Summary: Autistic adults show reduced availability of a key glutamate receptor, mGlu5, across widespread brain regions. This difference supports the theory that an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory signaling may…
Category: Life
Is Your Oral Bacteria Influencing Multiple Sclerosis?
Summary: High levels of the periodontal bacterium Fusobacterium nucleatum may be associated with more severe disability in people with multiple sclerosis. Researchers analyzed tongue-coating samples and found that MS patients…
Viewpoint: RFK, Jr.’s cronies offered global vaccine expert Dr. Paul Offit $1 million to debate the safety of vaccines. He said no. Why? They’re disingenuous and nuts
Several years ago, people representing RFK Jr., who at the time was head of the anti-vaccine group, Children’s Health Defense, offered me $50,000 to debate him about the safety of…
Stroke Weakens How the Brain Integrates Speech Sounds
Summary: A new study comparing stroke survivors with healthy adults reveals that post-stroke language disorders stem not from slower hearing but from weaker integration of speech sounds. While patients detected…
Doubting Your Doubts Can Boost Motivation
Summary: When people facing uncertainty about an important identity goal are nudged to question the validity of their own doubts, their commitment to that goal actually increases. The research demonstrates…
AI Brain Model Shows How Neurons Learn, and Where They Fail
Summary: A biologically grounded computational model built to mimic real neural circuits, not trained on animal data, learned a visual categorization task just as actual lab animals do, matching their…
Science taught us a few new tricks about our pets in 2025
Carly Kay is the Fall 2025 science writing intern at Science News. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a master’s degree in science…
Engineered Protein Reveals Hidden Incoming Signals Between Neurons
Summary: Researchers have engineered a next-generation glutamate sensor, iGluSnFR4, capable of detecting the faintest incoming synaptic signals between neurons—signals that, until now, have been nearly impossible to record in living…
Numbers in Vision Can Shift How We Perceive Space
Summary: New research reveals that numbers in our visual field can subtly distort how we judge spatial positions, showing that perception is shaped by both numerical magnitude and object-based processing.…
Working Nights May Increase Cancer Risk
Summary: Chronic circadian disruption — such as night-shift work, irregular schedules, or frequent jet lag — accelerates the development and spread of aggressive breast cancer. Researchers found that disrupted internal…
