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.

Menopause causes metabolic changes in the brain that may increase Alzheimer's risk

Menopause causes metabolic changes in the brain that may increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease, a team from Weill Cornell Medicine and the University of Arizona Health Sciences has shown in new research.

10 Oct 2017

Scientists find new way to produce brain cells from single iPSC

Li Gan, PhD, wants to find treatments to help patients with Alzheimer's disease. Like most researchers, she's hit a few major roadblocks.

10 Oct 2017

Patients unaware of memory loss more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, study shows

While memory loss is an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease, its presence doesn't mean a person will develop dementia. A new study at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health has found a clinically useful way to predict who won't develop Alzheimer's disease, based on patients' awareness of their memory problems.

10 Oct 2017

Maternal immune activation linked to ASD symptom severity in children with autism

The retrospective cohort study of 220 Australian children, conducted between 2011-2014, indicates that a "an immune-mediated subtype" of autism driven by the body's inflammatory and immunological systems may be pivotal, according to the University of Sydney's Professor Adam Guastella.

10 Oct 2017

New serotypes of Zika virus could appear in near future, researcher cautions

Zika virus is mutating so fast in Brazilian patients that different serotypes of the pathogen could appear in the near future, as is already the case with dengue virus. This would hinder the production of a vaccine and impair the effectiveness of the diagnostic tests already developed.

10 Oct 2017

Understanding root cause of 'trench foot' opens way for new treatments

The physical cause of trench foot has been uncovered more than 100 years after the painful and debilitating condition was first identified in the First World War.

10 Oct 2017

New computer program identifies different cell types based on gene expression patterns

"How many different cell types are there in a human body? And how do these differences develop? Nobody really knows," says Professor Stein Aerts from KU Leuven and VIB, Belgium. But thanks to a new method developed by his team, that may be about to change.

10 Oct 2017

Scientists identify potential treatment target for diabetic retinopathy

In oxygen-compromising conditions like diabetes, the body grows new blood vessels to help, but the result is often leaky, dysfunctional vessels that make bad matters worse.

10 Oct 2017

Genetic variant found to increase likelihood of developing nicotine dependence

A DNA variant- located in the DNMT3B gene and commonly found in people of European and African descent-increases the likelihood of developing nicotine dependence, smoking heavily, and developing lung cancer, according to a new study led by RTI International.

10 Oct 2017

Abnormalities of blood vessels in the brain may play major role in development of schizophrenia

Scientists from Trinity College Dublin and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland have discovered that abnormalities of blood vessels in the brain may play a major role in the development of schizophrenia, a debilitating condition that affects around 1% of people in Ireland.

10 Oct 2017

Human minibrains expose psychedelic drug effects, study reveals

A Brazilian study has detected variations in signaling pathways that are associated with neurodegeneration, inflammation, and neural plasticity stimulated by a compound from the dimethyltryptamine family known as 5-MeO-DMT.

10 Oct 2017

Improving synchronization of brain waves enhances learning and self-control

Robert Reinhart calls the medial frontal cortex the "alarm bell of the brain." "If you make an error, this brain area fires," says Reinhart, an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at Boston University. "If I tell you that you make an error, it also fires.

10 Oct 2017

Scientists offer insight into how the brain makes perceptual judgments

Scientists at Columbia's Zuckerman Institute have contributed to solving a paradox of perception, literally upending models of how the brain constructs interpretations of the outside world. When observing a scene, the brain first processes details -- spots, lines and simple shapes -- and uses that information to build internal representations of more complex objects, like cars and people.

10 Oct 2017

Penn’s ITMAT 12th Annual International Symposium focuses on pain biology, aging, and brain disorders

The latest science in why pain afflicts people differently, precision medicine and brain disorders, and how the bat genome informs the study of human aging, among many other topics, will be covered at the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics' 12th Annual International Symposium.

9 Oct 2017

Scientists show how a trio of key molecules directs learning and memory

Learning and memory are two important functions of the brain that are based on the brain's plasticity. Scientists from Goethe University Frankfurt report in the latest issue of the scientific journal "Cell Reports" how a trio of key molecules directs these processes.

9 Oct 2017

Alzheimer's gene can protect against and promote neurological damage

Scientists drilling down to the molecular roots of Alzheimer's disease have encountered a good news/bad news scenario. A major player is a gene called TREM2, mutations of which can substantially raise a person's risk of the disease.

9 Oct 2017

Researchers identify molecular clues to understand formation of CCMs

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with national collaborators, have identified a series of molecular clues to understanding the formation of cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs).

9 Oct 2017

Training new doctors right where they’re needed

Dr. Olga Meave didn't mind the dry, 105-degree heat that scorched this Central Valley city on a recent afternoon. The sweltering summer days remind her of home in Sonora, Mexico. So do the people of the Valley — especially the Latino first-generation immigrants present here in large numbers, toiling in the fields or piloting big rigs laden with fruits and vegetables.

9 Oct 2017

UCLA scientists discover potential combination treatment for brain cancer in adults

UCLA scientists have discovered a potential combination treatment for glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer in adults. The three-year study led by Dr. David Nathanson, a member of UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, found that the drug combination tested in mice disrupts and exploits glucose intake, essentially cutting off the tumor's nutrients and energy supply.

9 Oct 2017

New treatment approach makes cancer cells commit suicide while sparing healthy cells

Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have discovered the first compound that directly makes cancer cells commit suicide while sparing healthy cells.

9 Oct 2017

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Menopause causes metabolic changes in the brain that may increase Alzheimer's risk

Scientists find new way to produce brain cells from single iPSC

Patients unaware of memory loss more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, study shows

Maternal immune activation linked to ASD symptom severity in children with autism

New serotypes of Zika virus could appear in near future, researcher cautions

Understanding root cause of 'trench foot' opens way for new treatments

New computer program identifies different cell types based on gene expression patterns

Scientists identify potential treatment target for diabetic retinopathy

Genetic variant found to increase likelihood of developing nicotine dependence

Abnormalities of blood vessels in the brain may play major role in development of schizophrenia

Human minibrains expose psychedelic drug effects, study reveals

Improving synchronization of brain waves enhances learning and self-control

Scientists offer insight into how the brain makes perceptual judgments

Penn’s ITMAT 12th Annual International Symposium focuses on pain biology, aging, and brain disorders

Scientists show how a trio of key molecules directs learning and memory

Alzheimer's gene can protect against and promote neurological damage

Researchers identify molecular clues to understand formation of CCMs

Training new doctors right where they’re needed

UCLA scientists discover potential combination treatment for brain cancer in adults

New treatment approach makes cancer cells commit suicide while sparing healthy cells

Industry Focus eBook - Neurology/Neuroscience - 2nd edition eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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