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.

Northwest Biotherapeutics closes registered direct placement of $12.6M

Northwest Biotherapeutics, a biotechnology company developing DCVax® personalized immune therapies for solid tumor cancers, today announced the closing of its previously-announced registered direct placement with healthcare focused institutional investors, for gross proceeds of $12.6 million on the terms previously announced.

26 Dec 2015

Concussion expert shares important information on sports-related concussions

The Sports Concussion Program in the Children's Orthopaedic Center at Children's Hospital Los Angeles is the only pediatric program of its kind in Southern California.

26 Dec 2015

Researchers identify liver-derived hormone that regulates sugar intake

We all love our sugar, especially during the holidays. Cookies, cake, and candy are simply irresistible. While sugar cravings are common, the physiological mechanisms that trigger our "sweet tooth" are not well defined.

24 Dec 2015

Ebola virus and bats waging molecular battle for survival

Ebola virus and bats have been waging a molecular battle for survival that may have started at least 25 million years ago, according to a study led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU-Boulder) and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) that published online today in the journal eLife.

24 Dec 2015

TweetChat on AAN's guideline for diagnosing and treating sports concussions

As the nation expands its conversation about sports concussion this week, the American Academy of Neurology, the world's most trusted authority on concussion, will host a TweetChat at 1 p.m. ET, Monday, December 28, to help educate parents, coaches and athletes about the AAN's guideline for diagnosing and treating sports concussion.

24 Dec 2015

Collaborative team to determine mechanisms that cause traumatic brain injuries due to shockwaves

Nearly 300,000 soldiers have returned from service in Iraq and Afghanistan with symptoms of traumatic brain injuries due to blast shockwaves. Such injuries often go untreated because they are undetected by brain scans despite the symptoms' presence.

24 Dec 2015

Ultrafast near-infrared lasers deliver gene therapy to treat macular degeneration

Millions of adults over age 50 struggle each year with vision loss caused by damage to the retina or common macular degeneration.

24 Dec 2015

Study directly links common variants of Alzheimer's risk genes to atrophy

Two genetic variants previously linked to Alzheimer's disease have been more specifically tied to brain atrophy that is characteristic of the disease.

24 Dec 2015

Novel antibody improves glucose regulation and reduces fatty liver in obese mice

A new study by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and colleagues describes the pre-clinical development of a therapeutic that could potentially be used to treat type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, and other metabolic diseases.

24 Dec 2015

Eating at the wrong time of day affects learning and memory

An occasional late-night raid on turkey leftovers might be harmless but new research with mice suggests that making a habit of it could alter brain physiology.

24 Dec 2015

Hepatitis C virus linked to increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease

The hepatitis C virus may be associated with an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease, according to a study published in the December 23, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

24 Dec 2015

Working Group identifies many potential genetic contributors to weight loss

In the midst of the holiday season, celebratory get-togethers can mean overindulging on treats and high-calorie foods, leaving many of us struggling to keep off the extra pounds. With as many as two-thirds of American adults already carrying excess weight, and one third with obesity, maintaining weight can be the biggest challenge, say researchers.

24 Dec 2015

IASLC lauds FDA approval of alectinib for lung cancer treatment

The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) is once again gratified to see the approval of a new second-generation lung cancer treatment that can help many patients in their battle against the disease.

24 Dec 2015

Scientists unravel longstanding mystery of fundamental property of the brain

In new research published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a team of scientists from the Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, in the Faculty of Medicine, unraveled a longstanding mystery of a fundamental property of the brain.

24 Dec 2015

Study explores brain's processes responsible for imitation

We learn many things through imitation: how to walk, play an instument, sports, and even more. What are the processes in the brain responsible for imitation? For some years now, science has been examining the role of mirror neurons, but there is still much to understand.

23 Dec 2015

Study explores how contextual information shapes our visual perception

The Thalamus not only relays visual signals from the eye to the visual cortex as previously thought, but also conveys additional, contextual information.

23 Dec 2015

YAP protein appears to play vital role in helping control inflammation inside the brain

Inside the brain, a protein called YAP, best known for its ability to help right-size our developing hearts and livers, appears to have the different but equally important task of helping control inflammation.

23 Dec 2015

Researchers use virtual 3D mazes and fMRI technique to reconstruct brain activity

Researchers can now reconstruct what we see in our minds when we navigate -- and explain how we get directions wrong.

23 Dec 2015

New image modulation technique may help test how the brain processes images

Despite the obvious difference between a chihuahua and a doberman, the human brain effortlessly categorises them both as dogs, a feat that is thus far beyond the abilities of artificial intelligence.

23 Dec 2015

New $8.5M research grant aims to address patients affected by severe hemophilia A

People with hemophilia have prolonged abnormal bleeding as a result of trauma. Hemophilia A, also called factor VIII (FVIII) deficiency, is the most common form of the genetic disorder caused by missing or defective blood clotting protein called factor VIII.

23 Dec 2015