Human Quirks News

May 17, 2024

Top Headlines

Some Mice May Owe Their Monogamy to a Newly Evolved Type of Cell

May 15, 2024 — What makes the oldfield mouse steadfastly monogamous throughout its life while its closest rodent relatives are promiscuous? The answer may be a previously unknown hormone-generating cell. Scientists discover the cells and hormones that inspire mice ...

Coming out to a Chatbot?

May 13, 2024 — Today, there are dozens of large language model (LLM) chatbots aimed at mental health care -- addressing everything from loneliness among seniors to anxiety and depression in teens. But the efficacy of these apps is unclear. Even more unclear is how ...

Robots' and Prosthetic Hands' Sense of Touch Could Be as Fast as Humans

May 15, 2024 — Research could pave the way for a prosthetic hand and robot to be able to feel touch like a human hand. The technology could also be used to help restore lost functionality to patients after a ...

Cats Purrfectly Demonstrate What It Takes to Trust Robots

May 13, 2024 — Would you trust a robot to look after your cat? New research suggests it takes more than a carefully designed robot to care for your cat, the environment in which they operate is also vital, as well as human ...

Latest Headlines

updated 3:33pm EDT

A Fragment of Human Brain, Mapped in Exquisite Detail

May 9, 2024 — Researchers have created the largest synaptic-resolution, 3D reconstruction of a piece of human brain to date, showing in vivid detail each cell and its web of neural connections in a piece of human ...

'Digital Afterlife': Call for Safeguards to Prevent Unwanted 'Hauntings' by AI Chatbots of Dead Loved Ones

May 8, 2024 — Researchers lay out the need for design safety protocols that prevent the emerging 'digital afterlife industry' causing social and psychological ...

Seeking Medical Insights in the Physics of Mucus

May 7, 2024 — Understanding how mucus changes, and what it changes in response to, can help diagnose illnesses and develop treatments. Researchers develop a system to grow mucus-producing intestinal cells and ...

Wake Up and Die: Human Brain Neurons Re-Entering the Cell Cycle Age Quickly Shift to Senescence

Apr. 23, 2024 — Post-mitotic neurons in the brain that re-enter the cell cycle quickly succumb to senescence, and this re-entry is more common in Alzheimer's ...

Test Reveals Mice Think Like Babies

Apr. 26, 2024 — Are mice clever enough to be strategic? A neuroscientist who studies learning in humans and animals, and who has long worked with mice, wondered why rodents often performed poorly in tests when they ...

Cells May Possess Hidden Communication System

Apr. 24, 2024 — Cells constantly navigate a dynamic environment, facing ever-changing conditions and challenges. But how do cells swiftly adapt to these environmental fluctuations? A new study is answering that ...

Can Animals Count?

Apr. 15, 2024 — Researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery regarding number sense in animals by confirming the existence of discrete number sense in rats, offering a crucial animal model for investigating the ...

Revolutionary Molecular Device Unleashes Potential for Targeted Drug Delivery and Self-Healing Materials

Apr. 10, 2024 — In a new breakthrough that could revolutionise medical and material engineering, scientists have developed a first-of-its-kind molecular device that ...

Did You Know That Physical Activity Can Protect You from Chronic Pain?

Mar. 27, 2024 — Reserachers found that people who were more active in their free time had a lower chance of having various types of chronic pain 7-8 years later. For example, being just a little more active, such as ...

Study Uses Artificial Intelligence to Show How Personality Influences the Expression of Our Genes

Apr. 1, 2024 — An international study using artificial intelligence has shown that our personalities alter the expression of our genes. The findings shed new light ...

Time Zones and Tiredness Strongly Influence NBA Results, Study of 25,000 Matches Shows

May 1, 2024 — The body clock has a significant impact on the performance of NBA players. Data shows vastly better win ratio for home teams from the Western Time Zone Area (PDT) when playing an EDT team, compared ...

One in Eight Grown-Ups Love Extreme Tartness

Apr. 29, 2024 — For most people, biting into a lemon would leave them puckered up and desperate to lose that sour flavor, but a new study revealed that roughly one in eight adults like intensely sour sensations. The ...

A University Lecture, With a Dash of Jumping Jacks

Apr. 24, 2024 — A university professor has found a way to help students -- and himself -- power through long lecture classes: exercise breaks. A new study showed that five-minute exercise sessions during lectures ...

Last Chance to Record Archaic Greek Language 'Heading for Extinction'

Apr. 2, 2024 — A new data crowdsourcing platform aims to preserve the sound of Romeyka, an endangered millennia-old variety of Greek. Experts consider the language to be a linguistic goldmine and a living bridge to ...

Universal Brain-Computer Interface Lets People Play Games With Just Their Thoughts

Apr. 1, 2024 — Engineers have created a brain-computer interface that doesn't require calibration for each user, paving the way for widespread clinical ...

Genomic Research May Help Explain Cancer Resistance in Tasmanian Devils

Mar. 28, 2024 — Through DNA sequencing of Tasmanian devils and their tumors, researchers have tracked the genomic interactions between the animals and the ...

Scientists Extract Genetic Secrets from 4,000-Year-Old Teeth to Illuminate the Impact of Changing Human Diets Over the Centuries

Mar. 27, 2024 — Researchers have recovered remarkably preserved microbiomes from two teeth dating back 4,000 years, found in an Irish limestone cave. Genetic analyses of these microbiomes reveal major changes in the ...

Secrets of the Naked Mole-Rat: New Study Reveals How Their Unique Metabolism Protects Them from Heart Attacks

Mar. 27, 2024 — This unusual, subterranean mammal with extreme longevity shows genetic adaptations to low oxygen environments which could offer opportunities for advancing other areas of physiological and medical ...

A Decade of Aphantasia Research: What We've Learned About People Who Can't Visualize

Mar. 27, 2024 — People who can't visualize an image in their mind's eye are less likely to remember the details of important past personal events or to recognize faces, according to a review of nearly ten ...

Researchers Show That Introduced Tardigrade Proteins Can Slow Metabolism in Human Cells

Mar. 26, 2024 — Tardigrade proteins are potential candidates in technologies centered on slowing the aging process and in long-term storage of human ...

Beethoven's Genes Reveal Low Predisposition for Beat Synchronization

Mar. 26, 2024 — Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the most celebrated musicians in human history, has a rather low genetic predisposition for beat synchronization, according to a new ...

New Archive of Ancient Human Brains Challenges Misconceptions of Soft Tissue Preservation

Mar. 25, 2024 — A new study has challenged previously held views that brain preservation in the archaeological record is extremely rare. The team compiled a new archive of preserved human brains, which highlighted ...

Artificial Nanofluidic Synapses Can Store Computational Memory

Mar. 25, 2024 — In a step toward nanofluidic-based neuromorphic -- or brain-inspired -- computing, engineers have succeeded in executing a logic operation by connecting two chips that use ions, rather than ...

If Faces Look Like Demons, You Could Have This Extraordinary Condition

Mar. 22, 2024 — Imagine if every time you saw a face, it appeared distorted. Well, for those who have a very rare condition known as prosopometamorphopsia (PMO), which causes facial features to appear distorted, ...

In Flies, a Single Brain Cell Can Drive Multiple Movements of the Body

Mar. 20, 2024 — Motor neurons are the cells the brain uses to command muscles to act. Scientists typically thought of them as simple connections, much like the cables that link computers with their accessories. Now, ...

Brain-Inspired Wireless System to Gather Data from Salt-Sized Sensors

Mar. 19, 2024 — In a new study, researchers describe a novel approach for a wireless communication network that can efficiently transmit, receive and decode data from thousands of microelectronic chips that are each ...

New Technique Helps AI Tell When Humans Are Lying

Mar. 18, 2024 — Researchers have developed a new training tool to help artificial intelligence (AI) programs better account for the fact that humans don't always tell the truth when providing personal ...

DNA Origami-Based Vaccines Toward Safe and Highly-Effective Precision Cancer Immunotherapy

Mar. 15, 2024 — Researchers have created a DNA origami platform called DoriVac, whose core component is a self-assembling square block-shaped nanostructure. DoriVac vaccines enabled tumor-bearing mice to better ...

Advanced Army Robots More Likely to Be Blamed for Deaths

Mar. 14, 2024 — Advanced killer robots are more likely to blamed for civilian deaths than military machines, new research has revealed. The study shows that high-tech bots will be held more responsible for ...

Milk to the Rescue for Diabetics? Cow Produces Human Insulin in Milk

Mar. 13, 2024 — An unassuming brown bovine from the south of Brazil has made history as the first transgenic cow capable of producing human insulin in her milk. The advancement could herald a new era in insulin ...