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.

Higher consumption of fish linked to better neurological health

A new study from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, shines more light on the link between consumption of fish and better long-term neurological health.

23 Apr 2018

$2 million funding boosts progress of UAB biomedical startup

A $2 million investment is the latest step forward for the biomedical startup CNine Biosolutions LLC, which is headed by former University of Alabama at Birmingham postdoctoral fellow Theresa Schein, Ph.D., and retired UAB microbiology professor Scott Barnum, Ph.D. This funding comes from a Denver angel investor group.

20 Apr 2018

Researchers discover blood biomarkers that may help detect, confirm mild traumatic brain injury

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine, Georgetown University and the University of Rochester have found that specific small molecules in blood plasma may be useful in determining whether someone has sustained a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), commonly known as a concussion.

20 Apr 2018

Drawbacks and benefits of using saliva for epigenetic studies

Biomarkers in saliva identify changes that impact the body, according to research published in Current Genomics. This important paper details the drawbacks and benefits of using saliva as a tissue sample for the study of epigenetic changes affected by experiences.

20 Apr 2018

Mayo Clinic study provides valuable information about impact of pediatric anesthesia

A Mayo Clinic study of children who received one or more exposures to anesthesia before the age of 3 has provided valuable information about the potential neurological and behavioral impact of general anesthesia on very young children, according to the International Anesthesia Research Society and the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia.

20 Apr 2018

Researchers find crucial links between dopamine and avoidance behavior

Scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have for the first time found direct causal links between the neurotransmitter dopamine and avoidance – behavior related to pain and fear.

20 Apr 2018

Study findings could open new possibilities for treating cancer with adenovirus

Adenovirus is a common virus that causes infectious diseases of the respiratory tract, eyes and gastrointestinal tract in humans and animals. Researchers at Umeå University study molecular mechanisms of infection in order to understand how adenovirus causes disease.

20 Apr 2018

Scientists find link between soil metals and cancer mortality

Spanish epidemiologists and geologists have found associations between esophageal cancer and soils where lead is abundant, lung cancer and terrains with increased copper content, brain tumor with areas rich in arsenic, and bladder cancer with high cadmium levels.

20 Apr 2018

Study shows connection between muscular strength and brain health

A study of nearly half a million people has revealed that muscular strength, measured by handgrip, is an indication of how healthy our brains are.

20 Apr 2018

Study reveals surprising insights into RNA-binding proteins

A host of special molecules called nuclear RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), when misplaced outside the nucleus, form the harmful clumps seen in several brain disorders, including frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

20 Apr 2018

Role of UBE3A enzyme in Angelman syndrome

The group, led by the Ikerbasque professor Ugo Mayor of the UPV/EHU's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has just published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics an explanation of the mechanisms affected by Angelman syndrome.

20 Apr 2018

Experimental compound reduces destructive inflammation to improve stroke outcome

An experimental compound appears to improve stroke outcome by reducing the destructive inflammation that can continue months after a stroke, scientists report.

20 Apr 2018

Scientists publish comprehensive lineage tree of whole adult animal in Science journal

From one stem cell to many differentiated body cells: Scientists from the MDC in Berlin, along with collaborating researchers in Munich, have published a comprehensive lineage tree of a whole adult animal in the journal Science. This was made possible by a combination of RNA and computational technologies.

20 Apr 2018

Researchers develop new drug-testing platform for epilepsy

For more than a third of children living with epilepsy, the currently approved medications do not stop their seizures. This statistic has not changed for the past five decades, despite the development of many new anti-seizure drugs.

20 Apr 2018

Concussion recovery and symptom severity found to vary between men and women

A new study comparing male and female athletes examined whether there are clear sex-related differences in post-concussion symptom severity and length of recovery. In addition to a finding of significant differences between the male and female college varsity athletes, differences among the women depending on hormonal contraceptive use were reported in the study published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

20 Apr 2018

New non-invasive nerve stimulation may offer relief for people with hand tremor

People with tremors in their hands from a condition called essential tremor may find some relief from a new, non-invasive type of nerve stimulation, according to a preliminary scientific abstract released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 70th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, April 21 to 27, 2018.

20 Apr 2018

IU psychologist receives NIH grant to study earliest phases of language learning in children

An Indiana University psychologist has been awarded $1.7 million from the National Institutes of Health to better understand the earliest phases of language learning in children.

19 Apr 2018

Male fruit flies like sex and alcohol

Researchers at Bar-Ilan University in Israel have found that male fruit flies (Drosophilia melanogaster) enjoy ejaculation and sex and are also keen on alcohol consumption. The results of this novel study that shows that sexual gratification is preserved across species was published in the latest issue of the journal Current Biology this week.

19 Apr 2018

New breakthrough may allow scientists to orchestrate tissue regeneration in humans

A UNLV scientist and her team have found that frog embryos can fully regrow their eyes after injuries, a breakthrough that may lead one day to the ability to orchestrate tissue regeneration in humans.

19 Apr 2018

Human brain processes sight and sound in the same way, shows study

Although sight is a much different sense than sound, Georgetown University Medical Center neuroscientists have found that the human brain learns to make sense of these stimuli in the same way.

19 Apr 2018