Summary: Researchers have shown that astrocytes in the lateral hypothalamus play a pivotal role in how stress shapes behavior, particularly after early-life adversity. In mice, stress led to smaller, less…
Category: Life
Here’s how fruit flies’ giant sperm squeeze into tight spaces
Researchers found that fruit fly sperm push against one another and align in orderly bundles, preventing knots that could block reproduction.
AI Robots Learn Touch and Vision to Handle Objects Like Humans
Summary: A new breakthrough shows how robots can now integrate both sight and touch to handle objects with greater accuracy, similar to humans. Researchers developed TactileAloha, a system that combines…
Sex Shapes the Course of Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia
Summary: A large multicenter study has revealed that sex influences the course and characteristics of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Women with schizophrenia tended to begin treatment later, while men with…
Alison K Brody – Functional Ecologists
In this blog post, we hear from Associate Editor Alison Brody, Emeritus Professor of Biology at the University of Vermont. Walking along a trail at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in…
Chronic Stress Sends Immune Cells to Brain, Driving Depression
Summary: A new study shows that chronic stress causes immune cells called neutrophils to leave bone marrow in the skull and collect in the brain’s protective membranes, where they contribute…
This lizard can tolerate extreme levels of lead
Cuban brown anoles have the highest blood lead levels of any vertebrate known — three times that of the previous record holder, the Nile crocodile.
‘A historic failure’: MIT management professor who falsely claimed Covid shots were ineffective and deadly appointed head of CDC vaccine oversight
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine advisory group has long had a work group in place to review the latest COVID-19 vaccine science, including weighing the risks…
Shrews Shrink and Regrow Brains, Offering Clues for Human Diseases
Summary: Scientists used non-invasive MRI to study shrews that seasonally shrink and regrow their brains, uncovering water loss as the key driver of this rare phenomenon. Despite losing about nine…
Depression Disrupts Learning to Avoid Unpleasant Events
Summary: Depression specifically impairs the ability to learn how to actively avoid unpleasant events, though it does not affect avoidance behavior once learned. Researchers tested 465 participants across a range…
