Brain Injury Could Explain Sudden Criminal Behavior

Summary: A new study has found that damage to a specific white matter pathway in the brain—the right uncinate fasciculus—may increase the likelihood of criminal or violent behavior following brain…

How should we regulate human-created stem-cell embryos

The stem cell-based embryo model (SCBEM) takes advantage of the flexibility of pluripotent stem cells (non-reproductive cells that can give rise to many different types of cells) to resemble that…

This bug’s all-in helicopter parenting reshaped its eggs

Parents will fret, even among bugs. And even among bugs, it’s complicated. Ferociously protective parenting has evolved four times among the pointy-faced, wide-bodied little leaf dwellers called shield bugs, researchers…

The impact of nocturnal warming and prey availability during reproduction in a viviparous lizard – Functional Ecologists

In this week’s blog post, we’re checking our calendars and addressing how climate change is causing shifts in breeding dates for reptiles! Discussing the article “A multi-trait evaluation of patterns…

How Brain Cells Coordinate to Make Complex Decisions

Summary: Every decision begins subtly, as the brain weighs options long before action. Researchers have now shown that, despite individual differences in neuron activity, a shared underlying structure guides the…

Grip Strength Reveals Brain Clues Behind Early Psychosis

Summary: Psychosis may start not with hallucinations, but with subtle motor changes like reduced grip strength. A new study reveals that lower grip strength in people with early psychosis is…

Medicine vs. MAGA: Doctors and Insurers Scramble as RFK Jr. Dismantles U.S. Vaccine System

Professional medical societies, pharmacists, state health officials and vaccine manufacturers, as well as a new advocacy group, are mobilizing behind the scenes to preserve access for vaccines as Health Secretary…

Chimpanzees and Children Share a Curiosity for Social Drama

Summary: A new study shows that both chimpanzees and young children are drawn to watching social interactions, sometimes even at a cost. When given a choice between viewing videos of…

Choose Your Battles: Identity Shapes Displaced Aggression

Summary: Displaced aggression—redirecting frustration onto an uninvolved target—has now been studied in mice, revealing that identity and social history play key roles in shaping aggressive behavior. Male mice primed by…

Zoning Out or Zoning In? How Aimless Wandering Trains the Brain

Summary: New research reveals that the brain may be learning even during unstructured, aimless exploration. By recording activity in tens of thousands of neurons, scientists found that the visual cortex…