Summary: Anthropomorphism—the tendency to see animals as having human-like thoughts, emotions, or intentions—has long shaped public interest and funding for conservation. A new cross-cultural study published in the journal iScience shows that social, cultural and religious contexts strongly influence how people attribute human qualities to animals, with implications for targeted conservation outreach. The researchers report … Read more

Summary: New research reveals that the cerebral cortex can reorganize quickly after the loss of neurons, with other nerve cells compensating to restore lost functions. Scientists examined neural networks in the auditory cortex and found that, although sound-processing patterns were briefly disrupted, the brain re-established nearly identical patterns within days. Neurons that were not previously … Read more

Summary: A new prospective study finds that prenatal exposure to common urban air pollutants—nitrogen dioxide (NO2), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and black carbon—is associated with subtle but measurable differences in fetal brain morphology during the second and third trimesters. Using detailed neurosonography, researchers observed enlarged cerebrospinal fluid spaces and alterations in regions involved in motor … Read more

Summary: New research from the University of Minnesota Medical School finds that different genetic forms of autism can produce a common pattern of brain activity and related behavior. By recording neural activity across the entire brain in preclinical models, the team identified a shared neural signature: mice with autism-linked mutations showed difficulty updating expectations during … Read more

Summary: A recent paper introduces the cultural continuity hypothesis, proposing that people everywhere are motivated to preserve core elements of their culture across generations. Drawing on evidence from psychology, sociology, and anthropology, the researchers argue that maintaining cultural features supports identity, social belonging, and psychological well-being. Although the specific cultural elements preserved differ across societies … Read more

Summary: A large new meta-analysis finds that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) substantially lowers the risk of suicide and overall mortality in people with severe, treatment-resistant depression. Pooling data from 26 high-quality studies, researchers compared nearly 18,000 patients who received ECT with more than 25,000 patients treated with standard care and found a 34% reduction in suicide … Read more

Summary: A large European analysis finds no evidence that having a sibling born preterm increases behavioral problems in children born at term. Researchers examined harmonised data from over 65,000 children and detected no meaningful differences in internalising or externalising behaviour between term-born children with preterm siblings and those whose siblings were all born at term. … Read more

Summary: A recent study reports that eating more fruits and vegetables during the day is linked with better sleep that same night. Participants who increased their produce intake experienced fewer nocturnal awakenings and less shallow sleep, based on objective wrist-worn monitoring. Objective activity-tracking data revealed a clear relationship between healthier dietary patterns and improved nightly … Read more

Summary: Using state-of-the-art single-nucleus RNA sequencing, researchers mapped how physical exercise reshapes gene expression in specific brain cell types in an Alzheimer’s disease model. The study found that voluntary running alters molecular programs in microglia and a newly identified vascular-associated astrocyte population, and pinpointed a metabolic regulator, Atpif1, that appears to promote the formation of … Read more

Summary: New research shows that each person’s nasal breathing pattern forms a distinctive “breathing fingerprint” that can identify them with nearly 97% accuracy. By continuously tracking nasal airflow for 24 hours with a lightweight wearable, researchers discovered that these patterns also reflect physical and mental health traits, including body mass index, sleep-wake cycles, and anxiety … Read more