Your brain on socially distanced lockdown – and reconnection

+ learning Danish is no mean feat US Edition - Today's top story: The neuroscience behind why your brain may need time to adjust to 'un-social distancing' [View in browser]( US Edition | 28 June 2021 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair As people across the U.S. readjust to interacting in public and private spaces, maybe you’re feeling a little discombobulated. After such a long period of shutdowns and time alone or in a pod, it can seem weird or even uncomfortable to come out of your cave. Neuroscientist Kareem Clark isn’t surprised. You have a social thermostat in your brain that yearns for a healthy amount of connection. He describes what researchers know about how brains – those of both lab animals and people – react to isolation and then resocialization. It may take a little time to get used to post-pandemic interactions, but research suggests that “un-social distancing” will [get your social thermostat reset and running again]( soon enough. Also today: - [Worries grow over drug-resistant fungal diseases]( - [Why it’s hard for the developing world to reduce greenhouse gases]( - [When it comes to college, how hard is hard enough?]( And for Pride Month we’ve put together a series of email newsletters on transgender young people. The four emails, delivered over about a week, recap [a series of articles]( written by leading academics exploring the history, medical care and conflicts, such as youth sports, caused by the rising visibility of transgender teens in society. You can [sign up for the newsletters here]( or click the button below. [Subscribe]( Maggie Villiger Senior Science + Technology Editor Maybe you’re not quite feeling ready to get back out there. Grace Cary/Moment via Getty Images [The neuroscience behind why your brain may need time to adjust to ‘un-social distancing’]( Kareem Clark, Virginia Tech Ready to party post-pandemic, but at the same time feeling shy? Here's how social isolation affects the brain – and what research suggests about the effects of resocialization. Health - [Fungal infections worldwide are becoming resistant to drugs and more deadly]( Rodney E. Rohde, Texas State University Prevention may be the best way to cope with the worldwide wave of treatment-resistant fungal pathogens. - [A pediatric nurse explains the science of sneezing]( Meg Sorg, Purdue University People sneeze for many reasons and in many ways. One of them is to protect your airways from irritants and infectious disease. Education - [College can still be rigorous without a lot of homework]( KC Culver, University of Southern California Higher education in the US has been faulted for not requiring students to read and write enough. But is that criticism justified? New research raises doubts. Ethics + Religion - [Controversy over Communion in the Catholic Church goes back some 2,000 years]( Mathew Schmalz, College of the Holy Cross Biden is not the first public figure to whom the Catholic Church wants to deny Communion. Over the centuries, the Church has often come under criticism for either denying or giving Communion. Environment + Energy - [How colonialism’s legacy makes it harder for countries to escape poverty and fossil fuels today]( Patrick Greiner, Vanderbilt University The fact that nearly half the world’s population is still struggling to escape poverty while global temperatures hurtle upward is not a coincidence. Science + Technology - [Danish children struggle to learn their vowel-filled language – and this changes how adult Danes interact]( Morten H. Christiansen, Cornell University; Fabio Trecca, Aarhus University Recent research on Danish shows that not only is it hard for Danish children to learn their mother tongue, but adult Danes use their native language differently than speakers of other languages. Trending on site - [Does outer space end – or go on forever?]( Jack Singal, University of Richmond Astronomers know a lot about what's in outer space – and think it's possible it never ends. - [How palm oil became the world’s most hated, most used fat source]( Jonathan E. Robins, Michigan Technological University Palm oil is responsible for widespread deforestation and labor abuses, but it's also cheap and incredibly useful. That's why many advocates call for reforming the industry, not replacing it. - [Can people vaccinated against COVID-19 still spread the coronavirus?]( Sanjay Mishra, Vanderbilt University The COVID-19 vaccines are a smash success. But that doesn't mean they keep every vaccinated person completely free of the coronavirus. --------------------------------------------------------------- Today’s graphic [A map of the United States with certain states colored according to the number of cases of infection by the C. auris fungus.]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe](. 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451