Comforting Others Is a Cultural Trait, Not a Universal Instinct

Summary: When a loved one is visually distressed or upset, modern psychological paradigms assume that the universal human instinct is to comfort them, to actively step in and alleviate their…

A whopping 14 million species of insects — or more — may roam Earth

A new estimate of insect diversity suggests there are at least 14 million to 20 million species buzzing and crawling around the globe. That’s double or triple other recent estimates,…

A discovery about this bat’s diet was hiding in a Renaissance painting

Last fall, scientists documented the greater noctule bat snatching songbirds out of the air for a snack. But while this was a finding relatively new to science, a Renaissance artist…

Adolescent Social Isolation Permanently Blunts Adult Empathy

Summary: Adolescence represents a critical, hyper-plastic phase of neurodevelopment across mammalian species, acting as a foundational crucible for social brain assembly. While the long-term emotional and behavioral scars of youth…

Hearing Aids Linked to 23% Lower Dementia Risk in Epilepsy

Summary: Hearing loss has long been recognized as a leading modifiable risk factor for dementia, yet the real-world efficacy of hearing aids in preventing cognitive decline remains a subject of…

Can We Synchronize Human Brainwaves to Boost Connection?

Summary: The colloquial phrase “being on the same wavelength” is far more than an emotional metaphor; it is a measurable neurobiological reality. A pioneering ten-year body of research has proven…

Giant, deep-sea roly-polies steal a gene to endure starvation

A kilometer down in the ocean, football-sized roly-polies slowly clamber along the seafloor. Their metabolism is so slow that they can go years between meals. Now, researchers have found a…

Erliang Gao | Nitrogen enrichment in soil interrupts the ‘rhythms’ of plan-pollinator interactions in Tibetan alpine meadows – Functional Ecologists

In our latest ‘Behind the Paper’ blog post, author Erliang Gao shares insights into the article “Anthropogenic nitrogen addition interrupts seasonal connectivity and structures of plant–pollinator networks“, which was published…

Long-Term Iron Accumulation Strips Neurons of Disease Resilience

Summary: Neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases afflict tens of millions of people worldwide, driven by a complex web of cellular vulnerabilities that scientists are actively racing to untangle.…

Ancient flowering plants may have used dinosaurs to spread their seeds

Fruit salad may have been on the menu for some dinosaurs. Over 74 million years ago, there was a richer garden of fruit- and seed-bearing plants than scientists thought. A…