Quitting Impossible Goals May Actually Boost Wellbeing
Summary: A sweeping analysis of 235 studies shows that holding onto impossible goals harms mental and physical wellbeing, increasing stress and lowering life satisfaction. In contrast, releasing unachievable goals — and crucially, shifting toward new, attainable ones — improves mood, resilience, and overall psychological health. The study identifies a wide range of factors, from personality […]
How Mounjaro Alters Craving Circuits in the Brain
Summary: A rare intracranial brain-recording study revealed that tirzepatide, a GLP-1 and GIP receptor agonist, temporarily silences craving-related neural activity in a key reward circuit of the brain. Using implanted electrodes in a patient with treatment-resistant obesity and loss of control eating, researchers observed that the drug initially shut down signaling in the nucleus accumbens. […]
Brain Splits Smell Into “What It Is” and “How It Feels”
Summary: New research shows that the brain separates “what an odor is” from “how it feels,” with each processed at distinct times. Shortly after an odor is presented, the brain activates a fast, objective signal that tracks molecular features and supports accurate odor discrimination. Only later does a separate brain signal emerge that encodes subjective […]
Brain’s Hidden Inference Engine Revealed
Summary: A new study identifies the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) as a crucial brain region for inference-making, allowing animals to interpret hidden states in changing environments. Researchers trained rats to wait for water rewards that varied in predictable but concealed patterns, showing they adjusted their behavior based on inferred environmental richness. When the OFC was silenced, […]
Supercomputer Builds Most Detailed Mouse Cortex Simulation
Summary: A global team leveraged one of the world’s fastest supercomputers to create the most detailed digital simulation of a mouse cortex ever produced. The model recreates real neuronal structure and function, enabling virtual experiments on brain diseases, cognition, seizures and more. By combining biological data from the Allen Institute with Fugaku’s extraordinary processing power, […]
Genetic Roots of Depression Reveal Strong Suicide Risk Signals
Summary: New research shows that depression beginning before age 25 has a much stronger hereditary component than depression that emerges later in life. By analyzing genetic data from over 150,000 people with depression, researchers identified distinct genetic regions linked specifically to early-onset cases. Individuals with high genetic risk for early-onset depression were twice as likely […]
Why Sharing Good Deeds Feels Bad
Summary: New research shows that people often feel worse when telling others about their good deeds than when keeping them private or discussing personal achievements. Across five studies, participants predicted more shame and embarrassment when sharing altruistic acts, partly because they feared appearing motivated by social credit. This “do-gooder dilemma” intensifies on social media, where […]
No Evidence the Gut Microbiome Causes Autism
Summary: Experts reviewing decades of research conclude there is no scientific evidence that the gut microbiome causes autism. They highlight major flaws in observational studies, mouse experiments, and clinical trials, including inadequate sample sizes and contradictory findings. Many differences in gut microbes disappear once diet or family-related factors are accounted for, indicating autism may shape […]
Why Women Face Worse Long COVID
Summary: New research reveals that women with long COVID show distinct biological disruptions — including gut inflammation, anemia, and abnormal hormone levels — that may explain their heightened and persistent symptoms. These findings emerged from immune, biomarker, and genetic analyses in people one year after infection. Hormone imbalances, especially reduced testosterone in women, were strongly […]
The Hidden Risks You Make Every Day
Summary: Researchers surveyed more than 4,300 people to create the first large-scale inventory of modern real-life risky choices, revealing which decisions people actually struggle with in daily life. The most common risks weren’t financial or recreational—they were job-related choices, such as quitting or starting a new role, followed by health, financial, and social decisions. Despite […]