Neuroscience
- Neuroscience
Clumps of cells in the lab spontaneously formed brain waves
Nerve cells fired coordinated signals in brain organoids, 3-D clusters of cells that mimic some aspects of early brain development.
- Neuroscience
Honeybee brain upgrades may help the insects find food
Changes in honeybee neurons may help the insects decode their fellow foragers’ waggle dances.
- Health & Medicine
How strep throat may spark OCD and anxiety in some kids
A potential link between strep throat and sudden mental disorders in children raises questions about how infections can alter the brain.
- Neuroscience
What human and mouse brains do and don’t have in common
A large comparison of human and mouse brain cells highlights key differences that could have implications for research on depression or Alzheimer’s.
- Neuroscience
Imaging scans show where symbols turn to letters in the brain
Scientists watched brain activity in a region where reading takes root, and saw a hierarchy of areas that give symbols both sound and meaning.
- Life
Electrodes show a glimpse of memories emerging in a brain
Nerve cells in an important memory center in the brain sync their firing and create fast ripples of activity seconds before a recollection resurfaces.
- Life
Alzheimer’s targets brain cells that help people stay awake
Nerve cells in the brain that are tied to wakefulness are destroyed in people with Alzheimer’s, a finding that may refocus dementia research.
- Humans
Even without concussions, just one football season may damage players’ brains
A group of college football players underwent brain scans after a season of play. The results suggest the sport could impact neural signaling.
- Neuroscience
Plants don’t have feelings and aren’t conscious, a biologist argues
The rise of the field of “plant neurobiology” has this scientist and his colleagues pushing back.
- Neuroscience
A frog study may point to where parenting begins in the brain
Two brain regions, including one active in mammal parents, lit up with activity in both male and female poison frogs when caring for their tadpoles.
- Neuroscience
Boosting a gut bacterium helps mice fight an ALS-like disease
Gut bacteria may alter ALS symptoms for good or ill.
- Health & Medicine
Manipulating nerve cells makes mice ‘see’ something that’s not there
Using optogenetics to stimulate about 20 nerve cells causes mice to perceive nonexistent vertical or horizontal lines.
