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brain research

Research articles and news stories tagged with brain research

Brain Cancer Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·May 12, 2025·6 min read

Mapping the Cellular Secrets of Glioblastoma

Two landmark studies have mapped the complex cellular ecosystems of glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer, offering unprecedented insights into how its diverse cells evolve and resist treatment. Using single-cell RNA sequencing on over 430,000 cells from 59 patients, researchers identified three new glioblastoma cell states and classified tumors into three overarching cellular ecosystems.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 12, 2025·4 min read

Eating More Ultra-Processed Food Linked to Higher Health Risks

A major new analysis of over 8 million adults reveals that each additional 100 grams per day of ultra-processed food intake significantly raises the risk of hypertension, cardiovascular events, digestive disease, cancer, and death. Ultra-processed foods—like sugary drinks, chips, and packaged snacks—are high in sugar, salt, and additives, and low in essential nutrients.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 12, 2025·4 min read

First Full Map of Fruit Fly Nervous System Reveals Sex Differences

Scientists have completed the first full connectome of the adult fruit fly, including both the brain and ventral nerve cord, revealing how neural signals travel between these two structures. This breakthrough uncovers never-before-seen neurons in the neck that transmit brain commands to the body.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 12, 2025·5 min read

Wasp Mothers Juggle Nests with Memory That Rivals Human Scheduling

A new study reveals that digger wasp mothers can keep track of up to nine burrows, feeding their offspring in precise order and adjusting schedules based on need or survival. Despite nesting among hundreds of nearly identical burrows, these wasps rarely make mistakes—delivering food with an error rate of just 1.5%.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·May 12, 2025·6 min read

Face Blindness Affects 1 in 50

A new study reveals that people with developmental prosopagnosia, or face blindness, struggle daily to recognize even close friends and family, despite having normal vision and memory. Many participants described coping strategies like keeping spreadsheets or using voices and clothing to identify others, but these are often exhausting and unreliable.

Featured Neuroscience Neuroscience Videos Psychology

·May 11, 2025·5 min read

Verbal Abuse in Childhood Rewires the Developing Brain

New neuroscience research highlights how verbal abuse in childhood can alter brain development and increase the risk of mental health issues later in life. Children who are routinely shamed, threatened, or belittled by adults may develop a hyperactive threat system and a blunted reward response, making trust and emotional regulation more difficult in adulthood.

This shows a child navigating a virtual city and a brain.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 11, 2025·9 min read

Five-Year-Olds Can Navigate Maps Using Adultlike Brain Systems

New research shows that the brain region supporting map-based navigation is active in children as young as five years old. Using a child-friendly virtual environment called Tiny Town, researchers demonstrated that young children can build and mentally hold maps to guide navigation.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 11, 2025·5 min read

Teen Obesity Linked to Brain Changes in Memory and Emotion Centers

A major new study shows that adolescents with abdominal obesity have significantly larger brain regions involved in memory and emotional regulation, raising concerns about how obesity affects brain development. MRI scans revealed that the hippocampus and amygdala were enlarged in teens with obesity, especially those with high waist-to-height ratios.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 11, 2025·7 min read

Brain Cells That Predict What Comes Next, Even When It’s New

A new study reveals that the brain uses special neurons to track where we are in a sequence of actions—not just where we are in space. In mice, researchers found “goal-progress cells” that fire based on how far along the animal is in a behavioral task, enabling them to infer what comes next even in novel scenarios.

This shows a person sleeping and a heart.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·May 11, 2025·6 min read

Three Sleepless Nights May Harm Your Heart

A new study shows that even short-term sleep deprivation activates inflammatory proteins in the blood linked to cardiovascular disease. After just three nights of sleeping four hours per night, healthy young men showed increased levels of proteins associated with heart failure and coronary artery disease.

This shows people in an art gallery. Above their heads are thought bubbles.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 11, 2025·6 min read

Contemplating Beauty Boosts Abstract Thinking

A new study finds that actively engaging with artistic beauty—rather than just looking at art—enhances abstract thinking and psychological distancing, helping people see the bigger picture beyond daily concerns. Participants who focused on rating the beauty of ceramic artworks scored significantly higher on cognitive tests measuring abstract thought than those who simply matched objects with line drawings.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 10, 2025·5 min read

Heavy Social Media Use Linked to Believing and Spreading Fake News

Individuals who experience high levels of distress and functional impairment from excessive social media use are significantly more likely to believe fake news and interact with it. Researchers found that problematic users were more inclined to click, like, comment on, and share false news stories, regardless of their accuracy.