Brain/Neuroscience
Why are scientists vilified when they profit from their innovations?
A critic of biotech has pointedly identified the number of companies a researcher has founded to underscore what he claims ...
Bionic reconstruction enables mind-controlled prosthetic hands
Bionic hands are go. Three men with serious nerve damage had their hands amputated and replaced by prosthetic ones that ...
Do people trust ‘hard’ neuroscience more than ‘soft’ psychology?
Imagine a politician from your party is in trouble for alleged misdemeanors. He’s been assessed by an expert who says ...
You are what you don’t eat: Genetics of anorexia and bulimia
The latest research shows how eating disorders, and anorexia in particular, produce a cascade of physical and mental effects, including ...
Aphrodite’s little helper: Out of the box thinking on female libido
Based on the belief that female sexual dysfunction is more often upstairs than down, the drug flibanserin is being promoted ...
Why your convictions probably aren’t as strong as you think they are
Paul Offit likes to tell a story about how his wife, pediatrician Bonnie Offit, was about to give a child ...
Only a few genes separate human and animal intelligence
Some parts of our genome have evolved at particularly high speed, quickly accumulating mutations that distinguish them from their counterparts ...
Unraveling mystery of obsessive-compulsive disorder: A personal journey
This daily ordeal, among other irrational behaviors I suffered, was physically and emotionally exhausting, yet it wouldn't subside until I ...
Ancient battle of sexes explains promiscuity, good parenting
Making babies is one of the fundamental conflicts of interest between the sexes. Care by either partner is beneficial to ...
What makes genes tick?
The expectation is that by uncovering the switches and genes they control, scientists can add depth to genetic findings like ...
How Beethoven can help us understand the human epigenome
Almost every cell in your body has the same DNA sequence. So why is a heart cell different from a ...
Glow-in-the-dark protein helps neuroscientists peer into brain
Neuron activity is used as everything from an indicator of our most fundamental impulses to a model for computers, but ...
Neuroscientists deride Human Brain Project as misguided, unhelpful
If you want to make a neuroscientist scoff, mention the billion-dollar-plus Human Brain Project. More or less Europe’s version of ...
20-year saga with brain disease highlights questions about precision medicine plan
Which chapter came first? Was it the genetic predilection for alcohol that created [Barbar's] lifestyle (pure chaos) and environment (streets, shelters, hotels)? ...
Mystery of obesity: Failed ‘rectal transplant’ raises questions about role of gut microbes
A recent fecal transplant case leading to serious weight gain has resulted in a rule against overweight fecal donors. Did ...
How Food Babe mobilized an army against GMOs and chemicals
Over the past three years, Vani Hari has rapidly become one of the most popular voices on nutrition in mainstream ...
Obesity linked to our nervous system
The team scoured DNA libraries of more than 300,000 people, constructing the largest-ever genetic map of obesity. Looking for consistent ...
More potential health benefits found from drinking red wine
Researchers at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine report that a compound found in common foods such as ...
Genetics policy can help, or hurt, racial and social justice
The sequencing of the human genome and the science that made that feat possible have led to some fascinating new ...
Neurological impact of premature birth starting to become known
Thanks to medical advances since the 1970s, premature infants — those born before 37 weeks of gestation — are increasingly ...
Circadian desynchrony: Can obesity be treated with electricity?
Could a key factor in the obesity epidemic be attributed to the disruption of our metabolic functions (which are intended ...
That ‘Precision Medicine’ initiative? A Reality Check
What, precisely, is Precision Medicine? It's pretty much everything. The ambition of the plan is admirable, but the hurdles in ...
For hypersomniacs, no amount of sleep is enough
For most teenagers, getting out of bed in the morning is a drag. But when Lloyd Johnson was 13 years ...
Play struggles to capture questions of neuroscience and human nature
In the first scene of Tom Stoppard’s new play The Hard Problem, the charming but arrogant neuroscientist is arguing with ...
Longevity and Alzheimer’s risk both linked to one gene
People who carry a mutated gene linked to longer lifespan have extra tissue in part of the brain that seems ...
Neuroscience needs to globalize focus on mental health
Neuroscience holds the key to understanding the brain – and to developing more effective treatments for people with mental health ...
Hair loss? Stem cells offer promising cure
It's been theorised for years, but now human stem cells have resulted in hair growth for the very first time ...
