Research Paper: A day later, caffeine stimulates memory

Caffeine helps people remember fine distinctions between similar things at least up to 24 hours after it is consumed, new research shows.I keep up with some scientific journals and when a study like this one comes along, it's got my attention being a hyper-Dunkin' Donuts coffee drinker (Tom is a hyper-tea drinker). - Rob

VIDEO SOURCE: http://youtu.be/quvKBJKoRgo

A day later, caffeine stimulates memory

Caffeine helps people remember fine distinctions between similar things at least up to 24 hours after it is consumed, new research shows.

“We’ve always known that caffeine has cognitive-enhancing effects, but its particular effects on strengthening memories and making them resistant to forgetting has never been examined in detail in humans,” says Michael Yassa, assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at Johns Hopkins University.
The Yassa team’s paper – published January 12, 2014 in the journal Nature Neuroscience – shows “for the first time a specific effect of caffeine on reducing forgetting over 24 hours,” he says.
Yassa and colleagues, led by undergraduate Daniel Borota, gave research participants a series of images to study, and five minutes later gave them either a 200-milligram caffeine tablet or a placebo. The subjects—none of whom regularly ate or drank caffeinated products—provided saliva samples before taking their tablets to measure their caffeine levels. Saliva was taken again one, three, and 24 hours later.
The next day, the caffeine group and controls were tested on their ability to remember the images from the previous day. Some of the visuals were the same, some were new and some were similar to but not the same as those the subjects had studied. More members of the caffeine group were able to correctly identify new images as “similar” to previously viewed images versus erroneously citing them as the same.
The brain’s ability to recognize the difference between two similar but not identical items reflects a deeper level of memory retention, the researchers say.

Exoskeleton makes software engineer 'Iron Man' with 20 times greater strength

ANI (News Service)Melbourne, Dec 9 : Software engineer Rex Jameson literally turned into 'Iron Man' when he stepped into a robotic soldier, and his strength got multiplied as many as 20 times.
In fact, by using the outfit's claw-like metal hand extensions, he grips a weight set's bar at a demonstration and knocks off hundreds of repetitions, and once he even managed to press it 500 times. Working for robotics firm Sarcos Inc in Salt Lake City, which is under contract with the US. Army, Jameson is helping assess the 68kg suit's viability for tomorrow's soldiers. The Army believes that someday soldiers will be able to wear the exoskeleton suits, which work by sensing wearer's movement and amplifying it instantly, but now it's focusing on applications such as loading cargo or repairing heavy equipment. However, the major drawbacks of the technology are its cost and short battery life of just 30 minutes.
FULL STORY: http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php?sid=440107