iQ

Striking new research estimates lead exposure, primarily from car exhaust in the 1960s and 1970s, has negatively affected the IQ of more than half the population of the US, and resulted in the loss of up to six IQ points in some people.

A new review has examined a dozen studies into the effect of Mozart’s music on epilepsy, finding the classical music may reduce the frequency of seizures. It rekindles an old pseudoscientific idea that listening to Mozart can make you smarter.

A new study from an international team of geneticists is suggesting we are further away than many realize from being able to effectively genetically select for complex polygenic traits such as IQ or height and create designer babies.

A study is suggesting a gene variant associated with increased Alzheimer’s risk in late life could affect cognitive health in childhood. The research reveals those carrying the gene score lower on IQ tests in childhood, implying cognitive decline is apparent at a younger age than ever realized.

Anytime discussion raising the possibility of a genetic basis behind intelligence comes up, we immediately enter a minefield of social and ethical controversies. A new study claims to have pinpointed 52 specific genes that play a major part in determining an individual's intelligence.

Not a great deal is known about synesthesia, but a new study conducted at the University of Sussex has suggested that specific training of the mind can induce the effects of the condition – and even boost a person's IQ.