Neuroscience
The Lead
Live Cell Imaging Platform for Neural Stem Cell Microenvironment Control
April 17, 2013 11:40 am | by Paul Hung, PhD, Cindy Chen, PhD, Terry Gaige; Andrew Zayac, and Brandon Miller (EMD Millipore) | Articles | Comments
Neural stem cells are sensitive to microenvironmental cues, including cell-cell contact, cell-extracellular matrix interaction, nutrient and waste transport, and environmental oxygen composition. How these parameters affect the stem cells’ morphology, proliferation, and differentiation remains an open area for research.
Brain Mapping Reveals Neurological Basis of Decision-Making in Rats
March 21, 2013 11:12 am | News | Comments
Scientists at UC San Francisco have discovered how memory recall is linked to decision-making in...
Blood Flow Control Lacking in Infant Brains
February 20, 2013 9:36 am | News | Comments
A new study finds that the infant brain does not control its blood flow in the same way as the...
Ohio State Implants First Brain Pacemaker to Treat Alzheimer's
February 7, 2013 4:55 pm | News | Comments
During a five-hour surgery last October at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center,...
Addiction-blocking Drug Under Development
May 22, 2013 12:50 pm | News | CommentsResearchers have unraveled the molecular foundations of cocaine’s effects on the brain, and identified a compound that blocks cravings for the drug in cocaine-addicted mice. The compound, already proven safe for humans, is undergoing further animal testing in preparation for possible clinical trials in cocaine addicts.
Researchers Closer to Alzheimer's Prevention, Treatment
May 22, 2013 11:10 am | News | CommentsImagine a pharmaceutical prevention, treatment or even cure for Alzheimer’s disease. It is almost impossible to overstate how monumental a development that would be and how it would answer the prayers of millions. Though science isn’t there yet, a new study offers a tantalizing glimpse of potential solutions.
NYU Researchers Took Chinese Bribes
May 20, 2013 3:37 pm | by BY TOM HAYS - ASSOCIATED PRESS | News | CommentsThree New York University researchers from China divulged results from a federally funded study to Chinese competitors in exchange for tuition, rent and other expenses, federal prosecutors say. Yudong Zhu, a U.S.-educated NYU professor, and Xing Yang, a lab engineer, were released on bail after appearing in federal court in Manhattan to face commercial bribery and other charges. They left court without speaking to reporters.
Multitasking Neurons Enhance Brain Flexibility
May 20, 2013 11:40 am | News | CommentsOver the past few decades, neuroscientists have made much progress in mapping the brain by deciphering the functions of individual neurons that perform very specific tasks, such as recognizing the location or color of an object. However, there are many neurons, especially in brain regions that perform sophisticated functions such as thinking and planning, that don’t fit into this pattern.
Obesity Linked to 'Vicious Cycle' in Brain
May 17, 2013 11:58 am | News | CommentsWith obesity reaching epidemic levels in some parts of the world, scientists have only begun to understand why it is such a persistent condition. A new study reports the discovery of a molecular chain of events in the brains of obese rats that undermined their ability to suppress appetite and to increase calorie burning.
‘Brainbow’ Imaging Gets Upgraded
May 16, 2013 11:31 am | News | CommentsThe breakthrough technique that allowed scientists to obtain one-of-a-kind, colorful images of the myriad connections in the brain and nervous system is about to get a significant upgrade. A group of Harvard researchers has made a host of technical improvements in the “Brainbow” imaging technique.
Maturing Teenage Brain Explored
May 16, 2013 11:08 am | News | CommentsDespite adolescence being a high-risk time for developing major psychiatric and drug dependence disorders, very little is known about the teenage brain. A new research project aims to shed light on what happens to the brain as young people mature.
Skin Cancer Linked to Reduced Alzheimer's Risk
May 15, 2013 5:01 pm | by Einstein | News | CommentsPeople who have non-melanoma skin cancer may be less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, according to new research. The study showed that individuals with skin cancer were nearly 80 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease compared with people who did not have skin cancer. No such association was found with other types of dementia, such as vascular dementia.
Brains Re-wire to Compensate After Damage
May 15, 2013 10:56 am | News | CommentsScientists have advanced our understanding of brain plasticity by showing that the brain forms complex new circuits after damage, often far from the damaged site, to compensate for lost function. The study identified the exact regions of the brain that take over when a learning and memory center, known as the hippocampus, is damaged.
New Drug Slows Alzheimer's
May 15, 2013 10:17 am | News | CommentsA drug developed by scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, known as J147, reverses memory deficits and slows Alzheimer's disease in aged mice following short-term treatment. The findings may pave the way to a new treatment for Alzheimer's disease in humans.
Gel Implant Restores Paralyzed Nerves
May 14, 2013 11:33 am | News | CommentsA team of researchers has invented a method for repairing damaged peripheral nerves. Through a biodegradable implant in combination with a newly-developed Guiding Regeneration Gel (GRG) that increases nerve growth and healing, the functionality of a torn or damaged nerve could ultimately be restored.
Medicinal Plant Can Treat Anxiety
May 13, 2013 10:17 am | News | CommentsA world-first completed clinical study by an Australian team has found Kava, a medicinal South Pacific plant, significantly reduced the symptoms of people suffering anxiety. The study revealed Kava could be an alternative treatment to pharmaceutical products for those who suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorders (GAD).
Dynamic Brain Cells Crucial to CNS
May 10, 2013 11:41 am | News | CommentsBy monitoring the behavior of a class of cells in the brains of living mice, neuroscientists discovered that these cells remain highly dynamic in the adult brain, where they transform into cells that insulate nerve fibers and help form scars that aid in tissue repair.
Imaging Technology Predicts Long-term Brain Damage
May 9, 2013 11:47 am | News | CommentsA new application of an existing medical imaging technology could help predict long-term damage in patients with traumatic brain injury, according to a recent study. The authors analyzed brain scans using applied rapid automated resting state magnetoencephalography (MEG) imaging, a technique used to map brain activity by recording magnetic fields produced by natural electrical currents in the brain.
Untangled Neurons Promising for Cell Growth
May 7, 2013 5:03 pm | News | CommentsTwo wrongs don’t make a right, they say, but here’s how one tangle can straighten out another. In new research, scientists employed techniques ranging from semiconductor-style circuit patterning to rat cell culture to optimize the growth of nerve cells for applications such as reconstructive surgery.
Protein Crucial to Sense of Smell
May 7, 2013 4:49 pm | News | CommentsResearchers have identified a protein that is critical to the ability of mammals to smell. Mice engineered to be lacking the Ggamma13 protein in their olfactory receptors were functionally anosmic– unable to smell. The findings may lend insight into the underlying causes of certain smell disorders in humans.
Drug Fails to Slow Alzheimer's
May 7, 2013 7:53 am | by BY MARILYNN MARCHIONE - AP CHIEF MEDICAL WRITER | News | CommentsBaxter International Inc. says that a blood product it was testing failed to slow mental decline or to preserve physical function in a major study of 390 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. The company says that people who received 18 months of infusions with its drug, Gammagard, fared no better than others given infusions of a dummy solution.
Endogenous Antibiotic Exists in the Brain
May 6, 2013 3:39 pm | News | CommentsScientists have discovered that immune cells in the brain can produce a substance that prevents bacterial growth: Namely, itaconic acid. Until now, biologists had assumed that only certain fungi produced itaconic acid. A team has now shown that even so-called microglial cells in mammals are also capable of producing this acid.
Elevated Blood Sugar, Alzheimer's Possibly Linked
May 6, 2013 3:27 pm | News | CommentsA new study suggests a possible link between elevated blood sugar levels and risk for developing Alzheimer's disease. About 5 percent of men and women, ages 65 to 74, have Alzheimer's disease, and it is estimated that nearly half of those age 85 and older may have the disease.
Key Protein Promotes CNS Inflammation
May 2, 2013 11:07 am | by MD Anderson Cancer Center | News | CommentsScientists have identified an influential link in a chain of events that leads to autoimmune inflammation of the central nervous system in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS). The researcher spells out the pivotal role of Peli1 in the activation of immune cells called microglia that promote inflammation in the central nervous system in response to tissue damage or invasion by microbes.
Hypothalamus May Hold Key to Aging
May 1, 2013 2:01 pm | by Einstein | News | CommentsWhile the search continues for the Fountain of Youth, researchers may have found the body’s “fountain of aging”: the brain region known as the hypothalamus. For the first time, scientists report that the hypothalamus of mice controls aging throughout the body.
New Schizophrenia Diagnostic Method Found
April 30, 2013 11:22 am | News | CommentsBecause physiological evidence confirming schizophrenia can only be gathered from the brain during an autopsy, mental health professionals have had to rely on a battery of psychological evaluations to diagnose their patients. Now, researchers have discovered a method for physical diagnosis— by collecting tissue from the nose through a simple biopsy.
Body Image Disorder Linked to Abnormal Brain
April 30, 2013 10:14 am | News | CommentsBody dysmorphic disorder is a disabling but often misunderstood psychiatric condition in which people perceive themselves to be disfigured and ugly, even though they look normal to others. New research shows that these individuals have abnormalities in the underlying connections in their brains.
Mouse Brains Mapped in Greatest Detail Yet
April 29, 2013 10:44 am | News | CommentsHopes for a cure for many brain diseases may rest on the humble mouse, now that scientists can map the rodents' brains more thoroughly than ever before. Researchers have created the most detailed atlas of the mouse brain, a development that is helping in the fight against brain disease.
Approach Isolates Memory-storing RNAs
April 26, 2013 11:35 am | News | CommentsScientists have developed a novel strategy for isolating and characterizing a substantial number of RNAs transported from the cell-body of neuron (nerve cell) to the synapse, the small gap separating neurons that enables cell to cell communication.
