If you retire at 65 and live to 90, you may have around 1,300 ordinary Tuesdays ahead of you
The freedom to do anything turns out to be surprisingly different from the freedom to do something meaningful.
By Jeanette Brown · Aug 26, 2026
Deeper reporting,
thinking made visible.
Longer essays and features from Science Blog. Pieces here go through additional research and review.
Life
Crows can memorise the face of a person who wronged them, hold the grudge for as long as 17 years, and teach it to their own chicks and…
A grudge held by a bird can outlast a human marriage—and spread through an entire flock like generational trauma.
By Kiran Journals · Aug 26, 2026
Speaking several languages may be linked to younger patterns of brain connectivity
Preliminary FENS research linked multilingual experience with younger MEG connectivity patterns, but the group differences come from a brain-age model and do not yet establish that languages slow brain ageing.
Aug 26, 2026
Doctors have long advised many atrial-fibrillation patients to avoid coffee
For many people with atrial fibrillation, coffee has lived in the same mental drawer as alcohol, missed sleep and other suspected triggers.
Aug 26, 2026
The runner’s high was attributed to endorphins for decades, but circulating endorphins cannot readily cross the blood–brain barrier—and…
Opioid blockade leaves exercise-induced euphoria intact, while human, animal and review evidence places endocannabinoids at the centre of a broader neurochemical response.
Aug 26, 2026
Difficulty asking for help can be more than pride
Attachment research suggests that compulsory self-reliance can function as protection against rejection, but working models can change through repeated, dependable support.
Aug 26, 2026
People who live past 110 may retain an unusual form of immune resilience
Ten supercentenarians carried unusually large, clonally expanded populations of cytotoxic CD4 T cells, but the cross-sectional study cannot show that the cells caused extreme longevity.
Aug 26, 2026
A three-year online study involving 3,966 adults aged 19 to 94 found that a composite measure of cognitive clarity, emotional wellbeing and…
A broad brain-health index rose on average across repeated online assessments in adults aged 19 to 94. The cohort is encouraging, but attrition and the absence of a control group limit causal claims.
Aug 26, 2026
Antibiotic resistance directly kills more than a million people annually, while antibiotic discovery has stagnated
Penn’s APEX model reduced 40.6 million generated venom-protein fragments to a novel shortlist. Laboratory tests validated 53 of 58 selected peptides, while toxicity and translation remain open problems.
Aug 26, 2026