs of the brains of humans with extensive navigation experience, licensed London taxi drivers, were analyzed and compared with those of control subjects who did not drive taxis. The posterior hippocampi of taxi drivers were significantly larger relative to those of control subjects...www.pnas.org
So if I've understood correctly, then in the taxi drivers the posterior hippocampus is enlarged at the expense of the anterior? So would this mean that taxi drivers aren't so good at whatever the anterior hippocampus' role is compared to the control group? Or is this an oversimplification?
I don’t think it is as clear cut as that. The volume in the posterior hippocampus correlated with the amount of time spent as a taxi driver. It was prominent as it is an area of the brain which taxi drivers rely on for memory. I don’t think this necessarily means their anterior hippocampus is weaker. In their job, they rely a lot on memory and the posterior hippocampus is associated with this.
The brain remains plastic and can adapt to new tasks as seen in these taxi drivers.
It's interesting that in this paper they found the opposite results in blind people.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
I've also just skimmed through this paper that was published a few years later by the taxi driver group (sadly I don't think it's open access). They found that the reduced anterior hippocampus volume observed in taxi drivers is correlated with poorer performance in tests measuring the acquisition and retrieval of new visuospatial memories, compared to London bus drivers.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Patterns of Hippocampal Shape and Volume Differences in Blind Subjects - PMC
Numerous studies in animals and humans have shown that the hippocampus (HP) is involved in spatial navigation and memory. Blind subjects, in particular, must memorize extensive information to compensate for their lack of immediate updating of ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
I've also just skimmed through this paper that was published a few years later by the taxi driver group (sadly I don't think it's open access). They found that the reduced anterior hippocampus volume observed in taxi drivers is correlated with poorer performance in tests measuring the acquisition and retrieval of new visuospatial memories, compared to London bus drivers.
London taxi drivers and bus drivers: a structural MRI and neuropsychological analysis - PubMed
Licensed London taxi drivers show that humans have a remarkable capacity to acquire and use knowledge of a large complex city to navigate within it. Gray matter volume differences in the hippocampus relative to controls have been reported to accompany this expertise. While these gray matter...
I am surprised they found the opposite of this in blind people. Senses and vision play a huge role so this perhaps accounta for the differences.It's interesting that in this paper they found the opposite results in blind people.
Patterns of Hippocampal Shape and Volume Differences in Blind Subjects - PMC
Numerous studies in animals and humans have shown that the hippocampus (HP) is involved in spatial navigation and memory. Blind subjects, in particular, must memorize extensive information to compensate for their lack of immediate updating of ...
I've also just skimmed through this paper that was published a few years later by the taxi driver group (sadly I don't think it's open access). They found that the reduced anterior hippocampus volume observed in taxi drivers is correlated with poorer performance in tests measuring the acquisition and retrieval of new visuospatial memories, compared to London bus drivers.
London taxi drivers and bus drivers: a structural MRI and neuropsychological analysis - PubMed
Licensed London taxi drivers show that humans have a remarkable capacity to acquire and use knowledge of a large complex city to navigate within it. Gray matter volume differences in the hippocampus relative to controls have been reported to accompany this expertise. While these gray matter...
I am going to try and find full access to the second article.
I'm sure they won't mind
You found if before I did. Thank you!I'm sure they won't mind
I’ll have a read of it later when I have more time. All this research talk makes me want to go back to university. 
I managed to find a quiet moment to read the full article. It is really interesting that some of the findings were in line with the earlier research conducted in 2000. However, they found that although taxi drivers performed better than bus drivers on tests relatinf to knowledge of London, they performed weaker at acquiring/retrieving novel visuo-spatial information.It's interesting that in this paper they found the opposite results in blind people.
Patterns of Hippocampal Shape and Volume Differences in Blind Subjects - PMC
Numerous studies in animals and humans have shown that the hippocampus (HP) is involved in spatial navigation and memory. Blind subjects, in particular, must memorize extensive information to compensate for their lack of immediate updating of ...
I've also just skimmed through this paper that was published a few years later by the taxi driver group (sadly I don't think it's open access). They found that the reduced anterior hippocampus volume observed in taxi drivers is correlated with poorer performance in tests measuring the acquisition and retrieval of new visuospatial memories, compared to London bus drivers.
London taxi drivers and bus drivers: a structural MRI and neuropsychological analysis - PubMed
Licensed London taxi drivers show that humans have a remarkable capacity to acquire and use knowledge of a large complex city to navigate within it. Gray matter volume differences in the hippocampus relative to controls have been reported to accompany this expertise. While these gray matter...
I thought this sounded really cute, but I listened to the clip and the lemurs aren't quite as talented as I'd hoped 
Still very interesting though, and I will now always think about lemurs when I hear We Will Rock You!
www.science.org
Still very interesting though, and I will now always think about lemurs when I hear We Will Rock You!AAAS
www.science.org
That is an interesting vocal range, I must say. Not as impressive as the lyrebird which can mimic a lot of sounds it hears.I thought this sounded really cute, but I listened to the clip and the lemurs aren't quite as talented as I'd hoped
AAAS
@Unspiralled do you have any articles to share regarding coronaviruses having slower mutation rates?
This is a review comparing the Covid virus and influenza. Essentially coronaviruses are quite special because they are one of the few groups of RNA viruses that have a proofreading mechanism during replication.
SARS-CoV-2 and influenza: a comparative overview and treatment implications | Boletín Médico del Hospital Infantil de México
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Alphainfluenzavirus are RNA viruses that cause coronavirus disease-19 and influenza, resp...
Thanks so much for sharing! It’s not an area I am particularly knowledgable about but always keen to learn something new.This is a review comparing the Covid virus and influenza. Essentially coronaviruses are quite special because they are one of the few groups of RNA viruses that have a proofreading mechanism during replication.
This is a very dense (but fascinating if you like biochem) review paper on the proofreading mechanism.SARS-CoV-2 and influenza: a comparative overview and treatment implications | Boletín Médico del Hospital Infantil de México
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Alphainfluenzavirus are RNA viruses that cause coronavirus disease-19 and influenza, resp...www.bmhim.com
@Prefrontalmedialcortex - read this a few weeks ago and been meaning to post it ever since.
Great! Thanks for sharing - will have a read later when I have more time.
I haven’t seen you post for a while - hope all is well. The article your shared on your last post (couple of weeks ago) was a very interesting one!