Neuroscie

Nitrous Oxide Unlocks Blood-Brain Barrier for Safer Gene Delivery

Summary: Researchers have discovered that nitrous oxide can safely enhance the delivery of gene therapy to the brain by making the blood-brain barrier (BBB) more permeable when paired with focused…

Boredom Is Good for You: Why Embracing It Calms the Brain

Summary: Boredom, often seen as a negative state to avoid, may actually serve an important role in emotional regulation and brain health. When we’re bored, the brain shifts away from…

Chronic Stress Quietly Raises Your Stroke Risk

Summary: Chronic stress is increasingly recognized as a contributor to stroke risk by intensifying conditions like high blood pressure, inflammation, and unhealthy lifestyle habits. While stress isn’t as easily measured…

Stress Hampers Emotional Regulation in Anxiety, Depression & BPD

Summary: New research reveals that acute stress can impair key brain functions involved in emotion regulation, particularly in individuals with distress-related disorders like depression, anxiety, and borderline personality disorder. The…

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

What is Manhattanhenge and when can you see it?

The sun sets as seen between buildings along 42nd Street in New York, May 30, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, file Twice a year, New Yorkers and visitors are treated…

Is Venus hiding dangerous asteroids?

Most of the solar system’s asteroids are in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter. However, others are co-orbital with planets, like the Jupiter Trojans, which form two groups: one…

Strauss’ ‘Blue Danube’ waltz is launching into space to mark his 200th birthday

This undated photo released by the European Space Agency shows the 35 meter-diameter deep-space dish antenna, DSA-2, in Cebreros, Spain, receiving the first signals from Venus Express. Credit: ESA via…

Hopes for alien life dim as doubts emerge over exoplanet K2-18b chemical signals

An artist’s illustration of the planet K2-18b, one of the prime suspects to host life beyond this solar system. When astronomers announced last month they might have discovered the most…