Mental Health News and Research

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Genomic Tool TRACS Improves Tracking of Microbial Transmission Patterns

The research, published today (24 April) in Nature Microbiology, describes how the new tool, called TRAnsmision Clustering of Strains (TRACS), uses genomics to distinguish between closely related bacterial strains.

4 May 2026

Brain Discovery Links Interhemispheric Communication to Spatial Memory

A team led by the Institute for Neurosciences (IN), a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH), has identified a brain circuit essential for spatial memory.

15 Apr 2026

CU Boulder Study Shows Genetic Link Between Mental and Physical Illness

For centuries, mental illness and physical disease have been viewed as two distinct categories, each with its own field of study, its own doctors, and its own menu of treatments.

10 Apr 2026

Genomic Study Reveals How Bacterial ‘Armor’ Reduces Cholera Disease Severity

Cholera-causing bacteria are locked in an evolutionary arms race with a viral nemesis, according to a new genomic study.

2 Apr 2026

Genetic Study Maps E. coli Capsules Behind Severe Infections

The first large-scale genetic study of E. coli's protective armor has identified the five capsule types that are responsible for 70 per cent of all multidrug-resistant bloodstream infections in Europe.

26 Mar 2026

Genetic Analysis Uncovers Shared Biology Across Major Psychiatric Conditions

Although mental disorders have multifactorial causes, genetics can explain some of them, yet this field remains largely unexplored in terms of guiding diagnoses and treatments.

10 Mar 2026

Advanced Genome Sequencing Reveals Hidden Genetic Variants Linked to Autism

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have identified new genetic variants associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by using long-read whole genome sequencing (LR-WGS), an emerging approach that reads large sections of the genome at once, making it easier for scientists to find new genetic variants and understand how genetic variants affect the function of a gene.

10 Mar 2026

How Catalytic RNA Redefined Enzymes and the Origin of Life

There have been many important discoveries along the path to what we know today about RNA, or ribonucleic acid-a molecule found in every living cell that helps carry and interpret genetic instructions.

2 Mar 2026

New Stem-Cell Derived Platform Advances Study of Neural Network Maturation

An EEG (electroencephalogram) is a painless test that uses small sensors placed on the scalp to measure the brain's electrical activity.

19 Feb 2026

Reprogrammed Engrams Reverse Cognitive Decline in Mice

Age-related memory decline and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's are often thought of as irreversible.

11 Feb 2026

Landmark Study Maps Complex Genetics of Anxiety

Anxiety disorders - including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder and phobias - affect as many as one in four people over the course of their lives.

11 Feb 2026

Fruit Fly Neurons Explain When Food Feels Rewarding

Why do we sometimes keep eating even when we're full and other times turn down food completely? Why do we crave salty things at certain times, and sweets at other times?

31 Jan 2026

Large African Ancestry Genetic Study Reveals Shared Biology Of Schizophrenia

A team of researchers led by scientists from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, and the Department of Veterans Affairs has conducted the largest and most comprehensive genome-wide association study (GWAS) to date of schizophrenia in individuals of African ancestry.

24 Jan 2026

Scientists Map Five Major Epochs of Brain Wiring Across Human Life

Neuroscientists at the University of Cambridge have identified five "major epochs" of brain structure over the course of a human life, as our brains rewire to support different ways of thinking while we grow, mature, and ultimately decline.

26 Nov 2025

Genetic Insights Reveal Key Drivers of Bone Density in Children

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) revealed important genetic components that affect bone density in children and adolescents.

20 Nov 2025

Brain Immune Cells Found to Act as Accelerators and Brakes for Anxiety

Anxiety disorders are some of the most common mental health conditions in America, affecting about one in five people nationwide.

12 Nov 2025

RNA Molecules Alter Genome Structure to Silence Critical Neuronal Genes During Stress

What if the brain's response to stress could be read not in fleeting neurotransmitter bursts, but in the quieting of genes deep inside chromatin? Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have now shown that stress hormones may silence crucial neuronal genes through an unexpected class of RNA molecules that operate not by encoding proteins, but by reshaping the genome's architecture.

5 Nov 2025

New Genomic Method Unlocks Diagnoses for Rare Conditions

A new genomic method has enabled multiple people with rare conditions to receive diagnoses that were previously unattainable by identifying complex structural genetic changes that are often missed by standard tests.

4 Nov 2025

Unlocking the Secrets of Neural Ion Channels

As information zings from cell to cell inside the brain, bursts of electricity spur its transmission. At Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), scientists have turned their attention to the tiny pores that let charged ions enter a cell-and the molecular gatekeepers that help control them.

30 Oct 2025

Reversible Epigenetic Switches Influence Memory Formation

Our experiences leave traces in the brain, stored in small groups of cells called "engrams". Engrams are thought to hold the information of a memory and are reactivated when we remember, which makes them very interesting to research on memory and age- or trauma-related memory loss.

30 Oct 2025