Scientists have long known the brain's hippocampus is crucial for long-term memory. Now a new study has found the hippocampus also plays a role in short-term memory and helps guide decision-making. The findings shed light on how the hippocampus contributes to memory and exploration, potentially leading to therapies that restore hippocampal function, which is impacted in memory-related aging and...

A research group of scientists from North America, Europe and Africa concluded that animals' ability to respond to climate change likely depends on how well they modify their habitats, such as nests and burrows.

The visual thalamus is classically known to relay visual stimuli coming from the retina to the cerebral cortex. Researchers now show that although neurons in the mouse visual thalamus connect to both eyes, they establish strong functional connections only with one retina. These results settle partly contradictory results of earlier studies and demonstrate how important it can be to complement...

A new study paves the way for the development of next generation therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), the most frequent cause of healthcare-acquired gastrointestinal infections and death in developed countries.

Biologists and neuroscientists have published an update on the reputed environmental toxins that have been suspected of being involved in mammal neurodegeneration.

Researchers have revealed that a newly developed forecasting system can accurately predict flood locations 32 hours in advance. Extreme rainfall events are occurring increasingly frequently; such accurate and timely flood warnings will help to minimize their impact by providing time for measures to protect people and property.

Over the past 35 years, there have been large shifts in the distributions of many dragonfly species in Germany. Those of standing water habitats have declined, probably due to loss of habitat. Running-water species and warm-adapted species have benefited from improved water quality and warmer temperatures. The study highlights the importance of citizen science and natural history societies for...

People who are physically active during childhood have higher cognitive functions in later life. Participants who exercised when they were children did better on cognitive tests regardless of their current age. However, no such relationship was found between task performance and post-childhood exercise -- suggesting that exercise during childhood is particularly important for brain development and...

Properties of materials are often defined by imperfections in their atomic structure, especially when the material itself is just one atom thick, such as graphene. Researchers have now developed a method for controlled creation of such imperfections into graphene at length scales approaching the macroscopic world. These results, confirmed by atomically resolved microscope images, serve as an...

Footprints from at least six different species of dinosaur -- thought to be the very last dinosaurs to walk on UK soil 110 million years ago -- have been found in Kent.

Biologists have identified a family of algae as a living missing link in the microscopic domain.

Climate warming plays a larger role than plant genes in influencing the number and identity of fungal species on oak leaves, especially in autumn. This research by ecologists sheds light on how warming and tree genes affect the dynamics of fungal communities across the season.

Scientists have developed a new technique that could revolutionize medical imaging procedures using light.

Fruit flies have found at least two solutions to the problem of sorting their sex chromosomes: a matter of life and death.

Researchers reveal that intensification of major oyster disease was due to evolving parasite, not just drought as previously thought.

Geologic activity on Earth appears to follow a 27.5-million-year cycle, giving the planet a 'pulse,' according to a new study.

Two recent studies add new evidence to the impact of how drug price increases affect US patients and the overall cost of health care.

To boost employees' creativity, managers should consider offering a set of rewards for them to choose from, according to a new study.

In a new study, researchers determined that the common blood pressure medication, losartan, is not effective in reducing hospitalization for mildly-ill COVID-19 outpatients.

It could be a milestone on the path to detecting life on other planets: Scientists detect a key molecular property of all living organisms from a helicopter flying several kilometers above ground. The measurement technology could also open up opportunities for remote sensing of the Earth.

A science-based intervention relieved hiccups for 92% of 249 users who self-reported the effectiveness of the tool. =

Will a reduction in tau protein in brain neurons protect against Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementias? A new study suggests the answer is no. If this is borne out, that result differs from Alzheimer's disease, where reducing endogenous tau levels in brain neurons is protective for multiple models of the disease -- and thus suggests that the role of tau in the pathogenesis of Lewy body...

Lake Victoria, which came under the spotlight in 2004 by the documentary 'Darwin's nightmare', is not only suffering from the introduction and commercialization of the Nile perch: A study has highlighted other worrying phenomena, particularly climatic ones, which have an equally important impact on the quality of the lake's waters.

A hydrogel that forms a barrier to keep heart tissue from adhering to surrounding tissue after surgery was developed and successfully tested in rodents. The team of engineers, scientists and physicians also conducted a pilot study on porcine hearts, with promising results.