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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.

Urban heat and pollution linked to behavioral changes in children

Individuals living in urban cities are experiencing the combined effect of increasing temperatures and poor air quality, often referred to as the urban heat dome.

22 Aug 2025

Hemoglobin emerges as a natural antioxidant defense in the brain

Did you know the same protein that gives blood its red color and carries oxygen throughout the body is also present inside brain cells? Hemoglobin, long celebrated for ferrying oxygen in red blood cells, has now been revealed to play an overlooked - and potentially game-changing - antioxidant role in the brain.

22 Aug 2025

Hypothalamic neurons help maintain blood sugar during daily activities

The brain controls the release of glucose in a wide range of stressful circumstances, including fasting and low blood sugar levels.

21 Aug 2025

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Happy 60th, Medicare and Medicaid!

On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed landmark legislation creating Medicare and Medicaid. Sixty years later, the programs represent a fifth of the federal budget and provide coverage to nearly 1 in 4 Americans.

21 Aug 2025

Neuroscientists split on whether memories can be extracted from preserved brains

A new survey of 312 neuroscientists reveals strong support for synaptic connectivity as the basis of long-term memory, but deep divides remain over memory extraction and brain emulation feasibility. The findings highlight both emerging consensus and sharp uncertainty in how memories are physically stored.

21 Aug 2025

Gut bacteria and insomnia influence each other in small but significant ways, study shows

Scientists used Mendelian randomisation to explore the two-way relationship between gut microbiota and insomnia, analyzing GWAS data from over 386,000 individuals and two major microbiome cohorts. The study found only limited taxa surviving strict correction, suggesting small but causal links that highlight the gut–brain axis in sleep health.

21 Aug 2025

Midkine found to prevent Alzheimer’s-related protein assemblies

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital demonstrated for the first time that the protein midkine plays a preventative role against Alzheimer's disease.

21 Aug 2025

One-stage hybrid operation improves safety in treating hypervascular brain and spinal tumors

Hypervascular tumors of the brain and spinal cord pose serious challenges for neurosurgeons due to their dense blood vessel networks, which can lead to heavy bleeding and increased surgical risk.

21 Aug 2025

Computational approach provides insight into neural progenitor cells and their role in brain disorders

For much of the 20th century it was thought that the adult brain was incapable of regeneration. This view has since shifted dramatically and neurogenesis – the birth of new neurons – is now a widely accepted phenomenon in the adult brain, offering promising avenues for treating many neurological conditions.

21 Aug 2025

Study shows the brain’s body map remains stable after limb loss

New research from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Cambridge University upends a long-standing belief about brain plasticity.

21 Aug 2025

How older people are reaping brain benefits from new tech

It started with a high school typing course. Wanda Woods enrolled because her father advised that typing proficiency would lead to jobs. Sure enough, the federal Environmental Protection Agency hired her as an after-school worker while she was still a junior.

21 Aug 2025

High-salt diet linked to brain inflammation that raises blood pressure

A new study finds that a high-salt diet triggers brain inflammation that drives up blood pressure.

21 Aug 2025

UCSF researchers uncover how breast cancer steals energy from fat cells

UCSF scientists caught cancer cells in the act of breaking into fat cells and releasing their fat. The energy heist seems to be critical for the growth of deadly breast cancer.

20 Aug 2025

Metabolic syndrome linked to higher risk of Parkinson's disease

Having a larger waistline, high blood pressure and other risk factors that make up metabolic syndrome is associated with an increased risk of Parkinson's disease, according to a study published on August 20, 2025, in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

20 Aug 2025

Surprising brain effect: Music uniquely targets detailed memory via arousal

Researchers found that post-learning music changes emotional arousal, which in turn shapes memory differently across individuals. Moderate arousal boosted detailed memory, while extremes favored gist, showing music’s unique but variable impact on consolidation.

20 Aug 2025

How dietary formaldehyde links to worsening diabetes and memory loss

A new review reveals how everyday foods and hidden exposures to formaldehyde may fuel insulin resistance and chip away at memory, but also points to dietary patterns and emerging therapies that could help reduce the risk.

20 Aug 2025

Mitochondrial dysfunction in the blood-brain barrier may contribute to neuropsychiatric disease in 22qDS

In a new study led by the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), researchers found that mitochondrial dysfunction in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) may lead to neuropsychiatric disease in some patients with 22qDS.

20 Aug 2025

Cancer cells break down nerve covers causing immune exhaustion and therapy resistance

Cancer cells can break down the protective covers around nerves, causing nerve injury that triggers chronic inflammation leading to immune exhaustion and eventual resistance to immunotherapy, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

20 Aug 2025

Blocking brain damage may slow aggressive glioblastoma growth

Blocking brain damage triggered by a glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, may slow the growth of the cancer and allow the brain to keep working better for longer, according to a new study led by UCL (University College London) researchers.

20 Aug 2025

Hyperactivity in reticular thalamic nucleus drives autism-like behaviors in mice

Stanford Medicine scientists investigating the neurological underpinnings of autism spectrum disorder have found that hyperactivity in a specific brain region could drive behaviors commonly associated with the disorder.

20 Aug 2025