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Genetics

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Psychology

·August 18, 2025·3 min read

Eight New Genes Linked to Schizophrenia Revealed

The largest exome-sequencing study of schizophrenia to date has uncovered eight new genes tied to the disorder. Two genes, STAG1 and ZNF136, were strongly implicated, while six others showed moderate associations.

This shows the outline of a person with the brain and pancreas highlighted.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Psychology

·August 16, 2025·5 min read

Bipolar Mood Shifts Linked to Insulin Signaling in the Pancreas

A new study uncovers a pancreas–hippocampus feedback loop that may help explain mood swings in bipolar disorder. Using patient-derived pancreatic islets, researchers found reduced insulin secretion linked to elevated RORβ, a bipolar risk gene.

This illustration shows a woman pulling at her hair with a brain and the NAc highlighted. The dopamine structure is in the background.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 16, 2025·5 min read

Dopamine Imbalance in the Brain May Drive Trichotillomania

A new study using SAPAP3 knockout mice sheds light on the brain mechanisms that may drive trichotillomania, or hair-pulling disorder. These mice displayed compulsive grooming, heightened aggression, and stress-sensitive behaviors, mirroring human TTM traits—particularly in females.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 14, 2025·4 min read

First “Microwave Brain” Chip Merges Ultrafast Data and Wireless Signals

Researchers have built the first “microwave brain” chip capable of processing both ultrafast data and wireless communication signals at once. By harnessing analog, nonlinear microwave physics instead of conventional digital circuitry, the chip can decode radio signals, track radar targets, and classify high-speed data streams in real time.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·August 14, 2025·4 min read

Single Gene Edit Transfers Behaviors Across Species

Scientists in Japan have used genetic engineering to make a species of fruit fly perform a courtship ritual it had never done before. By turning on the “fruitless” gene in insulin-producing neurons, they rewired the brains of Drosophila melanogaster to offer regurgitated food to potential mates—a behavior seen in a different species, D. subobscura.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·August 13, 2025·4 min read

Genetic Switch May Be Key to Human Brain’s Unique Abilities

Researchers have identified a genetic region, HAR123, that may help explain what makes the human brain unique. Acting as a transcriptional enhancer, HAR123 influences the development of neural progenitor cells, which give rise to neurons and glial cells, and plays a role in determining their ratio.

This shows a pregnant woman and a brain.

Autism Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·August 12, 2025·4 min read

Pre-Pregnancy Obesity Linked to Autism Risk

A new study reveals how maternal obesity before pregnancy can program autism-related behaviors in offspring through lasting epigenetic changes in egg cells. Using IVF and embryo transfer in mice, researchers isolated the pre-conception effects, finding altered DNA methylation patterns that disrupted genes such as Homer1.

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·August 11, 2025·5 min read

Reshaping Nuclear Speckles Could Halt Alzheimer’s

A groundbreaking study reveals that reshaping nuclear speckles — tiny structures inside cell nuclei that regulate protein maintenance — could be a novel way to treat proteinopathies like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and prion diseases. Researchers found that pyrvinium pamoate, an existing FDA-approved drug, alters the surface tension of nuclear speckles, making them less round and more effective at supporting proteostasis.

This shows healthy microglia and neurons.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·August 11, 2025·8 min read

Microglia Transplant Restores Function in Degenerative Brain Disease

Scientists have developed a targeted brain cell transplant that could transform treatment for Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff diseases. By depleting diseased microglia and replacing them with healthy donor precursor cells, researchers restored crucial enzyme function in the brain and dramatically extended lifespan in mice.

This shows the outline of two heads and brains. One brain is foggy, as though representing depression.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 3, 2025·5 min read

Brain Reward Signals Blunted by Genetic Depression Risk

A new imaging study reveals that young adults with a higher genetic risk for depression show diminished brain activity when processing rewards and punishments. Using data from nearly 900 healthy twins and siblings, researchers found altered activation in brain regions linked to attention and decision-making—well before any symptoms of depression appeared.

This shows a man and woman with their heads close together, surrounded by DNA and flowers. The implication of this image is that men and women's olfactory senses differ according to genetics.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·July 30, 2025·4 min read

Your Genes Influence What You Smell

A major genetic study of over 21,000 Europeans has identified 10 regions in the genome linked to how we perceive specific odors—seven of which are newly discovered. Three of these genetic regions function differently in men and women, helping explain hormone-driven changes in smell sensitivity.

This shows a large viral cell and DNA with a researcher analyzing data in the background.

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·July 29, 2025·4 min read

DNA Reveals Multiple Sclerosis Risk Before Symptoms Begin

Researchers are launching a groundbreaking study to investigate how genetics and the Epstein-Barr virus may work together to trigger multiple sclerosis (MS). Using a method called "recall by genotype," the team will compare biological traits in people with high and low genetic risk—long before symptoms arise.