Most consumers believe organic farming avoids pesticides and prioritizes the health of the environment more than conventional farming. However, this is not necessarily the case. Pesticides used in organic farming…
Category: Life
ChatGPT has just had a major update. What can it do now?
Tech research company OpenAI has just released an updated version of its text-generating artificial intelligence program, called GPT-4, and demonstrated some of the language model’s new abilities. Not only can GPT-4 produce…
Macaques in Puerto Rico learned to share shade after Hurricane Maria
After Hurricane Maria battered Puerto Rico in 2017, monkeys living there forged new bonds to share a suddenly scarce resource: shade. Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) that were willing to hang…
During the COVID pandemic, Republicans in Ohio and Florida had a higher mortality rate than Democrats
Let’s start with the disclaimers. Most importantly, “excess” deaths, meaning a higher number than might be anticipated, are based on the assumption that the baseline death used to determine excess was…
Many frogs glow in blue light, and it may be a secret, eerie language
In the dim twilight hours, many frogs may be capable of emitting a faint green or orange glow. A survey of hundreds of frogs in South America shows that far…
AI Pinpoints Parkinson’s Subtypes Using Stem Cell Images
Summary: Researchers enabled machine learning to accurately predict Parkinson’s disease subtypes using stem cell images. This breakthrough showcases computer models classifying four Parkinson’s subtypes, with top accuracies reaching 95%. This…
Brain’s ‘Traffic Directors’: Neurons That Keep Us Focused on Tasks
Summary: Researchers have illuminated how our brain maintains focus amidst distractions. Their study identifies “visual-movement” neurons in the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) that use coordinated activity called “beta bursts” to…
Baby Gut Microbes: A Link to Early Cognitive Skills?
Summary: Researchers discovered associations between specific microbes in infants’ guts and early cognitive development performance. This exploratory study examined 56 infants, revealing that certain microbiome compositions corresponded with success in…
Long-term Acid Reflux Drugs Linked to Higher Dementia Risk?
Summary: Long-term use (over 4.4 years) of proton pump inhibitors, prescribed for acid reflux, may be associated with an increased risk of dementia. However, this research does not establish a…
Dopamine Tunes the Brain for Both Singing and Speech
Summary: Contrary to popular belief, speech and singing use overlapping brain circuits, primarily located in the left hemisphere. This discovery challenges the 50-year notion that the right hemisphere supports the…
