Aggregator

A tiny fossil tail offers the first “irrefutable” proof of a dropped tail

A 13-year study shows how sensitive deep-sea animals are to disturbance, scientists say

A common liver disease affecting nearly 30% of adults worldwide may be far more complicated than scientists previously realized. Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered that fatty liver disease actually consists of five distinct biological subtypes, each carrying different risks for liver failure, cancer, heart disease, and other serious complications.

Researchers have identified striking parallels between Sigmund Freud’s century-old theories and modern neuroscience, suggesting that the brain’s constant predictions shape how we experience reality. The findings could help explain why harmful thought patterns are so difficult to break and offer new insights into treating mental disorders.

Eating too much salt may do more than raise blood pressure. It could also harm memory and social behavior. In a new study, Japanese researchers discovered that a soy-derived compound called LPC70 helped protect mice from several damaging effects of a high-salt diet. Mice given the supplement had lower blood pressure, better memory, and improved social interactions compared with mice consuming excess salt alone.

Eating blueberries every day could have surprising effects on mood, according to a small study that found greater reductions in depressive symptoms among older adults who consumed the fruit for three months. Researchers also detected changes in gut microbial enzymes, suggesting a possible gut-brain connection, although the mood benefits were not statistically significant compared with a placebo.

A study of nearly 90,000 adults found that people consuming the most of a little-known sugar found in red meat had a 63% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Scientists suspect the sugar may trigger chronic inflammation, potentially revealing a hidden connection between red meat and diabetes that goes beyond weight gain.

A psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms appears to have an unexpected effect: calming highly aggressive fish. Researchers discovered that low doses of psilocybin significantly reduced aggressive attacks in mangrove rivulus fish without disrupting their normal social interactions. The findings suggest psilocybin may selectively calm escalating aggression rather than simply suppressing all behavior.

Researchers have uncovered three brain pathways linked to lasting improvements in people receiving deep brain stimulation for severe, treatment-resistant depression. They also discovered that patients who failed to improve after two years shared a striking pattern: insufficient stimulation of a crucial brain connection. The findings suggest that millimeters in electrode placement could make a major difference in treatment outcomes.

Scientists have uncovered a surprising difference in how male and female skin repairs and renews itself. By tracking individual skin stem cells in living mice for five months, researchers discovered that female cells work together in a highly coordinated way, while male cells operate more independently. This synchronization, driven by sex hormones, helps explain why wounds heal faster in female mice, especially during the first few days.

Despite the central role of myelination in brain function and plasticity, its characterization remains fragmented, with existing studies typically constrained either spatially, by focusing on selected brain structures, or temporally, by covering only limited age ranges. Here, we provide a comprehensive brain-wide map of myelination across the lifespan, leveraging T1w/T2w ratios from 214 brain regions in individuals aged 0-100 years. This fine-grained spatiotemporal mapping reveals regional...

Maintaining health during global population aging represents a critical challenge, where mosaic loss of chromosome Y (LOY) in the hematopoietic system surfaces as a prevalent somatic mutation in aging men. However, its longitudinal impact on sensory organ degeneration remains insufficiently characterized. Analyzing 223,051 male participants from the UK Biobank, we demonstrated that LOY uniquely and independently predicted an increased risk of incident age-related macular degeneration (AMD)...