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.

Researchers develop cranial neural crest cell lines

Researchers have successfully developed a stable population of neural crest cells derived from mice that can be grown in large quantities in the laboratory and that demonstrates the potential to develop into many different cell types needed throughout the body.

21 Sep 2012

Newly formed emotional memories can be erased from the human brain

Newly formed emotional memories can be erased from the human brain. This is shown by researchers from Uppsala University in a new study now being published by the academic journal Science. The findings may represent a breakthrough in research on memory and fear.

21 Sep 2012

Hypertonic solution effective in reducing inflammation

Research carried out at The University of Manchester has found further evidence that a simple solution, which is already used in IV drips, is an effective treatment for reducing inflammation.

From The University of Manchester 21 Sep 2012

Researchers use nanoparticles to deliver drugs to mitochondria within cells

Nanoparticles have shown great promise in the targeted delivery of drugs to cells, but researchers at the University of Georgia have refined the drug delivery process further by using nanoparticles to deliver drugs to a specific organelle within cells.

21 Sep 2012

Early menopause increases cardiovascular risk

Women who reach the menopause early have a doubled risk for coronary heart disease and stroke, study findings show.

20 Sep 2012

NIH announces multiple awards to UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment

The National Institutes of Health, recognizing UCLA's preeminence in both research and clinical care for children with autism, has announced multiple awards to the university as part of the agency's Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) research program.

20 Sep 2012

UK scientists make breakthrough in new method of brain tumour diagnosis

UK scientists have made a breakthrough in a new method of brain tumour diagnosis, offering hope to tens of thousands of people.

20 Sep 2012

Molecular disruptions in granule cells cause epileptic seizures in mice

Scientists have discovered the first direct evidence that a biological mechanism long suspected in epilepsy is capable of triggering brain seizures – opening the door for studies to seek improved treatments or even preventative therapies.

20 Sep 2012

Adults with autism have unreliable neural sensory responses to visual, auditory and touch

Autistic adults have unreliable neural sensory responses to visual, auditory, and touch stimuli, according to research published in the journal Neuron. This poor response reliability, the study's authors conclude, appears to be a fundamental neural characteristic of autism.

20 Sep 2012

Tel Aviv University researcher discovers homing device that draws cancer

The process of metastasis, by which cancer cells travel from a tumor site and proliferate at other sites in the body, is a serious threat to cancer patients. According to the National Cancer Institute, most recurrences of cancer are metastases rather than "new" cancers.

20 Sep 2012

New 3D endoscope at UMDNJ-The University Hospital can treat complex neurosurgical diseases

Ana Cores, a 54-year old Hackensack resident, worried about how a sudden loss of peripheral vision would impact the quality of her life. After undergoing MRIs, eye exams and many diagnostic tests, Cores opted to visit UMDNJ-The University Hospital where Dr. James K. Liu, a skull base neurosurgeon, and Dr. Jean Anderson Eloy, an otolaryngologist, used a new three- dimensional endoscope to remove a brain tumor through her nose that was pressing on her optic nerve and causing her to go blind.

20 Sep 2012

Therapeutic video games can show health-related benefits

Can video games help patients with cancer, diabetes, asthma, depression, autism and Parkinson's disease? A new publication by researchers from the University of Utah, appearing in the Sept 19 issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine, indicates video games can be therapeutic and are already beginning to show health-related benefits.

20 Sep 2012

Oxygen Biotherapeutics first quarter net loss increases to $3.6 million

Oxygen Biotherapeutics, Inc., a development stage biomedical company focused on developing intravenous and topical oxygen-carrier products, today announced results for the fiscal year (FY) 2013 first quarter ended July 31, 2012.

20 Sep 2012

Loyola study to evaluate whether transcranial magnetic stimulation can help people with tinnitus

Loyola University Medical Center is studying whether a new form of non-invasive magnetic therapy can help people who suffer debilitating tinnitus (ringing in the ears).

19 Sep 2012

Bionic legs: an interview with Rob Cripe, SVP of Marketing from Tibion

The Bionic Leg is a wearable robotic trainer that is used on mobility impaired patients who need to relearn how to use their affected limb. It is used by clinicians as a tool that is designed to help strengthen stance, improve gait and enhance active motor learning.

19 Sep 2012

Music underlies the ability to acquire language

Contrary to the prevailing theories that music and language are cognitively separate or that music is a byproduct of language, theorists at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music and the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) advocate that music underlies the ability to acquire language.

19 Sep 2012

Better interventions needed to prevent long-lasting consequences of TBI in children

A child who suffers a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) may still have substantial functional disabilities and reduced quality of life 2 years after the injury. After those first 2 years, further improvement may be minimal. Better interventions are needed to prevent long-lasting consequences of TBI in children conclude the authors of a study published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

19 Sep 2012

Researchers identify 21 proteins that specifically bind to ataxin-1

Misfolded proteins can cause various neurodegenerative diseases such as spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) or Huntington's disease, which are characterized by a progressive loss of neurons in the brain. Researchers of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, together with their colleagues of the Universit- Paris Diderot, Paris, France, have now identified 21 proteins that specifically bind to a protein called ataxin-1.

19 Sep 2012

Diet, lack of AgRP-neurons can lead to obesity and diabetes

The absence of a specific type of neuron in the brain can lead to obesity and diabetes in mice report researchers in The EMBO Journal. The outcome, however, depends on the type of diet that the animals are fed.

19 Sep 2012