Summary: A large, nationwide population-based cohort study using one of the world’s largest healthcare registries has uncovered a specific biological association between neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and an elevated risk of several particular cancers. The research followed 334,091 people aged 50 and older — including 83,742 patients with nAMD and 250,349 matched controls — … Read more
Summary: A new study reveals why AI voice-cloning scams are so effective: people are biologically primed to trust voices that share their own vocal “fingerprint.” Researchers found that similarity in vocal timbre — the unique texture and color of a voice — can shut down listeners’ skepticism, allowing scammers to exploit that trust with only … Read more
Summary: New research shows that senescent cells — long portrayed as harmful “zombie” cells linked to aging and inflammation — play vital, constructive roles in building the developing brain. The study reveals that specific cell types enter a non-dividing, senescent state at precise times in embryonic development to coordinate formation and function of the brain’s … Read more
Summary: Researchers at UC San Francisco have developed a closed-loop adaptive deep brain stimulation (aDBS) system that senses and responds to walking in real time. Unlike conventional continuous DBS, which delivers a constant pattern of stimulation, this implantable device reads neural signals linked to each left and right step and adjusts stimulation within fractions of … Read more
Summary: Researchers have launched the first clinical trial at the University of Southern California to test whether structured mindfulness training can enhance and prolong the therapeutic effects of psilocybin-assisted therapy. The study combines rigorous clinical methods with extensive biological and neuroimaging assessments to map how these interventions change brain function, inflammation markers, and cognitive flexibility. … Read more
Summary: Researchers have mapped detailed environmental and biological factors that govern human microbiome transmission and demonstrated that household cohabitation is the principal route for strain-level bacterial transfer. The team compared oral and gut metagenomes from 430 individuals across 207 households in Italy and Fiji to quantify how microbes move between people and across body sites. … Read more
Summary: A new interdisciplinary report offers a practical, urgent framework for recognizing and responding to Alzheimer’s-related psychosis (ARP), a damaging and often underappreciated complication of Alzheimer’s disease. The guidance emphasizes person-centered care, prioritizes nonpharmacologic approaches, and lays out cautious, limited circumstances for medication use given serious safety concerns. Drawing on clinical experience and recent evidence, … Read more
Summary: New international research finds that the feeling of loneliness — a subjective emotional state — harms long-term brain health and shortens life far more than the objective condition of being socially isolated. The study separates perceived loneliness from physical isolation and shows that loneliness consistently predicts faster cognitive decline, reduced chances of recovery, and … Read more
Summary: Researchers have identified a clear structural relationship between an adult’s baseline brain network organization and their capacity to learn a new language. Using resting-state functional neuroimaging on a cohort of 101 adults before any training, the team mapped individual differences in large-scale neural systems that later predicted language learning success. After baseline scanning, participants … Read more
Summary: A nationwide, population-based cohort study using one of the world’s largest healthcare databases found a specific biological association between neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and higher risks for certain cancers. Researchers followed 334,091 people aged 50 and older—83,742 with nAMD and 250,349 matched controls—over up to 10 years. The results show a selective pattern … Read more
