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Scientists suggest fresh look at psychedelic drugs: Combined with therapy, such substances could treat depression, chronic pain

Smokers Trying to Give Up--Don't Stop Thinking About Cigarettes -- "Blocking thoughts of cigarettes helps reduce smokers' intake at first, but means they smoke more than usual when they stop suppressing, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science."

Why drunk drivers may get behind the wheel: New study sheds light on recovery from intoxication

Political blogs more accurate than newspapers, say those who read both

juiced brains, dancing bees & more

Brain's preparation center gets 'juiced' by prospect of winning -- "[T]he left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, located in the brain approximately two inches above the left eyebrow, is a key area that both predicts a win, or successful outcome, and prepares the motivational cognitive control network to win again."

Brain gene expression changes when honey bees go the distance -- "Tricking honey bees into thinking they have traveled long distance to find food alters gene expression in their brains[.] [...] Foraging honey bees make unique research animals in part because they communicate in a language humans can decode[.] After a successful hunt, a forager performs a highly stylized 'dance' that tells her peers what direction to go to find the food, how good it is and how far away it is. The bee does a 'round dance' if the food is close to home, while a 'waggle dance' indicates it is farther away."

Brain Connections Break Down as We Age -- corpus callosum & "cross-talk"

Scripps Research scientists uncover possible cocaine addiction trigger -- "The results from the new study strongly suggest that a protein known as methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) interacts with a type of genetic material known as microRNA [specifically, microRNA-212] to control an individual's motivation to consume cocaine."

Spinal cord regeneration success in mice

Fate of Universe revealed by galactic lens -- "A 'galactic lens' has revealed that the Universe will probably expand forever."

Fears Influence Actual Risk of Falls