Most #materials go from being solids to liquids when they are heated. One rare counter-example is helium-3, which can solidify upon heating. This counterintuitive and exotic effect, known as the Pomeranchuk effect, may now have found its electronic analog in a #material known as magic-angle graphene, says a team of researchers from the Weizmann Institute…
Understanding Itch: New Insights at the Intersection of the Nervous System & Immune System
Eczema, or atopic dermatitis (AD), is sometimes called “the itch that rashes.” Often, the itch begins before the rash appears, and, in many cases, the itchiness of the skin condition never really goes away. Approximately 9.6 million children and 16.5 million adults in the U.S. have AD, which can have a serious effect on quality…
Leaky Blood-Brain Barrier Linked to Brain Tissue Damage in Brain Aging Disease
As people age, changes in the tiniest blood vessels in the brain, a condition called cerebral small vessel disease, can lead to thinking and memory problems and stroke. These changes can also affect the blood-brain barrier, a layer of cells that protect the brain from toxins circulating in the blood. Now a new study has…
Promising Results for Focused Ultrasound Treatment of Alzheimer’s
West Virginia University scientists used MRI scans to show what happens when ultrasound waves target a specific area of Alzheimer’s patient’s brains. They concluded that this treatment may induce an immunological healing response, a potential breakthrough for a disease that accounts for up to 80% of all dementia cases. Rashi Mehta, a researcher with the…
High Insulin Levels During Childhood a Risk for Mental Health Problems in Adulthood
Researchers have shown that the link between physical and mental illness is closer than previously thought. Certain changes in physical health, which are detectable in childhood, are linked with the development of mental illness in adulthood. The researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, used a sample of over 10,000 people to study how insulin…
New Antidepressants Can Lift Depression and Suicidal Thoughts Fast, but Don’t Expect Magic Cures
Depression is the most common cause of disability in the world. Chances are high that you or someone you know will experience a period when depression gets in the way of work, social life or family life. Nearly two in three people with depression will experience severe effects. As a psychiatrist specializing in behavioral neuroscience, I help patients who suffer…
Exposure to Metals Can Impact Pregnancy
Exposure to metals such as nickel, arsenic, cobalt and lead may disrupt a woman’s hormones during pregnancy, according to a Rutgers study. The study appears in the journal Environment International. Exposure to metals has been associated with problems at birth such as preterm birth and low birth weight in babies, and preeclampsia in women. However, little…
Brains Work Harder While Processing Descriptions of Motion in Other Languages
We all run from a burning building the same way–fast!–but how we describe it depends on the language we speak. In some languages, we might flee, race, or bolt, while in others we might just exit or leave the building quickly.. Different languages describe motion differently, according to distinct lexical rules. And though we may…
Spotting Liars Is Hard, but Our New Method Is Effective and Ethical
Most people lie occasionally. The lies are often trivial and essentially inconsequential – such as pretending to like a tasteless gift. But in other contexts, deception is more serious and can have harmful effects on criminal justice. From a societal perspective, such lying is better detected than ignored and tolerated. Unfortunately, it is difficult to…
Mothers’ Stress May Lead to Preterm Births, Faster Aging in Children
Why do some people age faster than others? One potential answer, a new UCLA-led study indicates, is that a mother’s stress prior to giving birth may accelerate her child’s biological aging. The researchers found evidence that maternal stress adversely affects the length of a baby’s telomeres — the small pieces of DNA at the ends…
