The world's best brains descend o...( Over 700 top Australian and internat...),Health

Over 700 top Australian and international scientists will gather in Canberra this week for the 29th annual Australian Neuroscience Society (ANS) meeting. It marks a homecoming for the ANS which was formally created at a meeting in Canberra in 1980, with substantial input from ANU.

A total of 535 presentations including 13 Symposia and four plenary sessions will be made by neuroscientists throughout the conference, revealing the latest discoveries in brain and nervous system research.

The Canberra meeting will be held at the Canberra Convention Centre from Wednesday 28 January until Friday 30 January and will be one of the largest meetings of neuroscientists ever held in Australia.

Highlights of the program include:

• Professor Mathew Wilson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reports on recent discoveries that indicate that while we are incorporating memories, sequences can be replayed in parts of our brain, sometimes at faster than normal tempo and sometimes in reverse order. These replays can occur while we sleep or while we are quietly contemplative. Wednesday at 9am

• Richard Berry, The Australian National University, reports on why dragonflies are one of the most accomplished fliers known and argues that it is possible that the eyes of the dragonfly may hold the key for designers of micro-aerial vehicles in learning to fly like a dragonfly. Wednesday at 10.45am

• Dr Rodney L. Reitze, University of Queensland reports on research examining if physical exercise can slow or reverse age-related neural stem cell decline and thus slow or prevent age-related cognitive decline. Wednesday 11.30am

• Dr Olav. M. Andersen, University of Aarhus, Denmark, reports on research that may point toward a new target for treatment of late-onset Alzheimer's disease. Thursday 11am

• Professor Peter Reilly, Royal Adelaide Hospital, in the annual Eccles Lecture, will examine the future for manageme
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