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April 3, 2025—We're covering the penguin islands hit with tariffs, authoritarian followers and insights from a new schizophrenia drug. —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor | | An artist's concept shows galaxies reflected in the large segmented primary mirror of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. Mark Garlick/Science Photo Library/Alamy Stock Photo | | | A New Look at Schizophrenia | A recently approved treatment for schizophrenia is raising hopes for personalized therapies for the condition, writes freelance journalist Diana Kwon. In the past, scientists thought schizophrenia was caused primarily by an imbalance in dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in motivation, learning and the formation of habits. Rather than targeting dopamine, the new drug activates a selection of so-called muscarinic receptors, which are involved in movement, memory and learning. The drug's effectiveness suggests that many different neurotransmitters might be involved in schizophrenia. What the experts say: "There is no schizophrenia. There are schizophrenias," says McGill University professor of psychiatry Romina Mizrahi. Why this matters: Traditional antipsychotic drugs are not effective for key symptoms in about one-third of people with schizophrenia. And among the people for whom the drugs work, they also can bring about tremors, significant weight gain, drowsiness and other side effects. The new drug, called KarXT, is said to help to relieve psychosis, as well as thinking and memory problems that affect many people with schizophrenia daily, without triggering the typical side effects of dopamine-targeting therapies. | | Singing American Redstart. Brian Reinke/Getty Images | | Individual songbirds that migrate solo sometimes fly near other birds, chirping and calling out in non-random patterns, suggesting they exchange information about landing spots and weather, writes Scientific American news intern Gayoung Lee. It seems that even solitary flyers have social interactions and might cooperate across species rather than simply following instincts or drawing on past experience to manage their risky and energy-intensive seasonal voyages. Listen to the chirps yourself by clicking on the arrow about one-third of the way down the page. How they did it: Microphones placed at 26 sites in eastern North America collected thousands of hours of calls from birds in flight, which the scientists then broke down using machine-learning tech. The analysis was adapted from a bird-call-identification feature in the Merlin app, developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. What the experts say: The finding "speaks to the amazing complexity of how nature works—and it's exciting to be still learning new things about these well-known phenomena that are just spectacular," says ornithologist and study leader Benjamin M. Van Doren. | | | | |
- Studies of the traits and behaviors of people who follow authoritarian leaders are yielding key insights into how to stop dictators and restore democratic institutions, writes Danny Osborne, a psychologist who studies the causes of inequality. People exposed to safer environments are less likely to espouse authoritarian views. For instance, living in a multicultural neighborhood is found to correlate with a reduced impulse toward authoritarianism. In these neighborhoods, bonds can form among people from diverse backgrounds, which in turn might dispel the "fear of the other." | 4 min read.
| | If you are curious about the experience of birds as they undertake dangerous annual voyages to and from their wintering spots, I recommend the documentary "Winged Migration." It's a beautiful, meditative movie often shot alongside birds in flight, worldwide, over the course of three years. And if you've been wondering about any unusual bird calls in your neighborhood, try out the "sound ID" button on the Merlin app. Just last week, the app helped me identify a fish crow and tufted titmouse hanging out in the Bronx. | | —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor | | | | |
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