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Neuroscientists show for first time that precise timing of nerve signals determines how brain processes information

It has long been known that the brain preferentially processes information that we focus our attention on—a classic example is the so-called cocktail party effect.

“In an environment full of voices, music, and , the brain manages to concentrate on a single voice. The other noises are not objectively quieter, but are perceived less strongly at that moment,” explains brain researcher Dr. Eric Drebitz from the University of Bremen.

The brain focuses its processing on the information that is currently relevant—in this case, the voice of the conversation partner—while other signals are received but not forwarded and processed to the same extent.

Comprehensive molecular atlas of human hippocampus maps cell subtypes and organization

The hippocampus is an important brain region known to support various cognitive (i.e., mental) processes, including the encoding and retrieval of memories, learning, decision-making and the regulation of emotional states. While extensive research has tried to delineate the structure, functions and organization of the hippocampus, the cell types contained within it and their connections with other neurons have not yet been fully mapped out.

Over the past decades, available methods for studying cell subpopulations, the expressions of genes within them and their connectivity have become increasingly advanced. One of these methods, known as spatially resolved transcriptomics, works by measuring the expression of genes in cells while preserving their arrangement in space. Another called single-nucleus RNA-sequencing (snRNA-seq), allows scientists to examine RNA molecules inside individual cell nuclei to detect differences between them and categorize cells into different subtypes.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Lieber Institute for Brain Development and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine recently used a combination of these two experimental techniques to examine cells in tissue extracted from the hippocampus. Their paper, published in Nature Neuroscience, introduces a comprehensive molecular atlas of the hippocampus that maps different cell subtypes and their organization.

Depression linked to presence of immune cells in the brain’s protective layer

Immune cells released from bone marrow in the skull in response to chronic stress and adversity could play a key role in symptoms of depression and anxiety, say researchers.

The discovery—found in a study in mice—sheds light on the role that inflammation can play in mood disorders and could help in the search for new treatments, in particular for those individuals for whom current treatments are ineffective.

Around 1 billion people will be diagnosed with a mood disorder such as or anxiety at some point in their life. While there may be many underlying causes, —when the body’s immune system stays active for a long time, even when there is no infection or injury to fight—has been linked to depression. This suggests that the immune system may play an important role in the development of mood disorders.

Exploring criminal behavior in patients with dementia

A suspected perpetrator who can barely remember his name, several traffic violations committed by a woman in her mid-fifties who is completely unreasonable and doesn’t understand her behavior—should such cases be brought before a court? And how does the state deal with people who commit acts of violence without meaning to?

Those questions come to mind if one hears those examples from everyday clinical praxis with persons suffering from . Neurodegenerative diseases might affect several functions of the brain, ranging from memory in Alzheimer’s disease to behavior, such as in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia, and to sensorimotor function in Parkinson’s disease.

One of the most interesting consequences of these alterations is the fact that persons affected by these diseases might develop criminal risk behavior like harassment, traffic violation, theft or even behavior causing harm to other people or animals, even as the first disease sign.

CRISPR’s efficiency triples in lab tests with DNA-wrapped nanoparticles

With the power to rewrite the genetic code underlying countless diseases, CRISPR holds immense promise to revolutionize medicine. But until scientists can deliver its gene-editing machinery safely and efficiently into relevant cells and tissues, that promise will remain out of reach.

Now, Northwestern University chemists have unveiled a new type of nanostructure that dramatically improves CRISPR delivery and potentially extends its scope of utility.

Called lipid nanoparticle spherical nucleic acids (LNP-SNAs), these tiny structures carry the full set of CRISPR editing tools—Cas9 enzymes, guide RNA and a DNA repair template—wrapped in a dense, protective shell of DNA. Not only does this DNA coating shield its cargo, but it also dictates which organs and tissues the LNP-SNAs travel to and makes it easier for them to enter cells.

Graphene reveals electrons that behave like frictionless fluid and break textbook rules

For several decades, a central puzzle in quantum physics has remained unsolved: Could electrons behave like a perfect, frictionless fluid with electrical properties described by a universal quantum number?

This unique property of electrons has been extremely difficult to detect in any material so far because of the presence of atomic defects, impurities, and imperfections in the material.

Researchers at the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), along with collaborators from the National Institute for Materials Science, Japan, have now finally detected this quantum fluid of electrons in graphene—a material consisting of a single sheet of pure carbon atoms.

Shaping future electronics with light: Experiment demonstrates ultrafast light control of ferroelectric properties

Ferroelectrics are seen as promising candidates for the electronics of tomorrow. An experiment at the world’s largest X-ray laser—the European XFEL in Schenefeld near Hamburg—now shows that their properties can be controlled with high precision at ultrafast time scales—using light.

Over 16,000 compromised servers uncovered using Secure Shell key probing method

An international research team from the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Informatics in Saarbrücken, Germany, and the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has developed a method to detect compromised hosts at an internet scale by probing servers with public SSH keys previously observed in attacker operations.

This way, the team was able to identify more than 16,000 compromised hosts. Their findings have now been published at the USENIX Security Symposium 2025, where they were awarded a Distinguished Paper Award and the Internet Defense Prize.

Secure Shell (SSH) is one of the most common tools used to manage remotely. It provides a secure, encrypted channel between a client and a server, allowing users to log in, execute commands, and transfer files safely. SSH is widely used by system administrators and developers for maintaining and configuring remote systems.

Styrofoam-based hydrogen storage: New process offers safe, reusable solution

A research team affiliated with UNIST has unveiled a novel technology that enables hydrogen to be stored within polystyrene-derived materials, particularly those originating from Styrofoam. The research is published in the journal ACS Catalysis.

This advancement not only offers a solution to the low recycling rate of —less than 1%—but also makes hydrogen storage and transportation more practical and accessible, addressing the challenges associated with handling gaseous hydrogen.

Led by Professor Kwangjin An from the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST, in collaboration with Dr. Hyuntae Sohn from KIST and Professor Jeehoon Han from POSTECH, the team successfully designed a comprehensive, closed-loop system to convert waste polystyrene into a liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC). This innovative process enables efficient hydrogen storage, retrieval, and reuse.

A hidden simplicity behind how people move: Study reveals geography’s role in relocation

In a new paper, published in Nature Human Behaviour, scientists from DTU (the Technical University of Denmark) examine how geography shapes human mobility and propose a way to separate physical constraints from behavioral patterns. A result that may improve urban planning, transportation design as well as epidemiology models.

Using 36 years of detailed residential relocation data from Denmark, which covers 39 million moves, between more than three million addresses, the researchers show that when you account for the influence of geography, the likelihood of moving decreases consistently with distance. This means, roughly speaking, that if you double the distance, the likelihood of people moving there is half. In cities, however, distance matters less.

The reader would be right in thinking this result seems obvious. But from a scientific perspective, the data describing these several million moves was anything but simple.

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