(NEW YORK, NY)--Low levels of serotonin in the brain are known to play a role in depression and anxiety, and it is customary to treat these disorders with medications that increase the amount of this neurotransmitter. However, a new study carried out by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) suggests that this approach may be too simple. It appears that neighboring serotonin-producing brainstem regions exert different and sometimes opposing effects on behavior.

The findings, published today in the online edition of Cell Reports, provide new insights into the development of mood disorders and may aid in designing improved therapies.

Recently, the American actress Jennifer Lawrence said she could never be a Republican even though she was 'raised' Republican. To the American public, that was no surprise, it is quite common for kids to rebel in lots of ways, including in politics, and Republicans in the Hollywood community, where fantasy is the core business, are rare.

A simple test using a raisin can predict how well a toddler will perform academically at age eight, according to a new paper. Using just the piece of dried fruit and a plastic cup they have devised a test based on how long a 20-month old child can wait to pick up a raisin in front of them. 

ANN ARBOR--Coffee rust has ravaged Latin American plantations for several years, leading to reductions in annual coffee production of up to 30 percent in some countries and threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of small-scale farmers in the region.

A new study by University of Michigan researchers suggests that the coffee plants themselves may hold biological weapons that could someday be harnessed in the fight against the coffee rust fungal pathogen.

Those potential weapons are themselves fungi, a surprisingly diverse community of more than 300 species of them--including 15 likely fungal parasites--living on coffee leaves, within or alongside the yellow blotches that mark coffee rust lesions.

The notion that older people are happier than younger people is being challenged following a recent study led by a University of Bradford lecturer.

In fact it suggests that people get more depressed from age 65 onwards.

The study, led by psychology lecturer Dr Helena Chui and recently published in the international journal Psychology and Aging, builds on a 15-year project observing over 2,000 older Australians living in the Adelaide area.

Previous studies have shown an increase in depressive symptoms with age but only until the age of 85. This is the first study to examine the issue beyond that age.