Science Daily News

• Repetitive behaviors and special interests are more indicative of an autism diagnosis than a lack of social skills March 26, 2025
  People with autism are typically diagnosed by clinical observation and assessment. To deconstruct the clinical decision process, which is often subjective and difficult to describe, researchers used a large language model (LLM) to synthesize the behaviors and observations that are most indicative of an autism diagnosis. Their results show that repetitive behaviors, special interests, and […]
• A hit of dopamine tells baby birds when their song practice is paying off March 25, 2025
  By watching the ebb and flow of the brain's chemical signals, researchers are beginning to disentangle the molecular mechanisms underlying the intrinsic motivation to learn. In a new study of zebra finches, researchers show that a hit a dopamine tells baby birds when their song practice is paying off. The findings suggest that dopamine acts […]
• Postpartum female preference for cooler temperatures linked to brain changes March 25, 2025
  Mothers experience major metabolic adaptations during pregnancy and lactation to support the development and growth of the new life. Although many metabolic changes have been studied, body temperature regulation and environmental temperature preference during and after pregnancy remain poorly understood. Researchers show that postpartum female mice develop new environmental temperature preferences and reveal brain changes […]
• 'Low-sugar' vaccine can provide broad immunity against coronavirus variants March 25, 2025
  Early animal studies show that a single vaccine could protect the recipient from different variants of the coronaviruses that cause COVID-19, the flu and the common cold. In addition to creating antibodies that target a specific region of the spike protein that doesn't mutate, the vaccine removes the sugar coat from the virus that allows […]
• Fluorescent caves could explain how life persists in extraterrestrial environments March 25, 2025
  Deep below the Earth's surface, rock and mineral formations lay hidden with a secret brilliance. Under a black light, the chemicals fossilized within shine in brilliant hues of pink, blue and green. Scientists are using these fluorescent features to understand how the caves formed and the conditions for supporting life in extreme, and even extraterrestrial, […]