Sofia Etzold | The slow fade of forest vitality — What decades of monitoring reveal  – Functional Ecologists

In this blog post, author Sofia Etzold – a researcher at the Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape – discusses the research article Decreasing water availability reduces…

GABA Immune Pathway Drives Female Brain Cancer Growth

Summary: Glioblastoma, the most common and lethal form of brain cancer, exhibits striking differences between men and women in its incidence, treatment responses, and survival rates. A groundbreaking study has…

Heart Rates Align in Real-World Social Interactions

Summary: When individuals share a physical space and a mutual bond, their bodies begin to operate on the same wavelength. A new naturalistic study has demonstrated that when people are…

Comfort Food Shuts Down Chronic Stress

Summary: When faced with prolonged psychological or environmental pressure, humans and animals naturally seek out comfort behaviors to soothe their emotional distress. Among the most universal and immediate strategies is…

Network Mapping Uncovers 641 Hidden Schizophrenia Risk Genes

Summary: Researchers have revolutionized psychiatric genomics by identifying 641 previously unrecognized genes associated with schizophrenia. The study analyzed genetic datasets from over 102,000 individuals alongside postmortem brain tissue samples spanning…

The New World screwworm has returned to the U.S. Now what?

Flesh-eating, hooked-mouth maggots have wriggled their way back into the United States. As of June 21, 15 cases of New World screwworm have been confirmed in Texas and New Mexico in cows, goats, sheep and even…

Sea cucumbers harbor ‘zombie’ tissues that won’t die

There’s no such thing as Thing, the disembodied hand that loyally skitters around the fictional Addams Family in the popular television series Wednesday. But at least one species of sea…

Losing Smell Triggers Severe Clinical Depression

Summary: Losing the senses of smell and taste inflicts an emotional, social, and psychological toll comparable to living with some of the world’s most serious chronic illnesses. The new review…

Trauma Therapy Reverses PTSD in Psychosis Patients

Summary: A new study reveals that individuals living with co-occurring psychosis and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can safely and effectively achieve recovery through an integrated, trauma-focused therapy. The STAR (Study…

Legalized Cannabis Does Not Increase Consumption

Summary: Decriminalizing cannabis or using tightly controlled legal frameworks does not increase use. However, the fully commercialized, for-profit legal markets seen in the US and Canada drive increased health risks,…