Synapse News and Research

RSS

Using 'mini-brains' to detect harmful neurodevelopmental effects of antidepressant

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have demonstrated the use of stem-cell-derived "mini-brains" to detect harmful side effects of a common drug on the developing brain.

21 Feb 2020

Researchers reveal new activity above the surface in brain-cell receptors

Like buoys bobbing on the ocean, many receptors float on the surface of a cell's membrane with a part sticking above the water and another underwater, inside the cell's cytoplasm.

7 Feb 2020

Analyzing cancer-specific alterations found in tumor's RNA

Researchers at EMBL-EBI were among the leaders of a large international consortium that carried out a joint analysis of data from over 1000 donors of more than 25 cancer types, studying data on their whole genomes along with tumor transcriptome data, which indicates the genes that are active within a tumor.

6 Feb 2020

ERA4TB to transform the development of new therapies for tuberculosis

With a team of more than thirty public and private organisations and a budget over 200 million euro, ERA4TB aims to radically transform the way in which new therapies are developed for the treatment of tuberculosis.

30 Jan 2020

Link between autism and poor cognition

Autistic people are often brilliant, but they may also have poor cognitive skills. The relationship between autism and either condition, inside the brain, has been far from clear. However, now a new study shows that poor cognition in autism could be due to the influence of a small gene fragment.

29 Jan 2020

Study shows how gene therapy may help protect against vision loss in multiple sclerosis

New research by Dorothy P. Schafer, PhD, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, reveals the molecular process in which synaptic connections in the brain are damaged in multiple sclerosis and how this contributes to neurodegenerative symptoms.

21 Jan 2020

Research team identifies new roles for Huntington's Disease protein

A Duke University research team has identified a new function of a gene called huntingtin, a mutation of which underlies the progressive neurodegenerative disorder known as Huntington's Disease.

21 Jan 2020

New analysis method shows how the brain regulates its signals using glutamate

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology and Gothenburg University in Sweden have achieved something long thought almost impossible - counting the molecules of the neurotransmitter glutamate released when a signal is transferred between two brain cells. With a new analysis method, they showed that the brain regulates its signals using glutamate in more ways than previously realised.

21 Jan 2020

Protein SV2A levels could explain poor neuronal connections in schizophrenia

A team of researchers have found that persons with schizophrenia may have lower levels of certain specific proteins that show up on their brain scans. This could help as diagnostic tools, say experts. The new study titled, “Synaptic density marker SV2A is reduced in schizophrenia patients and unaffected by antipsychotics in rats”, is published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Communications.

14 Jan 2020

Researchers develop 'flash and freeze' method for studying nerve connections

Uniting structure and function of synapses is challenging: Function is studied in living tissue, measuring electrical signals at millisecond precision with electrophysiology, while the observation of fine structure at nanometer scale requires tissue to be fixed for electron microscopy.

9 Jan 2020

Researchers fabricate neuromorphic network composed of metallic nanowires

An international joint research team led by NIMS succeeded in fabricating a neuromorphic network composed of numerous metallic nanowires.

26 Dec 2019

Radiation-induced brain damage: new study reveals the mechanism

Following radiation therapy to the head for brain tumors, more than 80% of patients who live six months at least after the treatment report a loss of some cognitive functions such as memory, thinking and related tasks. Now a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports shows why this happens, which in turn could pave the way to correct this damage and protect the brain in future patients.

17 Dec 2019

DePuy Synthes launches the SYMPHONY Occipito-Cervico-Thoracic System

The Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies today announced that DePuy Synthes has launched the SYMPHONY Occipito-Cervico-Thoracic System, expanding its offering for the surgical treatment of conditions in the neck and upper back.

From DePuy Synthes 6 Dec 2019

Scientists discover how specific genetic mutation causes intellectual disability, autism

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered why a specific genetic mutation causes intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder in children.

5 Dec 2019

Common drug for nerve pain could help restore upper limb function after spinal cord injury

Long-term treatment with gabapentin, a commonly prescribed drug for nerve pain, could help restore upper limb function after a spinal cord injury, new research in mice suggests.

3 Dec 2019

Extra virgin olive oil boosts brain power

Researchers from the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University have found that extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) could help boost brain power and help halt the progression of the effects of aging on the brain. The study was published in the latest issue of the journal Aging Cell, and it was titled, “Extra virgin olive oil improves synaptic activity, short‐term plasticity, memory, and neuropathology in a tauopathy model.”

26 Nov 2019

Neuroscientists decode how visual cues can reorganize the activity of compass neurons

If you've ever woken up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and stumbled around in the dark, banging into walls or dressers in a room you've walked through countless times, you've experienced the effects of inadequately calibrated neurons.

21 Nov 2019