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Vanderbilt scientists develop new bioluminescent sensor that can light up brain cells in the dark

A new kind of bioluminescent sensor causes individual brain cells to imitate fireflies and glow in the dark.

27 Oct 2016

Biomedical engineers harvest bacterial genes that can improve electrical signaling in human cells

Duke University biomedical engineers have harvested genes for ion channels from bacteria that, with a few tweaks, can create and enhance electrical signaling in human cells, making the cells more electrically excitable.

19 Oct 2016

Salk scientist wins NIH grant for new technique to precisely target specific cells using sound waves

Salk Associate Professor Sreekanth Chalasani has been awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health's Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative for developing a way to selectively activate brain, heart, muscle and other cells using ultrasonic waves, which could be a boon to neuroscience research as well as medicine.

14 Oct 2016

DZNE scientists find new mechanism that allows damaged neurons to regenerate

Injuries to the spinal cord can cause paralysis and other permanent disabilities because severed nerve fibers do not regrow. Now, scientists of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases have succeeded in releasing a molecular brake that prevents the regeneration of nerve connections.

7 Oct 2016

CHOP researchers exploit gene discovery in severe epilepsy to identify precision treatment

An international team of researchers who discovered a new gene disorder that causes severe childhood epilepsy leveraged that finding to reduce seizures in two children.

20 Sep 2016

Operational mechanism of Acid-sensing Ion Channel plays pivotal role in transmitting pain signals

Professor Byung-Chang Suh's research team from the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences succeeded in identifying a new operational mechanism principle of the 'Acid-sensing Ion Channel,' which recognizes internal pain in an organism.

13 Sep 2016

Research offers new insights into underlying mechanisms of deadly cystic fibrosis

A minor hiccup in the sequence of a human gene can have devastating impacts on health. Such flaws cause cystic fibrosis (CF), a disease affecting the lungs and other vital organs, often leading to death by the age of 30.

9 Sep 2016

Atomic level analysis reveals how two classes of calcium channel blockers produce different effects

An atomic level analysis has revealed how two classes of calcium channel blockers, widely prescribed for heart disease patients, produce separate therapeutic effects through their actions at different sites on the calcium channel molecule.

25 Aug 2016

DNA methylation changes that alter excitability may be involved in neuropsychiatric diseases

Diseases such as epilepsy, neuropathic pain, anxiety, depression, drug addiction and Alzheimer's are all associated with changes in the excitability of brain neurons.

24 Aug 2016

Neuroscientists identify two distinct populations of dopamine neurons involved in movement, reward

Two Northwestern University neuroscientists have identified the neurochemical signal likely missing in Parkinson's disease by being the first to discover two distinctly different kinds of neurons that deliver dopamine to an important brain region responsible for both movement and learning/reward behavior.

12 Jul 2016

Photodynamic therapy effective in treating porphyrias but can be severely painful, cause inflammation

Severe paleness and photosensitivity are two symptoms of a rare group of hereditary diseases that affect haem, a substance in the blood. While these metabolic disorders - known as the porphyrias - are extremely rare, a similar effect is often deliberately triggered by dermatologists in localised areas during the treatment of pre-cancerous skin lesions and skin cancers.

24 Jun 2016

Spider venom helps investigate pain signals experienced by irritable bowel syndrome patients

Spiders have helped researchers from Australia and the US discover a new target for irritable bowel syndrome pain.

7 Jun 2016

Duke scientists discover new small-molecule drugs to treat chronic pain

A research team at Duke University has discovered a potential new class of small-molecule drugs that simultaneously block two sought-after targets in the treatment of pain.

1 Jun 2016

Study finds that TPC2 protein regulates melanin production

A year and a half ago, researchers at Brown University found a molecular gas pedal for melanin production. Now they've found a brake. For scientists, the finding deepens not only the basic understanding of how eyes, skin and hair gain color, but also what perhaps can be done in disorders, such as albinism, when that doesn't happen.

27 May 2016

TSRI scientists discover new method for harnessing venoms for therapeutic use

There are lessons to be learned from venoms. Scorpions, snakes, snails, frogs and other creatures are thought to produce tens or even hundreds of millions of distinct venoms. These venoms have been honed to strike specific targets in the body.

26 May 2016

Researchers partially restore lost function of isolated cystic fibrosis lung cells

In experiments with isolated cystic fibrosis lung cells, University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers and colleagues from two other institutions have partially restored the lost function of those cells.

26 May 2016

New molecule has potential to prolong life of cystic fibrosis patients

Scientists at Queen's University Belfast have discovered a new molecule which has the potential to prolong the life of individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF).

12 May 2016

Controlling heart cells using a laser: an interview with Prof. Konstantin Agladze

We control their electrical activity. Cardiac cells are capable of producing and transmitting electric signals through changes in a cell membrane potential.

9 May 2016

Snapshots of NMDA receptor activation may help in novel drug design

Structural biologists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Janelia Research Campus/HHMI, have obtained snapshots of the activation of an important type of brain-cell receptor. Dysfunction of the receptor has been implicated in a range of neurological illnesses, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, depression, seizure, schizophrenia, autism, and injuries related to stroke.

3 May 2016

Newly identified molecular pathway could lead to new treatments for reflux, incontinence disorders

Researchers at UMass Medical School have identified a new molecular pathway critical for maintaining the smooth muscle tone that allows the passage of materials through the digestive system.

25 Apr 2016