"With practice, absolutely everyone can make their memory stronger," says Monica Thieu, a memory researcher and a four-time Jeopardy! contestant. Techniques to get you started.
Two sisters found they had different recollections of a traumatic childhood experience and learned that human memory is a lot less reliable than we tend to think.
Tiny, black-capped chickadees have big memories. They stash food in hundreds to thousands of locations in the wild – and then come back to these stashes when other food sources are low. Now, researchers at Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute think neural activity that works like a barcode may be to thank for this impressive feat — and that it might be a clue for how memories work across species.
Curious about other animal behavior mysteries? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
What if we told you that the key to time travel has been right in front of our eyes this whole time? Well, it has: it's in our noses. Today on the show, the science — and politics — of smell, and how it links our past and our present.
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A severe traumatic brain injury can make it hard to remember recent events or conversations. But a form of brain stimulation appears to ease this memory deficit.
Scientists have shown that deep brain stimulation during sleep can help people retain new information. The approach could help people with memory problems related to disorders like Alzheimer's.
A team of researchers tracked thousands of people who took a daily multivitamin for three years. At the end of the first year, they performed slightly better on memory tests than people on a placebo.
The days might seem long, but the years go by quickly, friends warned when my son was born. I wanted to savor each precious memory, but how? Living on "toddler time," showed me the way.
Research shows that snapping too many pictures may harm your ability to retain memories. But selfie addicts, don't despair! There are techniques to make photography enhance memory, not undermine it.
When scientists revved up the production of an enzyme called GPLD1 in older mice, it stimulated nerve growth in their brains and the animals navigated a maze better.
