Summary: A diet rich in isoflavones — plant compounds found in legumes such as soybeans, peanuts and chickpeas — reduces multiple sclerosis‑like symptoms in mice, but only when specific gut bacteria that metabolize those compounds are present. Source: University of Iowa Researchers at the University of Iowa report that interactions between diet and the gut … Read more

Summary: New research illuminates how oxytocin deeply shapes social behavior and emotional responses in the brain. Animal studies reveal the hormone’s influence on social fear and show how chronic stress and early-life experiences can rewire behavioral patterns through oxytocin-related pathways. These discoveries point to oxytocin as a promising target for treating psychiatric conditions such as … Read more

Summary: Where you live in Canada can influence your risk for major chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers, according to new research that maps community-level environmental factors. Source: McMaster University. Your postal code may affect your health: neighbourhood factors linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer risk Researchers at McMaster University … Read more

To survive, animals must explore their surroundings to find food, water and shelter. This requires forming a mental map of the environment so they can navigate safe, efficient routes and predict when and where important events—such as finding a meal—will occur. Until recently, studying navigation and reward anticipation together proved difficult because researchers could not … Read more

Summary: A novel surgical approach originally developed in microsurgical plastic surgery—lymphovenous anastomosis (LVA), also called lymphovenous bypass—shows early promise as a way to improve clearance of toxic proteins from the brain in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). By creating microscopic connections between lymphatic vessels and nearby veins in the neck, surgeons aim to restore impaired glymphatic outflow … Read more

New research from North Carolina State University challenges the long-standing forensic practice of using skull shape to make definitive identifications of human remains. Forensic anthropologists and examiners have historically relied on the outline of the skull, particularly the cranial vault outline seen in profile X-rays, as one tool among several for identifying unknown remains. The … Read more

Summary: Researchers recorded neural activity directly from the hippocampus and the insula in human participants to investigate how these regions interact while encoding emotionally charged words. Sixteen individuals with implanted electrodes viewed words with positive or negative valence and later attempted to recall them, allowing investigators to link single-neuron and population dynamics to memory performance. … Read more

New findings from a long‑running US study identify factors that may influence the risk of memory decline with age Researchers working with the Einstein Aging Study in New York have reported several new findings that clarify how memory and thinking change as people get older, and which factors may increase the chance of developing early … Read more

Two distinct neuronal populations in the visual cortex alter their firing patterns in response to visual input when rodents awaken from anesthesia. The way neurons respond to sensory input depends strongly on brain state. Responses differ when an animal is asleep, drowsy, alert, paying attention, or ignoring a stimulus. Although the cellular and circuit properties … Read more

Summary: A Canadian study finds that frequent use of household disinfectants is linked to changes in the infant gut microbiome and a higher risk of childhood overweight. Household disinfectants linked to changes in infant gut microbes and higher BMI in young children, research published in CMAJ finds. A study using data from the Canadian Healthy … Read more