Mitochondria in the Brain’s Reward Hub Drive Nicotine Dependence

Summary: Supported by a $943,000 NIH grant, neuroscientists at the University of Central Florida are investigating how nicotine alters neuronal mitochondria within the nucleus accumbens. By examining the subcellular mechanisms…

Iron Age settlement of more than 30 houses unearthed in South Tyrol

Archaeologists in northern Italy have uncovered the remains of more than 30 houses dating back around 2,500 years, revealing new evidence of everyday life in an important early Iron Age…

Firsthand Experience Dictates Social Judgment

Summary: When public reputation clashes with direct personal experience, people prioritize their own history over social gossip to judge non-cooperation. A new study reveals an asymmetric moral calculus: while helping…

Roman-era pyramid tomb with rare funerary texts discovered in Egypt

Archaeologists working in Egypt’s New Valley have uncovered a limestone pyramid-shaped tomb containing an unusual combination of ancient Egyptian religious imagery and a 19-line Greek funerary poem. A Roman-era pyramid…

Mold and heat closed Pittsburgh-area schools – an expert explains the risks to kids

For many southwestern Pennsylvania students, this school year has already included days away from the classroom because of the buildings themselves. Mold has closed schools in at least four districts,…

Detroit and Flint teens are struggling with their mental health – and worried adults around them feel ‘helpless’

Teens in southeast Michigan go to school carrying with them far more than backpacks, books and water bottles. Many are shouldering economic hardship, exposure to adversity and discrimination, family responsibilities,…

COP31 attendees told not to interfere in Türkiye’s “internal affairs”

Participants at COP31 in Antalya will have a “duty” not to interfere in Türkiye’s internal affairs under the country’s hosting deal with the UN, reviving a clause dropped for last…

Viewpoint: 4 very real AI doomsday scenarios

An engineered pandemic, a nuclear war, a planet paved over with paper clip factories: AI researchers have floated plenty of ways the technology could end humanity. Now the debate over…

Cell Membrane Lipid Governs Retinal Light Sensitivity

Summary: Using cryogenic electron microscopy and synthetic model membranes, researchers have mapped how the membrane phospholipid PIP2 binds to cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) ion channels in retinal rod cells. Even at…

Can Humor Treat Depression? – Neuroscience News

Summary: A comprehensive review of clinical psychology and neuroimaging research shows that while humor can build resilience and protect against depressive relapse, it often does more harm than good during…