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Thursday, September 18, 2025

For many animals sleep is a social activity, but it's usually studied as an individual process

Group sleeping can impact when animals sleep, how long they sleep for, and how deeply they sleep. For example, groups of meerkats time their sleep according to 'sleep traditions'; olive baboons sleep less when their group size increases; bumblebees suppress sleep in the presence of offspring; and co-sleeping mice can experience synchronized REM sleep. To fully understand both sleep and animal social structures, we need to pay more attention to the 'social side' of sleep, animal behaviorists argue.

Starting a fluorescent biosensor revolution

A major step forward toward biosensor devices that can provide fast, high-contrast detection of biomarkers in almost any environment are 'binding-activated fluorescent biosensors.' Now, a research collaboration has developed a synthetic biology platform that streamlines their up-until-now tedious and expensive discovery, as well as their molecular evolution and cost-effective manufacturing, opening a plethora of new biomedical and environmental opportunities.

Men on sodium valproate told to use contraception

There is a potential, small increased risk of autism and other neurodevelopmental problems, experts say...

How much does aging affect mental acuity? It’s debatable

I cringed recently while driving to the clinic where I specialize in geriatric medicine when I heard a young radio announcer refer to old people as “wiggy,” a pejorative for wacky.

As a doctor who has extensively researched aging and age-related diseases ^[1] for over 30 years, this to me is the sound of ageism unleashed.

The quip immediately underscored how easily society regards age as the sole measure of how well a...

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