The ancestors of cobras and related snakes first emerged in Asia roughly 35 million years ago. Many researchers thought the Elapoidea superfamily of snakes evolved in Africa before slithering their…
Category: Life
Treat or Train? Orexin Helps Brain Decide
Summary: Researchers have identified orexin, a brain chemical, as crucial in deciding between exercising and indulging in treats. In experiments with mice, those with an intact orexin system were more…
Loneliness Linked to Nightmares – Neuroscience News
Summary: Research reveals that loneliness is linked to an increased frequency and intensity of nightmares, highlighting the connection between social isolation and sleep disturbances. The study suggests that stress, rumination,…
Why a small seabird dares to fly toward cyclones
Tropical cyclones are synonymous with destruction. But at least one seabird may take advantage of them as feeding opportunities. The Desertas petrel, a small and threatened seabird native to the…
Hurts to Think: The Unpleasant Truth About Mental Effort
Summary: New research suggests that mental exertion is often associated with unpleasant feelings such as stress and irritation, challenging the notion that people enjoy mentally demanding tasks. A meta-analysis of…
Pheromone fingers may help poison frogs mate
During mating, some male poison frogs embrace their partner’s face in a love-potion-laced hug. The amorous amphibians may create pheromones in glands in their fingers, researchers report July 21 in…
Viewpoint: Gene-editing roadblocks — Excessive regulations and a ‘guilty until proven innocent’ mindset hamper gene editing’s massive potential to address climate change
Jared Diamond (1997) observed that, Any society goes through social movements or fads, in which economically useless things become valued or useful things devalued temporarily. Nowadays, when almost all societies…
Overthinking Happiness Can Lower Life Satisfaction
Summary: Obsessing over personal happiness can actually decrease life satisfaction, according to new research. In three studies involving over 1,800 participants, individuals who judged their own happiness reported lower well-being,…
How Your Brain Remembers: How Episodic Memories Form
Summary: Researchers developed a computer model that mimics how the hippocampus stores new episodic memories without erasing old ones. This model demonstrates that the CA3 region of the hippocampus serves…
