All Stories by Bethany Brookshire
- Psychology
There’s a sour side to serotonin
Serotonin has a sour side. The chemical messenger helps mice to taste sour, a new study shows.
- Health & Medicine
Low-fiber diets make gut microbes poop out
A low-fiber diet makes for low bacterial diversity in mice. A new study shows those mice can then pass a denuded microbiome on to their offspring.
- Health & Medicine
High-intensity interval training has great gains — and pain
Intense spurts of activity followed by brief rest can improve heart health, blood glucose and muscle endurance. But some question if the pain of HIIT workouts will impede the popularity.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, a promising agent pulled
DMSO was promised to cure everything from headache to the common cold. But human testing stopped in 1965.
- Science & Society
In science, a lack of replication shouldn’t kill your reputation
The proof is science is when a study is replicated. When it’s not, do scientists suffer? A new study says researchers may overestimate the negative effects.
- Psychology
Caffeine gives cocaine an addictive boost
Not only is it popular to “cut” cocaine with caffeine, the combination might be more addictive.
- Psychology
No, cheese is not just like crack
Recent news reports claimed that a study shows cheese is addictive. But the facts behind the research show cheese and crack have little in common.
- Psychology
Views on bias can be biased
When presented with a study showing bias against women, male scientists are more inclined to nitpick the results. But a little intervention can go a long way toward gender equality in science.
- Neuroscience
That familiar feeling comes from deep in the brain
Knowing what’s new and what we’ve seen before is at the base of memory. A new study shows that with a flash of light, scientists can change the firing of brain cells, and make the old new again.
- Tech
Early satellite TV predictions highlighted instant communication potential
Satellite communication started as science fiction but soon became reality.
- Neuroscience
How a fat hormone might make us born to run
Many runners finish long races in a euphoric mood. The underpinnings of this runner’s high may involve many chemicals, including the fat hormone leptin.
- Health & Medicine
With flibanserin approval, a complicated drug takes the spotlight
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug to increase women’s sexual desire. But whether the benefits outweigh the side effects depends on who you ask.
