neuroscience

A researcher’s existential crisis led to a scientific breakthrough.

In a citizen science project, thousands of pet dogs are helping scientists to understand what happens to memory and cognition in old age.

Maligned peptides such as the Alzheimer’s-associated amyloid precursor protein may have critical roles in the healthy brain.

The normal functions of peptides that aggregate in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s have been largely overlooked by scientists, but some argue that they are critical for understanding the development of disease.

Bottlenose dolphins can recall trivial details of a prior event to later solve a novel task, a study finds, suggesting these mammals are capable of episodic memory.

Stressed cells can form hollow actin bridges to neighbors to get help, but the virus may hijack these tiny tunnels for its own purposes, a study suggests.

While much is known about how the brains of English speakers process language, research has neglected people who speak other languages. The Scientist spoke with one of the authors of a study that seeks to change that.

A study finds that expression levels of certain genes that track with brain activity—particularly those involved in brain development—vary between people with autism and their non-autistic peers.

The cells signal to the brain how hydrating particular beverages are, but it’s not yet clear whether they play a similar role in humans.

Ultraviolet radiation leads to secretion of an appetite-boosting hormone in male mice, but experts say it’s not yet clear whether the mechanism applies to humans.

A visualization technique shows how fruit flies choose which food to eat.

The prolific science communicator specialized in studies of vision and brain plasticity and was the focus of threats from animal rights extremists for several years.

The device can chill nerves as small as a few millimeters across, but more testing and modifications are necessary before it could relieve pain in humans.

Pairs of same-sex friends who reported strong connections when they first met had similar body odors, and body odor similarity predicted whether two strangers would hit it off.