#SciComm

The key take-away is that you don’t have to be a perfect parent to make a real impact.

Just small, intentional increases in affection—smiling more, holding your baby a little longer, responding warmly—can help shape their brain in powerful ways!
🤓7/7

Lack of affection, on the other hand, has measurable consequences.

Children raised in environments with little physical touch—such as certain orphanages—show stunted brain growth and long-term emotional struggles. ⬇️6/7
www.apa.org/monitor/2014...

Why does this happen?

Affectionate touch—hugs, skin-to-skin contact, gentle rocking—activates the brain’s reward system, reducing stress hormones like cortisol and boosting oxytocin, the bonding hormone.

This literally rewires the brain for emotional security.⬇️5/7

Another study in JAACAP found that even small, everyday differences in parental warmth and affection were linked to measurable changes in a child’s brain structure.

In other words, simply being a little more affectionate can make a difference.⬇️4/7
doi.org/10.1016/j.ja...

A study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health tracked infants into adulthood and found that high maternal affection at 8 months predicted lower anxiety and emotional distress decades later.

Love literally protects the brain. ⬇️3/7
doi.org/10.1136/jech...

Infants are born wired for connection.

The first few years of life shape the brain's architecture, and affectionate touch plays a crucial role in developing emotional regulation, stress resilience, and social intelligence.⬇️2/7

Despite her immense contributions, Mary faced gender and class barriers. Her work was often overshadowed by male scientists. Today, her legacy is celebrated as a pioneering figure in paleontology. 6/6

Mary's 1828 find of a pterosaur marked the first discovery of this flying reptile outside Germany. Her meticulous notes and sketches were a treasure for scientists.⬇️5/6

In 1823, Anning discovered the first complete Plesiosaurus, challenging the scientific understanding of her time. Her discoveries supported the then-new idea of species extinction.⬇️4/6

In 1811, at just 12 years old, Mary and her brother unearthed the first complete Ichthyosaurus skeleton, a marine reptile from the Jurassic period. Her findings didn't stop there!⬇️3/6

Born in Lyme Regis, Dorset, Anning's family was not well-off. Her father introduced her to fossil hunting, a skill that would lead her to make groundbreaking discoveries. Pictured here is the "Jurassic coast" where the Annings made some of their finds in Dorset.⬇️2/6

Murmurations are a fascinating example of self-organizing systems. Each bird follows simple rules based on its neighbors without a central leader.

Studies suggest each bird tracks about 6-7 nearby neighbors, adjusting position, speed in real time.

Here is a simulation run with Python!🤓 2/2

Also, the introduction of '0' wasn’t just revolutionary—it helped put an end to Roman numerals, which Europeans were still widely using for calculations as late as the 12th century!

For context, here is a wider image obtained from NASA's Hubble website. I've boxed the galaxy in the study

links to paper:
Nature (paywalled): nature.com/articles/s41...
Free: arxiv.org/pdf/2404.08045