Ross Langley

Are you magnetic? The best brain hack. This one simple trick will make you twice as smart.

Does sticking a magnet on your head make you smarter? The short answer is yes.

The long answer? Well, it’s complicated.

You see magnets can do more than just stick to the fridge. By changing the properties of the magnetic field, the thing that gives it its pull, we can stimulate different sections of the brain, causing a variety of changes. One of the best-known things this is used for is treating mental health conditions like depression. But it doesn’t stop there. Depending on how you use them, they can make you learn quicker, do things more accurately or forget how to do things entirely (yikes). The weirdest thing is that we no idea how it works. It just does.

That’s where I come in. Using a mix of dyes and lasers I track individual cells in the brain, watching what they do as we learn. We’re hoping that if we figure out how it works, we can use it to help people with living with dementia or recovering from head injuries.

My interest in science started when I was six years old. My dad bought me a Spider-Man comic, in it, Spider-Man used science to defeat the villain (it was Hobgoblin in case you were wondering) and I thought it was the coolest thing I’d ever seen. After that science was my favourite subject at school. Sadly, my report card didn’t reflect my interest and I gave up all hope of becoming a scientist. Then, 10 years after I finished school, I decided to buy a science magazine at the airport and my love of science came flooding back. Later that week I enrolled at university and now, a few years later, I’m doing my own research and loving every second of it.