Vagus Nerve Stimulation Improves Cognitive Scores in a Small Trial

In a 24-week trial involving people with mild cognitive impairment, participants assigned to electrical stimulation at vagus-innervated parts of the ear improved by an average of 3.2 points on a general cognitive test, compared with 0.3 points in a sham-stimulation group. Host Dave Asprey explores the proposed connection between the vagus nerve and the locus coeruleus, a brainstem region involved in attention and learning. He explains why an improved test score is intriguing but does not show that vagus nerve stimulation prevents Alzheimer’s disease—or that a consumer device will reproduce the study’s results.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih+1

Sources:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36150665/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13214873/

https://theconversation.com/vagus-nerve-stimulation-shows-promise-as-a-way-to-counter-alzheimers-disease-and-age-related-memory-loss-269465

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Nearly 500 Cat Tumors Reveal Cancer Genes Shared With Humans

Researchers analyzed 493 matched tumor and normal-tissue samples across 13 types of cancer in domestic cats. They found alterations in genes familiar to human cancer researchers, including TP53, and tested whether a mutation called FBXW7 might predict drug sensitivity in lab-grown models of feline mammary tumors. Host Dave Asprey examines why naturally occurring cancers in pets could help scientists investigate treatments across species, while making clear that a promising response in six laboratory tumor models is not a proven treatment for cats or people.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih

Sources:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7618901/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41712721/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260924231826.htm

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Twin-Family Study Challenges a Simple Explanation for Inherited Intelligence

Why do parents and children often score similarly on tests of cognitive ability? Researchers using Germany’s TwinLife data found that genetic transmission explained more of that resemblance than the particular shared-home-environment pathway their model tested. Host Dave Asprey unpacks the distinction between why relatives resemble one another and whether a child’s environment matters. The study does not show that parenting, education, or other experiences have no effect on cognition.pub.uni-bielefeld+1

Sources:

https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/2993432

https://www.psypost.org/genetics-not-shared-environments-drives-parent-child-similarities-in-cognitive-ability/

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Mulberry Compounds May Change Gut Bacteria and Metabolism

A review of mulberry research highlights how leaves, fruit, and differently processed extracts contain distinct mixtures of compounds that gut microbes may use. In mouse experiments, a fraction combining mulberry polyphenols and polysaccharides produced more favorable microbiome and metabolic changes than either fraction alone; transferring microbes from treated mice passed along some of those effects. Host Dave Asprey explores the idea that a plant extract’s preparation may matter as much as its name—and why the findings do not yet establish a microbiome benefit from mulberry products in humans.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih+1

Sources:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13406227/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260928100551.htm

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Magnesium Changes Vitamin D Metabolism—But Not Always in the Same Direction

Magnesium helps regulate the pathways that process vitamin D, but “more magnesium means more vitamin D” is too simple. In a 12-week randomized trial involving 180 adults, magnesium supplementation changed a measured vitamin D metabolite differently depending on participants’ starting vitamin D levels: the modeled difference was positive at 30 ng/mL and negative at 50 ng/mL. Host Dave Asprey explains why this matters to people tracking supplement stacks and bloodwork, while distinguishing a change in a lab marker from a demonstrated health benefit.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih+1

Sources:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6693398/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29480918/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180226122548.htm

This episode is designed for biohackers, longevity enthusiasts, pet owners, parents, and anyone trying to separate a compelling biological mechanism from a proven health intervention. Host Dave Asprey examines brain stimulation and memory, what cat cancers could teach human researchers, how genes and environment contribute to cognitive similarity, whether mulberry’s microbiome effects translate beyond mice, and why nutrient interactions are rarely as simple as a supplement headline suggests. Several studies discussed here predate this week’s coverage; this is a research roundup, not a list of five newly published trials.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih+4

New episodes every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday.

Keywords: vagus nerve stimulation memory, auricular vagus nerve stimulation, mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s research, locus coeruleus, cat cancer genetics, feline oncogenome, FBXW7 feline mammary cancer, comparative oncology, parent child cognitive ability, TwinLife cognitive ability study, intelligence genetics, shared environment cognition, mulberry gut microbiome, mulberry polyphenols polysaccharides, microbiota transfer mice, magnesium vitamin D metabolism, magnesium supplementation vitamin D, biohacking research roundup

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Timestamps:

00:00 — Intro

00:18 — Vagus Nerve

01:51 — Cat Cancer

03:53 — Genetics & Parenting

05:46 — Mulberries

07:43 — Magnesium & Vitamin D

09:25 — Takeaway

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