Neuroscience

Health & Medicine

Genes may influence placebo effect

Certain gene variants may predispose people to experience the placebo effect, which may have implications for clinical trials and personalized medicine.

Neuroscience

Marijuana component fights epilepsy

A buzz-free extract of marijuana could help epilepsy patients whose seizures resist other treatments.

Neuroscience

Serotonin and the science of sex

Some scientists say that low serotonin makes male mice mate with males and females. Others disagree. In the end, it’s not about sexual preference, but about how science works.

Neuroscience

Brains may be wired to count calories, make healthy choices

Fruit flies appear to make memories of the calories in the food they eat, an observation that may have implications for weight control in humans.

Science & Society

Forensic analysis finds ‘Blurred Lines’ case not so clear

In March, courts ruled that the song “Blurred Lines” borrowed from Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give it Up.” But a closer look finds the songs aren’t all that alike.

Neuroscience

Rats can navigate mazes, even when blind

Blind rats can learn to navigate with a compass and microchip prosthetic wired into their brains. Similar devices may one day help humans have super senses.

Neuroscience

Our taste in music may age out of harmony

Age-related hearing loss may be more than just the highest notes. The brain may also lose the ability to tell consonance from dissonance, a new study shows.

Environment

Manganese turns honeybees into bumbling foragers

Ingesting low doses of the heavy metal manganese disrupts honeybee foraging, a new experiment suggests.

Neuroscience

The brain sees words, even nonsense ones, as pictures

Once we learn a word, our brain sees the string of letters as a picture, even if the word isn't a real one.

Health & Medicine

Clean-up gene gone awry can cause Lou Gehrig’s disease

Scientists have linked mutations on a gene involved in inflammation and cell cleanup to ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Chemistry

Today’s pot is more potent, less therapeutic

The medicinal qualities of marijuana may be up in smoke thanks to years of cross-breeding plants for a better buzz.

Neuroscience

Sniffing out human pheromones

A new review argues that most of the chemicals labeled human pheromones, and the experiments behind them, don’t pass the smell test.