Summary: A membrane protein known as TRPM8 appears to relay testosterone signals in the brain, helping limit aggression and sexual drive. New experiments in mice show that loss of TRPM8 leads to excessive aggression and persistent sexual behavior. Source: Biophysical Society Testosterone is commonly associated with driving sexual interest and aggressive behavior, but it also … Read more

Summary: The muscle-derived hormone irisin, which rises with physical exercise, may help reduce Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology. Using advanced three-dimensional human cell models that reproduce key AD features, researchers found that irisin treatment sharply lowers amyloid beta accumulation. This benefit appears to result from increased release of neprilysin, an enzyme that degrades amyloid beta. These … Read more

Analysis shows how to get the best results when approximating solutions to complex engineering problems. Optimization algorithms—procedures designed to find minimum values of mathematical functions—play a central role across engineering and data science. They guide decisions about tradeoffs in design, tune control systems, and extract useful patterns from data. Many practical optimization tasks, from designing … Read more

Summary: High school–aged girls who use cannabis show greater declines in working memory and academic outcomes than their male peers. Source: University of Montreal Early cannabis use harms adolescent working memory, and this effect appears stronger in girls—posing risks to both academic success during high school and memory function into adulthood. These findings come from … Read more

Summary: Researchers have created human brain organoids that include microglia—the brain’s resident immune cells—providing a more realistic model for studying how these cells develop and function. This advance enables closer examination of the interactions between microglia and the surrounding brain environment, improving our understanding of their roles in normal development and in neurological disorders. Using … Read more

Regions of parrots’ brains likely duplicated at least 29 million years ago An international team led by researchers at Duke University has identified previously unrecognized structural features of parrot brains that may explain their exceptional talent for imitating sounds, including human speech. The study, reported June 24 in PLOS ONE, describes a nested “core and … Read more

Summary: Researchers report that consuming adequate dietary fiber from breads, cereals and fruits can reduce the risk of disease and disability commonly associated with aging. Source Westmead Institute for Medical Research Dietary Fiber Linked to More Successful Aging Most people already know that fiber helps maintain digestive regularity. New research from the Westmead Institute for … Read more

Summary: During visual learning tasks, children show a rapid increase in the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA that persists after training ends. Adults, by contrast, show stable GABA levels. These differences suggest that children’s brains can stabilize new learning more quickly and efficiently than adults’ brains. Source: Cell Press If you’ve ever noticed that elementary school–aged children … Read more

Cognitive impairment after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) is widespread and can significantly reduce quality of life for many of the estimated 1.7 million Americans who sustain a TBI each year. Researchers at the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas have identified complex disruptions in brain network connectivity among people living … Read more

Researchers at the Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, have identified a previously unknown form of covert light-based communication used by marine animals. The discovery has potential applications in satellite remote sensing, biomedical imaging, early cancer detection, and novel approaches to optical data storage. Earlier work by Dr. Yakir Gagnon, Professor N. Justin Marshall … Read more