In a daily fight for survival, primitive nervous systems evolved the ability to escape from predators using reflexive reactions that save animals from being eaten. As nervous systems…
Collective problem-solving is a prominent signature of animal societies. It’s a hallmark of the human race, but we’re not the only ones. Ants, like us, cooperate with each…
The microorganisms living in, on, and around us, collectively known as the microbiome, produce metabolites that affect our health. Some of these molecules are essential for our wellbeing,…
Chromosomal inversions are a form of genetic mutation in which a segment of DNA reverses orientation along a chromosome. Inversions were first discovered over 100 years ago by…
It is old news that damage to our brain or spinal cord is generally irreversible, leading to a gloomy prognosis for neurodegenerative disease or traumatic injury. More than…
Forest-dwelling deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) can be distinguished from their prairie-roaming counterparts by their longer tails and their darker coat color, which helps them blend into a woodland…
In our new study published in Nature Neuroscience, we found evidence that rodent brains use a specific form of learning called temporal difference (TD) learning. TD learning has…
Good or bad experiences associated with smells are thought to become strongly ingrained in memory, even more so than memories associated with sights, sounds, and other senses. Where…
When humans have an infection, like a cold or the flu, they are fatigued and achy, have a reduced appetite and elevated body temperature (aka a fever). Remarkably…
In a project jointly led by the Kunes and Engert laboratories, co-first authors Caroline Wee, Erin Song, and Maxim Nikitchenko used the larval zebrafish to take a deep…
