Craving snacks after a meal? It might be food-seeking neurons, not an overactive appetite
People who find themselves rummaging around in the refrigerator for a snack not long after they’ve eaten a filling meal might have overactive food-seeking neurons, not an overactive appetite. UCLA psychologists have discovered a circuit in the brain of mice that makes them crave food and seek it out, even when they are not hungry. […]
DNA barcoding identifies the plants a person has eaten: Reliable technique should improve clinical trials, nutrition studies and historical research
What people say they’ve eaten and what they’ve actually eaten are often two very different lists of foods. But a new technique using DNA barcoding to identify the plant matter in human feces may get at the truth, improving clinical trials, nutrition studies and more. Building on earlier studies that attempted to compare DNA found […]
Sexual Violence Takes a Toll on Teens’ Mental Health
Teenagers may bear the burden of poor mental health if they’ve had to deal with sexual assault or unwelcome sexual advances, U.K. researchers said. In a U.K. population-based study, sexual violence was linked with a slew of poor mental health outcomes among both teenage girls and boys, according to Francesca Bentivegna, MSc, and Praveetha Patalay, […]
‘Once-in-a generation’ tardigrade fossil discovery reveals new species in 16-million-year-old amber
They’ve famously survived the vacuum of space, and even returned to life after being frozen for decades in Antarctic moss. But as hard as it is to kill the bizarre microscopic animal, the tardigrade, it’s harder to find one fossilized. In fact, only two have ever been discovered and formally named — until now. In […]