Quanta’s Most Popular Biology Stories of 2023

Brain criticality; The neuroscience of depression; The brain's "second gut"

Math and Science News from Quanta Magazine View this email in your browser NEUROSCIENCE | ALL TOPICS   The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think By JOANNA THOMPSON Depression has often been blamed on low levels of serotonin in the brain. That answer is insufficient, but alternative explanations are coming into view and changing our understanding of the disease. Read the article NEUROSCIENCE   How Loneliness Reshapes the Human Brain By MARTA ZARASKA Feelings of loneliness prompt changes in the brain that further isolate people from social contact. Read the article QUANTIZED COLUMNS   When Does the Brain Operate at Peak Performance? By JOHN M. BEGGS The critical brain hypothesis suggests that neural networks do their best work when connections are not too weak or too strong. Read the article | Watch the video GENOMICS   How a DNA 'Parasite' May Have Fragmented Our Genes By JAKE BUEHLER A novel type of "jumping gene" may explain why the genomes of some complex cells are more densely stuffed with noncoding sequences than others. Read the article PHYSIOLOGY   In the Gut's 'Second Brain,' Key Agents of Health Emerge By YASEMIN SAPLAKOGLU Sitting alongside the neurons in your enteric nervous system are underappreciated glial cells, which play key roles that scientists are only just starting to understand. Read the article Follow Quanta Simons Foundation 160 5th Avenue, 7th Floor New York, NY 10010 Unsubscribe | About Quanta Privacy Policy | Terms | Contact Us   Copyright © 2023 Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent division of the Simons Foundation