Summary: While executive functions like memory and problem-solving naturally decline as we age, new brain imaging research reveals that the neural network responsible for language remains preserved and fully functional.…
Category: Life
Motor neurons don’t just move muscles. They may direct that motion too
Motor neurons, the nerve cells that control muscles, have a reputation as passive messengers. But growing evidence suggests they do more than simply relay the brain’s commands. Work in fruit…
Plants under attack leave behind a surprising call for backup
When insect pests get the munchies, some plants call in the microbes. Gnawing fly larvae provoke cowpea plants to release chemicals into the soil that nurture a helpful community of…
Julia Bebout | Competing annual plants shift traits in parallel – Functional Ecologists
In this Behind the Paper blog post, author Julia Bebout – a PhD student at UC San Diego – delves into the article “Trait responses to competition are mostly parallel…
Kindergarten vaccine exemptions hit record high as Trump’s order squeezes school mandates
American kindergartners are skipping their shots at a record pace, CNN reporter Deidre McPhillips found, and the White House just turned up the pressure. New CDC data show 4.2% of kindergartners claimed…
Fact check: COVID vaccines are not linked to miscarriages
A viral claim that COVID-19 vaccines cause an 82 percent miscarriage rate exploded across social media and Congress this month, but the number is a statistical mirage, according to NewsGuard’s…
A new documentary shows what growing up lion is really like
Becoming a king of lions is as dramatic in real life as it is in the movies. A new four-part documentary series, Lion, captures the journey of a cub named…
Rosa Jolma | Season matters for parasite heatwave tolerance, as do species and life stage – Functional Ecologists
In this Behind the Paper blog post, author Rosa Jolma – a PhD candidate at Utrecht University – discusses the paper “Acute heat tolerance (CTmax) of two invasive parasitic copepods…
Shrews’ noses grow in winter as their brains shrink
This nose grows. During harsh Japanese winters, long-clawed shrews’ snouts temporarily expand. The seasonal swelling is the opposite of the previously known winter pattern in shrews, in which the brain…
Snail slime does many jobs thanks to calcium
Not all slime is created equal. A species of land snails tweaks its slime’s chemical recipe to create five different varieties of mucus, using each for a particular job. Depending…
