Brain News and Research

RSS

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.

Innovative new cancer drug enters the first phase of clinical trials

An innovative drug with a new mechanism of action that may be effective against a range of cancers will enter the first phase of clinical trials, it was announced today (Monday) at Cancer Research UK's Senior Researchers Meeting.

24 May 2004

Reversing medical brain drain in New Zealand

A University of Otago fellowship is helping to reverse the brain drain by offering incentives to attract medical graduates back to New Zealand following postgraduate overseas study.

24 May 2004

Damage to the left half side of brain may make a right-handed person more susceptible to infection

A major immunological difference between the opposite halves of the human brain is now confirmed in a study published May 24, 2004 in the online edition of the Annals of Neurology. Researchers have found that damage or surgery to the left half of the brain may make a right-handed person more susceptible to being immunocompromised.

24 May 2004

Researchers have developed technology to precisely measure the sensitivity of nerve fibers that wire up the brain during development

Through use of this technology, they discovered that these fibers, or axons, possess an incredible sensitivity to molecular guidance cues that direct the axon's route to its desired destination in the brain. Their findings are described in the June issue of Nature Neuroscience.

23 May 2004

Combination therapy may be useful in humans with spinal cord injury

A combination therapy using transplanted cells plus two experimental drugs significantly improves function in paralyzed rats, a new study shows. The results suggest that a similar therapy may be useful in humans with spinal cord injury.

23 May 2004

Teenagers most vulnerable to the addictive lure of cigarettes

Teenagers have long been regarded as the age group most vulnerable to the addictive lure of cigarettes, and a new report compiling five years of studies from a UC Irvine tobacco research program provides details why this is very likely true.

21 May 2004

Combination radiation treatment for brain cancer leads to better life

People with cancer that has spread to the brain – about 40 percent of all cancer cases – live longer and enjoy a better quality of life if they are treated with a combination of radiation techniques, according to research conducted, in part, at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

21 May 2004

Clusters of viral meningitis found in two Manhattan schools

Working closely with the New York City Department of Education (DOE), the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) is investigating clusters of viral meningitis in two Manhattan schools (4 students at La Guardia High School, 2 students at Stuyvesant High School).

21 May 2004

Genome research sheds light on Bardet-Biedl syndrome

By comparing the genomes of an alga, a weed and humans, a team of researchers has identified a new gene behind Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), a complex condition marked by learning disabilities, vision loss and obesity.

21 May 2004

New 100 teraflop supercomputer will help simulation of brain seizures

The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory will play a major role in the development of a new national computational science facility aimed at deploying a supercomputer capable of sustained performance of 100 trillion floating-point operations per second (teraflops) by 2007.

21 May 2004

Are we as crazy as mad cows?

When proteins in our body work properly, we can see, smell, consume and digest food, grow muscle and brain cells. But when these infinitely useful biological building blocks fail, the most pernicious diseases arise. Susan Lindquist has scrutinized the complex origami-like shapes of proteins and come to understand how structural mistakes can lead to a frightening class of neurodegenerative disorders, including “Mad Cow Disease.”

20 May 2004

Hypertension treatment could reduce hemorrhagic strokes by nearly 30 percent

Treating hypertension could cut the annual number of bleeding strokes in the United States by about one-fourth, according to a report in today’s rapid access issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

20 May 2004

New medical device indentifies abnormal heart rhythms called atrial fibrillation

A new device identified abnormal heart rhythms called atrial fibrillation in one of 18 stroke patients in whom two standard tests failed to detect the irregularity, researchers report in today’s rapid access issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

20 May 2004

Protein that appears to play a key role in Alzheimer's disease

A protein that allows human cancer to resist multiple anticancer drugs also appears to play a key role in Alzheimer's disease, according to research conducted at Fox Chase Cancer Center. The protein, active in brain tissue, could be a target for new drugs to treat patients with Alzheimer's.

20 May 2004

Researchers to study link between diabetes and early dementia

Understanding the link between diabetes and early dementia – as well as how diabetes relates to other causes of memory loss – is the focus of a new study at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and approximately 40 other medical institutions nationwide.

20 May 2004

Watching for West Nile virus, dead bird and mosquito monitoring resumes

Warmer spring weather and the coming mosquito season has the Department of Health on the lookout for West Nile virus again, working with local health departments to identify mosquitoes, track dead birds and monitor any human illness across Washington. This season brings mosquito-breeding weather and the threat of mosquito-borne disease, including West Nile virus.

20 May 2004

Brain can make errors in reassembling the color and motion of objects

You're driving along in your car and catch a glimpse of a green SUV out of the corner of your eye. A few seconds later, you glance over, and to your surprise discover that the SUV is actually brown.

19 May 2004

Centre for Life opens with the UK’s first two human embryonic stem cell lines

The UK’s first two human embryonic stem cell lines, developed separately by researchers at King’s College London and the Centre for Life in Newcastle, are to be deposited in the UK Stem Cell Bank. The deposit coincides with the official opening of the Bank by Health Minister, Lord Warner, today (Wednesday 19 May 2004).

19 May 2004

Office of Naval Research harnessing human brain power to control the maneuvers of UUVs

Even the least graceful among us has motor control the most high-tech unmanned undersea vehicle would envy, thanks to a region of the brain that allows our bodies to carry out complex maneuvers. The Office of Naval Research, which traditionally relies on the power of the human mind to achieve breakthroughs in science and technology, now also is harnessing the working principle of the brain to control the maneuvers of UUVs.

19 May 2004

A new synthetic chemical may provide framework for future drugs to treat brain-based ailments

A new synthetic chemical may provide the framework for future drugs that can treat a variety of brain-based ailments, ranging from overeating and drug dependency to neuropathic pain.

19 May 2004