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A pair of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)
Monogamous Rodents Don’t Need “Love Molecule” To Pair Up
Prairie voles lacking functional receptors for oxytocin form normal social bonds, a finding that could explain the hormone’s clinical failures.
Monogamous Rodents Don’t Need “Love Molecule” To Pair Up
Monogamous Rodents Don’t Need “Love Molecule” To Pair Up

Prairie voles lacking functional receptors for oxytocin form normal social bonds, a finding that could explain the hormone’s clinical failures.

Prairie voles lacking functional receptors for oxytocin form normal social bonds, a finding that could explain the hormone’s clinical failures.

genetics & genomics, neuroscience

Colorful DNA strands
Scans of Sundry Variant Types Uncover Autism-Linked Genes
Chloe Williams, Spectrum | Aug 19, 2022 | 5 min read
Troves of sequencing data reveal genes tied to autism through different variant types, providing a more complete picture of the condition’s genetic roots and new clues to its heterogeneity.
Colored artistic rendition of neurons and plaque buildup
Alzheimer’s Risk Gene Paradoxically Protects Against Memory Loss
Chloe Tenn | Oct 8, 2021 | 2 min read
A new study links a variant of the apolipoprotein E gene called APOE ε4 to better memory in older age, even in the presence of amyloid plaques—a possible explanation for the variant’s persistence despite its association with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Photographs of the October 2021 issue's contributors
Contributors
The Scientist | Oct 1, 2021 | 3 min read
Meet some of the people featured in the October 2021 issue of The Scientist.
An artistic rendering of blue neurons against a white background
Participant’s Diagnosis Halts Gene Therapy Clinical Trial
Amanda Heidt | Aug 12, 2021 | 3 min read
The FDA pauses the research program on a lentivirus-based treatment for a rare neurological condition after a patient developed a bone marrow disorder that could presage leukemia.
Contributors
Asher Jones and Kerry Grens | Apr 1, 2021 | 3 min read
Meet some of the people featured in the April 2021 issue of The Scientist.
GWAS, psychotic disorder, mood disorder, Q&A, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, sex differences
Genetic Variants Tied to Sex Differences in Psychiatric Disorders
Amanda Heidt | Mar 31, 2021 | 5 min read
The largest study of its kind identifies single nucleotide polymorphisms with disparate effects on men’s and women’s susceptibility to conditions such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Mary Jeanne Kreek, heroin, addiction, methadone, drug addiction, The Rockefeller University,
Mary Jeanne Kreek, Methadone Developer, Dies at 84
Asher Jones | Mar 31, 2021 | 2 min read
A physician and neurobiologist at the Rockefeller University who specialized in addiction research, Kreek was best known for her work on developing the treatment for heroin addiction.
early-life stress, histone, chromatin, epigenetics, epigenetic modification, methylation, DNA, protein, stress, adversity, mice, genetics, genomics
Early-Life Stress Exerts Long-Lasting Effects Via Epigenome
Asher Jones | Mar 18, 2021 | 5 min read
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.
Gene-Edited Organoids Explore Neanderthal Brain Function
Jef Akst | Feb 12, 2021 | 3 min read
Using CRISPR to swap an archaic variant of the NOVA1 gene into human stem cells, researchers create organoids with neurodevelopmental differences from those carrying modern DNA.
Initiative Addresses Racial Disparities in Neuroscience
Amanda Heidt | Dec 1, 2020 | 4 min read
The African Ancestry Neuroscience Research Initiative plans to boost inclusion in genomic studies and support a more diverse generation of neuroscientists.
Michelle Gray Tracks Huntington’s in Different Brain Cells
Amanda Heidt | Oct 1, 2020 | 3 min read
The University of Alabama at Birmingham neuroscientist aims to determine which cells are most important in prompting the disease’s initiation and progression.
Wanted: Healthy Brains
Ashley Yeager | Feb 25, 2020 | 4 min read
Brain banks have struggled to convince unaffected individuals to donate, hampering studies on “cognitively normal” neurodevelopment and aging.
Inadequate Myelination of Neurons Tied to Autism: Study
Lisa Winter | Feb 4, 2020 | 2 min read
A mouse model of autism and postmortem brains of autistic individuals showed a lack of mature oligodendrocytes and less myelination than controls.
Those We Lost in 2019
Ashley Yeager | Dec 30, 2019 | 6 min read
The scientific community said goodbye to Sydney Brenner, Paul Greengard, Patricia Bath, and a number of other leading researchers this year.
APOE Mutation Linked to Protection From Alzheimer’s: Case Study
Catherine Offord | Nov 5, 2019 | 2 min read
A woman whose DNA suggested she’d develop early-onset dementia staved off cognitive decline for decades.
Increased Neuronal Activity Shortens Lifespan in Animals
Ruth Williams | Oct 16, 2019 | 3 min read
Suppressing the natural age-related increase in neuronal excitation lengthens the lives of worms, and there are indications that the same may be true for mice and humans.
New Tools in the Works to Probe Adult Human Neurogenesis
Ashley Yeager | Oct 7, 2019 | 6 min read
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.
Opinion: Why Mammalian Brains are Geared Toward Kindness
Patricia Churchland | Oct 1, 2019 | 3 min read
Neuroscience is starting to unravel the evolutionary underpinnings of mammals’ selflessness.
mri fmri neuroscience genetics cognition
Replication Refutes Study Linking Neuroimaging to Genetics
Emma Yasinski | Sep 30, 2019 | 3 min read
The original experiment found brain activity as measured by fMRI was tied to particular genetic variants.
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