The places we make memories help us inscribe them

Columbia University

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A still image of one of the virtual reality rooms in the "memory palace" that researchers showed to study participants.

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Credit: Rolando Masís-Obando

It’s obvious to most people as soon as they set foot in a place they know well—like their childhood bedroom or a former classroom—that place and memory are intimately linked. 

A new paper by researchers at Columbia University, Johns Hopkins, and Princeton sheds light on that phenomenon, and helps demonstrate the neural mechanisms behind it. The research paves the way for a better understanding of how new memories can build on top of existing knowledge and what causes us to remember—or forget—events in our lives. 

The research, published this month in Nature Human Behavior, was led by Chris Baldassano, a Columbia professor of psychology, Rolando Masís-Obando, a postdoctoral researcher at Johns Hopkins (and the paper’s lead author), and Kenneth A. Norman, a professor at Princeton University. 

They found that when participants are in a location they know well, they form stronger memories. The findings suggest that very familiar places create deeper and richer memories for the events that happen there, perhaps because we have such detailed knowledge of that space and can connect new events to the details we already know.

“Spilling a pitcher of water in your own kitchen and soaking your grandmother’s tea cozy, your son’s refrigerator drawing, and your Pomeranian creates a host of personally meaningful elements that lead to a more complex and durable memory,” Baldassano said.

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The Experiment Design: A Virtual Reality “Memory Palace” 

The research team created a digital “memory palace,” a virtual reality building with 23 rooms. To make sure that each room would cause patterns of brain activity that were as different as possible, the rooms had varying shapes, sizes, decorations, and background music, such as a giant dome with floating rocks or a small room with a campfire.

Study participants first got familiar with the palace’s layout by learning games where they explored the space. Twenty-four hours later, participants were shown videos of each room while having their brains imaged by fMRI, allowing researchers to measure their neural response to each room.

After the first MRI measurement, participants re-entered the virtual reality palace. This time, new objects had been placed in each room; participants had 15 minutes to memorize which objects had been placed where. Finally, participants returned to the scanner and tried to remember what each object was and which room it had been in. Based on their brain activity, the researchers could measure how strongly each participant was able to bring to mind the object in each room.

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The Findings
The researchers found that people were better at remembering objects that had been placed in the rooms with more stable and clear patterns of brain activity. In other words, when people had built a strong, high quality mental map for a room, the room was more useful for encoding a new memory.

“It’s a bit like assessing the sturdiness of a new foundation,” Masís-Obando said. “We come in, take a few measures, and get a sense of how strong that foundation is. If you want new memories to hang steadily, they need something solid to anchor to.” The findings also suggest that the more distinct a neural impression a specific location has made on us, the more it helps us inscribe memories

That phenomenon was so pronounced that the researchers could actually predict which objects would be well-remembered even before showing the objects to the participants. If a participant had a poor mental map for a room, then any object placed in that room would be less likely to be strongly remembered later on. This points to the importance of prior knowledge in learning, and suggests that neuro-imaging could even identify “cracks” in this knowledge that should be repaired before trying to attach on new information.

The researchers also found that certain rooms were more memorable across participants. Specifically, small rooms with a window to the outside and many corners were most reliably remembered by study participants.

This work provides an explanation for a popular memorization technique called the Method of Loci, in which people first carefully study a sequence of familiar locations. When they want to remember new information like a shopping list or the names of people at a party, they imagine walking through these familiar locations and attaching information to each one. This trick allows them to get all the advantages of creating memories in a well-learned map, but without having to actually visit the location (or experience it in virtual reality).

“These findings are very exciting both for our understanding of memories, and for understanding how spatial knowledge—like mental maps—can help us learn information,” Baldassano said.

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Journal

Nature Human Behaviour

DOI

10.1038/s41562-025-02379-z 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Spatial contexts with reliable neural representations support reinstatement of subsequently placed objects

Article Publication Date

2-Jan-2026

 

Exposure to natural light improves metabolic health

An international team has provided the first direct evidence of the beneficial effects of scheduled daylight as compared to artificial light in people with type 2 diabetes.

Université de Genève

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Metabolic diseases have reached epidemic proportions in our society, driven by a sedentary lifestyle coupled with circadian misalignment - a desynchrony between our intrinsic biological clocks and environmental signals. Furthermore, we spend almost 90% of our time indoors, with a very limited exposure to natural daylight. To investigate the specific role of daylight in human metabolism, particularly in glycaemic control, researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG), Maastricht University, and the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) conducted a controlled study with thirteen volunteers with type 2 diabetes. When exposed to natural light, participants exhibited more stable blood glucose levels and an overall improvement in their metabolic profile. These results, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, provide the first evidence of the beneficial impact of natural light on people with type 2 diabetes.

As in all living beings, human physiological processes are subject to the influence of the circadian rhythm governed by the alternation of day and night. This is controlled by a central clock in the brain, which synchronises the clocks in peripheral organs such as the liver and skeletal muscles.

"It has been known for several years that the disruption of circadian rhythms plays a major role in the development of metabolic disorders that affect an increasing proportion of the Western population," notes Charna Dibner, associate professor at the UNIGE Faculty of Medicine and at HUG, who co-directed this work with Joris Hoeks, associate professor at Maastricht University, and Patrick Schrauwen, professor at the DDZ.

"We largely spend our days under artificial lighting, which has a lower light intensity and a narrower wavelength spectrum than natural light. Natural light is also more effective in synchronizing the biological clock with the environment. Could the lack of natural light be to blame for metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes?" adds Joris Hoeks.

A look into body clocks

The research team recruited 13 volunteers aged 65 and over, all with type 2 diabetes. They spent 4.5 days in specially designed living spaces at Maastricht University, lit either with natural light through large windows or with artificial light. After a break of at least four weeks, they returned for a second session, this time in the other light environment.

"This experimental model allows us to examine the same people under both conditions, which limits the individual variability in our results," explains Joris Hoeks. "Apart from the light source, all the other lifestyle parameters - meals, sleep, physical activity, screen time, etc. - were kept strictly identical."

Surprisingly, even over the short duration of the experiment, a significant impact was noted: in people exposed to natural light, blood glucose levels were in the normal range for more hours per day, with less variability. "Two important elements that indicate that our volunteers with diabetes managed to control their sugar levels better," says Patrick Schrauwen from DDZ. "In addition, their melatonin level was a little higher in the evening, and fat oxidative metabolism was also improved."

To better understand the observed positive changes in the body's metabolism, the scientists took blood and muscle samples from the volunteers before, during, and after each light treatment. "We analysed the regulation of molecular clocks in cultured skeletal muscle cells together with lipids, metabolites, and gene transcripts in the blood. Together, the results clearly show that the internal clock and metabolism are influenced by natural light. This could be the reason for the improved blood sugar regulation and the improved coordination between the central clock in the brain and the clocks in the organs," explains Charna Dibner.

Results should be confirmed in real-life conditions

This study - a world first controlled cross-over study - only involved a small cohort of older people with type 2 diabetes over a short period of time. Nevertheless, it is the first evidence of the beneficial effect of natural daylight on metabolic health as compared to artificial light to which we tend to be exposed most of the time. "The next step will be to study the interactions between exposure to natural light and metabolic health in real-life conditions, by equipping volunteers with light detectors and glucose measurement tools for several weeks," say Jan-Frieder Harmsen, lead author of the study, former PhD fellow in Hoeks' research group and currently a post-doctoral researcher at RWTH Aachen University, Germany. "This study also highlights the often-overlooked impact of building architecture on our health.”

This study was carried out with the support of the VELUX Stiftung and Daylight Academy, the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Vontobel Foundation.

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Journal

Cell Metabolism

DOI

10.1016/j.cmet.2025.11.006 

Method of Research

News article

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Natural daylight during office hours improves glucose control and whole-body substrate metabolism

 

Ticking time bomb: Some farmers report as many as 70 tick encounters over a 6-month period

Study reveals ticks are growing threat to health and livelihood of agricultural workers

Binghamton University

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Eastern Black-legged Tick (Ixodes scapularis)

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Credit: Photo 447774643, (c) Pablo Tapia Ossa, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Pablo Tapia Ossa

Finding one tick on your body is scary enough – tick-borne diseases are serious – but what if you found more than 10 on yourself in just one month? That’s the plight of some farmers as the threat of ticks and tick-borne diseases grows, according to new research featuring experts at Binghamton University, State University of New York. 

New research led by Mandy Roome, associate director of the Tick-borne Disease Center at Binghamton University, State University of New York, reveals that farmers and outdoor workers in the Northeast are facing an escalating threat of tick-borne diseases, which could be devastating to their livelihoods.

Ticks are surging and spreading throughout the United States, causing alarm for all who fall within their path, especially those in the Northeast. Farmers, who spend a substantial amount of time outdoors, in habitats ideal for ticks, face an even greater threat.

“Not much has been done in the Northeast United States with outdoor workers and tick-borne diseases since the early 90s,” said Roome. “Ticks and tick-borne diseases were a very different risk in the early 90s than they are now. We wanted to figure out how we can help some of our most vulnerable workers.”

Roome and her team connected with 53 individuals, representing a total of 46 farms in Southern Vermont, an area chosen for its high incidence rates of Lyme disease, high level of agricultural activity and abundance of tick habitats. The questionnaire collected data on tick bites, health history, prevention practices, farm activities and more.

“As you would imagine, tick encounters are generally higher than what we see for ourselves,” said Roome. “Some of them, especially if they're doing something like fence repair in the spring, they're inundated with ticks, unfortunately. So we wanted to try and identify something quick and easy for them. And we talked about different farm activities: mowing, plowing the fields, mowing the lawn around the farmhouse.”

The survey revealed some surprising results:

• 12% of respondents reported ever being diagnosed with a tick-borne disease
• Over the previous 6 months, participants reported an average of three tick encounters
• Some workers reported as many as 70 encounters
• There was a marginal association between grazing livestock and increased tick sightings

“Anyone who's had a tick-borne disease before, or who knows someone who has – whether it was a fellow farmer, or someone in their family – they kind of notice how debilitating it can be,” said Roome. “They have a lot of priorities on a farm. They've got a lot to deal with to run a farm like that, but that's kind of something that's always in the back of their minds.”

One farmer in the study had contracted Lyme carditis, a serious bacterial infection of the heart, for which he eventually needed to have open-heart surgery. 

“These are the things that we would like to prevent,” said Roome. “For anybody that's detrimental. But especially for a farmer, not being able to do that work can have massive consequences on the whole farm.”

The research is part of a larger project aimed at testing an environmental intervention.  Roome and her team are trialing tick control tubes that will help kill ticks on mice, which are the number-one reservoir for transmitting pathogens to humans. 

“We're trying to identify something effective and easy for farmers to do. Any outdoor worker, you’re in tick habitat. So ‘avoid tick habitats’ is really not the solution for them,” said Roome. 

The paper, “Ticking Time Bomb: The Escalating Threat of Tick-Borne Diseases in Rural Farming Communities,” was published in the Journal of Agromedicine.

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Journal

Journal of Agromedicine

DOI

10.1080/1059924X.2025.2579639 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Ticking Time Bomb: The Escalating Threat of Tick-Borne Diseases in Rural Farming Communities

 

Science army mobilizes to map US soil microbiome

Massive endeavor aims to understand the planet’s most biodiverse habitats

Johns Hopkins University

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The BioDiversity and Informatics for Genomics Scholars (BioDIGS) consortium spans more than 40 sites across the country, including sites marked here. The team of about 150 people includes researchers from dozens of institutions, including many students.

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Credit: The BioDiversity and Informatics for Genomics Scholars (BioDIGS)

Johns Hopkins University geneticists and a small army of researchers across the country, including students, are working to catalog the vast and largely unknown soil microbiome of the United States.

The project, one of the biggest microbiome studies ever attempted, that’s tapping the latest DNA-analysis technology, has already resulted in the discovery of more than 1,000 new strains of bacteria and never-before-seen microbes—still just a tiny fraction of the microbial dark matter.

“This scientific void we’re trying to fill on microbial diversity could only be accomplished by having this network of scientists and students across the United States,” said senior author Michael Schatz, a leading genomics expert who has helped map the human genome, as well as the genomes for many other species of animals and plants. “The soil is the most biologically active environment on the planet, yet we’ve sampled only a tiny fraction of the life that lives inside it.”

The federally-funded project is outlined in Nature Genetics.

Soil is the most biodiverse habitat on the planet, home to more than half of all existing species, including vertebrates, arthropods, annelids, nematodes, plants, and fungi, as well as millions of bacteria, archaea, bacteriophages, and other microbial species.

Certain microorganisms within soil are key to ecological functions that human, animal and plant life depend on. Others foster antimicrobial resistance, which threatens human health by allowing bacteria and viruses to become immune to antibiotics and other drugs.

An estimated 99% of soil microorganisms remain unstudied, or part of what scientists refer to as microbial “dark matter.” With scores of researchers across most states in the country, armed with the latest in DNA analysis technology, this team hopes to make headway.

The BioDiversity and Informatics for Genomics Scholars (BioDIGS) consortium spans more than 40 sites across the country. The team of about 150 people includes researchers from dozens of institutions, including many students.

The project was partly inspired by the MetaSUB Consortium, a study launched in 2010 to collect and study microbes from each subway station in New York City, that eventually evolved into a global effort.

The expansive team gathers soil samples from urban and rural locations and then analyzes them, looking for genetic relationships and patterns between the soil, the environment, and human health. Recent advances in technology used to study DNA, particularly long-read sequencing, make it possible. The team is leveraging the same sophisticated technology used to unlock the final portions of the human genome.

BioDIGS has collected samples from all corners of the country, from a vast variety of terrains. Around Baltimore, teams have collected samples from playgrounds, wooded streams and popular hiking trails. The team from Spelman University in Atlanta collected samples near a Superfund hazardous waste site. Others have looked to everything from farms and lawns to wild grasslands, forests and parks.

Emily Biggane, who leads the collection effort at United Tribes Technical College in North Dakota said BioDIGS has “expanded the reach of science. UTTC students collected samples in an open part of their campus that could be developed.

“Our students have a deep connection to the land and this project offered an opportunity to explore the properties of something celebrated and honored,” said Biggane, who is a research faculty member. “Students learned about the microscopic living things that call the soil home and it’s been a holistic experience to better understand the soil that supports us.”

While working to address knowledge gaps in soil biodiversity, BioDIGS is also encouraging the next generation of genetic scientists, and strengthening genetics course materials at participating schools. To date more than 100 student researchers have contributed to the project and organizers expect to engage many more as the work expands.

“Students can be very sophisticated data scientists,” Schatz said. “They were involved with sample collection and now we’re leaning on them to help build out the reference genomes of the microbes, to scan and ID genes—everything. We knew we couldn’t do it alone.”

Corresponding authors include Emily Biggane from United Tribes Technical College in North Dakota; Mentewab Ayalew from Spelman College; Karla Fuller of the City University of New York; Ava M. Hoffman of the Fred Hutch Data Science Lab; and Xianfa Xie of Virginia State University. There are dozens of additional authors.

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Journal

Nature Genetics