Clumps of brain cells made from people with Rett syndrome had abnormal electrical activity Clumps of brain cells grown from the stem cells of two people with a neurological syndrome show signs of the disorder. The results, published August 23 in Nature Neuroscience, suggest that personalized brain organoids could beContinue Reading
The results suggest brain cell activity could play a surprising role in the body’s metabolism. Ripples of nerve cell activity that lock in memories may have an unexpected job outside of the brain: Dropping blood sugar levels in the body. Just after a burst of ripples in a rat’s hippocampus,Continue Reading
A year and a half of pandemic has left many children struggling academically and emotionally. At the start of a school year, kids usually show up with oversized backpacks stocked with fresh pencils, crisp notebooks and snacks. This back-to-school season, many children will carry extra baggage. Eighteen months of anContinue Reading
A big question remains over how the more contagious delta variant will affect children. As the delta variant of the coronavirus sends case counts surging, millions of U.S. children are heading back to school in person, many for the first time in more than a year. It’s a confluence ofContinue Reading
Spiders from at least 11 different families feed on serpents many times their size. A spider’s typical dinner menu might include insects, worms or even small lizards and frogs. But some arachnids have more adventurous tastes — they can eat snakes up to 30 times their size. Take the AustralianContinue Reading
The nursery of endangered sharks would be the first known in U.S. Atlantic waters. It seems like an unlikely place for a nursery of endangered hammerhead sharks, but a recreational hot spot just off the coast of Miami may host a school of these precious babies. If confirmed, the nurseryContinue Reading
A widespread return to COVID-19 restrictions could be on the horizon The coronavirus’s delta variant is different from earlier strains of the virus in worrying ways, health officials are discovering. And those differences may mean a return to some of the restrictions that vaccinated people thought were in the past.Continue Reading
A new study is a take on the adage, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” When parasitic wasps come calling, some caterpillars have a surprising ally: a viral infection. Insects called parasitoid wasps lay their eggs inside young moth larvae, turning the caterpillars into unwitting, destined-to-die incubators forContinue Reading
The book grapples with the ethical dilemmas of saving Earth’s animals. On the Arctic Ocean’s fringe, polar bears stand on ice thinning from human-caused climate change. Without thick ice from which to powerfully pounce on seals, many of these symbols of the wild north can’t eat. Should we feed polarContinue Reading
Fewer of the great apes could be left in the wild than previously thought. Climate change is interfering with how researchers count bonobos, possibly leading to gross overestimates of the endangered apes, a new study suggests. Like other great apes, bonobos build elevated nests out of tree branches and foliageContinue Reading
