Smart Science

Our brains tend to see women more like objects than people. A mild current switched that off. Normally, people recognize bodies much better when they're upright than upside down, a quirk of how the brain processes people. For objects, that upright advantage is much smaller. Researchers at the University of Exeter found that, for sexualized images of women in underwear, the advantage shrinks, as if the brain treats them a bit more like objects. They then gave 76 students either 10 minutes of transcranial direct current stimulation, a weak current passed through two electrodes on the forehead, or a 30-second placebo. In the stimulated group, the gap between how men's and women's images were processed disappeared. The finding suggests that the visual habit behind seeing women as objects isn't fixed, said lead researcher Ciro Civile. This was a small lab study measured right after stimulation, and it didn't test attitudes or behavior, so the researchers stress it is no cure for sexism. Still, it hints that how we see each other can be changed. source: Civile, C., & Stephens, A. (2026). Brain stimulation temporarily changes perception of sexualised images of women. Social Neuroscience.

Want your life to feel longer? Everyone does. And there’s a way to make it happen. Here’s how you can alter your brain to change your perception of time. Research shows that, if the years seem to be speeding up, new places, hobbies, and people may make them feel fuller. It seems simple, but remember how frequently humans get stuck in their routines and habits. Here’s how the research worked: Neuroscientist Martin Wiener and colleagues at George Mason University flashed images at volunteers for between about a third of a second and one second, then asked how long each had stayed on screen. Across four experiments with 21 to 52 people each, the more memorable an image was, the longer people thought they had looked at it, even when every picture was shown for exactly the same time. Images that seemed to last longer were also more likely to be remembered later. Wiener suggests the brain may stretch time to soak up more information when something seems important. The lab study measured small shifts over fractions of a second, so applying it to whole years is an extrapolation, but it fits a pattern you may know: routine weeks blur together, while a week somewhere new feels longer looking back. source: Ma, A. C., Cameron, A. D., & Wiener, M. (2024). Memorability shapes perceived time (and vice versa). Nature Human Behaviour, 8(7), 1296-1308.

There’s a natural way to protect your teeth. One swish of pure cranberry juice slows plaque, new study shows. Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago, led by pediatric dentist Christine Wu, asked 14 children and 8 adults to skip brushing for 24 hours, then swish and swallow one of three drinks on different days: unsweetened 100% cranberry juice, a sweetened cranberry cocktail with 27% juice, or water. They swabbed plaque, the sticky film of bacteria on teeth, before the drink and again 30 minutes later. Pure cranberry juice cut bacterial growth in plaque by 44% and significantly reduced the acid plaque makes, which is what wears holes in teeth. The sweetened cocktail didn't make a significant difference, likely because it has less of the plant compounds called proanthocyanidins and plenty of sugar. It's a small, short-term study that measured plaque activity rather than actual cavities, and juice is acidic, so it isn't a replacement for brushing. But it points to a cheap, natural helper for oral health. source: Wu, C. D., et al. (2026). In vivo exposure to cranberry juice suppresses dental plaque regrowth and acid production in adults and children: A PGRM study. Scientific Reports.

Experts just completed the first-ever complete nerve map of the clitoris. The team says it paves the way for safer pelvic surgeries and a deeper understanding of female anatomy. In a monumental breakthrough for anatomical science, researchers have successfully created the first-ever three-dimensional map of the nerve network inside the clitoris. While the intricate pathways of the penis’s nerves were fully plotted nearly 30 years ago, the clitoris has historically been neglected by the medical community due to persistent cultural taboos and technical challenges. Led by Dr. Ju Young Lee at the Amsterdam University Medical Centers, researchers used state-of-the-art, high-intensity X-ray imaging from a particle accelerator to map the complex, tree-like branching of the dorsal nerve with micrometer-level precision. This revolutionary mapping provides an unprecedented foundation to transition the organ from a historical footnote into a subject of rigorous physiological study. Beyond expanding our understanding of female pleasure and orgasms, this milestone discovery has profound clinical implications. Having an accurate map of these dense sensory pathways can guide surgeons to avoid accidental nerve damage during delicate pelvic procedures, such as gender-affirming surgeries, reconstructive surgeries for survivors of female genital mutilation, and common gynecological operations. By transforming how medical professionals view and treat pelvic anatomy, this study marks a vital first step toward closing the massive gender gap in medical research and ensuring safer, more effective healthcare for women worldwide. source: Lee, J. Y., et al. (2026). Neuroanatomy of the clitoris. bioRxiv.

A surgeon transplanted a piece of spinal cord from a brain-dead donor into a paralyzed patient for the first time. Xiaoping Ren, a Chinese surgeon at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, told New Scientist that he and Russian colleagues performed the operation at Moscow's Sklifosovsky Institute for Emergency Medicine. The patient is an adult with a complete spinal cord injury from three years ago. According to Ren, the team removed the damaged section and joined in a segment of spinal cord from a brain-dead donor, using microsurgery and a chemical called polyethylene glycol meant to help nerve fibers fuse. Moscow's mayor said the surgery took 12 hours and that the patient "is currently feeling well." No movement or sensation gains have been reported. Ren is best known for promoting a human head transplant with Italian surgeon Sergio Canavero, which never happened, and no clinical data on this surgery have been published or reviewed by other scientists. Experts have questioned the animal studies behind the technique, which mostly used freshly cut cords in a handful of animals rather than old injuries, and warned of serious infection and surgical risks. Better-tested approaches, such as brain-spine implants and electrical stimulation, have already helped some people with long-term injuries regain movement. Until the results are published, this is a claim, not a breakthrough. source: McRae, M. (2026, October 21). World-first spinal cord transplant claim raises questions we can't yet answer. New Atlas.

🚨 This could be the end of Type 2 diabetes. Researchers at ETH Zurich led by Martin Fussenegger built a small wireless implant that uses electricity to break down extra sugar in the blood. It switches off when levels are normal — and means people won’t need diabetes drugs anymore. Inside is a catalyst made of graphite felt coated with tiny gold and platinum particles, with no living cells or drugs. A glucose sensor worn on the arm watches sugar levels. When they climb after a meal, it signals a phone or smartwatch, which switches on the implant. The catalyst then turns glucose into gluconate, a harmless compound the body flushes out in urine, and the system shuts off once sugar is back on target. In diabetic mice, the device kept blood sugar under tight control for six weeks, the animals lost weight, and it caused no sign of tissue damage. Because less sugar ends up stored as fat, the team sees it as a possible tool for both type 2 diabetes and obesity, without daily pills or injections. So far it has only been tested in mice, and human trials are still ahead. source: Maity, D., et al. (2026). Wireless electrocatalytic closed-loop system for drug-free management of diabesity. Science.

A new drug only switches on inside cancer cells and destroys them — leaving healthy cells entirely intact This means fewer of the side effects that make treatment so brutal. Many cancer cells give off unusually high amounts of carbon monoxide, a byproduct of their stressed metabolism, while healthy cells make very little. A team at RIKEN in Japan led by chemist Katsunori Tanaka turned that difference into a trap. They tucked a palladium catalyst, a metal compound that speeds up chemical reactions, inside albumin, a common blood protein that shields it on the way into cells. Once inside, the catalyst uses the cell's own carbon monoxide to assemble phenanthridinone, a compound that kills cells. The drug formed in liver, cervical, breast and lung cancer cells, but not in healthy cells. A modified version made an even more toxic compound that damaged liver cancer cells from within. Because the drug is only built where the gas is, the idea could one day target tumors while sparing healthy tissue, which is what causes many chemotherapy side effects. So far this has only been shown in cells in a dish, and animal tests are next. source: Kawai, M., et al. (2026). Harnessing endogenous carbon monoxide for cancer-selective drug synthesis. Nature Communications.

An new drug kills fat cells instead of shrinking them, offering a radical new approach to treating obesity. Traditional weight loss strategies—including diet, exercise, and popular GLP-1 medications—primarily function by shrinking fat cells or curbing appetite, leaving the underlying cell structure intact. However, preliminary clinical research on an experimental injectable compound known as CBL-514 reveals a transformative mechanism: it triggers targeted apoptosis, or programmed cell death, causing fat cells to permanently self-destruct. Early human trials demonstrated an average 12% reduction in deep abdominal visceral fat within just four weeks of treatment. By directly dismantling the cellular architecture of fat tissue, this therapeutic approach could target stubborn areas that typically resist standard weight management routines. Beyond targeted fat reduction, destroying visceral fat cells directly addresses the root driver of severe cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Researchers also suggest that permanently eliminating these cells could solve one of the biggest hurdles in modern weight management: the rapid weight regain that frequently occurs after patients discontinue appetite-suppressing medications. While further large-scale clinical trials are required to confirm its long-term safety profile and efficacy, this novel cellular-destruction strategy marks a major paradigm shift from temporary weight control toward potential long-term metabolic rehabilitation. source: European Association for the Study of Diabetes. (2026). Early clinical trials show experimental injection destroys fat cells to reduce visceral fat.

A thin cap of water on the tau protein decides when it clumps into the tangles linked to Alzheimer's, and blocking that spot stopped it. Tau normally helps hold up the internal skeleton of nerve cells. In Alzheimer's and related diseases, it misfolds and stacks into long fibers called fibrils, and one misfolded tau can push others to misfold too. Researchers at Northwestern University and UC Santa Barbara studied a short, mutated piece of tau using lab experiments and computer models. They found a "hotspot" on its surface that repels water but is still covered by a thin cap of water molecules. When two of these hotspots meet, the water is released and the proteins lock together. When the team blocked the hotspot with a chemical tag, the fibrils stopped growing. That makes the hotspot a possible target for future drugs aimed at stopping tau tangles from spreading between brain cells. But this is very early work: it was done on a 19-amino-acid fragment of the protein, not in living brains, and no drug exists yet. Scientists are also still debating how much tau tangles drive Alzheimer's rather than result from it. source: Han, S., et al. (2026). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Psychopathic corporate leaders really exist. And scientists just identified who set the standard. The tricks toxic bosses use today were used to devastating effect by a company man nearly 400 years ago. In June 1629, the Batavia, a ship of the Dutch East India Company (often called the world's first multinational corporation), struck a reef off Western Australia. The captain and senior officers sailed off for help, leaving a company merchant named Jeronimus Cornelisz as the top official among roughly 200 stranded survivors. He swapped the islands' council for loyalists who swore personal oaths to him, hoarded the supplies and treasure, sent rivals to other islands, and had about 100 men, women, and children killed — claiming it saved food and water. Dr Clive Boddy of Anglia Ruskin University scored Cornelisz against a modern corporate psychopathy framework and found he showed all 10 core traits, from superficial charm and deceit to zero remorse and dodging blame. Boddy calls the disaster "effectively a natural experiment in leadership.” With the rules gone, one man's character decided who lived. His playbook of stacking committees with loyalists, dividing opponents and ruling through fear still shows up in workplaces today, and research links psychopathic leaders to bullying, burnout, staff turnover and company collapse. Boddy argues firms should weigh character and ethics far more heavily when picking senior leaders. It's a diagnosis of a man dead for nearly 400 years, built from historical records. Cornelisz himself was captured, tried and hanged in 1629. source: Boddy, C. R. (2026). Asia bound: Shareholder capitalism, corporate psychopathy and psychopathic leadership. Asian Journal of Business Ethics.

In one trial, a cholesterol-lowering diet cut "bad" cholesterol almost as much as a statin. Dr Riyaz Patel, an NHS doctor and academic cardiologist at University College London, told BBC Science Focus that "the very best thing to improve cholesterol levels is to change our diets." His top picks: oats, whose soluble fibre helps lower cholesterol; plant sterols and stanols, found in fortified yoghurts and spreads, which he calls "probably the best non-pharmaceutical way of lowering your cholesterol, typically by about 10 per cent"; and cutting back on saturated fat, which interferes with the liver's ability to clear LDL, the "bad" cholesterol, from your blood. High LDL clogs arteries and drives heart attacks and strokes, and diet can do more than many people expect. In a 2003 trial in JAMA, a "portfolio" diet combining sterols, soluble fibre, soy protein and nuts cut LDL by 28.6% in a month, close to the 30.9% seen with a low-dose statin, although that trial was small and tightly controlled. Results vary, and some people see little change. That said, if your doctor has put you on a statin, don't stop it without talking to them. source: Willmoth, H. This is the single best way to reduce your cholesterol without statins, according to a leading doctor. BBC Science Focus.