Summary: A new study has identified a brain protein, vesicular nucleotide transporter (Vnut), as essential for regulating mood and motivation in mice. When Vnut was removed from brain cells called…
Category: Genetics
New Genetic Mutations Linked to Schizophrenia Risk
Source: A study has identified mutations arising during brain development that may contribute to schizophrenia. Unlike inherited genes, these somatic mutations occur after conception and were found more frequently in…
Richard Dawkins’ reverie on the twists and turns of evolution is a ‘do not miss’ book
What, do you suppose, is the closest living relative of the hippopotamus? The rhinoceros, perhaps? The pig? In fact, it’s the whale. [D]id you know … that some cuckoo chicks…
With the Chevron Doctrine overturned, the new ‘judicial veto’ of regulations will be bad for science and business
A colleague and I wrote about recent Supreme Court decisions that produced sweeping changes in how government regulation works in the United States— shifting power from regulatory agencies to the courts.…
Viewpoint: Why are politicians letting the tort lawyer and organic industry funded anti-science Environmental Working Group influence public policy?
We are in an era where rejection of science occurs across all ideologies and communities. Anti-science misinformation spreads as a result of low science literacy and lack of understanding of…
Gene Activity in Depression Linked to Immune System and Inflammation
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…
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…
