Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
The Laboratory for NeuroImaging of Coma and Consciousness (NICC) at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston studies the process of recovering consciousness after traumatic brain injuries. Using more than 100 hours of MRI scans of a human brain unaffected by neurological disease or traumatic brain injuries, a team at the NICC compiled the highest-resolution rendering of a full human brain on record, detecting objects smaller than 0.1 millimetres. Neurosymphony, exclusive to Aeon, explores three distinct perspectives on the brain, using videos of the scans made freely available by the NICC. The video pairs the imagery with an excerpt from the album Chapel by the US electronic musician and music-cognition researcher Grace Leslie, in which she converts her brainwaves into music. Beyond providing an unprecedented glimpse into the intricacies of the human brain, the NICC team hopes that these images will assist other researchers in identifying abnormalities associated with complex brain conditions such as coma and depression.
Via Kottke
Editor: Adam D’Arpino
Composer: Grace Leslie
video
Physics
Spectacular fractal patterns emerge when electricity meets a wooden surface
4 minutes
video
Mathematics
How a verbal paradox shattered the notion of total certainty in mathematics
5 minutes
video
Wellbeing
A tender poem doubles as a guide to sitting comfortably in one’s own company
3 minutes
video
Values and beliefs
How a God-fearing Jewish woman found atheism – and bacon – in her later years
9 minutes
video
War and peace
Before he leaves to go to war, Artem, 18, says goodbye to the man who raised him
12 minutes
video
Art
A mindbending trip that summons the forgotten women of surrealism
17 minutes
video
Metaphysics
To see the Universe more clearly, think in terms of processes, not objects
6 minutes
video
Computing and artificial intelligence
How machine learning can help historians decode ancient inscriptions
7 minutes
video
Family life
A son of China’s former one-child policy remembers the sibling he never had
8 minutes