Summary: Researchers have made a significant advance by showing that a low-dose combination of zinc, serine, and branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) can reduce behavioral deficits across three different mouse models of autism. The benefit depends on the three nutrients acting together: at low doses the combined mixture restores synaptic protein balance and reduces abnormal activity … Read more

Summary: A new study presented at the Radiological Society of North America meeting reports that people who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) and also have suicidal thoughts or behaviors show distinct, more severe injury patterns on medical imaging. These patients were disproportionately seen in emergency settings at night and had much higher rates of head, … Read more

Summary: New longitudinal research finds that blood biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease rise substantially faster in people with obesity than in those without. Although initial blood tests appeared lower in individuals with higher body mass index (BMI) — likely due to dilution from larger blood volume — five-year tracking revealed a markedly accelerated accumulation of markers … Read more

Summary: A large population study found that older adults who received the shingles vaccine were substantially less likely to be diagnosed with dementia over the next seven years. The research took advantage of a rare, age-based vaccine rollout in Wales that closely resembles a randomized trial, enabling investigators to estimate the vaccine’s effect more reliably … Read more

Summary: New research indicates that what we perceive as visual beauty may be linked to the brain’s drive to conserve energy. Images that demand fewer neural resources and lower metabolic expense are consistently judged as more pleasing. This work combines computational modeling, human preference ratings, and brain imaging to show the visual system favors a … Read more

Summary: New research from the Max Planck Institute indicates that exposure to fatty food odors during pregnancy and early postnatal life can reprogram developing neural circuits and increase the risk of obesity and insulin resistance later in life. In animal experiments, offspring whose mothers consumed a low-fat but bacon-flavoured diet showed stronger weight gain and … Read more

Summary: Researchers have developed an AI system that reconstructs detailed hand muscle activity from standard video footage. Where previous methods required electrodes attached to the skin, this new approach extracts internal muscle signals non-invasively using only recorded video and related performance cues. Trained on a high-precision dataset of expert pianists, the model infers fine-grained muscle … Read more

Summary: Alston’s singing mice produce both loud, rhythmic, human-audible songs and high-pitched ultrasonic calls used for close-range interactions. New experiments show that both vocal types are created by a whistle-like airflow mechanism rather than by vibrating vocal cords, and that the same midbrain vocal circuit controls both modes. Unexpectedly, the brain region that governs routine … Read more

Summary: A large multi-year analysis of tens of thousands of companion dogs shows that cannabidiol (CBD) and hemp supplements are increasingly used for aging pets. While dogs started on CBD had higher reported aggression initially, long-term use was associated with a measurable decline in aggressive behavior. The clearest associations with CBD use were dementia, joint … Read more

Summary: New brain imaging research indicates that structural damage in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) may begin in specific “epicenter” regions and then spread through connected brain networks. Patients with SSD showed widespread reductions in structural similarity between key cognitive and emotional brain regions, especially in higher-order association areas. These network-level disruptions were strongest in individuals … Read more