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States of mind that the legal system cares about — memory, responsibility and mental maturity — have long been difficult to describe objectively, but neuroscientists are starting to detect patterns. Coming soon to a courtroom near you?
Retirement is a time for spending, not saving. And yet many people hold on to their wealth. Understanding why, and where that money ends up, is of increasing importance as the US population ages.
Ultrasound isn’t just for images. Sonogenetics and other promising technologies let researchers use focused sound waves to control genes and entire cells deep in the tissues of living animals, without surgery.
The meaning of the cryptic text has eluded scholars for centuries. Their latest efforts include computational analyses seeking new insights into the medieval enigma.
From monkeys washing potatoes to cockatoos raiding trash cans, socially spread behaviors allow creatures to adapt more rapidly to changing environments than conventional evolution would allow. But the traits are also more easily lost.
Researchers are developing brain-computer interfaces that would enable communication for people with locked-in syndrome and other conditions that render them unable to speak
The scientific literature is riddled with bad charts and graphs, leading to misunderstanding and worse. Avoiding design missteps can improve understanding of research.
What helps some people diagnosed with cancer, heart disease or diabetes stay relatively happy and healthy, while others are devastated? Psychologist Vicki Helgeson explains the traits and mindsets that can make the difference.
It took a long time to figure out how attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder presents in girls and women and the problems it can create. A pioneering study helped change that, but the condition is still often missed.
A summary of “Update on Alzheimer’s Disease Therapy and Prevention Strategies” by W. Vallen Graham and coauthors, in the 2017 issue of the Annual Review of Medicine
VIDEO: Learn how the baby brain changes from gestation to toddlerhood, and what parents, teachers and policymakers can do to ensure kids are set up for success
War, disasters, trafficking and immigration are tearing millions of children from their parents all around the world. A psychologist explores how to help them recover.
In winter, the birds must remember where they’ve hidden tens of thousands of seeds. Biologist Vladimir Pravosudov explains what this can teach us about how the brain evolves.
Psychologists are seeking better ways to cut the link between dire thoughts and fatal action. Among their strategies: individualized plans for pulling back from the brink, and limiting access to deadly means, especially guns.
From the boardroom to the basketball court, some managers rely on berating and bullying employees. Researchers have learned one thing: It doesn’t work.
For women, a short-term fling may involve a quest for good genes or just a good time. It’s a puzzle for the researchers looking at how people choose mates.
COMIC: In the US, where political parties have increasingly staked claims on one side of the issue or the other, beliefs may be more about belonging than facts
At last, neuroscientists are learning how the hormone shapes social behaviors such as pair-bonding and parental care. It’s more complicated than they thought.
OPINION: More than a third of Americans don’t log enough hours in bed, provoking serious impacts on their health. Diet is an important and under-recognized reason.
Studies of birds, fish and ants reveal the hidden ways groups coordinate movement, which might influence engineers designing drone armadas and efficient information flow
The thalamus has traditionally been viewed just as the brain’s sensory relay station. But it may also play an important role in higher-level cognition, MIT’s Michael Halassa explains in a Q&A.
The way we see and describe hues varies widely for many reasons: from our individual eye structure, to how our brain processes images, to what language we speak, or even if we live near a body of water
The Covid-19 pandemic brought a sudden shift to virtual health care. That has increased access — and possibly outcomes, too — for patients with opioid use disorder.
Neuroscientists have long known that shut-eye helps consolidate memories in adults. Napping may play an equally crucial role in infants and young children.
Differences between the immune systems of males and females — in particular, ones involving cells called microglia — might help explain why the risk for conditions such as autism and Alzheimer’s varies between the sexes
How we want to be perceived influences how we act, and that presents persuasion opportunities. But the social factors involved are not easy to unravel.
Collaboration is vital when caring for an aging parent. Yet there are many stumbling blocks to good teamwork, from unequal division of tasks and differing perceptions of a parent’s needs to old, lingering resentments.
Countermarketing succeeds by exposing the motives behind the advertising of unhealthy products. It worked for teen smoking — could it do the same for junk food?
Empathy is a skill that can be learned and enhanced. But it has its limits, and can even promote conflict. Here’s what some experts say about how it works.
Individual behavior patterns may skew studies. A new approach called ‘STRANGE’ could help, by taking into account the habits, tendencies and life experiences of the creatures under scrutiny.
VIDEO: Join a conversation about the teenage brain’s strengths and vulnerabilities, how adults can support teenagers with mental health issues, and how teens can help one another
Kids with disruptive mood dysregulation disorder have explosive outbursts well past toddler age. Scientists are trying to work out the causes and what treatments help.
The strain of life — from everyday conflicts to major losses — can stretch our well-being to the breaking point. Here’s what scientists know, and still don’t know, about the stress-illness connection.
Beginning in its bleak borderlands, the country launched an official — and broadly influential — effort to improve food and lifestyle choices, using everything from cozy fireside chats and reality TV shows to laws and incentives.
Trendy office layouts. Performance reviews that crush morale. There’s plenty of evidence on how to get the best out of workers, but businesses often ignore it.
Criminologist Charis Kubrin has spent more than a decade researching the effects of immigration on law and order. She’s finding that it takes more than data to make her case.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is proving to work well, but only for some patients. Scientists are seeking new innovations to help people grappling with the pervasive and often-hidden problems of anorexia, bulimia and binge eating.
VIDEO: Connect with brain health experts about the best ways to cultivate resilience as we age, and how to support loved ones with memory loss and dementia
Ten years after an influential book proposed ways to work with — not against — the irrationalities of human decision-making, practitioners have refined and broadened this gentle tool of persuasion
PODCAST: Sloppy by today’s standards, and maybe even back when it was published in 1955, Henry Beecher’s paper paved the way for sounder drug trials and pushed scientists to better understand how we process pain (Season 3, Episode 3)
Most of today’s psychotherapies are grounded in Western values. Researchers hope that tailoring treatments to patients’ cultural backgrounds will improve mental health outcomes.
UCLA’s Susan Perry has devoted decades to studying the fast-motion life of these New World primates and learning how the young acquire the skills they need to thrive
After centuries of misunderstanding, research has finally tied the speech disorder to certain genes and brain alterations — and new treatments may be on the horizon
Treatment with drugs such as buprenorphine, methadone and naltrexone is deemed the gold standard for youth with opioid addictions. Why isn’t it used more often?
Public health messages should be loud and clear, so that everyone listens and stays safe. But that’s easier said than done — especially with a case as complex as Covid-19.
The push to legalize magic mushrooms, MDMA, LSD and other hallucinogens is likely to heighten tensions between state and federal law, drug law expert Robert Mikos says
PODCAST: Serendipitous discoveries led to drugs like Prozac and to new insights into the physical basis of this debilitating disorder. But scientists continue to search for deeper understandings and therapies that will bring relief to those who still struggle. (Season 2, Episode 6)
PODCAST: Turns out, the best listener isn't quiet, as our host learns in a chat with two linguists. All those ums, ohs and mm-hmms have unexpected value.
Genetic conditions like Dravet syndrome, which causes severe childhood epilepsy, are hard to tackle with traditional gene therapy. New approaches in the works include using antisense therapy to boost mRNA splicing.
Many colleges and universities stopped requiring the SAT and ACT during Covid. Will they go back to testing in the future? Select: (a) Yes (b) No (c) Depends (d) Not enough information.
Researchers are rediscovering the forgotten legacy of a pioneering Black scientist who conducted trailblazing research on the cognitive traits of bees, spiders and more
PODCAST: We have thoughts, visions and feelings while we sleep, experiencing a virtual reality of sorts. But how and why does dreaming happen? Researchers bring us closer to understanding the work our brains do while our bodies rest. (Season 2/Episode 1)
Though studies are still mixed, and products often inconsistent, many scientists have hope that cannabidiol can help canines and other furry patients suffering from arthritis, allergies and anxiety
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