Neuroscie

How Psilocybin Lifts Mood Without the Hallucinogenic Trip

Summary: Researchers have uncovered two key brain mechanisms—specific neurons and a serotonin receptor—that help explain how psilocybin produces long-lasting antidepressant effects. Their study identified pyramidal tract neurons in the medial…

Autism-Linked Gene Alters Face Perception in Dogs

Summary: A new study shows that Beagle dogs with mutations in the autism-linked Shank3 gene exhibit face processing abnormalities similar to those seen in humans with ASD. Using behavioral tests,…

Listening Builds Trust, But Stories Change Minds

Summary: A new study challenges the widely held belief that high-quality, nonjudgmental listening is essential for persuasion. While good listening improves how people feel about a conversation and reduces defensiveness,…

Pregnant Women Face Lower Odds of Long COVID

Summary: A large study of over 72,000 pregnant women found that those infected with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy were less likely to develop Long COVID than non-pregnant peers. Using data from…

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

Four space tourists return to Earth after a private flight over the poles

In this image from video provided by SpaceX, a Dragon capsule carrying four space tourists prepares to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on Friday,…

Microscopy reveals signs of life in Earth’s extremes, boosting search for alien life

Rising odds asteroid that briefly threatened Earth will hit moon

Scientists are now hoping that the asteroid will smash into the Moon. A huge asteroid that was briefly feared to strike Earth now has a nearly 4% chance of smashing…

Ultralight dark matter could explain early black hole formation

This is an artist’s illustration of a supermassive black hole that is inside the dust-shrouded core of a vigorously star-forming “starburst” galaxy. It will eventually become an extremely bright quasar…