Summary: Inflammation is the body’s natural defense, but when it gets stuck in the “on” position, it drives everything from sepsis to Alzheimer’s. A comprehensive review identifies a protein called…
Category: Genetics
A New Link Between Aging and Brain Decline
Summary: Scientists have identified a previously unknown genetic disease that combines the physical symptoms of premature aging (progeria) with severe neurological and intellectual deficits. By combining genome sequencing with advanced…
Supreme Court likely to have final say on RFK, Jr.’s currently-blocked vaccine policy
Although a federal judge in Boston has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s changes to the US childhood immunization schedule, the US Supreme Court could have two chances over the next year to…
White House clamps down on RFK, Jr.’s vaccine rejectionism but reportedly retains Trump’s support
The White House is more tightly controlling the messaging and policies—including around vaccines—coming from the Department of Health and Human Services ahead of the midterm elections …. Aides close to…
Why African striped mice can be the best of dads — or the worst
The difference between a doting dad and a deadbeat one may come down to a molecular switch in the brain — at least in African striped mice. Boosting activity of…
The Amazon molly — a sex-skipping fish — hacks evolution
The Amazon molly is an evolutionary enigma: an all-female fish that reproduces by cloning itself. Because it doesn’t mix its DNA with a mate’s, Darwinian logic holds that harmful mutations…
‘You only need to put a few knicks in the brain’: FDA is bizarrely demanding fake brain surgery to assess Huntington’s disease therapy
Katie Jackson desperately wants a new treatment for Huntington’s disease. Her husband died from the devastating brain disorder. And because the disease runs in families, her three children have a…
Understanding the evolution of individuality—Fruit flies may have an answer
As a Ph.D. student, I wanted to understand the evolution of individual differences in fruit fly behavior – the building blocks of personality. My experiments involved measuring how my tiny…
Cocaine Addiction is a Biological Rewiring, Not a Choice
Summary: Relapse isn’t a failure of willpower—it’s a biological “rewiring” of the brain. A new study reveals how chronic cocaine use hijacks the connection between the brain’s reward center and…
