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.

New app may help athletes identify possible concussion symptoms

Sports-related concussions have sparked a national debate, multiple lawsuits and new concussion-management protocols in the NCAA and NFL in the last few years. Despite all the attention to concussion and its risks, many student-athletes either don't recognize the signs of concussion -- or won't report them if they do.

28 Sep 2015

Two-drug combination relieves depression in older adults

More than half of older adults with clinical depression don't get better when treated with an antidepressant. But results from a multicenter clinical trial that included Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates that adding a second drug — an antipsychotic medication — to the treatment regimen helps many of those patients.

28 Sep 2015

Portuguese researchers find significant differences between smokers and non-smokers who develop NSCLC

Tobacco smoke is known to be the main risk factor for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), although non-smokers can get it too. The incidence among non-smokers is increasing in many countries. Now a group of Portuguese researchers has found significant differences in clinical particularities and survival between smokers and non-smokers who develop NSCLC.

28 Sep 2015

Cannabinoid receptors of the brain control aversive memories that are crucial for survival

Memory is not a simple box of souvenirs; it is also, and most importantly, a safety system for organisms. With the help of negative memories, known as "aversive" memories, we can avoid a threat that we have already confronted. Researchers from Inserm and University of Bordeaux have just discovered that the cannabinoid receptors of the brain control these memories that are crucial for survival.

26 Sep 2015

New concussion program aims at treating football players with predisposition to CTE

Upledger Institute Clinic in conjunction with the Ricky Williams Foundation and the Dr. John E. Upledger Foundation announced earlier today, the start of their second concussion therapy research program aimed at treating current and former members of the NFL and the Canadian Football League.

26 Sep 2015

Research into 2-million-year-old human fossils reveals how hearing pattern resembles chimpanzees

Research into human fossils dating back to approximately two million years ago reveals that the hearing pattern resembles chimpanzees, but with some slight differences in the direction of humans.

26 Sep 2015

New technology benefits child suffering from severe form of epilepsy

Brittany Brown has watched her daughter, Amaree, 6, struggle with hundreds of seizures every day for the past six years. Yes, hundreds. Every day.

26 Sep 2015

Researchers develop methodology to monitor changes in DNA methylation patterns in individual cells

Whitehead Institute researchers have developed a methodology to monitor changes in DNA methylation over time in individual cells.

26 Sep 2015

Re-engineering the brain to perceive food differently

Can we make people healthier by tricking the brain into thinking broccoli tastes like chocolate? A group of internationally acclaimed chefs, bench neuroscientists, food scientists and clinical neurologists are confident that they can.

26 Sep 2015

SLU participates in Phase III clinical trial to treat early-onset preeclampsia

Saint Louis University is participating in a Phase III clinical trial for a drug to treat early-onset preeclampsia in pregnant women that could increase the length of pregnancy, resulting in improved fetal outcomes and reduced infant mortality.

26 Sep 2015

Ocean cells contribute to contextual learning process, shows research

When we misplace something, retracing our steps often helps us remember where we put it because environmental contexts are strongly linked to memory formation.

26 Sep 2015

Certain laboratory results can help to predict survival in patients with brain metastases

A new MedUni Vienna study conducted in the Comprehensive Cancer Centre (CCC) Vienna shows that certain laboratory results, which have previously not been used specifically for this purpose, can help to predict survival in patients with newly diagnosed brain metastases and to decide on the most appropriate treatment strategy.

26 Sep 2015

Inflammatory response could be key link between dietary fats and obesity-related diseases

An enhanced inflammatory response could be the key link between high saturated fat intake - a recognized risk factor for obesity-related disorders - and the development of diseases like type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis.

26 Sep 2015

New study heightens concerns over detrimental impact of air pollution on gene associated with AD risk

A new study by researchers at the Universities of Montana, Valle de México, Boise State, and North Carolina, the Centro de Ciencias de la Atmósfera, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto Nacional de Pediatría, and Centro Médico Cozumel heightens concerns over the detrimental impact of air pollution on hippocampal metabolites as early markers of neurodegeneration in young urbanites carrying an allele 4 of the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE).

26 Sep 2015

EUROCARE 5 study shows large variations in blood cancer patients' survival in Europe

Comparisons of cancer patients' survival and care in Europe up to 2007 show that although more patients are surviving for at least five years after diagnosis, there are large variations between countries, which are particularly significant in cancers of the blood.

26 Sep 2015

Scientists receive $6.4 million NSF grant to study smell navigation

A team of scientists, including a UC Berkeley pioneer in odor mapping, has received a $6.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation to dig deeper into how humans and animals navigate by using their sense of smell and converting odors into spatial information.

26 Sep 2015

NIH-supported study explores effects of substance use on adolescent brain development

The National Institutes of Health today awarded 13 grants to research institutions around the country as part of a landmark study about the effects of adolescent substance use on the developing brain.

26 Sep 2015

Scientists identify different CRISPR system with potential to advance genetic engineering

A team including the scientist who first harnessed the revolutionary CRISPR-Cas9 system for mammalian genome editing has now identified a different CRISPR system with the potential for even simpler and more precise genome engineering.

26 Sep 2015

UCSF researchers map genetic signature of unusual stem cells in the human brain

The human cerebral cortex contains 16 billion neurons, wired together into arcane, layered circuits responsible for everything from our ability to walk and talk to our sense of nostalgia and drive to dream of the future. In the course of human evolution, the cortex has expanded as much as 1,000-fold, but how this occurred is still a mystery to scientists.

25 Sep 2015

Kessler Foundation study may simplify cognitive assessment for MS in clinical settings

Kessler Foundation scientists found that the Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS) predicted performance of activities of daily living using Actual Reality (AR). The article, "Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS) and performance of everyday life tasks," was published in Multiple Sclerosis Journal.

25 Sep 2015

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

New app may help athletes identify possible concussion symptoms

Two-drug combination relieves depression in older adults

Portuguese researchers find significant differences between smokers and non-smokers who develop NSCLC

Cannabinoid receptors of the brain control aversive memories that are crucial for survival

New concussion program aims at treating football players with predisposition to CTE

Research into 2-million-year-old human fossils reveals how hearing pattern resembles chimpanzees

New technology benefits child suffering from severe form of epilepsy

Researchers develop methodology to monitor changes in DNA methylation patterns in individual cells

Re-engineering the brain to perceive food differently

SLU participates in Phase III clinical trial to treat early-onset preeclampsia

Ocean cells contribute to contextual learning process, shows research

Certain laboratory results can help to predict survival in patients with brain metastases

Inflammatory response could be key link between dietary fats and obesity-related diseases

New study heightens concerns over detrimental impact of air pollution on gene associated with AD risk

EUROCARE 5 study shows large variations in blood cancer patients' survival in Europe

Scientists receive $6.4 million NSF grant to study smell navigation

NIH-supported study explores effects of substance use on adolescent brain development

Scientists identify different CRISPR system with potential to advance genetic engineering

UCSF researchers map genetic signature of unusual stem cells in the human brain

Kessler Foundation study may simplify cognitive assessment for MS in clinical settings

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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