How Severe Maternal Inflammation Can Lead to Autism-like Behavior
In 2010, a large study in Denmark found that women who suffered an infection severe enough to require hospitalization while pregnant were much more likely to have a child with…
News
Soraya de Chadarevian, Published “The Future Historian: Reflections on the Archives of Contemporary Sciences”
Historians working on recent science work close to where the archives are created or become accessible. Based on this experience, the essay presents a reflection on the archives of contemporary life sciences.
Soraya de Chadarevian, Published “Human Population Studies and the World Health Organization”
This essay draws attention to the role of the WHO in shaping research agendas in the biomedical sciences in the postwar era. It considers in particular the genetic studies of human populations that were pursued under the aegis of the WHO from the late 1950s to 1970s.
Discovery of Consoling Behavior in Prairie Voles May Benefit Autism Research
Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, have discovered that a social laboratory rodent, the prairie vole, shows an empathy-based consoling response when other voles are distressed….
Dog Domestication May Have Increased Harmful Genetic Changes, UCLA Biologists Report
The domestication of dogs may have inadvertently caused harmful genetic changes, a UCLA-led study suggests. Domesticating dogs from gray wolves more than 15,000 years ago involved artificial selection and inbreeding, but the effects of these processes on dog genomes have been little-studied.
Epigenetics: How Social Behavior Can Be Reprogrammed In Ants…And Possibly Humans, Too
While many believe behavior is largely defined by genetic makeup and environmental factors, new research suggests certain drugs can have a life-altering, permanent influence over an individual’s character. The study, out…