Brain News and Research

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The human brain is the center of the human nervous system and is a highly complex organ. Enclosed in the cranium, it has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but is over three times as large as the brain of a typical mammal with an equivalent body size.

Study to produce hearing aids that can better distinguish speech and background noise

New research is aiming to produce hearing aids which can distinguish better between speech and background noise and benefit the lives of the six million people in the UK with hearing impairments.

8 Mar 2013

Study shows reduction of brain capillaries in mice immunized with amyloid beta

University of British Columbia researchers have successfully normalized the production of blood vessels in the brain of mice with Alzheimer's disease (AD) by immunizing them with amyloid beta, a protein widely associated with the disease.

8 Mar 2013

SCCA, ProCure announce opening of Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Proton Therapy

Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) and ProCure Treatment Centers, Inc. (ProCure) announced the opening of Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Proton Therapy, A ProCure Center today in Seattle, Washington.

8 Mar 2013

Study helps explain why viruses often spread through the brain in patchwork patterns

Viruses often spread through the brain in patchwork patterns, infecting some cells but missing others. New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis helps explain why. The scientists showed that natural immune defenses that resist viral infection are turned on in some brain cells but switched off in others.

8 Mar 2013

Boosting hypocretin could elevate both mood and alertness in humans

What makes us happy? Family? Money? Love? How about a peptide? The neurochemical changes underlying human emotions and social behavior are largely unknown. Now though, for the first time in humans, scientists at UCLA have measured the release of a specific peptide, a neurotransmitter called hypocretin, that greatly increased when subjects were happy but decreased when they were sad.

8 Mar 2013

Rats sniff each other to signal a social hierarchy and prevent aggressive behavior

Sniffing, a common behavior in dogs, cats and other animals, has been observed to also serve as a method for rats to communicate-a fundamental discovery that may help scientists identify brain regions critical for interpreting communications cues and what brain malfunctions may cause some complex social disorders.

7 Mar 2013

Weekend reading: Deciding if it's 'time to let mom die,' a cancer hospital's controversial admission procedures

My father, sister and I sat in the near-empty Chinese restaurant, picking at our plates, unable to avoid the question that we'd gathered to discuss: When was it time to let Mom die? ... My father and sister looked to me for my thoughts. In our family, after all, I'm the go-to guy for all things medical. I've been a health care reporter for 15 years: at the Dallas Morning News, the Los Angeles Times and now ProPublica.

7 Mar 2013

EEG patterns track propofol effects

Researchers have identified electroencephalogram signatures of changes in consciousness caused by propofol.

7 Mar 2013

CALHM1 channel protein releases ATP to make neural taste connections

Saying that the sense of taste is complicated is an understatement, that it is little understood, even more so. Exactly how cells transmit taste information to the brain for three out of the five primary taste types was pretty much a mystery, until now.

7 Mar 2013

USF, Saneron receive patent for transplantation method using umbilical cord blood cells

Researchers at Saneron CCEL Therapeutics and the University of South Florida have received a patent relating to a method for obtaining and using umbilical cord blood cells from a donor or patient to provide neural cells for transplantation aimed at repairing a variety of neurodegenerative diseases of the brain and spinal cord, such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease as well as brain and spinal cord injury.

7 Mar 2013

Researchers identify role of Merlin in regulating integrity of axons

One in 25,000 people worldwide is affected by neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), a condition where the loss of a tumour suppressor called Merlin results in multiple tumours in the brain and nervous system.

7 Mar 2013

Study: Multiple sclerosis patients with cognitive problems have more brain damage

People with multiple sclerosis who have cognitive problems, or problems with memory, attention, and concentration, have more damage to areas of the brain involved in cognitive processes than people with MS who do not have cognitive problems, according to a study published in the March 6, 2013, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

7 Mar 2013

UCLA scientists discover new genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease

Scientists at UCLA have discovered a new genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease by screening people's DNA and then using an advanced type of scan to visualize their brains' connections.

7 Mar 2013

‘New Frontiers in Neurodegenerative Disease Research’ symposium to be held from Feb. 4-7

At the Keystone Symposium "New Frontiers in Neurodegenerative Disease Research," held 4-7 February in Santa Fe, New Mexico, researchers explored the processes that lead to a variety of diseases, including Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig's disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS).

7 Mar 2013

CALHM1 protein plays critical role in sweet, bitter and umami taste perception

Working with a multidisciplinary consortium of 19 researchers from nine institutions, Monell scientists have provided critical information to identify CALHM1, a channel in the walls of taste receptor cells, as a necessary component in the process of sweet, bitter, and umami (savory) taste perception.

7 Mar 2013

Research illuminates why stimulating environment may protect against Alzheimer's disease

"Use it or lose it." The saying could apply especially to the brain when it comes to protecting against Alzheimer's disease.

7 Mar 2013

Study suggests more accurate way to monitor patient awareness during general anesthesia

Massachusetts General Hospital investigators have identified specific EEG signatures that indicate when patients lose and regain consciousness under the general anesthetic drug propofol.

7 Mar 2013

Increased blood and oxygen flow to pre-frontal area of brain may explain effects

The resulting increased blood and oxygen flow to the pre-frontal cortex may explain the effects, suggest the researchers.

7 Mar 2013

Yale researchers identify key genetic switch for brain maturation

The flip of a single molecular switch helps create the mature neuronal connections that allow the brain to bridge the gap between adolescent impressionability and adult stability.

7 Mar 2013

Insight into how Th17 cell growth influences development of immune responses

New work from the Broad Institute's Klarman Cell Observatory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University, MIT, and Yale University expands the understanding of how one type of immune cell - known as a T helper 17 or Th17 cell - develops, and how its growth influences the development of immune responses.

7 Mar 2013

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Study to produce hearing aids that can better distinguish speech and background noise

Study shows reduction of brain capillaries in mice immunized with amyloid beta

SCCA, ProCure announce opening of Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Proton Therapy

Study helps explain why viruses often spread through the brain in patchwork patterns

Boosting hypocretin could elevate both mood and alertness in humans

Rats sniff each other to signal a social hierarchy and prevent aggressive behavior

Weekend reading: Deciding if it's 'time to let mom die,' a cancer hospital's controversial admission procedures

EEG patterns track propofol effects

CALHM1 channel protein releases ATP to make neural taste connections

USF, Saneron receive patent for transplantation method using umbilical cord blood cells

Researchers identify role of Merlin in regulating integrity of axons

Study: Multiple sclerosis patients with cognitive problems have more brain damage

UCLA scientists discover new genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease

‘New Frontiers in Neurodegenerative Disease Research’ symposium to be held from Feb. 4-7

CALHM1 protein plays critical role in sweet, bitter and umami taste perception

Research illuminates why stimulating environment may protect against Alzheimer's disease

Study suggests more accurate way to monitor patient awareness during general anesthesia

Increased blood and oxygen flow to pre-frontal area of brain may explain effects

Yale researchers identify key genetic switch for brain maturation

Insight into how Th17 cell growth influences development of immune responses

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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