Science

Whether it’s from pulling an all-nighter in college or being unable to turn your brain off after a hectic day, we’ve all experienced a night of fitful sleep — and the fogginess that sets in the next morning. After your eyes open and you sit up in bed, you may even find yourself wondering what day it is. But why exactly does restless slumber result in this less-than-pleasant feeling? Thanks to a recent study out of MIT, we now have new scientific insight, which might in turn have you prioritizing shut-eye a little more.

Delivering a connection-building protein to star-shaped cells in the brain could reverse changes to neural circuits seen in Down syndrome, according to new research my colleagues and I published in the journal Cell Reports.

A small trial led by researchers out of China and the U.K. has turned up some promising news for people experiencing anxiety or depression. Half of participants with treatment-resistant severe depression saw clinical improvement after undergoing deep brain stimulation, or DBS, and more than a third experienced an almost total elimination of their symptoms.

Despite how natural friendship can feel, people rarely stop to analyze it. How do you know when someone will make a good friend? When is it time to move on from a friendship? Oftentimes, people rely on gut intuitions to answer these kinds of questions.

This article was written by Emily Ronay Johnston, an assistant teaching professor of global arts, media and writing studies, at the University of California, Merced, for The Conversation — a nonprofit news organization dedicated to sharing the knowledge of researchers and scientists, under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here. Ordinary and universal, […]

As the weather grows cold this winter, you may be one of the many Americans pulling their winter jackets out of the closet. Not only can this extra layer keep you warm on a chilly day, but modern winter jackets are also a testament to centuries-old physics and cutting-edge materials science.