Science (Video)

Brain aging and neurological disease are hard to study because living human brain tissue is difficult to access. Alysson Muotri, Ph.D., UC San Diego, explains how brain organoids sent to space can model accelerated aging, reveal changes in neural networks, and help test potential treatments for brain disorders. Muotri examines space-induced senescence, fragmented network activity linked to dementia and Alzheimer’s patterns, and Rett syndrome findings showing inflammation tied to endogenous retroviruses and response to antiretroviral drugs in preclinical models. He also explores using brain organoids in space to screen neuroprotective compounds, including candidates identified from Amazon plants. This work helps explain how space biology can speed research on autism, Rett syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease, and other neurological conditions, and points toward new ways to test therapies on Earth. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41475]

Shun-ichi Amari received the Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology, specifically in the field of Information Technology, for his work on neural network dynamics and learning theory. His studies also elucidate our understanding of brain activity in perceptual systems such as vision. Amari established a new academic field that he named “information geometry,” which considers statistical models and probability distribution, laying the foundation for the development of practical algorithms. His research plays an essential role in the evolution of artificial intelligence. Series: "Kyoto Prize Symposium" [Science] [Show ID: 41116]

Organs renew and repair themselves through stem cell systems that respond to injury, microbes, and local signals. Ophir Klein, M.D., Ph.D., of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center explains how the intestine shifts into regenerative states after injury, how long-term changes in the stem cell niche may shape later responses, and how different regions of the colon take on distinct identities. Klein also examines how bacteria help control regional gene expression in the colon, why the lining of the mouth heals faster than skin, and how oral wound healing depends on signaling between epithelial and mesenchymal cells. The program also looks at bioengineering approaches designed to control developmental signals more precisely. Together, these examples show how tissues adapt, heal, and organize themselves, pointing toward better ways to understand regeneration and improve tissue repair. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 40849]

Humans live in a world of ideas—born in the brain, shared through language, accumulated in culture across generations, and made reality. From the first flaked stone tools to the building of shelters, from figurative and symbolic art to abstract thought, our brains are engines of imagination—an “idea organ” that has transformed both our species and the planet itself.

The distinct biology of the human brain, scaffolded by language and culture, allows ideas to be formed, named, shared, and accumulated across generations. This process of cumulative culture, knowledge built upon knowledge, has propelled humans far beyond the cognitive landscapes of other large-brained animals, including our closest living and extinct relatives.

This symposium explores how the human brain develops, functions, and maintains its role as the seat of ideas. We trace its story from molecules, cells, neuronal migration and circuitry, to the maternal, parental, and social influences that shape its growth, including the countless ways that brain function can be compromised at any stage of life. We examine how the uniquely human interplay of biology and culture gave rise to a brain capable of perceiving and remaking the world around us. By examining the evolutionary roots of our “idea organ,” we aim to illuminate how this singular capacity emerged—and how it continues to drive human innovation. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 41359]

Bias in health AI can shape who gets care, how fairly risk is measured, and whether automation helps or harms patients. Karandeep Singh, M.D., M.M.S.C. explains that predictive AI can reflect historical, representation, measurement, learning, evaluation, and deployment bias, especially when models are trained on limited populations or use flawed proxies for illness and access to care. Singh also describes generative AI as a system trained first to predict text and then to follow instructions, with bias entering through training data, instruction tuning, prompts, and outside information sources. Alongside these risks, he highlights practical uses such as AI-assisted sepsis quality review and patient outreach workflows, while emphasizing governance, human oversight, disclosure, and careful measurement of whether these tools actually improve care. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 41365]

The extraordinary abilities of the cerebral cortex are central to what sets humans apart from other species. A defining feature of the cortex is its organization along a sensorimotor-to-association (S–A) axis, extending from primary sensorimotor areas to transmodal association regions that support abstract cognition. This axis varies across species and has been profoundly remodeled in humans. Nenad Sestan, professor of neuroscience at Yale, discusses his recent work on the molecular and cellular mechanisms that govern the development and evolution of the cortical S–A axis, with particular emphasis on the prefrontal cortex and its broader distributed transmodal association networks as well as their evolutionary expansion, functional roles, and vulnerability in neurological and psychiatric disorders. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 41361]

Human brain expansion is often discussed in terms of the genetic and molecular innovations that drove uniquely human cognitive abilities. Yet evolution is fundamentally a process of tradeoffs. Disproportionate expansion of forebrain structures increases the demands placed on long-range connectivity, metabolism, and cellular maintenance, imposing costs that scale with brain size. Alex Pollen, associate professor of neurology at UC San Francisco, discusses using stem-cell-derived brain organoids to investigate the development of human-specific connectivity differences in dopaminergic neurons and to test whether these cells deploy compensatory mechanisms to cope with the metabolic and structural demands of large brains. His research findings support a model in which human brain evolution involves not only mechanisms driving greater computational capacity, but also the emergence of cellular adaptations that mitigate the costs of large, highly connected brains. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 41357]

AI in healthcare raises urgent questions about bias, privacy, and power. Safiya U. Noble, Ph.D., examines how AI systems can reproduce social and racial inequities when they rely on incomplete data, hidden assumptions, and proxies such as healthcare spending. Noble points to problems in search engines, image generation, facial recognition, and medical algorithms, including cases where systems mislabel darker skin, fail more often on Black women, or favor white patients over sicker Black patients. She also highlights the risks of turning sensitive public and patient data over to large technology companies. Rather than treating AI as a neutral solution, Noble emphasizes the need for human judgment, community participation, stronger data protections, and smaller expert models with local control so healthcare decisions better reflect people’s real lives and social context. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 41364]

Dr. Bruce Miller, director of the UCSF Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center, examines what neurodegenerative disease reveals about the neural basis of creativity and the social mind. Research in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) shows that visual creativity is not rare: a subset of patients—particularly those with left anterior temporal degeneration—develop new or intensified artistic abilities early in the disease course. These findings suggest that damage to language-dominant left hemisphere regions may release posterior visual networks from inhibition, leading to enhanced visual–spatial expression. Miller situates these observations within human evolution, proposing that art emerges with Homo sapiens, possibly linked to changes in the parietal lobe and the development of the social brain. In contrast, behavioral variant FTD erodes empathy and altruism through right frontal degeneration. Together, these patterns suggest brain asymmetry is central to our creative and social capacities. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 41356]

Azim Surani, Director of Research at the Gurdon Institute and Professor Emeritus at University of Cambridge, received the Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences, specifically in the field of Life Sciences and Medicine, for his work in demonstrating how male and female mammalian genomes receive distinct imprints during germ cell development. Genomic imprinting introduced a novel concept to Mendelian genetics and is a now fundamental principle in the life sciences. Surani's research has contributed to developmental biology and epigenetics, along with a wide range of life science fields including physiology, regenerative medicine, reproductive medicine, and plant science. Series: "Kyoto Prize Symposium" [Science] [Show ID: 41117]