Immune cells from the neck cause Alzheimer’s in the brain
In a strange reflection of the last post here, Science has a report on a study at Washington University in St. Louis that’s found immune […]
neurology
Accidental vaccines against dementia
BBC Science Focus shares an unintended consequence that’s good for us — a vaccine against shingles that has a measurable effect protecting people against dementia […]
Unborn (unhatched?) finches learn about heat from their parents’ songs.
Science News reports on chicks getting prepared to hatch into a hot world by hearing the “heat” songs of their parents: As the heat punishes […]
Stress disconnects our memories.
Nature finds that a single stressful event — like a job interview, a thesis defense, or a car accident — affects our brains in a […]
Brains keep developing at every age.
Nature reports on the first atlas of brain development — a map of where and when new cells develop in human brains — and the […]
Our brains run on 20 watts of power.
Are we bright, or really kinda dim? IFL Science reports that the human brain uses about as much electricity as the average computer monitor: Considered […]
Better long-term memory … for females, at least.
Nature reports on research that gave mice acetate, a common byproduct of digesting alcohol, glucose, or fiber… and found that it improved long-term memory — […]
Honey bees navigate VERY precisely.
PhysOrg considers the flight paths of honeybees in three dimensions and finds that the insects are even more precise than anyone imagined: A team from […]
Teenage cigarettes lead to grown-up opioid trouble.
A University of Pennsylvania grad researcher has found that teenagers who smoke tobacco are at higher risk for addiction to morphine, heroin, or fentanyl, because […]
SONG: Social Prosthetic
SONG: “Social Prosthetic”. (OGG version here.) ARTIST: grant. SOURCE: Based on “Why Did Jeffrey Epstein Cultivate Famous Scientists?”, Scientific American, 20 Jan 2026, as used […]
Why did Jeffrey Epstein “collect” so many scientists?
Scientific American has a rather deeply researched piece on something that feels like it’s about politics at first, since it’s following the donations of a […]
Why is your brain so tired?
Nature reports on new findings about the roots of mental fatigue — which has implications not just for generally feeling worn out, but also for […]
Musicians don’t feel pain like other people.
Is it worse? No, according to Science Alert. They’re sharing research that shows musical training actually increases tolerance for pain: Research has also found that […]
Loss of smell may be an earlier sign of Alzheimer’s.
ScienceAlert reports on a brain-scan study that finds the loss of smell — apparently triggered by a misfiring immune response in the brain — may […]
SONG: Jet Lagged
SONG: “Jet Lagged”. (OGG version here.) ARTIST: grant. SOURCE: Based on “Depression linked to ‘internal jet lag’, study finds,” University of Sydney, 16 July 2025, […]