Researchers from UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco announced that they have developed a brain-computer interface that can synthesize natural-sounding speech from brain activity in near real time, restoring a voice to people with severe paralysis. 

The system decodes signals from the motor cortex and uses AI to transform them into audible speech in less than one second.

Unlike previous systems, this method preserves fluency and allows for continuous speech, even generating personalized voices. This breakthrough brings scientists closer to giving people with speech loss the ability to communicate in real-time, using only their brain activity. Check it out: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-025-01905-6

A team of researchers have developed a new blood test for Alzheimer’s disease that can help diagnose the neurodegenerative disease while also indicating how far it has progressed. 

Experts believe this new blood test could revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s. 

The test was developed by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Lund University in Sweden. Their research indicated that a particular blood protein, MTBR-tau243, can be used to monitor the extent of dangerous tau accumulation in the brain.

The tangles of tau protein are some of the specific characteristics of Alzheimer’s and are directly proportional to the intensity of the symptoms.

This new technique is considerably more convenient than brain scans since since it does not require expensive procedures that are difficult to access for many patients. Having a way to tell whether someone is in an early or late phase of the disease could also help doctors decide which treatment will work best. It could also clarify whether a person’s memory or thinking issues are actually caused by Alzheimer’s or something else. Here’s more: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03617-7

A new study published in the journal Nature has suggested that nitrous oxide, commonly used as an anesthetic, can quickly lift mood and activate brain circuits dulled by stress with effects that may last long after the gas has left the body. 

While most people associate nitrous oxide – also known as laughing gas – with dentists’ offices, where it’s used to ease anxiety and dull pain, can also act as a sedative in low doses, providing a temporary feeling of calm rather than induce feelings of playfulness. 

In the preliminary clinical trials, researchers found that just a single inhalation session could bring positive change to patients who hadn’t responded to other treatments, with effects lasting up to two weeks in some cases. Check it out: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-57951-y

Did you know that researchers are now using AI to help map how psychedelics produce specific changes in consciousness - and how to replicate them with precision?

Mindstate Design Labs, the company behind this effort, is combining machine learning with human expertise to map how psychedelic compounds shape conscious experience. 

By analyzing thousands of trip reports alongside pharmacological data, the company aims to design psychedelics that produce highly tailored states of mind – transforming unpredictable trips into precise, repeatable experiences that could help improve mental health treatments.

Mindstate Design Labs recently landed FDA approval to launch a Phase 1 clinical trial in the Netherlands. The trial centers on “moxy” (5-MeO-MiPT), a compound the team hopes to use as the foundation for a new category of precision-designed psychedelics. Check it out: https://www.mindstate.design/