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Biology

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neuroscience

What Causes Alzheimer’s? Scientists Are Rethinking the Answer.

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
December 8, 2022
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After decades in the shadow of the reigning model for Alzheimer’s disease, alternative explanations are finally getting the attention they deserve.

neuroscience

The Brain Uses Calculus to Control Fast Movements

By Kevin Hartnett
November 28, 2022
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Researchers discover that to sharpen its control over precision maneuvers, the brain uses comparisons between control signals — not the signals themselves.

A detailed scan of a zebra fish as seen from above.
developmental biology

The Gut Microbiome Helps Social Skills Develop in the Brain

By Joanna Thompson
November 15, 2022
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New research in fish suggests that gut microbes can have a crucial early influence on the brain’s social development.

Illustration of butterflies with similar wing-color patterns holding bundles of DNA.
genetics

How Supergenes Fuel Evolution Despite Harmful Mutations

By Carrie Arnold
November 8, 2022
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Supergenes that lock inherited traits together are widespread in nature. Recent work shows that their blend of genetic benefits and risks for species can be complex.

microbiology

Ocean Bacteria Reveal an Unexpected Multicellular Form

By Carrie Arnold
November 2, 2022
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Marine bacteria normally seen as single cells join together as a “microscopic snow globe” to consume bulky floating carbohydrates.

A snake and two frogs staring at one another across a rock.
genomics

How Genes Can Leap From Snakes to Frogs in Madagascar

By Veronique Greenwood
October 27, 2022
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The discovery of a hot spot for horizontal gene transfer draws attention to the possible roles of parasites and ecology in such changes.

Sergiu Paşca in his lab at Stanford University, in front of a rack of equipment.
Q&A

Human Brains Are Hard to Study. He Grows Useful Substitutes.

By Claudia Dreifus
October 12, 2022
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With stem cell technology and lab-grown brain organoids, Sergiu Paşca seeks the causes of autism and other neuropsychiatric conditions.

Green cross section of a brain with a large bright area in its left hemisphere.
neuroscience

Lab-Grown Human Cells Form Working Circuits in Rat Brains

By Allison Whitten
October 12, 2022
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Letting human brain organoids grow in animal brains could be an ethical new option for experimental studies of neurological disorders.

Artwork of human figure smelling a flower and the smell being categorized as a type of flower.
smell

Machine Learning Highlights a Hidden Order in Scents

By Allison Parshall
October 10, 2022
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Efforts to build a better digital “nose” suggest that our perception of scents reflects both the structure of aromatic molecules and the metabolic processes that make them.


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