Brain
- Humans
How to invent a language — like that of Avatar’s Na’vi
Linguists can choose to follow, mix or break the rules of real-world languages to create interesting fictional ones.
- Brain
Big moments can help you remember little things, too
Emotional events help solidify memories. Scientists think this could someday help students study better or aid recovery of trauma survivors.
- Brain
To our brains, your red is my red
A given color may spark similar brain activity across individuals, new research suggests. This could settle a long-standing debate.
- Health & Medicine
Seeing sick faces revs up our immune system, new data show
It activates parts of the brain that detect threats and boosts the activity of at least one type of immune cell.
- Health & Medicine
Sleeping in — but not too much — may ease anxiety
Getting up to two hours of weekend catch-up sleep lowers anxiety in teens, new research shows.
- Brain
Mice show us why food poisoning is so hard to forget
Working with mice, scientists have mapped a brain pathway that links an unfamiliar flavor with later food poisoning symptoms.
- Brain
Brain cells that make you feel full also make you crave dessert
If you want a sweet treat when you feel full after a big meal, blame your brain. Tests in mice and people suggest that the same cells signal satiety and a hunger for sugar.
- Animals
Sheep, llamas and goats fall for optical illusions too
These findings could help reveal when and why falling for optical illusions evolved in animals.
- Brain
Parakeets talk using brain areas similar to ours
Brain activity during vocalizing in small parrots — called budgerigars or parakeets — shows a similar pattern to what’s seen in people.
- Physics
Much of the sun’s light is green. Why does it look yellow?
Sunlight's peak intensity is at a green wavelength. Here’s why it doesn’t appear that way to us.
- Brain
Let’s learn about memory
Brain injuries, drug use and other factors can impair our memory. But targeted practice and healthy habits can boost our ability to remember.
- Environment
More and more, microplastics are collecting in our brains
Over eight years, the mass of microplastics in human brains increased by some 50 percent. There are growing hints that internal microplastics may harm us.
