Science, Brain | featured news

It was a clue — the kind of clue medical researchers notice. Intent on finding answers about autism, now estimated to affect 1 of every 88 children, they followed it, poking and prodding and scanning, prying open its secrets.

This Valentine’s Day, as our collective thoughts shift to tender cards, heart-shaped chocolates, overpriced bouquets and other extravagant gestures of love, I can’t help but wonder what really attracts us to one mate over another. Is it hot sex? Fairy-tale romance? Destiny? Or are we merely at the beck and call of our hormones and brain circuitry?

Scientists have found a direct link between the number of "friends" a person has on Facebook and the size of certain brain regions, raising the possibility that using online social networks might change our brains.

One reason optimists retain a positive outlook on life despite all evidence to the contrary has been discovered, say researchers. A study, published in Nature Neuroscience, suggests the brain is very good at processing good news about the future. However, in some people, anything negative is practically ignored - with them retaining a positive world view.

Scientists are closing in on a long-sought goal: A blood test to screen people for Alzheimer's disease. An experimental test did a good job of indicating how much of the telltale Alzheimer's plaque lurks in people's brains, Australian researchers reported Wednesday. If the test proves accurate in larger studies, it could offer a way to check people having memory problems to see who needs more definitive testing for the disease.

Scientists have shown how a single protein may trigger autistic spectrum disorders by stopping effective communication between brain cells.

Scientists in the US have identified the area of the brain which makes heroin addicted rats relapse.

Do you spend time with a lot of friends? That might mean a particular part of your brain is larger than usual....

Researchers who have studied a woman with a missing amygdala — the part of the brain believed to generate fear — report that their findings may help improve treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other anxiety disorders.

MIT's rocket scientists have teamed up with a brain-injury expert in the military to show that a face shield could block much of the blast waves from roadside bombs, boosting protection for U.S. soldiers.