Lab Notes

Cracking the code of addiction

Reward is essential for life. Our brains flood with feel-good chemicals when we learn, eat, have sex. But these essential brain circuits are hijacked in drug addiction. Neuroscientists at the Allen Institute and the University of North Carolina are working to crack the biology of reward and addiction. Hear about their work and their hopes for the future of treating addiction in this episode of Lab Notes.Behind every science headline, there is a human story. Hear about the scientific advancements aiming to shape the cures of tomorrow with Lab Notes: A podcast from the Allen Institute. Streaming everywhere.

Bees suffer from social isolation too

It is no secret that social isolation has major developmental consequences on humans, but what about other social creatures like bumblebees? Neuroscientist Z Yan Wang investigated how social isolation impacted young bumblebees, and it looks like they grow up to be a little ‘socially awkward.’ Dr. Wang joins Lab Notes to talk about one of her favorite social insects.Behind every science headline, there is a human story. Hear about the scientific advancements aiming to shape the cures of tomorrow with Lab Notes: A podcast from the Allen Institute. Streaming everywhere.

Building a consciousness meter with Christof Koch

Can we put a number on human consciousness? Neuroscientist Christof Koch is leading an effort to build a consciousness meter that could have real-world applications to determine whether coma patients are in a true vegetative state. Christof joined Lab Notes to talk about the science of consciousness, what psychedelic drugs have to do with consciousness, and how this new project could one day have applications in hospitals and clinics.Behind every science headline, there is a human story. Hear about the scientific advancements aiming to shape the cures of tomorrow with Lab Notes: A podcast from the Allen Institute. Streaming everywhere.

Why don't we understand the brain?

Scientists have known for centuries that the brain is the seat of human thought, but we’re still in the dark about how it works. For Brain Awareness Week 2022, Lab Notes asked four neuroscientists to get into the weeds with us about why the brain is so complicated and hard to understand. Do we have any hope of understanding our own brains?Behind every science headline, there is a human story. Hear about the scientific advancements aiming to shape the cures of tomorrow with Lab Notes: A podcast from the Allen Institute. Streaming everywhere.

Fire Inside: The quest to understand & prevent rheumatoid arthritis

In the early '80s, Linda Sloate was a 30-year old mom raising three little kids when she became one of an estimated 20 million people worldwide living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It has been a 40-year struggle filled with dozens of treatments and surgeries. Today there is new hope for patients as researchers have come together for a collaborative project to uncover how RA begins – and how to stop it in its tracks.Behind every science headline, there is a human story. Hear about the scientific advancements aiming to shape the cures of tomorrow with Lab Notes: A podcast from the Allen Institute. Streaming everywhere.