Summary: A new brain decoding method called mind captioning can generate accurate text descriptions of what a person is seeing or recalling—without relying on the brain’s language system. Instead, it…
Category: Life
A special shape shift helps a shrub thrive in blistering heat
From growing smaller leaves to shape-shifting its insides, a desert flowering plant goes all in to flourish in the harshest of conditions. Summer temperatures in Death Valley National Park frequently…
New Therapy Reshapes Images That Fuel Psychosis
Summary: A new imagery-focused therapy called iMAPS may help people with psychosis gain control over disturbing mental images that fuel paranoia, fear, and hallucinations. In a feasibility trial of 45…
‘The science is almost non-existent’: Latest longevity fad: N.A.D. supplements. Here’s an explainer
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, or N.A.D.+, is a molecule found in all cells that’s essential for repairing damage, generating energy and encouraging healing. N.A.D.+ levels decrease with age, and some scientists…
Woodpecker hammering is a full-body affair
Hidden beneath all their rum-pum-pumming, woodpeckers are quietly grunt-grunt-grunting. The birds exhale with each strike, much like a tennis pro groaning through a stroke. Elaborate coordination between those breaths and…
New Drug Exposes Hidden Subtypes of Psychosis
Summary: A new study examining real-world hospital data reveals early indicators of who is most likely to benefit from Cobenfy, the first new schizophrenia drug mechanism approved in 50 years.…
Meditation Retreat Sparks Rapid Brain & Immune System Changes
Summary: A week-long retreat combining meditation and mind-body healing produced significant changes in brain activity and blood biology, demonstrating how consciousness-based practices can transform physical health. Participants showed reduced default-mode…
Qiwen Guo | Do trees adjust their underground schedule when living with different species? – Functional Ecologists
In this ‘Behind the Paper’ blog post, author Qiwen Guo, a PhD student in the Institute of Forest Ecology at BOKU University in Vienna, discusses her new article ‘Above- and…
Oxidative Stress May Drive Repetitive Behaviors Linked to Autism, OCD
Summary: A new study shows that oxidative stress—an imbalance between damaging molecules and antioxidants—may contribute to repetitive behaviors observed in mice, similar to those seen in autism spectrum disorder and…
Early Trauma Hardwires the Brain for Aggression and Self-Harm
Summary: A new study reveals that aggression and self-harm share a biological foundation in the brain’s response to early-life trauma. Researchers discovered that trauma increases activity in calcium channels within…
