Summary: Researchers show that honey bees can grasp complex numerical concepts, including the notion of zero as smaller than any whole number. Honey Bees Learn the Concept of Zero and Numerical Ordering Source: CNRS Overview While complex numerical abilities such as addition, ordering, and the concept of zero have been documented in several vertebrates, evidence … Read more

Summary: New research shows how the gene CD2AP may increase susceptibility to Alzheimer’s disease by altering synaptic protein balance and impairing neuronal communication. Source: Baylor College of Medicine A multi-institutional study led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, published in the journal Cell Reports, provides new insight into how the Alzheimer’s risk gene CD2AP … Read more

Many older adults notice that everyday tasks become more awkward with age — fumbling with keys, struggling to dial a phone, or accidentally knocking over a glass while reaching across the table. Although these incidents are often attributed to declines in strength, balance, vision or reflexes, new research from Washington University in St. Louis points … Read more

Summary: New research finds that low maternal vitamin D levels around 20 weeks of pregnancy are associated with a higher likelihood of autism-related traits in children by age six. Source: University of Queensland Researchers at the University of Queensland’s Queensland Brain Institute report an association between gestational vitamin D deficiency and increased autism-related traits in … Read more

Summary: New research in mice shows that chronic stress weakens the brain’s ability to register quieter sounds, requiring louder stimuli to evoke normal responses. The study identifies changes in inhibitory neurons—particularly somatostatin-expressing (SST) cells—that suppress responses to lower-decibel sounds while leaving sensitivity to louder sounds relatively intact. These neural changes suggest stress can alter basic … Read more

Summary: Seven-month-old infants can rapidly detect whether a mosaic-like pattern is structurally symmetrical, indicating an early, automatic ability to extract organization from complex visual scenes. Source: University of the Basque Country A collaborative study led by the UPV/EHU’s Gogo Elebiduna group explored how seven-month-old infants visually respond to abstract mosaic patterns that either possess or … Read more

Summary: A new registered fMRI study from Western University finds that the brain represents symbolic numbers in the same brain region for left- and right-handed people. The results challenge the idea that handwriting handedness determines which hemisphere processes numbers. Source: University of Western Ontario Left-handed and right-handed people may hold pens differently, but a recent … Read more

Summary: Children across cultures will confront peers who break shared rules, but the ways they do so differ depending on their social and cultural environment. Source: University of Plymouth Every society has norms—unspoken and spoken rules that guide daily life, from greetings to traffic habits. A new cross-cultural study, the first of its kind, finds … Read more

Unpleasant experiences often leave lasting traces in the brain. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences identifies a specific neural mechanism through which aversive events are converted into fear memories: coordinated changes in synaptic connections within the amygdala. The work refines a long-standing theory of memory formation, showing that … Read more

Summary: A Lancet report details the first documented local transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States: a woman who returned from Wuhan, China, and subsequently transmitted the virus to her husband. Source: The Lancet Key point: Person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurred between two household members after prolonged, unprotected exposure while the first patient was symptomatic. … Read more