Sleep Apnea May Increase Alzheimer’s Risk in Older Adults, Study Finds Summary: New longitudinal research reports a link between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity and increasing amyloid beta accumulation in the brains of cognitively normal older adults. Source: ATS Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may raise the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in older adults, … Read more

Most scientific accounts of psychological mechanisms begin by observing behavior and then proposing theories to explain it. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Texas at Austin took the opposite approach. Working like engineers or physicists, they modeled every step that leads from a moving object to a speed estimate: light scattering … Read more

Summary: A new computational study demonstrates that prioritizing verified accounts in a social platform’s recommendation algorithms can deepen political polarization and promote the emergence of echo chambers. Using a simulation of how users post, follow, and update opinions, researchers explored how verified users—especially those with rigid ideological positions—alter the flow of political content and the … Read more

Summary: A six-week study of financial traders found an unexpected interaction between alcohol and caffeine: when used together, these substances can mask each other’s negative effects on sleep, creating a cycle of perceived recovery that may encourage continued use despite actual harm. Over six weeks, participants kept daily logs of their caffeine and alcohol intake … Read more

CRISPR-Engineered Stem Cells Yield Purified Human Retinal Ganglion Cells Laboratory advances may one day enable cell-based treatments for vision loss from glaucoma and multiple sclerosis. Researchers at Johns Hopkins have developed a reliable method to convert human embryonic stem cells into retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) — the retinal neurons responsible for transmitting visual information from … Read more

Summary: A new study from King’s College London identifies a key cellular process affected by selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and highlights a promising application: using SSRIs to transiently increase blood-brain barrier permeability and improve delivery of other drugs to the brain. The researchers found that SSRIs alter membrane trafficking in many cell types, and … Read more

Summary: Researchers report that a single dose of alcohol can cause lasting changes in synapse structure and mitochondrial behavior in neurons. Source: University of Cologne A collaborative research team from the University of Cologne, the University of Mannheim, and the University of Heidelberg has demonstrated that a single exposure to ethanol produces persistent alterations in … Read more

Summary: Using a three-dimensional human brain tissue model, Tufts University researchers demonstrated a potential causal link between sporadic Alzheimer’s disease and herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection. Infected constructs showed hallmark Alzheimer’s features, and 40 Alzheimer’s-associated genes—including genes related to amyloid-beta production—were upregulated following HSV-1 exposure. Source: Tufts University Tufts University engineers and biomedical … Read more

Summary: Researchers have developed a new device that can measure cortisol levels by sampling earwax. Source: UCL A simple, low-cost method for sampling earwax could offer an effective way to measure the stress hormone cortisol, according to new research led by teams at UCL and King’s College London. Published in the journal Heliyon, the study … Read more

Summary: Combining low-dose ketamine with structured psychological therapy extended abstinence and reduced heavy drinking in people with severe alcohol use disorder, according to a new clinical trial. Source: University of Exeter People with severe alcohol use disorder remained abstinent for significantly longer when treated with controlled low doses of ketamine together with psychological therapy, a … Read more