Summary: New research shows that HIV drugs called NRTIs may significantly reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Analyzing two large health databases, scientists found that patients on NRTIs had a 6% to 13% annual decrease in Alzheimer’s risk.Unlike other HIV drugs, NRTIs block inflammasomes, immune system components implicated in...

Summary: New research reveals that mammals with larger brains and more robust immune systems tend to live longer lives. By studying 46 species, scientists found a clear link between maximum lifespan and the expansion of immune-related gene families.Species like mole rats and bats, which defy the brain size rule but...

Summary: The brain’s meningeal lymphatic system plays a key role in clearing waste and transporting immune cells, but until now, how it develops was unclear. Using zebrafish and advanced imaging, researchers revealed that neural activity regulates this system by influencing specialized glial cells that release Vegfc, a key growth factor.These...

Summary: A new report reveals that parents’ genes influence their children’s educational and mental health outcomes, even when not directly inherited. This phenomenon, called “genetic nurture,” shows that parents’ genetic tendencies—such as valuing education or possessing strong non-cognitive skills—shape the home environment and positively impact child development.The strongest effects appear...

Summary: The Weed Care study in Switzerland is investigating how legal access to cannabis affects users’ consumption and mental health. In the first randomized trial of its kind, participants buying cannabis legally showed a slight decline in problematic use, especially among those who also used other drugs.Importantly, no increase in...

Summary: Our brains constantly predict sensory input, and mismatches between expectation and reality trigger prediction error signals. While past research focused on vision, new experiments show that the auditory cortex also produces strong signals when expected sounds are absent.When both visual and auditory mismatches occur together, the brain’s response is...

Summary: New research suggests that while general curiosity tends to decline with age, specific curiosity, or “state curiosity”, actually increases later in life, potentially protecting against cognitive decline. Older adults showed heightened interest in learning new information, especially topics related to personal interests, which may help keep the brain sharp.The...

Summary: A revolutionary microscopy method called LICONN enables scientists to reconstruct brain tissue and map synaptic connections using standard light microscopes. By embedding brain tissue in hydrogel, expanding it, and imaging at nanoscale resolution, researchers achieve a detailed view of neuronal architecture previously only possible with electron microscopy.The technique also...

Summary: Healthy hearts show complex, adaptive rhythms that reflect resilience to internal and external changes. Researchers applied a novel method to analyze heart rate complexity using wearable pulse oximeters and found that greater complexity predicted slower cognitive decline in older adults.This new measure was more sensitive than traditional heart rate...

Summary: People are more likely to choose to empathize with groups rather than individuals, even though they find empathizing equally difficult in both scenarios. Using a card-based empathy selection task, participants opted to empathize 53% of the time when shown groups, versus just 34% for individuals.Researchers suggest that groups provide...