Musically inclined mice inflate their throats like balloons to sing their whistling tunes. The rodential aria is produced by inflatable air sacs in the mice’s airway, researchers report May 6…
Category: Life
What to know about a rare hantavirus outbreak at sea
Seven people aboard a cruise ship may have gotten hantavirus, a deadly illness more often associated with breathing in desert or other land dust. How could that happen? When ship…
How Scientists Cracked the Ketamine Code for Depression
Summary: Ketamine has been a “miracle” for many with treatment-resistant depression, but its side effects and short duration have limited its use. Two new studies have “reverse engineered” exactly how…
Celebrate America’s 250th birthday at a new state flower exhibit
America is turning the big 250 this year. To celebrate, the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., has a new exhibit of state flowers. Through October 12, visitors can go…
Cows’ methane burps may be fueled by a newfound organelle in gut microbes
A newly discovered organelle may hold the key to how much methane cattle burp out. The organelle doesn’t belong to cows. It’s part of fuzzy single-celled protozoa called ciliates. The…
Brain Prioritizes “Sound Offsets” During Hearing Repair
Summary: When a sound stops, your brain doesn’t just experience silence; it generates a precise “offset” signal. This “biological punctuation” is what allows us to process the gaps in human…
Grace Hirzel | Up to their eyes: seasonal changes in vision, behaviour, and wing colour in a temperate butterfly – Functional Ecologists
In this week’s blog post, we’re gearing up for a shift in seasons with author Grace Hirzel as we explore the behavioural changes in a temperate butterfly. Based on their…
Why Your Brain “Dreams” Even When You’re Awake
Summary: We usually think of wakefulness and sleep as two separate worlds, but new research proves the boundary is an illusion. Using an experimental setup inspired by Thomas Edison, researchers…
Mapping the Brain’s Hidden Hub for Creative Thought
Summary: What makes a brain creative? For years, neuroscientists have pointed to a “dynamic cooperation” between two opposing systems: the Default Mode Network (DMN), which handles spontaneous associations, and the…
