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Human brain uses several frequency channels for communication

In the brain, the visual cortex processes visual information and passes it from lower to higher areas of the brain. However, information also flows in the opposite direction, e.g. to direct attention to particular stimuli. But how does the brain know which path the information should take? Researchers at the Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience in Frankfurt in Cooperation with Max Planck Society have now demonstrated that the visual cortex of human subjects uses different frequency channels depending on the direction in which information is being transported.

31 Jan 2016

Family income matters more than race in predicting obesity in children

For a long time researchers have tracked high rates of obesity among black and Hispanic kids, but a closer look at communities shows family income matters more than race in predicting which kids are overweight.

8 Jan 2016

KAIST scientists predict how biological circuits sustain rhythms

Our bodies have a variety of biological clocks that follow rhythms or oscillations with periods ranging from seconds to days. For example, our hearts beat every second, and cells divide periodically. The circadian clock located in the hypothalamus generates twenty-four hour rhythms, timing our sleep and hormone release.

29 Aug 2015

Expectations shape babies' brains

Infants can use their expectations about the world to rapidly shape their developing brains, researchers have found.

21 Jul 2015

Springer releases new international journal in partnership with Regenerative Engineering Society

Springer has launched Regenerative Engineering and Translational Medicine in partnership with the newly formed Regenerative Engineering Society. The new international journal will cover the convergence of multiple fields, including tissue generation, advanced materials science, stem cell research, the physical sciences and developmental biology, and is actively seeking submissions.

15 Apr 2015

NYU researchers devise computer model to explain how neural circuit learns to categorize

New York University researchers have devised a computer model to explain how a neural circuit learns to classify sensory stimuli into discrete categories, such as "car vs. motorcycle." Their findings, which appear in the journal Nature Communications, shed new light on the brain processes underpinning judgments we make on a daily basis.

12 Mar 2015

University Hospitals recognized as a 2015 World's Most Ethical Company

University Hospitals has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute, the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as a 2015 World's Most Ethical Company.

10 Mar 2015

Finding could improve treatment, diagnosis of common reading disorders

A neuroimaging study by a University at Buffalo psychologist suggests that phonics, a method of learning to read using knowledge of word sounds, shouldn't be overlooked in favor of a whole-language technique that focuses on visually memorizing word patterns, a finding that could help improve treatment and diagnosis of common reading disorders such as dyslexia.

29 Jan 2015

Voices of loved ones telling familiar stories can help awaken unconscious brain, speed coma recovery

"Can he hear me?" family members are desperate to know when a loved one with a traumatic brain injury is in a coma.

23 Jan 2015

Muscle spindle sensory feedback promotes functional recovery after spinal cord injury

After an incomplete spinal cord injury, the body can partially recover basic motor function. So-called muscle spindles and associated sensory circuits back to the spinal cord promote the establishment of novel neuronal connections after injury.

23 Dec 2014

Researchers say that misfiring of the brain's control system may underpin compulsions in OCD

Misfiring of the brain's control system might underpin compulsions in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), according to researchers at the University of Cambridge, writing in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

19 Dec 2014

Experts expose fundamental role of chaos and complexity in biological information processing

The interdisciplinary approach to problems that till recently were addressed in the hermetic framework of distinct disciplines such as physics, informatics, biology or sociology constitutes today one of the most active and innovative areas of science, where fundamental issues meet problems of everyday concern.

14 Dec 2014

New studies offer hope for breast cancer survivors struggling with cancer-related pain, swelling

Two new studies from the Abramson Cancer Center and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania offer hope for breast cancer survivors struggling with cancer-related pain and swelling, and point to ways to enhance muscular strength and body image.

5 Nov 2014

CMEDT welcomes participation of TWCF in Smart Villages initiative

The Cambridge Malaysian Education and Development Trust today welcomed the start of three years of complementary funding from the Templeton World Charity Foundation for their Smart Villages initiative. This collaboratively-funded project will look at technical, entrepreneurial and policy solutions for providing sustainable energy for development in off-grid rural communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

8 Oct 2014

Adolescents with strong working memory better equipped to escape problematic drug use

Adolescents with strong working memory are better equipped to escape early drug experimentation without progressing into substance abuse issues, says a University of Oregon researcher.

3 Oct 2014

Research findings open up new avenues for development of chronic itch treatments

Areas of the brain that respond to reward and pleasure are linked to the ability of a drug known as butorphanol to relieve itch, according to new research led by Gil Yosipovitch, MD, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Dermatology at Temple University School of Medicine, and Director of the Temple Itch Center.

25 Sep 2014

Brain stimulation increases cravings for high-calorie foods, shows study

Magnetic stimulation of a brain area involved in "executive function" affects cravings for and consumption of calorie-dense snack foods, reports a study in the September issue of Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.

16 Sep 2014

Viewpoints: Va. GOP's 'Medicaid charade'; Paul Ryan's health Rx for poverty; giving the sick unapproved drugs

Virginia lawmakers will convene in a special session next month to address the question of expanding Medicaid and, more broadly, the fact that hundreds of thousands of poor and disabled people in the state have no health insurance coverage. Democrats and some moderate Republicans have advanced a variety of ideas to tackle that problem. Conservative Republicans, who control the legislature in Richmond, have rejected those solutions while proposing no alternative. Does the GOP intend for the special session to be anything more than a charade at taxpayers' expense? (8/15).

19 Aug 2014

VivaPhi, Center of Health Engagement partner to deliver value-based health system

VivaPhi and the Center of Health Engagement announce their strategic partnership to define and deliver a networked, learning, and value-based health system. The partnership will engage in research using health data to develop insights into how health care decisions are made in by patients, and how those decisions influence new models of care.

30 Jul 2014

Protein Metrics introduces top-down analysis as part of 2.0 release of Byonic proteomics search engine

Protein Metrics, Inc., a leading provider of software for rapid and thorough protein and peptide characterization, today announced the introduction of top-down analysis as part of the 2.0 release of its Byonic™ proteomics search engine.

11 Jun 2014