ScienceDaily: Mind & Brain News

What smells we like or dislike is primarily determined by the structure of the particular odor molecule. A collaborative study shows that people share odor preferences regardless of cultural background.

Depression, dizziness, difficulty focusing the gaze and balance problems. Many professional athletes who have sustained head trauma in sports have lingering symptoms that affect everyday life. Little help has been available as the cause has been unknown. A clinical study can now show that the problems originate in an injury to the vestibular nerve.

Scientists analyzed the ethanol content of fruit eaten by spider monkeys in Panama, and found that the fruit regularly contained alcohol: between 1% and 2%. The researchers also collected urine samples, most of which contained secondary metabolites of ethanol. The results provide further evidence that our primate ancestors preferentially sought out fermented, alcohol-containing fruit likely for its greater nutritional value, and that humans may have inherited this proclivity for ethanol.

Very premature babies need extra oxygen and mechanical intervention to breathe, but this damages their lungs, causing a chronic lung disease called bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).