Summary: Researchers have identified how CBD interacts with cannabinoid receptors to mitigate the negative effects of THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis. Unlike THC, which fully activates the receptor and…
Category: Life
How the Brain Overcomes Instinctive Fear and Adapts to New Threats
Summary: Researchers have identified brain mechanisms that help animals suppress instinctive fear responses when threats prove harmless over time. Using a visual threat model in mice, they found that specific…
A second version of bird flu is infecting cows. What does that mean?
While the risk to humans of exposure from cows or milk remains low, this new flu spillover from birds into cows raises the need for continued surveillance.
How mantis shrimp deliver punishing blows without hurting themselves
Mantis shrimp are famous for their ultrafast, powerful punches used to dispatch prey. They can land volley after shell-splintering volley, without major injury to their own nerves or flesh. That’s…
Extinct moa ate purple trufflelike fungi, fossil bird droppings reveal
For the first time, ancient DNA from droppings left by New Zealand’s flightless moa identifies actual species of fungi the doomed birds ate. The snacks, including purple lumps of a…
Will the Endangered Species Act survive Trump?
Now that Donald Trump has reassumed the presidency of the United States, scientists and legal scholars are bracing for his potential dismantling of a host of the country’s most pivotal…
A new book explores the evolutionary romance between plants and animals
When the Earth Was GreenRiley BlackSt. Martin’s Press, $29 Imagine being a paleontologist exploring Utah’s Jurassic-aged rocks. Imagine discovering the bones of a 20-meter-long, 20-ton herbivorous dinosaur. Then consider: How…
‘Women are biologically female’: Trump’s executive order will not be so easy to implement, and here’s why
One of President Trump’s first-day executive orders proclaimed that “women are biologically female, and men are biologically male.” It sounds simple, but translating it into action across a vast federal…
Ancient Ear Muscles Reactivate When We Struggle to Listen
Summary: Humans have vestigial ear muscles that once helped our ancestors focus on sounds. New research shows these muscles still activate when we strain to hear in noisy environments. Scientists…
Imaging Reveals Gut-Brain Connection in Alzheimer’s Disease
Summary: Scientists have used advanced X-ray phase-contrast tomography (XPCT) to uncover how gut health may influence Alzheimer’s disease. The study found structural changes in the gut of Alzheimer’s-affected mice, revealing…
