The menstrual cycle and other aspects of women’s health have long been understudied Romy Arroyo Fernandez/NurPhoto via Getty Images The Period BrainSarah Hill Vermilion (UK); Harvest (US) When I lived with my parents, my mother said she could always tell when my period was approaching: I raided the snack cupboard a little more frequently and … Read more
Our brain activity and health is affected by the goings-on elsewhere in our body Cavallini James/BPIS/GETY Images The effects that our fat has on our movement, emotions and even our risk of Alzheimer’s disease may differ depending on where in our body it is located. When it comes to studying the health consequences of excess … Read more
My parents are both in their 80s and are fit and well for people of their age. I would like them to be around for many years longer. So, what is the secret to getting from your 80s to 100 and beyond? Good fortune plays a big part: avoiding fatal accidents or deadly infectious diseases … Read more
The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis is part of a bigger, banded structure in the brain called the stria terminalis My Box/Alamy A brain structure that seems to influence food consumption could one day be targeted to enhance interventions for weight loss or gain. Studies have shown that activating neurons in this structure, called … Read more
With Silicon Valley pouring billions into energy solutions to meet the massive electricity demands of AIit’s easy to forget that old-fashioned human intelligence is very energy intensive, too. Recent research suggests one potential solution for more brain power: a supplement called creatine. Human brains are needy; they burn about 20% of the body’s resting energy. … Read more
Deep brain stimulation is already used to treat Parkinson’s disease Living Art Enterprises/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY A brain implant that detects when someone is in pain and responds with deep brain stimulation has helped relieve people from previously untreatable chronic pain – with one participant even becoming able to hug his wife for the first time … Read more
Sumaid Pal Singh Bakshi/Unsplash It is difficult to overstate the medical progress made in recent decades. In high-income nations, survival rates for one type of childhood leukaemia have risen from around 10 per cent to over 90 per cent. The HPV vaccine has slashed cervical cancer ratesand the life expectancies of people with HIV are … Read more
The man who received the brain stimulation had previously tried 20 treatments for his depression Damien Fair et al./CC-By 4.0 A man who had severe depression for more than three decades appears to have gone into remission, thanks to a bespoke brain “pacemaker” that selectively activates different areas of his brain. “He experienced joy for … Read more
When Shane Devon Tamura walked into a midtown Manhattan office building with an assault rifle, he also carried a note in his back pocket that provides the only hint at why he opened fire on people in the building. Tamura killed four and badly wounded another before shooting himself in the chest. In the note, … Read more
A ribosome (centre) producing a protein (red) from mRNA. The dark purple strands represent transfer RNA, which are also involved in protein production We may have discovered a fundamental cause of cellular ageing that underlies many other ageing processes in cells. A study of the brains of freshwater fish called killifish has shown that, as … Read more
