Summary: A new music-therapy assessment called MuSICCA (Music therapy Sensory Instrument for Cognition, Consciousness and Awareness) offers a promising way to evaluate consciousness in children and young people who have sustained severe brain injuries. Designed for patients aged 2 to 18, the tool uses tailored, live musical stimulation delivered by a qualified music therapist. The … Read more

Summary: Glaucoma progressively damages the optic nerve and retinal ganglion cells, leading to vision loss. Standard care focuses on lowering intraocular pressure, but responses vary. New research from Karolinska Institutet shows that elevated homocysteine is a marker of metabolic disturbance in glaucoma rather than a direct cause. Instead, disrupted one‑carbon metabolism in the retina — … Read more

Summary: New research shows that mammals with larger brains and stronger immune systems tend to have longer maximum lifespans. By comparing 46 species, scientists identified a clear association between longevity and expansions in gene families tied to immune function. While brain size has long been linked to lifespan, this study highlights that expanded immune-related gene … Read more

Summary: The brain’s meningeal lymphatic system is essential for clearing waste and supporting immune surveillance, yet how it forms and is positioned has been unclear. New research using zebrafish and high-resolution in vivo imaging reveals that neural activity controls meningeal lymphatic development by regulating a specialized population of glial cells that produce Vegfc, a growth … Read more

Summary: A new report from University College London (UCL) shows that parents’ genetics can influence their children’s educational achievements and mental health even when those genes are not passed down. This indirect effect, known as “genetic nurture,” describes how parental genetic tendencies — such as valuing education or having strong non-cognitive skills — shape the … Read more

Summary: The brain constantly generates predictions about incoming sensory information, and when those expectations are violated—whether in sight, sound, or both—neurons emit distinctive prediction error signals. New experiments in mice show that the auditory cortex produces strong error signals when expected sounds are missing, and simultaneous visual and auditory mismatches produce an amplified, non-linear response. … Read more

Summary: New research indicates that curiosity changes with age in more nuanced ways than previously thought. While broad, stable curiosity traits tend to decline over the adult lifespan, momentary or situation-driven curiosity — called state curiosity — actually rises in later life. Older adults in the study reported stronger interest in learning new, personally relevant … Read more

Summary: LICONN is a breakthrough light-microscopy pipeline that enables reconstruction of brain tissue and mapping of synaptic connections using standard light microscopes. By embedding tissue in a swellable hydrogel, expanding it, and imaging with high-fidelity multicolor light microscopy, researchers can resolve neuronal structures at effective resolutions below 20 nm—previously achievable only with electron microscopy. Beyond … Read more

Summary: People are more likely to choose to empathize with groups than with individuals, even though they rate empathizing as equally difficult and emotionally taxing in both situations. In an empathy-selection card task, participants elected to empathize on 53% of trials showing groups, compared with 34% for trials showing single individuals. Researchers propose that group … Read more

Summary: Raising levels of the Klotho protein, specifically its secreted form (s-KL), slows multiple aspects of aging and improves overall health in mice. In controlled experiments, animals engineered to produce more s-KL showed stronger muscles, denser bone structure, better cognitive markers, and lived approximately 15–20% longer than untreated controls. Researchers observed that s-KL treatment promoted … Read more