Neuroscie
Mitochondria in the Brain’s Reward Hub Drive Nicotine Dependence
Summary: Supported by a $943,000 NIH grant, neuroscientists at the University of Central Florida are investigating how nicotine alters neuronal mitochondria within the nucleus accumbens. By examining the subcellular mechanisms…
Firsthand Experience Dictates Social Judgment
Summary: When public reputation clashes with direct personal experience, people prioritize their own history over social gossip to judge non-cooperation. A new study reveals an asymmetric moral calculus: while helping…
Cell Membrane Lipid Governs Retinal Light Sensitivity
Summary: Using cryogenic electron microscopy and synthetic model membranes, researchers have mapped how the membrane phospholipid PIP2 binds to cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) ion channels in retinal rod cells. Even at…
Can Humor Treat Depression? – Neuroscience News
Summary: A comprehensive review of clinical psychology and neuroimaging research shows that while humor can build resilience and protect against depressive relapse, it often does more harm than good during…
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
Asteroid 2024 YR4 was Earth’s first real-life defense test
Artist’s depiction of an asteroid floating in space. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb), Martin Kornmesser (ESA), Serge Brunier (ESO), Nick Risinger (Photopic Sky Survey) At this point in…
How do you fire someone into the sun?
Firing our villain straight at the Sun results in a big miss. Credit: Michael Brown, CC BY To point a rocket directly at the sun and hit would require great…
Cosmic ray puzzle resolved as scientists link ‘knee’ formation to black holes
LHAASO experiment. Credit: LHAASO Collaboration Milestone results released by the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) on November 16 have solved a decades-old mystery about the cosmic ray energy…
If the supernova standard candle is wrong, it could solve the Hubble tension
An illustration showing how Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAOs) expand with the universe. Credit: Gabriela Secara, Perimeter Institute CC-BY-4.0 Last time I wrote about new data that overturns the standard cosmological…
