Gut bacteria may play a role in Alzheimer’s disease

New research from Lund University in Sweden has shown that intestinal bacteria can accelerate the development of Alzheimer’s disease. According to the researchers behind the study, the results open up the door to new opportunities for preventing and treating the disease. Because our gut bacteria have a major impact on...

Finger prosthesis provides clues to brain health

In a collaboration between Swedish and Italian researchers, the aim was to analyse how the brain interprets information from a virtual experience of touch, created by a finger prosthesis with artificial sensation. The result was – completely unexpectedly – a new method for measuring brain health. Published on Apr, 4,...

Opportunism reveals the true intelligence of titmice

Is smartness linked to the size of the brain? Larger organisms usually have larger brains, but are they really more advanced? Is a wood pigeon smarter than a chaffinch? Through the ages, birds have been associated with both stupidity, as in “birdbrain”, and wisdom, as in “wise as an owl”....

If mental ill-health dates back to childhood, can mindfulness help?

Thoughts are spinning – worrying about the future and pondering about the past. Sometimes anxiety can tear a hole in our stomachs; sometimes we become so depressed that we can’t get anything done. You might think that this problem only concerns teenagers and adults, but the symptoms are probably often...