Summary: A woman who recently emerged from a cave after 500 days of isolation reported she rapidly lost her perception of time. Researchers explore how social isolation impacts time perception…
Category: Life
Early Indicators of Autism May Be Identified in Fetal Brain Scans
Summary: A study by King’s College researchers has identified a link between autism traits and isolated fetal ventriculomegaly – a common antenatal brain abnormality. Using MRI brain scans, the study…
Biofilms, an underrated yet important way of life – Functional Ecologists
In this new post, Hugo Sentenac, a PhD student at Labaoratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (LEFE), Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse, France, discusses his review paper: The significance of biofilms…
Stress Rapidly Increases Biological Age, but Recovery Turns Back the Clock
Summary: Stress can cause rapid and transient increases in biological age, which can be reversed upon recovery, according to a new study. Using DNA methylation clocks, researchers found that stress…
Sniffing Out the Mechanism Behind Parkinson’s Smell Loss
Summary: Up to 90% of patients report experiencing a diminished sense of smell, even prior to the onset of other symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. A new study reveals the mechanism…
Reality or Illusion? The Human Battle with Distinguishing Imagination from Reality
Summary: The more vividly we imagine something, the more likely we are to believe it’s real, a new study reports. Researchers found the brain encodes the vividness of perceived and…
Foraging for efficiency—morphological traits provide support for variations in performance of the feeding apparatus in coexisting Neotropical bats – Functional Ecologists
In this new post, David Villalobos Chaves, a PhD student at Department of Biology and Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA, discusses his…
This elephant peels bananas, but only slightly ripe ones
Do you peel bananas from the top or bottom? One elephant goes with a third option. When handed a slightly browning banana, Pang Pha, an Asian elephant at Zoo Berlin,…
A massive cavern beneath a West Antarctic glacier is teeming with life
The coastal plain of the Kamb Ice Stream, a West Antarctic glacier, hardly seems like a coast at all. Stand in this place, 800 kilometers from the South Pole, and…
Does IVF increase the risk of breast or ovarian cancer by as much as 65%, as some studies claim?
Statistics related to medical risks and care can often unnecessarily frighten people, and questionable journalism doesn’t help. Take the case of the ongoing debate bout the alleged dangers of in…
