Summary: A large new study separated the biological effects of parental infertility from the medical procedures used to address it. Researchers analyzed data from 15,382 mother–child pairs collected across 44 U.S. study sites to understand how parental subfertility and different fertility treatments relate to children’s neurodevelopment. The findings indicate that children born to parents with … Read more

Simulating the brain on supercomputers aims to uncover how our minds work. This is an enormous undertaking: roughly 100 billion neurons and their vast network of synapses must be represented. Historically, even the world’s most powerful computers could model only a small fraction of these cells because of memory limits, so researchers commonly reduce model … Read more

Summary: A new study finds that storybooks with human characters teach moral lessons more effectively to young children than stories featuring anthropomorphized animals. Source: University of Toronto Children’s storybooks that use human characters — rather than animal characters that look and act like people — are more effective at teaching young children social lessons such … Read more

Summary: New research from Stellenbosch University shows that HIV can affect the brain very early in infection, producing measurable changes in brain function even before common causes such as illness, fatigue or depression can fully explain cognitive symptoms. Source: Stellenbosch University. Stellenbosch University researchers report that HIV directly alters brain function during the early stages … Read more

Summary: New brain imaging research shows that listening to nostalgic music activates core brain systems involved in memory, self-reflection and reward. Songs tied to personal life events produce stronger neural responses than unfamiliar music, a pattern that helps explain music’s powerful emotional pull and its potential to support people with memory disorders. Researchers used functional … Read more

Summary: Survivors and witnesses of the 2018 Camp Fire in California demonstrated measurable changes in brain activity and cognitive performance months after the event. These findings strengthen evidence for the psychological and neurological impact of extreme climate events—often described as “climate trauma.” Source: UCSD In November 2018, the Camp Fire burned 239 square miles, destroyed … Read more

Enzyme silences genes that sustain cancer stem cell traits in glioblastoma Cancer stem cells are a small subpopulation within tumors capable of continuous growth and self-renewal, and they are widely implicated in cancer progression and treatment resistance. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center have found that … Read more

Summary: Smokers who show stronger tobacco dependence are more likely to report depressive symptoms. Source: University of Helsinki An international study coordinated by the University of Helsinki offers new evidence about how depressive symptoms and smoking dependence are connected. The findings highlight the need to understand the specific motivations that sustain smoking dependence in order … Read more

Summary: A large UK study finds that people who currently have or previously experienced COVID-19 symptoms are more likely to suffer from general psychiatric disorders and increased loneliness. Women and younger adults face higher risks. Source: University of Cambridge People with current or past COVID-19 symptoms are more likely to experience general psychiatric disorders and … Read more

Summary: Using large-scale RNA sequencing, researchers have delineated three distinct molecular subtypes of Alzheimer’s disease. Source: Mount Sinai Hospital Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have identified three major molecular subtypes of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by analyzing RNA sequencing data. The findings clarify biological differences between groups of patients and could … Read more