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Traditional Japanese Igusa mats boost focus and reduce anxiety

Publishing in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers at Kyushu University found that using mats made from Japanese Igusa, or rush grass, was associated with increased activity in regions of the brain related to concentration and engagement.

8 Sep 2026

New drug forces aggressive leukemia cells to die from stress

Pushing the accelerator and the brake at the same time is rarely a good idea. But researchers at the University of Gothenburg are using this approach to treat leukemia.

8 Sep 2026

Vitamin A derivative prevents immune cell exhaustion in brain tumors

Immune cells can become exhausted after prolonged exposure to cancer, gradually losing their ability to attack tumor cells.

8 Sep 2026

Severe asthma inflammation linked to structural changes in the brain

People living with a severe form of asthma show subtle differences in the structure of their brains compared with people whose asthma is well controlled, according to new research presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

8 Sep 2026

Genome sequencing reveals clues about asymptomatic strep throat carriers

Streptococcal sore throat - strep throat for short - is one of the nastier maladies of childhood, causing fever, swollen tonsils, and the namesake sore throat.

8 Sep 2026

Ultrasonic vocalizations in rats linked to pleasurable food consumption

Understanding how the brain processes rewarding experiences could help researchers better understand behaviors such as overeating, as well as conditions such as anhedonia-the inability to experience pleasure, which is a common symptom of depression.

8 Sep 2026

Two collagen receptors cooperate to enhance cranial bone regeneration

Bone repair depends on skeletal progenitor cells (SPCs) moving to injured areas and developing into bone-forming cells, but how these cells respond to their surroundings remains unclear.

8 Sep 2026

Could scorpion venom inspire new treatments for liver disease?

Scorpion venom peptides show promising anti-inflammatory, antiviral, analgesic, and immunomodulatory effects, with experimental evidence suggesting that some candidates could target pathways involved in chronic liver disease and viral hepatitis. The review highlights Kv1.3-blocking peptides and antiviral compounds as potential therapeutic leads, while emphasizing that limited hepatic efficacy data, poor pharmacokinetics, immunogenicity, and manufacturing challenges must be overcome before clinical translation.

8 Sep 2026

Study reveals evolutionary advantage of human heel-first walking style

The average person takes thousands of steps each day, instinctively walking heel-to-toe. Although they hardly register them, those consistent heel-first strides are more unique to humans than previously thought and allowed early hominins to walk farther more efficiently, but at the cost of higher impact forces on bones and joints, according to a new study led by a researcher at Penn State.

7 Sep 2026

LSD deconstruction reveals promising new drug candidates

University of California, Davis researchers have stripped down LSD to the base features responsible for its hallucinogenic and therapeutic effects.

7 Sep 2026

Scientists discover new mechanism for bacterial fosfomycin resistance

Bacteria can survive antibiotics in several ways, including by pumping the drugs out of their cells before they can take effect.

7 Sep 2026

The vaginal microbiome may be an overlooked reservoir of antibiotic resistance

Researchers analyzed 1,957 vaginal metagenomic samples from 1,547 pregnant women and found that bacterial community structure was strongly associated with the diversity and distribution of clinically relevant antibiotic resistance genes. Lactobacillus crispatus-dominated communities carried comparatively few acquired resistance genes, while L. iners-dominated and anaerobe-rich communities showed greater resistance diversity, with PPROM associated with broader predicted resistance profiles among ARG-positive samples.

7 Sep 2026

Psilocybin microdosing sounds promising, but the strongest studies tell a different story

A systematic review of 11 studies involving 3,262 adults found that psilocybin mushroom and truffle microdosing was associated with reported improvements across areas including mental health, well-being, cognition, creativity, and social functioning. However, the evidence was methodologically weak and highly heterogeneous, the two placebo-controlled trials found no significant improvements, and inadequate adverse-event reporting means efficacy and safety remain uncertain.

7 Sep 2026

Deep sleep brain activity helps mice resist social stress

Most adult sleep is non-rapid eye movement (REM), which is restorative and promotes resilience to stressful conditions. However, the brain mechanisms for non-REM sleep's relationship to stress resilience remain unclear.

7 Sep 2026

Inhibitory neurons act as a brake on brain tumor growth

Brain tumors do not grow in isolation. They develop within the highly active environment of the brain, where neurons continuously exchange electrical and chemical signals.

7 Sep 2026

Elusive stem cells offer clues to treat lumbar spinal stenosis

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Hospital for Special Surgery have discovered the stem cells—unspecialized cells that can develop into specific cell types—that give rise to the body's tendons and ligaments, the tissues connecting muscles and bones.

7 Sep 2026

Psilocybin protects sensory nerves from chemotherapy damage in preclinical study

In mouse models, prophylactic psilocybin prevented or reduced multiple features of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, with cycle-matched dosing sustaining protection during repeated cisplatin exposure without measurably affecting tumor growth. Experiments in human-derived sensory neurons and ex vivo peripheral nerves linked the effect to 5-HT2A-dependent preservation of mitochondrial trafficking and local axonal energy supply, while a nonhallucinogenic 5-HT2A agonist reproduced protection against mechanical hypersensitivity.

6 Sep 2026