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1,202 news posts in Mind and body

Neuroscience

14 Mar 2022

Possible treatment for tinnitus? 4 fascinating Frontiers articles you may have missed

By Colm Gorey, Science Communications Manager Image: Shutterstock.com At Frontiers, we bring some of the world’s best research to a global audience. But with tens of thousands of articles published each year, many often fly under the radar. Now, as part of new series each month, Frontiers will highlight just some of those amazing papers you may have missed. 1: New treatment for tinnitus shows promise for further study More than 10% of the world’s population is estimated to live with a condition called tinnitus, where a range of sounds ranging from ringing to buzzing are heard in the ears that never goes away. While ranging in severity, between 0.5% and 3% of people diagnosed with it say their quality of life is impacted, with no known cure. However, researchers in South Korea have published a paper in Frontiers in Neuroscience putting forward hopeful findings that suggest a new treatment method could be possible for subacute and chronic tinnitus. The small study saw 55 patients undergo repeated nerve blocks after stimulation of the trigeminal and facial nerves to modulate the auditory and non-auditory nervous systems via the vestibulocochlear cranial nerve pathways. In more than 87.5% of patients, tinnitus disappeared or […]

Psychology

09 Mar 2022

Editor’s Choice Awards: Frontiers in Psychology (Positive Psychology)

In March 2021, Frontiers in Psychology launched a new section dedicated to the scientific advancement of Positive Psychology. This new section aimed to provide an interdisciplinary platform for disseminating cutting-edge scientific research on the science and practice of positive psychology. Over the last year, the section established itself as the 12th most popular within the entire Psychology collection, with more than 273 submissions and 17 special issues submitted from 6 continents and 55 countries. It also gained a significant amount of international exposure, with the editors being invited to represent the section at several international positive psychology societies and conferences. The editorial board comprises 2 Specialty Chief Editors, 31 Associate Editors, and 145 Review Editors who collaborate closely to ensure high-quality reviews and fast turnaround times to fast track the dissemination of scientific discoveries.  Over the past year, the section’s success depended heavily upon a close, symbiotic relationship between the editorial office, the editorial board (associate and review editors), and our contributing authors. Although each of these stakeholders played a significant role in growing the section, a few outliers have gone above and beyond the call of duty this year. With this significant contribution in mind, we want to recognize […]

Humanities

09 Mar 2022

Ancient art and genetics combine to reveal origin of world’s most expensive spice

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Harvest of saffron crocuses. Image credit: Petia_is / Shutterstock In a new review, researchers showcase how the first likely depictions of the domesticated saffron crocus date from Bronze Age Greece. This evidence, which suggests that the species was first domesticated in Greece by approximately 1700 BCE, converges with recent genetic studies which showed that its closest wild relative only occurs in Greece. Saffron, the world’s most expensive spice, is extracted from the flowers of the saffron crocus, Crocus sativus. It has been grown for thousands of years in the Mediterranean region. But when and where was saffron first domesticated by our ancestors? In a review in Frontiers in Plant Science, researchers conclude that lines of evidence from ancient art and genetics converge on the same region. “Both ancient artworks and genetics point to Bronze Age Greece, in approximately 1700 BCE or earlier, as the origin of saffron’s domestication,” said Ludwig Mann, one of the leading authors and a PhD student at Technische Universität Dresden, Germany. ► Read original article► Download original article (pdf) The genus Crocus, with approximately 250 species, ranges from South and Central Europe and North Africa to Western China. Unlike domesticated saffron, these […]

Psychology

28 Feb 2022

Origins of life and plastic invasions: The most viewed Frontiers news articles of January 2022

By Colm Gorey, Science Communications Manager Image: DisobeyArt/Shutterstock.com Each month, Frontiers shines a spotlight on some of the leading research across a wide range of topics. Here are just some of the highlights that resonated strongly with readers on our news site in the month of January. Likely energy source behind first life on Earth found ‘hiding in plain sight’ Life on Earth arose roughly 4bn years ago. How it arose, and from what energy source is of interest to everyone because we humans like to know where we come from. The team of Prof William Martin at the University Düsseldorf’s Institute of Molecular Evolution investigates early evolution. In a recent paper in Frontiers in Microbiology, they argue that the source of energy required at life’s origin has been hiding in plain sight: under the environmental conditions at deep sea hydrothermal vents, hypothesized to have been the sites where life on Earth originated, the central biosynthetic reactions of life do not require an external energy source. Article link: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.793664/full 2. How do we define a well-lived life? First scientific evidence helps us get closer to an answer A transition, such as the beginning of a new year or entering the second half of life, […]

Neuroscience

25 Feb 2022

Children may instinctively know how to do division even before hitting the books, study finds

By Peter Rejcek, science writer Image: Fizkes/Shutterstock.com Beginning at an early age, children can perform simple mathematical calculations using an intuitive ability to compare and estimate sets of objects. A new study published to Frontiers suggests this approximate number system extends to division. We often think of multiplication and division as calculations that need to be taught in school. But a large body of research suggests that, even before children begin formal education, they possess intuitive arithmetic abilities. A new study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience argues that this ability to do approximate calculations even extends to that most dreaded basic math problem – true division – with implications for how students are taught mathematical concepts in the future. The foundation for the study is the approximate number system (ANS), a well-established theory that says people (and even nonhuman primates) from an early age have an intuitive ability to compare and estimate large sets of objects without relying upon language or symbols. For instance, under this non-symbolic system, a child can recognize that a group of 20 dots is bigger than a group of four dots, even when the four dots take up more space on a page. The […]

Neuroscience

24 Feb 2022

3 articles you need to check out on the future of neural circuit research

By Colm Gorey, Science Communications Manager Image: Andrii Vodolazhskyi/Shutterstock.com In an ever-changing field of research such as neural circuits, it can be difficult to keep up with the latest breakthroughs. Now at Frontiers, we highlight just three of the latest research articles to shed more light on how the mind works. The human brain continues to fascinate us, but still hides many mysteries that scientists aim to solve. Among the most studied aspects of the brain is its vast array of neural circuits which carry out a variety of crucial everyday functions in the body, and has inspired computer scientists to build powerful AI systems using artificial neural circuits. Here are just three recent articles published to Frontiers from some of the top researchers in their field as part of the Research Topic ‘Horizons in Neural Circuits’. Endocannabinoid-Mediated Control of Neural Circuit Excitability and Epileptic Seizures Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, with an incidence of 50.4 per 100,000 people per year. Although many drugs and surgical treatments are available for the treatment of epilepsy, approximately 30% of patients continue to have uncontrolled seizures despite treatment. One of the most important discoveries in the field of cannabinoid […]

Neuroscience

22 Feb 2022

A replay of life: What happens in our brain when we die?

By Maryam Clark, science writer Image: Okrasiuk/Shutterstock.com Neuroscientists have recorded the activity of a dying human brain and discovered rhythmic brain wave patterns around the time of death that are similar to those occurring during dreaming, memory recall, and meditation. Now, a study published to Frontiers brings new insight into a possible organizational role of the brain during death and suggests an explanation for vivid life recall in near-death experiences. Imagine reliving your entire life in the space of seconds. Like a flash of lightning, you are outside of your body, watching memorable moments you lived through. This process, known as ‘life recall’, can be similar to what it’s like to have a near-death experience. What happens inside your brain during these experiences and after death are questions that have puzzled neuroscientists for centuries. However, a new study published to Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience suggests that your brain may remain active and coordinated during and even after the transition to death, and be programmed to orchestrate the whole ordeal. When an 87-year-old patient developed epilepsy, Dr Raul Vicente of the University of Tartu, Estonia and colleagues used continuous electroencephalography (EEG) to detect the seizures and treat the patient. During these […]

Health

21 Feb 2022

Eating vegetables does not protect against cardiovascular disease, finds large-scale study

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer A long-term ‘UK Biobank’ study on almost 400,000 people finds little or no evidence that differences in the amount of consumed cooked or uncooked vegetables affects the risk of cardiovascular disease. When known socio-economic and lifestyle confounding factors are corrected for, the small apparent positive effect that remains could likely also be explained away by further confounders. A sufficient intake of vegetables is important for maintaining a balanced diet and avoiding a wide range of diseases. But might a diet rich in vegetables also lower the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)? Unfortunately, researchers from the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the University of Bristol found no evidence for this. That the consumption of vegetables might lower the risk of CVD might at first sight seem plausible, as their ingredients such as carotenoids and alpha-tocopherol have properties that could protect against CVD. But so far, the evidence from previous studies for an overall effect of vegetable consumption on CVD has been inconsistent. Now, new results from a powerful, large-scale new study in Frontiers in Nutrition shows that a higher consumption of cooked or […]

Health

07 Feb 2022

‘Try to reverse these wrong stereotypes’ – an interview with Prof Sarah Garfinkel & Dr Lisa Quadt #WomeninScience

By Janine Gronewold and Miriam Engels Interviewee Prof Sarah Garfinkel Interviewee Dr Lisa Quadt During the Covid-19 pandemic, with its repeated lockdowns and social restrictions, many people across the globe have reported increased feelings of isolation and loneliness. Prolonged loneliness is known to be associated with poor mental and physical health outcomes, for example increased cerebrovascular disease. What could be the mechanism underlying this association? That is the subject of a recent perspective article in Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience. Its authors, Dr Janine Gronewold, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of Vascular Neurology and Dementia of the University Hospital Essen, and Miriam Engels, a doctoral student at the Institute of Medical Sociology at the University Clinic Düsseldorf and lecturer at the Open University of the Netherlands, were inspired by a recently proposed framework for adaptive versus maladaptive brain-body interactions. For the International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2022 on 11th February, Gronewold (denoted as JG below) and Engels (ME) here interview two of the authors behind this framework, Dr Sarah Garfinkel (SG), professor at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, and her postdoc Dr Lisa Quadt (LQ), a research fellow in Clinical Neuroscience at Brighton […]

Health

04 Feb 2022

Sex disparities in sports medicine research may threaten the health and careers of female athletes

By Emily Parker, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Image: leungchopan/Shutterstock.com ‘Hormones’ have long been blamed for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in female athletes, but according to a new review paper, one menstrual hormone may be mediating the damage: relaxin. University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine student, Emily Parker, writes to Frontiers that upon noticing the lack of progress in the 20-odd years since early relaxin-musculoskeletal studies, the support of orthopedic department mentors and the assistance of a fellow student allowed a thorough dive into the disjointed, cross-disciplinary research trail. Female athletes are between three and eight times more likely to suffer devastating ACL injuries compared to their male counterparts. That’s according to 16 years of data from the US National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Injury Surveillance System, published in a new paper to Frontiers in Endocrinology. Alex Meyer, one of the authors of this latest research, noted: “It has almost been accepted that these [ACL injuries] are just more prevalent in women.” The cost of female ACL injuries is huge and multi-faceted, seen in the billions of dollars of healthcare costs, team rosters picked apart by injury come tournament time, and future consequences such as post-traumatic […]

Life sciences

28 Jan 2022

Extremely harsh volcanic lake shows how life might have existed on Mars

By K.E.D. Coan, science writer Fieldwork at Laguna Caliente, Poás volcano, Costa Rica. Credit: Justin Wang Only a few microbes inhabit Earth’s most extreme environments, but they have varied adaptations to do so, reports a new study. Hydrothermal hot springs such as at the Poás volcano in Costa Rica provide an opportunity not only to explore life on Earth, but also to understand how life might have evolved on Mars. A few specialist microbes survive conditions analogous to those of Mars’ early history, reports a new publication in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences — and this may be thanks to a broad range of adaptations. One of the most hostile habitats on Earth The hydrothermal crater lake Laguna Caliente of the Poás volcano in Costa Rica is one of the most hostile habitats on the planet. The water is ultra-acidic, full of toxic metals and the temperatures range from comfortable to boiling. In addition, recurrent ‘phreatic eruptions’ cause sudden explosions of steam, ash and rock. Despite such deadly eruptions, hydrothermal environments may be where the earliest forms of life began on Earth — and potentially also on Mars, if there ever was life. Beyond discovering how life can survive […]