The method of loci technique involves mentally placing items to be remembered along an imagined path.

The device also improves on previous "wearable" monitors with higher memory performance, courtesy of gold nanoparticles.

Researchers suggest the birth of new neurons can wipe out old memories, raising the possibility that forgetting may be an essential part of creating new memories.

Teaching science and mathematics needs to be more of a science like astronomy, not a folk art like astrology as has been the case for too long, Nobel laureate Carl Wieman said at a national conference on strategies to build a stronger corps of science teachers.

The goal should be to have “all students think about and use science, mathematics, and engineering more like scientists do,” Wieman said. “The most valuable metric” for evaluating effective teaching should be creating patterns of scientific thinking.

New research with rats and human volunteers suggests a strategy to help ex-drug addicts avoid drug cravings. The approach involves modifying a person’s memories of past drug use, but unlike previous research in this field, the new method doesn’t involve administering memory-blocking drugs.