What distinguishes a doting dad from a neglectful one? Princeton researchers have identified a molecular “off switch” for paternal care in African striped mice, one of the few mammalian species were some dads display paternal behavior. The study reveals that the gene Agouti — driven by social environment — suppresses activity in the brain’s parenting hub. High levels of Agouti caused males to attack pups, while low levels fostered caregiving, offering new clues into the biology of fatherhood.

The University of Delaware's Juan Perilla is part of an international team that discovered a previously unknown role for the viral protein integrase, which helps HIV insert itself into human DNA. Reported in Nature, the discovery provides a new frontier for drug development to combat the virus.

By probing the cellular and molecular processes that drive sleep, HHMI Investigator Amita Sehgal and her team are uncovering how snoozing helps ensure there’s a source of clean energy to power brain cells.

A novel method to manipulate the inner structure of cells connects several scientific fields and could represent a significant step in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

A new study from the School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry, and Biophysics reveals a surprising insight into the operation of the ancestral brain: the visual cortex of turtles is capable of detecting unexpected visual stimuli in a way that is independent of their position on the retina, a property that, until now, was thought to exist only in the highly developed cortices of mammals, including humans. In light of these findings, the research team assesses that advanced brain mechanisms previously thought to be unique to mammals were already present hundreds of millions of years ago.