A controversial idea from the mid-20th century is attracting renewed attention from researchers developing theories for how cognition arises with or without a brain. | Continue reading
The issue's guest editors resign after falling out with the publisher over the management of papers, including a rejected manuscript on ivermectin, that were submitted for a special issue on drug repurposing for COVID-19. | Continue reading
Researchers turned white blood cells called neutrophils into drug-smuggling "neutrobots," which penetrated the blood-brain barrier to treat brain cancer in mice. | Continue reading
In mice, epigenetic marks made on histones during infancy influence depression-like behavior during adulthood. A drug that reverses the genomic tags appears to undo the damage. | Continue reading
Dreamers answered experimenters' questions or solved simple math problems, showing that complex two-way communication between the dreaming and waking world is possible. | Continue reading
Wolpert, who conducted research at University College London, was known for his work on morphogenesis and pattern development in embryos and for his multiple books and broadcast appearances. | Continue reading
The researchers aims to grow transplantable human organs from primate embryos. | Continue reading
Knocking out the receptor for a lipid that causes inflammation rejuvenates macrophage metabolism and restores cognitive function in an Alzheimer's disease model. | Continue reading
The significance of the variant remains unclear, but experts remain confident that it will not evade the protection offered by a COVID-19 vaccine. | Continue reading
The pandemic spurred innovation in a variety of ways, from CRISPR-based diagnostics to cell biology benchwork at home. | Continue reading
The Retraction Watch team takes a look at the most important publishing mistakes this year. | Continue reading
Over centuries of cultivating Saccharomyces cerevisiae to make dough, bakers have put selective pressure on the species, causing it to diverge into two distinct groups, according to the authors. | Continue reading
Long before Moderna’s and Pfizer's COVID-19 shots, scientists had been considering the use of genetically encoded vaccines in the fight against infectious diseases, cancer, and more. | Continue reading
A finding of distinct patterns of gene-regulating RNA snippets in the blood of ME/CFS patients in response to a stress test could pave the way for a diagnostic tool for the condition and help untangle its underlying mechanisms. | Continue reading
The test will be a cheaper and more accessible alternative to currently available diagnostic tools, researchers say. | Continue reading
Long before Moderna and Pfizer's COVID-19 shots, scientists had been considering the use of genetically encoded vaccines in the fight against infectious diseases, cancer, and more. | Continue reading
Accumulation of the protein was more likely to be found in the brains of people who slept less well years earlier, according to a new study. | Continue reading
A review offers a glimpse of previously unconsidered variables that could hinder efforts to identify true correlations between disease and gut microbiome composition. | Continue reading
Predatory journals are especially dangerous during the COVID-19 pandemic. | Continue reading
The study, published in a peer-reviewed journal, has attracted widespread derision from researchers. | Continue reading
The unicellular species Stentor roeseli performs a form of sequential decision-making to avoid irritating stimuli. | Continue reading
In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers monitored subsecond changes in levels of the neurotransmitters in the human brain, unlocking new insight into their function. | Continue reading
The effects seem to be mediated by a reactive oxygen species in the animals' livers. | Continue reading
Researchers tease out the effects of the two cravings by having participants gamble for the chance to satisfy them. | Continue reading
A combination of factors, from oxytocin release as an indicator of emotional investment to cortisol and other hormones that correlate with attention, can forecast what people will do after an experience. | Continue reading
Excess of the inflammatory molecule bradykinin may explain the fluid build-up in the lungs of patients with coronavirus infections. Clinical trials of inhibitors are putting this hypothesis to the test. | Continue reading
An isotopic analysis of eggshell beads dating back more than 30,000 years indicates that they helped build networks that stretched for hundreds of kilometers. | Continue reading
A nearly all-female team of researchers developed a PCR diagnostic tool in a record-setting six weeks. | Continue reading
Adult neurogenesis, already appreciated for its role in learning and memory, also participates in mental health and possibly even attention, new research suggests. | Continue reading
Preprints from the first round of seroprevalence studies indicate that many more people have been infected with the virus than previously reported. Some of these studies also have serious design flaws. | Continue reading
Folding@Home, currently focused on deciphering the workings of SARS-CoV-2, is the first project to have exascale-level computational muscle. | Continue reading
Studies from serum samples could transform our understanding of the spread of COVID-19, but what antibodies alone say about immunity is not yet clear. | Continue reading
A recent book outlines fossil evidence supporting the controversial hypothesis. | Continue reading
The bat version of the STING protein helps dampen the mammals' immune response to infection, researchers have found. | Continue reading
Infected children may harbor SARS-CoV-2 while showing less-severe symptoms than adults. Their young immune systems, ACE2 receptor levels, and even exposure to other coronaviruses might play a role in their resilience. | Continue reading
Disease experts have largely focused on how we got to where we are now with coronavirus infections. Improved data collection and sharing can enhance projections of what's to come. | Continue reading
Random mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen’s genome help researchers track the spread and transmission of COVID-19, the disease it causes. | Continue reading
The creation of a chimeric SARS-like virus has scientists discussing the risks of gain-of-function research. | Continue reading
Emerging data as well as knowledge from the SARS and MERS coronavirus outbreaks yield some clues as to why SARS-CoV-2 affects some people worse than others. | Continue reading
Brain banks have struggled to convince unaffected individuals to donate, hampering studies on “cognitively normal” neurodevelopment and aging. | Continue reading
Scientific publishing giant Elsevier put out a total of six publications between 2000 and 2005 that were sponsored by unnamed pharmaceutical companies and looked like peer reviewed medical journals, but did not disclose sponsorship, the company has admitted. Elsevier is conductin … | Continue reading
Many plants reflect ultrasonic waves, thereby attracting the pollinators, but one cactus takes a different approach. | Continue reading
From a mass photometer to improved breath biopsy probes, these new products are poised for scientific success. | Continue reading
During deep sleep, rhythmic pulses of cerebrospinal fluid are coupled with slow waves of electrical activity and fluctuating blood levels in the human brain. | Continue reading
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, neuroscientist was known for pioneering work on laughter, yawning, hiccupping, and tears. | Continue reading
In brain samples from people with Alzheimer’s disease, the protein aggregates more strongly bound proteins involved in processing RNA, the same study finds. | Continue reading
Conflicting results on the existence of new neurons in adults have researchers designing new ways to identify and count neuronal progenitors—and finally get to the bottom of neurogenesis. | Continue reading
New evidence points to a waste-clearing problem in patients' cells, rather than the accumulation of protein tangles, as the root cause of the neurodegenerative disease. | Continue reading