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Conferences are not only one of the best parts of being a scientist, they are also crucial to build and keep up your oh-so-important network. Here are 8 tips for making the most of your conference visit.
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Is there any connection between memory and sleep?
Common beliefs are that a good night’s sleep will enhance recall of old and learning of new memories, prevent memories from decaying, and improve insight. But how much of these premises are actually true? Does the right amount of sleep really work miracles when it comes to learning and remembering information? And if so, how can we use these insights in school?
Read MoreFollow Dr. Marlieke van Kesteren during a hypothetical day in her postdoc life as a Cognitive Neuroscience researcher in the Department of Psychology at Stanford.
Read MorePatients suffering from complete anterograde amnesia are (luckily) very scarce, but their condition is very interesting as it helps us understand how memories are formed. As a consequence, these patients tend to become very famous in the scientific world because of the numerous experiments they participate in.
A particularly famous example is Henry Molaison; over the years Henry’s participation in research led to many insights (and new questions) about the processes that underlie the fate of our beloved memories. Because of all the attention Henry receives, in textbooks and classrooms alike, you might think that he was the only amnesiac that affected neuroscientific theories.
This is not true.
The recently deceased Kent Cochrane has meant a lot to memory research as well, because of his own particular amnesia.
Image Source: Medical Art Service, Munich; Wellcome Images
Read MoreThis piece is about the latest published paper of Dr. Marlieke van Kesteren, postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University. This research paper is now published in early access format on the website of the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. The experiment has been executed at the Donders Institute of the Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands in the group of professor Guillén Fernández.
Read MoreRoughly half a year ago I started my postdoctoral research position at Stanford. Before I arrived here, I had imagined many things about life at Stanford that appeared very true: a pretty campus, amazing weather, friendly people, and a research environment that is both diligent and laid-back. Now, when starting to ponder the less obvious things I have learned and experienced at Stanford, more and more starts to look different from what I was used to at my university back in the Netherlands. Differences that I believe both sides can use to their advantage.
Read MoreWomen and academia, why does this combination seem to be so challenging? Why do so few women make it to faculty positions, regardless of all the recent campaigns and awareness-raising and the high representation of women at undergraduate and graduate levels? Is it the nature of the scientific world with its high pressure to continuously perform exceptionally? Or are we maybe expecting too much? Is changing this gender imbalance just a gradual and slow process and do we need to just wait a bit longer?
Alternatively, could this imbalance be related to something that is engraved in all of us, a tough bias that unconsciously affects our reasoning? And if so, is there anything we can do about it?
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