Summary: A new study reveals that inflammation and immune system activation are closely linked to major depressive disorder (MDD), particularly in those resistant to standard antidepressants. Researchers analyzed gene expression…
Category: Genetics
What separates human thinking from that of other animals and when did our uniqueness emerge?
The human mind is unlike any other. It’s the key that unlocked language, culture, abstract reasoning, long-term planning, and large-scale political coordination — all the cognitive features that set us…
Viewpoint: Chemophobic demonizing of DEET — Boston Museum of Science’s fact-free endorsement of ’non chemical’ insect repellent alternatives
I’m sure you know by now that I often speak about the harms of the appeal to nature fallacy and messaging that exploits chemophobia (the unfounded and irrational fear of…
Huntington’s Protein Mutation Blocks DNA Repair
Summary: Researchers have discovered that the protein mutated in Huntington’s Disease fails to properly repair DNA, leading to reduced brain cell healing. The huntingtin protein normally stimulates the production of…
Viewpoint: Placebo controversy — When should they ethically be used in studies?
The placebo effect is a phenomenon where individuals experience– or perceive to experience– improvements in symptoms or conditions after receiving a treatment with no known medical benefits. This effect demonstrates the…
Can chatbots be tailored to fight back against conspiracy theories?
… Few interventions have been proven to change conspiracy theorists’ minds, says Thomas Costello, a research affiliate at MIT Sloan and the lead author of the study. Part of what…
100+ Genes Linked to Anxiety Disorders Identified
Summary: A large-scale genetic study involving over 1 million participants has uncovered more than 100 genes associated with anxiety. Researchers found that these genes contribute to the development of anxiety…
Organic or conventional farming? Which system better preserves our fragile insect population
Athree-year run of fragmentary Armageddon-like studies had primed the journalism pumps and settled the media framing about the future of the global insect population: modern agriculture was steering us toward…
Viewpoint: Consumers Report bungles science, promotes another food scare—No, Lunchables will not give your kids cancer
developing, are more vulnerable to lead exposure than adults. However, most of the risk to children is not from food but from ingesting chips from lead-based paint used before 1978…
