Summary: New research shows that different genetic forms of autism may produce a shared brain activity pattern, revealing a potential common neural signature despite distinct genetic origins. Using brain-wide recordings…
Category: Life
ECT Cuts Suicide Risk by 34% in Severe Depression
Summary: A new meta-analysis reveals that Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) reduces suicide risk by 34% and all-cause mortality by 30% in individuals with severe depression. The study, which pooled data from…
No Link Found Between Preterm Siblings and Child Behavior Issues
Summary: A large-scale European study found no evidence that having a sibling born preterm leads to more behavioral problems in children born at term. Researchers analyzed data from over 65,000…
Your Unique Breathing Patterns May Reveal Your Identity and Mental Health
Summary: New research reveals that each person has a unique breathing “fingerprint” that can be used to identify them with nearly 97% accuracy. By continuously monitoring nasal airflow over 24…
Viewpoint: Here’s why farmers use pesticides like atrazine and glyphosate—and why they are safe
Corn growers need access to all types of pesticides. [Glyphosate was] developed more than 50 years ago to control a wide range of problematic weeds. Atrazine is another valued herbicide…
This spider’s barf is worse than its bite
A single drawing from a 94-year-old scientific paper has revived interest in one of the more roundabout ways a spider preps its dinner. First swathe a fruit fly or other…
Negative Surroundings Skew Emotions in People with Depression
Summary: People with depressive symptoms are more likely to interpret neutral images as negative when those images are surrounded by unrelated negative visuals. This emotional “spillover” effect shows how peripheral…
How Serotonin Circuits Learn from Motion to Regulate Behavior
Summary: Scientists have uncovered how serotonergic neurons in larval zebrafish process visual information tied to movement to determine when and how much serotonin to release. This neuromodulator fine-tunes the fish’s…
Genetic Sensitivity to Environment May Shape Mental Health Traits
Summary: A large international study of over 21,000 identical twins has identified genetic variants that influence how individuals respond to life experiences, affecting traits such as anxiety, depression, and autistic…
