Summary: For the roughly 60 million Americans living with chronic pain, the sensation is not simply prolonged discomfort—it reflects a biological misinterpretation. A new study has traced a specific neural circuit that sustains chronic pain, revealing a loop that activates after injury or inflammation and that can be selectively silenced without removing protective acute pain. … Read more

Summary: In the 1960s, Nobel laureates David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel proposed that visual perception is built in a stepwise, “bottom-up” fashion: the brain constructs complex images from simple elements such as edges and lines. For decades researchers debated whether this orientation and feature selectivity originates in the thalamus—the eye’s relay station—or whether it is … Read more

Summary: In the animal world, winning a confrontation is valuable but sustaining injury can be costly. To minimize harm, many species rely on threat displays—posturing and intimidation—before escalating to physical attacks. New research has identified a specific brain circuit that controls the switch from intimidation to actual biting attacks, revealing how stress can bias animals … Read more

Summary: A large, population-based study strengthens the association between infectious mononucleosis (mono), caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and a later increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). Analyzing more than two decades of medical records, researchers found that people who experienced laboratory-confirmed EBV-positive mono as adolescents or adults had roughly a threefold higher risk … Read more

Summary: Brain development is a precise, high-stakes process in which timing determines success. For a neuron to function properly, it must divide, migrate, and mature in a strict sequence. A recent review highlights an epigenetic mechanism known as histone bivalency that functions like an internal developmental clock. By placing both activating and repressive molecular marks … Read more

Summary: The dark web is more than a refuge for whistleblowers and privacy advocates; it also attracts a particular subset of internet users. A new study that surveyed 1,750 U.S. adults identifies traits and social factors that distinguish self-reported dark web users from typical surface-web visitors. Although the dark web serves legitimate purposes—secure communication, access … Read more

Summary: Are you a morning person or a night owl? Your hair can reveal the answer. Researchers have developed HairTime, a noninvasive diagnostic that estimates an individual’s chronotype from a few hair follicles. By measuring the activity of 17 key genes in the hair root, the test maps a person’s circadian phase without lengthy laboratory … Read more

Summary: Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) report the discovery of a high-potency opioid with an unusually favorable safety profile in preclinical studies. Derived from an overlooked class of 1950s synthetic compounds called nitazenes, this compound’s metabolite—called DFNZ—provides strong and long-lasting pain relief while appearing to avoid two of the most dangerous opioid … Read more

Summary: Although 92% of Americans agree that studying the brain is essential to advance autism research, a surprising 70% have never heard of postmortem brain donation. New survey results from Autism BrainNet expose a wide gap in public understanding. Unlike organ donation—which more than 80% of people recognize—brain donation is a distinct process and is … Read more

Antibiotics and Maternal Mental Health: Large Nationwide Study Shows Stepwise Association Summary: Antibiotics are essential for treating bacterial infections, but new research suggests their use around the time of conception and in early pregnancy may be associated with higher rates of psychological distress. A large analysis of more than 94,000 participants in the Japan Environment … Read more