Summary: Researchers used non-invasive MRI to investigate a rare seasonal process in common shrews in which their brains shrink in winter and regrow in spring. The scans and tissue analyses point to redistribution of water—rather than cell death—as the primary mechanism behind this reversible shrinkage. The study highlights aquaporin‑4, a water-regulating protein, as likely involved, … Read more

Summary: New research indicates that depression specifically impairs the process of learning how to actively avoid unpleasant events, while leaving avoidance performance intact once the behavior is learned. In a human-adapted task based on rodent studies, researchers tested 465 participants across a spectrum of depressive symptoms using sounds and on-screen visual cues to probe avoidance … Read more

Summary: New research indicates that a virus previously considered harmless may be associated with Parkinson’s disease. Scientists detected Human Pegivirus (HPgV) in the brains and cerebrospinal fluid of several people with Parkinson’s but not in control samples, challenging the assumption that this virus is always benign. The study found that individuals with HPgV showed distinct … Read more

Summary: Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have developed an artificial intelligence system that automatically scans open-access journals to identify potentially predatory publications. These outlets often accept papers for a fee without rigorous peer review, threatening the credibility and reliability of scientific literature. The AI examined more than 15,000 open-access journals and initially flagged … Read more

Summary: New research using genetic evidence shows that historical contact between human populations produces measurable and consistent patterns of language change. By integrating genomic data with large linguistic databases, researchers found that unrelated languages tend to become about 4–9% more similar after populations mix or meet. These patterns appear worldwide, from ancient migrations to colonial-era … Read more

Summary: New research reveals that repetitive DNA sequences long dismissed as “junk” perform essential regulatory roles in early human brain development. The study shows that LINE‑1 (L1) transposons—mobile elements within the non‑coding genome—are active in human pluripotent stem cells and help control key gene networks in the developing brain. When L1 activity was suppressed, lab-grown … Read more

Summary: A large-scale study of 600 participants demonstrates that music can genuinely evoke feelings of companionship by activating social imagination. When participants listened to folk music—even with lyrics removed—they reported vivid social scenes, such as being with friends or dancing together. Compared with silence, music consistently amplified mental imagery related to warmth, connection and shared … Read more

Summary: Scientists have revealed how stem cells in the olfactory system continually regenerate the neurons that underlie our sense of smell. By combining high-resolution live imaging in zebrafish, quantitative cell tracking and single-cell RNA sequencing, researchers discovered a bistable toggle switch that directs progenitor cells into specific fates and promotes their self-organization into distinct “cellular … Read more

Summary: Researchers have developed a new AI framework, CTCAIT, that analyzes voice recordings to detect neurological disorders with high accuracy. By extracting multi-scale temporal features and applying cross-temporal and cross-channel attention, the model identifies subtle speech patterns associated with conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and Wilson disease. This non-invasive approach shows promise for … Read more

Summary: A new study finds that hormonal contraceptives can alter both the way women respond emotionally in the moment and how they remember emotional events later. Compared with naturally cycling women, those using hormonal birth control showed stronger immediate emotional reactions and—when using regulation strategies such as distancing or reinterpretation—retained fewer specific details of negative … Read more