The research demonstrates the distributed nature of memory processing in the brain, and reveals a dedicated pathway for memory recall, which is less understood than memory formation.
New research reveals how neurons in a fly's brain signal the direction in which the body is traveling. The cells appear to literally perform vector math in order to act as a biological compass.
Using light beads microscopy, researchers can now capture images of a vast number of cells across different depths in the brain at high speed, with unprecedented clarity.
If COVID-19 lockdowns scrambled your sleep schedule and stretched your waistline, you're not alone. Fruit flies quarantined in test tubes sleep too little and eat too much after only one week of social isolation.
In Drosophila’s neural circuitry for courtship, researchers discover a configuration that enables a male fruit fly to be persistent, yet flexible in his pursuit of a female.
Our brains have sensory cells, which process the faces that we see, and memory cells dedicated to storing data from person encounters. But until now, a hybrid neuron capable of linking vision to memory—and explaining how we recall familiar faces—remained elusive.
Scientists have launched an ambitious effort to produce high-quality reference genomes for all vertebrate species, from mammals to birds and reptiles. The result could be discoveries with implications for animal conservation as well as human health and disease.
Scientists call it oxytocin in humans, isotocin in fish, mesotocin in birds, and valitocin in sharks. But according to a new study, it’s all the same hormone—and high time we settled on just one name.
Unlike their female counterparts, male mosquitoes have no desire to bite us. But the hardware for host-seeking is hidden in the male mosquito brain, locked behind a simple genetic switch.
COVID-19 causes a host of diverse complications, from lung inflammation to blood clots, heart failure, and brain fog. A team of scientists believes these attributes may have a single culprit—and that findings from research on Alzheimer’s disease might give them a leg up in finding it.
Unlike most humans, bats are naturally resistant to coronavirus infection. Researchers are now searching their genomes for clues that might explain why SARS-CoV-2 can cause devastating disease in our own species.
Female mosquitoes are armed with syringe-like stylets that begin to pump furiously only in the presence of blood. Scientists are now studying the specific neurons that line the stylet, and asking what mosquitoes taste when they bite us.
Rice will receive the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for research that led to a cure for hepatitis C, a viral disease affecting 170 million people worldwide. His lab worked on the virus for three decades and became the first to produce a version of it that could be grown and studied i...
Scientists have outlined a molecular program by which serotonin reuptake inhibitors reshape the brain to alleviate depression. Their findings provide clues for how to make better and faster-acting versions of these drugs.
Scientists have found that a hormone tells the brain to dramatically restructure neurons embedded in fat tissue. Their work widens our understanding of how the body regulates its energy consumption, and how obesity might be treated in the future.
Scientists have used advanced technology to “micro-dissect” the first brain cells to perish in Alzheimer’s disease. The result is a short list of genes that could represent new drug targets.
How do primitive cells “know” where to go during development? Scientists studying the fish equivalent of inner-ear hair cells have shown that biochemical and mechanical cues work together to orchestrate a highly complex arrangement.
In findings that might lead to better smoking-cessation tools, scientists have shown that manipulating a specific brain receptor can alter a mouse’s nicotine sensitivity.
Scientists find a new brain area in control of our attention skills, raising new questions in what has long been considered a settled scientific field.
Researchers have identified a set of biological factors in mice that seem to determine one's ability to bounce back from a traumatic event, and provide preliminary evidence that a naturally-occurring substance may help boost resiliency in the face of stressful situations.
Protein clumps are routinely found in the brains of patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Now researchers find a link between this buildup and the intracellular movement of proteasomes, molecular machines tasked with degrading protein waste inside cells.
A new study finds that neurons affected in Parkinson’s disease can shut down without fully dying, allowing them to also switch off neighboring cells. The findings might give scientists a better understanding of how the condition wreaks havoc in the brain, as well as ideas for new treatments.
Scientists have found that many receptors with high potential for drug discovery take a different configuration inside the body than in the test tube. The findings could explain why some promising drugs fail in clinical trials, and potentially open doors to new drug-development approaches.
