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The human brain is the center of the human nervous system and is a highly complex organ. Enclosed in the cranium, it has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but is over three times as large as the brain of a typical mammal with an equivalent body size.

Brief intense workouts offer significant health benefits

At this time of year, many people make an extra effort to establish good exercise routines. We know that exercise is good for our health, but it can still be difficult to get started and maintain good habits.

15 Apr 2026

Loneliness is linked to higher risk of degenerative heart valve disease

Adults who reported feeling lonely had a higher risk of developing degenerative heart valve disease, even after accounting for traditional heart disease risk factors and genetics, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open-access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

15 Apr 2026

Northwestern engineers create artificial neurons that communicate with living cells

Northwestern University engineers printed artificial neurons that don't just imitate the brain - they talk to it.

15 Apr 2026

Gaining weight before age 30 tied to higher mortality

The study reveals that weight gain before 30 years is associated with increased mortality risk, underscoring the need for early obesity intervention strategies.

15 Apr 2026

Study identifies new genes linked to severe pregnancy sickness

The USC research team that recently identified the hormone-encoding gene GDF15 as a key driver of pregnancy sickness has identified 9 additional genes linked to its most severe form, hyperemesis gravidarum (HG).

14 Apr 2026

Study reveals interhemispheric brain circuit crucial for spatial memory

A team led by the Institute for Neurosciences (IN), a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH), has identified a brain circuit essential for spatial memory.

14 Apr 2026

Study finds long COVID leaves a distinct immune signature in the blood

Researchers identified a small panel of inflammatory and neurology-related blood proteins that may help distinguish long COVID from recovery or no prior infection, while also showing that booster vaccination did not appear to worsen these protein responses in this cohort. The study also found that immune responses after reinfection differed from those seen after the first SARS-CoV-2 infection, suggesting altered long-term immune behavior in some previously infected individuals.

14 Apr 2026

Feeling lonely impacts memory without accelerating mental decline

Loneliness affects the memory of older adults but does not speed up mental decline over time, suggests data from a major European study tracking more than 10,000 people over seven years.

14 Apr 2026

Study finds when parents are depressed may shape children’s mental health for decades

A long-running UK cohort study found that exposure to parental depression from pregnancy through young adulthood was linked to higher odds of depression and anxiety in adult offspring. Maternal depression in late pregnancy was uniquely associated with later psychotic symptoms, while paternal associations emerged more clearly from mid-childhood onward.

14 Apr 2026

States change custody laws to keep children of detained immigrants out of foster care

As immigration authorities carry out what President Donald Trump has promised will be the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history, several states are passing laws to keep children out of foster care when their detained parents have no family or friends available to take temporary custody of them.

14 Apr 2026

A new model to break the cycle of chronic nightmares in children

The DARC-NESS model targets chronic nightmares in youth, promoting confidence and coping strategies to restore healthy sleep patterns and mental well-being.

14 Apr 2026

Microplastics lab studies may fail to reflect real-world exposure

Microplastics pose health risks, but lab studies often fail to reflect real-world exposure, highlighting critical gaps in toxicological research methodologies.

14 Apr 2026

Categorization is fundamental and predictive across all brain processing

Challenging the classic view, two cognitive scientists argue in a new review that categorization is not a late, specialized stage of sensory processing.

13 Apr 2026

Alzheimer's risk gene APOE4 impacts bone health in females

Scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, along with collaborators at UC San Francisco, have discovered that APOE4, the most common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, causes bone quality deficits specifically in female mice, through a mechanism that is invisible to standard imaging and can emerge as early as midlife.

13 Apr 2026

Vaping may raise cognitive impairment risk in young adults, study finds

A cross-sectional study of 232 young adults in Bangkok found that e-cigarette users were more likely than non-smokers to screen as at risk for cognitive impairment on the MoCA, while no significant differences were seen for ADHD symptom tendency or emotional intelligence. The authors say the findings raise neurocognitive concerns but do not prove causation, and they call for longitudinal research to clarify whether vaping contributes to later cognitive decline.

13 Apr 2026

Eardrum perforations and cholesteatoma linked to higher odds of dementia

A new study published in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, the official peer-reviewed publication of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF), finds that two common and treatable causes of conductive hearing loss-eardrum perforations and cholesteatoma, a type of abnormal skin growth in the middle ear-are associated with higher odds of dementia.

13 Apr 2026

Competition between brain circuits is key to intelligent behavior

The brain does not only cooperate; it also competes. So determines an international study by the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, Pompeu Fabra University and the Montreal Neurological Institute in Canada, published in Nature Neuroscience.

13 Apr 2026

Environmental enrichment found to weaken stress-triggered fentanyl relapse

Combating the opioid crisis relies on identifying new prevention strategies for problematic fentanyl use. In a collaboration between Washington State University and Washington University in St. Louis, researchers led by Jose Moron tested whether enriching a rat's environment can reduce fentanyl use and relapse.

13 Apr 2026

Study finds higher anxiety and depression in children with brain injuries

A new study, published today in JAMA Network Open, reveals that schoolage children and adolescents with medically diagnosed traumatic brain injury (TBI) have significantly higher rates of anxiety/depression, and strong family support and resilience helps alleviate some of it.

13 Apr 2026