Category Biology/Biotechnology

A comprehensive look at what happens in the brain when we’re reading

A comprehensive look at what happens in the brain when we're reading
(a) The functional reading network (n = 163) across all experiments, with contributions of the cerebellum. (b) The functional reading network for individual processing levels, including the main effect of letters (n = 7), words (n = 109), sentences (n = 33) and texts (n = 8). All meta-analytic maps were thresholded at a voxel-wise p < 0.001 and a cluster-wise p < 0.05 FWE-corrected. Credit: Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106166

Reading is a highly valuable skill that allows humans to acquire new knowledge, pursue an education and complete a wide range of real-world tasks...

Read More

Simple test could better predict your risk of heart disease

Hands covered in gloves holding a test tube with a blood sample.
Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology and Harvard University have shown comprehensively that a combination of two lipoprotein markers, measured in a simple blood test, can give more accurate information about individual risk of heart disease than the current blood cholesterol test, potentially saving lives. Photo: Marco J Haenssgen, Unsplash

For almost 60 years, measuring cholesterol levels in the blood has been the best way to identify individuals at high risk of cardiovascular disease...

Read More

Electricity-generating bacteria may power future innovations

ajo franklin and Biki Bapi Kundu

Researchers uncover a surprising survival strategy that could reshape biotech and energy systems. A team led by Rice University bioscientist Caroline Ajo-Franklin has discovered how certain bacteria breathe by generating electricity, using a natural process that pushes electrons into their surroundings instead of breathing on oxygen. The findings, published in Cell last month, could enable new developments in clean energy and industrial biotechnology.

By identifying how these bacteria expel electrons externally, the researchers offer a glimpse into a previously hidden strategy of bacterial life. This work, which merges biology with electrochemistry, lays the groundwork for future technologies that harness the unique capabilities of these microscopic organisms.

“Our research not ...

Read More

Compromised synapse-clearing ability linked to autism

Japanese researchers link compromised synapse-clearing ability to autism
Monocyte-derived macrophages modelled microglial function to explore impaired synaptic clearance in autism spectrum disorder (white: neurites of hiPS cell-derived neurons, green: macrophages from individuals with ASD, red: PSD95, a scaffolding protein in the postsynaptic region, blue: nuclei). Credit: Michihiro Toritsuka from Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Japan

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition in which affected individuals experience difficulties in social communication and exhibit restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior or interests.

A growing body of research suggests that neurobiological changes, particularly abnormalities in dendritic spines, tiny protrusions on nerve cells where synapses form, may be a hallmark of ASD...

Read More