What's on Your Mind?

Is there an easy way to tell when someone is really listening to what you say? New research just uncovered one unexpected sign: They may blink less. That’s the finding of a study by researchers at Concordia University in Montreal. Most research on blinking has focused on vision, the researchers explain. But they thought blinking might also provide clues to what’s going on in people’s brains. For example, do we blink less when we are concentrating hard on listening to someone or something? To find out, the researchers recruited 49 adults and provided them with special glasses that tracked every blink. Then they played recordings of 20 sentences for the subjects wit…

How can you keep your brain agile and young throughout your life, even as you get older? By spending time on creative pursuits as often as you can. That’s the fascinating finding of a study by researchers from Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Chile and Trinity College in Ireland, among others. As the study’s authors note, earlier studies have shown a connection between creative activities such as playing a musical instrument and improved brain health. They wanted to know just how creativity affects brain health. So they first recruited more than 1,200 healthy people as controls, and then compared them with 1,467 research participants who spent at least some of their time …

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, a time when we give thanks and practice gratitude for what we have, we turned to neuroscience to find out if doing so actually makes us happier and healthier. Here’s what we found. Is gratitude actually good for your health? “People who are grateful live longer, are happier, and also tend to hit workplace markers like [making] more money, and [getting] promoted more frequently,” Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Ph.D., science director at U.C. Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, tells Fast Company. “But the key is not a fake-it-till-you-make-it approach—no, it’s real gratitude, real contentment, based on an accurate assessment of …

Speaking multiple languages may protect both your brain and body by slowing down the biological aging process, increasing resilience as you get older, according to a new international study. Published in Nature Aging journal, the paper, titled “Multilingualism protects against accelerated aging in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of 27 European countries,” looked at data from 86,149 Europeans and found that those who spoke multiple languages experienced slower biobehavioral aging compared with those who only spoke one language. It concluded that speaking multiple languages may slow the biological processes of aging and protect against age-related decline.…

I’m so tired. However, the reasons are good: A fun weekend away A growing business Lots of time with family and friends Still, sometimes sleep suffers. I’m well-aware of what the research says that can entail—health risks and effects on productivity and memory. The idea is that sleep is when the brain has a chance to “clean” itself at night. A recent study in Nature Neuroscience takes a more precise look at something many people have experienced: those brief, frustrating moments after a bad night’s sleep when you simply can’t focus. Instead of looking at sleep deprivation over years or even days, the researchers focused on what’s happening ins…

Neuroscientists have found birding is actually a brain hack. A new study published in JNeurosci, the Journal of Neuroscience found birdwatching may actually alter the structure and function of your brain—what is known as neuroplasticity—effectively helping to boost cognitive abilities, especially in more seasoned bird watchers. “Our brains are very malleable,” lead researcher Erik Wing, a research associate at York University in Toronto, explained. Wait, what exactly is neuroplasticity? Neuroplasticity is basically the process or way your brain learns, creates memory, and adapts to experiences and trauma, according to Psychology Today. Research shows that …

Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer, which means many entrepreneurs’ minds are turning towards beach getaways, lakeside camping trips, or lazy days at the pool with the kids. These kinds of water-based activities are a great way to relax and stay cool. But according to fascinating research in neuroscience, swimming isn’t just a fun vacation activity. It actually has special brain benefits that other forms of exercise just can’t match. Not just another form of exercise It will surprise exactly no one that exercise is good for your brain. (If this is news to you, here are some studies for you to get up to speed.) Swimming is, obviously, a …

Apple was hit with a lawsuit in California federal court by a pair of neuroscientists who say that the tech company misused thousands of copyrighted books to train its Apple Intelligence artificial intelligence model. Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik, professors at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, New York, told the court in a proposed class action on Thursday that Apple used illegal “shadow libraries” of pirated books to train Apple Intelligence. A separate group of authors sued Apple last month for allegedly misusing their work in AI training. TECH COMPANIES FACING LAWSUITS The lawsuit is one of many high-stakes cases brough…

Spending just 36 minutes listening to your own brain waves, over four sessions, can reduce stress and anxiety, according to a new study by neuroscientists at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Published in the journal Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health, the study looked at how to reduce stress-related symptoms in 144 healthcare workers with moderate-to-high levels of perceived stress. The healthcare workers were placed in two groups: one that received four sessions of a sound-based relaxation intervention over two weeks, and another that was put on a control group waitlist. The workers spent a little over half an hour relaxing in a …

After spending forever floundering for a solution to a problem, an Aha moment can feel like magic. But a new study by researchers from Duke University and the University of Berlin has found that the Aha moment gives us more than temporary elation. “If you have an ‘aha! moment’ while learning something, it almost doubles your memory,” says Roberto Cabeza, lead author of the new study, in a statement. “There are few memory effects that are as powerful as this.” The research was published this month in Nature Communications. What is an aha moment? The study defines an “Aha experience” as a moment where “the solution comes to you in a sudden manner, with a strong s…

Fast Company is the official media partner of Summit Detroit. Summit is an organization that hosts global ideas conferences and immersive experiences. And the programming is always grounded by six core pillars: thought leadership, health and happiness, performance arts, culinary arts, fine art, and impact—all with the express intention to inspire deep attendee presence and build long-term connections both professionally and personally. “Many of our Summit community members are building and running large high-profile companies, managing teams, and are surrounded by people and things to do. But our business leaders often feel incredibly lonely in their pursuits,” s…

In today’s AI race, breakthroughs are no longer measured in years—or even months—but in weeks. The release of Opus 4.6 just over two weeks ago was a major moment for its maker, Anthropic, delivering state-of-the-art performance in a number of fields. But within a week, Chinese competitor Z.ai had released its own Opus-like model, GLM-5. (There’s no suggestion that GLM-5 uses or borrows from Opus in any way.) Many on social media called it a cut-price Opus alternative. But Z.ai’s lead didn’t last long, either. Just as Anthropic had been undercut by GLM-5’s release, GLM-5 was quickly downloaded, compressed, and re-released in a version that could run locally w…

A creepy account that’s almost certainly using AI to generate videos of imaginary New Yorkers criticizing mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani raises a frightening prospect: that deepfakes could be used not just to impersonate politicians, but also constituents. Accounts on several social media platforms – which are using similar profile pictures and appear to be linked – are calling themselves the Citizens Against Mamdani. In recent days, these accounts have posted confessionals and rants from “New Yorkers” slamming Mamdani for his – alleged – anti-Americanism, plans to hike taxes, and false promises on rent and transportation. They appear to be trying to imitate the diversit…

Back on December 15th, Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg became the youngest player in NBA history to score more than 40 points in a game. It was also just the third time a teenager had 40 points, five rebounds, and five assists in the league’s 79-year history. The only other two players to achieve that last stat line were LeBron James and Kevin Durant. Given that elevated company, and the fact that James, Durant, and about 65% of the NBA wear Nike shoes, it is still a bit of a shock to see Flagg donning New Balance. The privately-owned, Massachusetts-based shoemaker has gradually built a comparatively small, but elite roster of athlete ambassadors ove…

Dairy cattle in Nevada have been infected with a new type of bird flu that’s different from the version that has spread in U.S. herds since last year, Agriculture Department officials said Wednesday. The detection indicates that distinct forms of the virus known as Type A H5N1 have spilled over from wild birds into cattle at least twice. Experts said it raises new questions about wider spread and the difficulty of controlling infections in animals and the people who work closely with them. “I always thought one bird-to-cow transmission was a very rare event. Seems that may not be the case,” said Richard Webby, an influenza expert at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital…

Unless you’re at the very top of the food chain in your organization, you report to someone. And that manager is important for your career success. They will evaluate your performance, give you feedback and mentoring, greenlight ideas, and provide support elsewhere in the organization for things you’re doing. Because of all the roles that a supervisor plays for you, it can be stressful when a new person steps in, or you get promoted and start reporting to someone new. There are several ways you can make this transition easier and lay the groundwork for a fruitful relationship with your new boss: Be mindful of the firehose When your supervisor is replaced w…

Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company’s weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. I’m Mark Sullivan, a senior writer at Fast Company, covering emerging tech, AI, and tech policy. This week, I’m focusing on a new court filing that sheds more light on the reasons for Sam Altman’s ouster from OpenAI two years ago. I also look at Amazon’s kerfuffle with Perplexity over AI shopping agents, and at another court ruling that using copyrighted data for AI training is fair use. Sign up to receive this newsletter every week via email here. And if you have comments on this issue and/or ideas for future ones, drop me a line at sullivan@fastco…

COVID-19 cases are rising again as a new variant begins to circulate in some parts of the world. The World Health Organization said Wednesday the rise in cases is primarily in the eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and western Pacific regions. Airport screening in the United States has detected the new variant in travelers arriving from those regions to destinations in California, Washington state, Virginia and New York. The new variant is called NB.1.8.1. It arrives as the United States’ official stance on COVID-19 vaccination is changing. On Tuesday, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that COVID-19 shots are no longer recommended for healthy chi…

A new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC) shows that more students are seeking out an associate degree first over a four-year bachelor’s degree. Surpassing those aged 21 to 24 for the first time, students aged 18 to 20 represent the largest share of first time associate degree earners in the 2024-25 academic year. That academic year, of the 2 million students who earned a bachelor’s degree, 532,464 of them had a prior postsecondary credential—either a certificate, associate or bachelor’s/masters degree. And of those, 419,766 students completed the bachelor’s degree pathway from an associate degree, accounting for the largest perc…

When filmmaker Travis Gutiérrez Senger reflects on Asco’s legacy, he quickly notes they were more than an art group; they created a movement, one with remarkable influence on Chicano art history. “That movement continues today, and it’s very expansive,” he says. “There’s a lot of books, films and things that will be written about Asco over a period of time. And this was our contribution in some ways.” He’s referring to Asco: Without Permission, a documentary that chronicles the story of the 1970s art group founded by multidisciplinary artist Patssi Valdez, muralist Willie Herrón III, painter and performance artist Gronk and writer and photographer Harry Gamboa Jr.…

Every year, 12.5 million travelers pass through South Station, Boston’s 126-year-old transportation hub, to hop on Greyhound buses, Amtrak trains, and the commuter rail. But the station hadn’t been renovated in 30 years, and looked worn, industrial, and dated. For decades, the city of Boston has been working on an ambitious urban infrastructure redevelopment project to reimagine the city’s downtown. It recently unveiled a stunning transformation of South Station that includes a redesigned transportation hub as well as a 51-story tower that will house luxury condos, offices, a rooftop garden, and a high-end restaurant. For the hundreds of thousands commuters wh…

When Tiffany Davis has a question about a symptom from the weight-loss injections she’s taking, she doesn’t call her doctor. She pulls out her phone and consults ChatGPT. “I’ll just basically let ChatGPT know my status, how I’m feeling,” said the 42-year-old in Mesquite, Texas. “I use it for anything that I’m experiencing.” Turning to artificial intelligence tools for health advice has become a habit for Davis and many other Americans, according to a West Health–Gallup Center on Healthcare in America poll published Wednesday. The poll, conducted in late 2025 and backed up by at least three other recent surveys with similar findings, found that roughly one-quarter of U.S…

Americans’ hope for their future has fallen to a new low, according to new polling. In 2025, only about 59% of Americans gave high ratings when asked to evaluate how good their life will be in about five years, the lowest annual measure since Gallup began asking this question almost 20 years ago. It’s a warning about the depth of the gloom that has fallen over the country over the past few years. In the data, Gallup’s “current” and “future” lines have tended to move together over time — when Americans are feeling good about the present, they tend to feel optimistic about the future. But the most recent measures show that while current life satisfaction has declined over …

New Jersey filed a lawsuit against Discord on Thursday, alleging that the social platform recklessly exposed children to “harassment, abuse, and sexual exploitation by predators who lurk on the platform.” The move makes it the first state to sue Discord. Founded in 2015, Discord is a platform where its millions of users can communicate in chatrooms and direct messages. It shot up in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many users were stuck at home and wanted to connect. Children, in particular, make up a “significant portion” of its 200 million global monthly active user base, per the suit. The New Jersey complaint alleges that Discord knew its safety fe…