Summary: Scientists have developed a drug that targets both major aggregation-promoting sites of the Tau protein, a key player in Alzheimer’s disease. This peptide inhibitor, RI-AG03, effectively prevents Tau buildup…
Category: Life
Psychedelics Reduce Anxiety Without Hallucinations
Summary: New research has pinpointed the specific brain region and neuron type responsible for reducing anxiety using the psychedelic drug DOI, without triggering hallucinations. The study revealed that DOI targets…
My Experiences in Ecology – Functional Ecologists
For Black History Month 2024, the British Ecological Society (BES) journals are celebrating the work of Black ecologists around the world and sharing their stories. In this blog, Dr Bashir…
Dolphins’ open-mouth behaviors during play are like smiles, a study claims
Dolphins are known for what appear to be big, contagious smiles. But do they actually, well, smile? The answer, according to a new study of dolphin play, is a resounding…
Coyotes have the face muscles for that ‘sad-puppy’ look
Coyotes turn out to have face muscles that look capable of making that big-eyed, sad-puppy face that dogs have used to melt human hearts for eons. That discovery supports a…
ChatGPT Matches Radiologists in Brain Tumor Diagnosis Accuracy
Summary: Researchers compared the diagnostic accuracy of GPT-4 based ChatGPT and radiologists using 150 brain tumor MRI reports. ChatGPT achieved 73% accuracy, slightly outperforming neuroradiologists (72%) and general radiologists (68%).…
Reduced Brain Response to Visual Cues Linked to Psychosis in Parkinson’s
Summary: People with Parkinson’s disease (PD) who experience visual hallucinations have reduced brain responses to unexpected visual changes, a marker known as visual mismatch negativity (vMMN). Using EEG, researchers compared…
Bird nests made with a toxic fungus seem to fend off attacking ants
When building a bird nest in ant territory, the best defense could be an offensive fungus. Swollen-thorn acacia trees are aggressively defended by multiple species of ants. And yet, several…
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…
