And now, Derek, you must kill the prime minister of Malaysia!

Research question: How many science students that wait all week for BunsenBwog will actually understand the Red Hot Chili Peppers reference we dropped in the title? Regardless, Bunsen Burner Belle Briana is back from the CUMC newsroom and is tapping into her own gray matter to share her wealth of scientific knowledge with us all. 

Bwoggers know that time spent in the library often turns into minutes spent searching Spotify or hours spent laughing while scrolling through your favorite source for Columbia student news. Although some of us may feel that we have no real control over our attention, researchers at CUMC would argue otherwise. According to a recent finding, it’s been proven that the human attention network in the brain has evolved greatly— partially in response to the complex social situations that humans face daily. Researchers made both primates and humans perform a task of recollection and reaction while simultaneously mapping brain activity through fMRI. Surprisingly enough, humans performed much better on the test than the primates did. Moral of the story: try your best to focus… if not for yourself, do it for Darwin!

Gluten-free diets, Vegan fare, juice cleanses, and… brain-mapping? Though the first three trends are cited by many to lead to healthier lifestyles, the newsroom tells us that brain-mapping may be the most promising. The latter has allowed CUMC neuroscientists to determine the regions of the brain that respond (or don’t respond) to weight loss. Neuroscientist Michael Morabito has found through brain-mapping that changes in weight alter leptin sensitivity. This alteration in sensitivity remains even after weight loss stops, which may account for the struggle that many face of maintaining their weight loss post-diet.

And the Horwitz award goes to… 

This year, Columbia will honor neuroscientist S. Lawrence Zipursky with the 2015 Louisa Gross Horwitz prize. The Horwitz award is Columbia’s top honor for those who have made tremendous contributions in the fields of biochemistry and biology. Zipursky discovered a molecular identification system that helps neurons navigate and wire the brain—essentially, Zipursky’s research allows for individuals to better understand how the brain works. Will Zipursky follow this achievement with a Nobel Prize award? Afterall, 43 Horwitz Prize awardees have gone on to win Nobel Prizes.

That’s it for this week, young scientists. And on your study break, be sure to listen to the Stadium Arcadium album in its entirety.

Bad Zoolander Reference via Shutterstock