Summary: New research shows that a mutation linked to Alzheimer’s disease disrupts the production and quality of exosomes — tiny extracellular vesicles that neurons and brain immune cells use to communicate. Cells carrying a defective SORLA protein released roughly 30% fewer exosomes, and those exosomes were as much as 50% less effective at supporting the … Read more

Summary: Researchers have produced the first comprehensive catalog of octopus arm movements by analyzing video of 25 wild octopuses filmed in their natural environments. The study identifies 12 distinct arm actions—including elongation, shortening, bending, and probing—and shows that different regions of the arm are specialized for particular motions. Each arm, equipped with roughly 100 chemo-tactile … Read more

Summary: Scientists have identified a brain circuit in mice that functions like a “dial” for consumption, controlling the drive to eat sweets, fats, salt and other foods. The circuit connects sweet-responsive neurons in the amygdala to the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a brain region linked to feeding, reward and the regulation of … Read more

How the Brain Quickly Learns Reliable Visual Processing After Eye Opening Summary: Scientists have mapped how the brain transitions from inconsistent to reliable visual processing once the eyes open. Early in development, visual inputs and the brain’s modular responses are poorly matched, producing variable activity patterns. With visual experience, neurons refine their signals and align … Read more

Summary: A new Boston University study finds that SLIT2 protein levels measured in the eye’s vitreous humor and in blood plasma are associated with cognitive performance in middle-aged adults. Specifically, lower SLIT2 in vitreous humor correlated with poorer memory and lower global cognitive scores, while higher SLIT2 in plasma also predicted worse cognitive outcomes. These … Read more

Summary: A large-scale, long-term study finds that modest changes to the indoor environment—cooler bedrooms at night and brighter indoor light during the day—can meaningfully improve sleep for people living with dementia. Researchers analysed more than 26,000 days of data collected by contactless, zero-burden sensors installed in participants’ homes. The analysis linked hotter-than-usual nights with more … Read more

Summary: New research indicates that a fast phase of evolution in a specific class of human outer-layer brain neurons may help explain the relatively high prevalence of autism in humans. The study finds that layer 2/3 intratelencephalic (L2/3 IT) neurons in the human neocortex changed much faster than comparable neurons in other apes, with notable … Read more

Summary: A new study in newborn domestic chicks demonstrates that brain lateralisation is crucial for forming a left-to-right mental number line. Chicks with strong hemispheric specialisation consistently mapped numerical order from left to right, whereas weakly lateralised chicks showed no reliable directional bias. These results offer direct experimental evidence that lateralised brain function drives spatial–numerical … Read more

Summary: A new experimental study led by researchers at the University of Cambridge finds that adolescents are highly sensitive to even brief periods of social isolation. After only a few hours without face-to-face contact, teenagers showed a marked increase in motivation to obtain rewards. While this heightened drive can promote reconnection, it may also raise … Read more

Summary: Researchers discovered that ChatGPT can evaluate social interactions shown in images and videos with accuracy close to that of human raters. The AI’s ratings of social features—such as cooperation, hostility, facial expressions, and body movements—were, on average, more internally consistent than ratings from a single human observer. By replacing thousands of human annotation hours … Read more