New-found molecular signature keeps key genes ready for action

During development, scores of molecular signals prod cells to take on specialized identities and functions. In response to some of these signals, the cellular machinery awakens specific genes called 'immediate early genes' ...

Rats avoid hurting other rats

Most humans feel bad about hurting others. This so-called "harm aversion" is key to normal moral development and is reduced in violent antisocial individuals. Unfortunately, little is known about what makes people harm-averse, ...

Songbirds sing species-specific songs

The generation of species-specific singing in songbirds is associated with species-specific patterns of gene activity in brain regions called song nuclei, according to a study published November 12 in the open-access journal ...

Where hominid brains are concerned, size doesn't matter

The recently discovered species Homo naledi may have had a pint-sized brain, but that brain packed a big punch. New research by Ralph Holloway and colleagues—that include researchers from the University of the Witwatersrand, ...

In brain evolution, size matters—most of the time

Which came first, overall bigger brains or larger brain regions that control specialized behaviors? Neuroscientists have debated this question for decades, but a new Cornell University study settles the score.

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