Neuroscie
Can Animals Feel? A New Roadmap for Consciousness
Summary: A philosophy scholar has developed a practical “decision tree” to help scientists and ethicists evaluate which creatures may be conscious. The new framework clarifies decades of debate about whether…
Brain Cells That Thrive on Uncertainty Help Us Adapt and Learn
Summary: Scientists have discovered a group of brain cells in the orbitofrontal cortex that become more active when outcomes are uncertain, revealing how the brain adapts and learns from unpredictable…
Social Inference Could Be the Key to Healing Schizophrenia
Summary: Researchers have identified a brain function that could transform how schizophrenia is treated—by focusing on social inference, the ability to interpret social cues and intentions. The study found that…
Reelin Shows Promise for Healing Both Gut and Depression
Summary: A new study reveals that the protein Reelin may hold the key to treating both “leaky gut” and major depressive disorder. Chronic stress lowers Reelin levels in the gut,…
Life
Nature
Newfound bat skeletons are the oldest on record
Two fossilized bat skeletons unearthed in western Wyoming represent a new species and are the oldest set of bat bones yet discovered, researchers say. The incredibly complete fossils of Icaronycteris…
Astronomy
Unified model explains extreme jet streams on all giant planets
The gas giants Jupiter and Saturn exhibit eastward-flowing equatorial jet streams, while the ice giants Uranus and Neptune have westward-flowing ones. This work demonstrates that, under similar conditions, a jet…
Event Horizon Telescope images reveal new dark matter detection method
Simulated images of the supermassive black hole M87*. Left panel shows radiation from astrophysical plasma and right panel illustrates potential emission from dark matter annihilation. Credit: Yifan Chen. According to…
SpaceX targets nighttime launch of competitor Amazon’s satellites
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain SpaceX is set to finish up its third of three contracted launches of competitor Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites on Thursday night. A Falcon 9 on the…
Simulations unveil the electrodynamic nature of black hole mergers and other spacetime collisions
Spinning black hole with gravitational electric (top) and magnetic fields (bottom). Shown in color is the gravitational electric charge density. Credit: Boyeneni, Wu & Most. Gravitational waves are energy-carrying waves…
