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.

Learning technique may help overcome cognitive issues in fragile X syndrome

A learning technique that maximizes the brain's ability to make and store memories may help overcome cognitive issues seen in fragile X syndrome, a leading form of intellectual disability, according to UC Irvine neurobiologists.

10 Dec 2014

University of Illinois study could provide insight into protein-misfolding diseases

When a large protein unfolds in transit through a cell, it slows down and can get stuck in traffic. Using a specialized microscope -- a sort of cellular traffic camera -- University of Illinois chemists now can watch the way the unfolded protein diffuses.

10 Dec 2014

Scientists identify brain mechanism that drives our appetite for glucose-rich foods

Scientists have discovered a mechanism in the brain that may drive our appetite for foods rich in glucose and could lead to improved treatments for obesity.

10 Dec 2014

Clinical markers help identify PD patients with cholinergic deficits

Assessing patients for clinical markers of cholinergic system denervation is viable and can help identify suitable individuals for trials of new anticholinergic drugs, researchers believe.

9 Dec 2014

Scientists receive NIH grants to explore sudden unexpected death in epilepsy

Nine groups of scientists will receive funding totaling $5.9 million in 2014 to work together on increasing the understanding of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), the leading cause of death from epilepsy. The consortium becomes the second Center Without Walls, an initiative to speed the pace of research on difficult problems in epilepsy by promoting collaborative research.

9 Dec 2014

Scientists identify brain mechanisms that turn unpleasant experiences into long-lasting memories

We know that everyday events can be easy to forget, but dangerous experiences that trigger fear can remain engraved in the brain for years. Now, scientists from New York University and Japan's RIKEN Brain Science Institute have added to our understanding how this occurs.

9 Dec 2014

Case Western Reserve selected to lead $27.3 million international effort to identify causes of SUDEP

Case Western Reserve is one of two universities in the country selected to lead a $27.3 million international effort to identify the causes of a mysterious and deadly phenomenon that strikes people with epilepsy without warning.

9 Dec 2014

Triple hormone reduces body weight, improves insulin sensitivity

Recently, the researchers had constructed several single molecules with dual hormone action. Now, for the first time, the researchers succeeded in designing a substance that combines three metabolically active hormone components (GLP-1, GIP and glucagon) and offers unmatched potency to fight metabolic diseases in pre-clinical trials.

9 Dec 2014

McMaster University researchers identify hormone that contributes to obesity, diabetes

Researchers from McMaster University have identified an important hormone that is elevated in obese people and contributes to obesity and diabetes by inhibiting brown fat activity.

8 Dec 2014

Low doses of fluoxetine could hold key to preventing PMS symptoms

Low doses of fluoxetine - better known as the anti-depressant Prozac - could hold the key to preventing PMS symptoms, an international team of researchers has found.

8 Dec 2014

Cellular mechanisms of alcohol dependence: an interview with Dr Sanna, TSRI

In the brain there are both excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters. These are molecules that are released from nerve endings in the brain and in the periphery and either excite or inhibit other nerve cells, also known as neurons.

8 Dec 2014

Henry Ford Hospital recruits patients to participate in brain cancer clinical trial

Henry Ford Hospital today announced that it is actively recruiting patients to participate in a clinical trial taking place at the Hermelin Brain Tumor Center which is showing promising results in patients with brain cancer.

8 Dec 2014

Researchers gain new insights into potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease

It is estimated that about 35 million people worldwide currently suffer from dementia and it is expected that the number will increase to 135 million by the year 2050. The disease is already one of the most common health problems in the elderly, which is why experts predict that the numbers of people affected will increase over time.

8 Dec 2014

Baylor-led researchers identify gene linked to familial glioma

An international consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine has identified for the first time a gene associated with familial glioma (brain tumors that appear in two or more members of the same family) providing new support that certain people may be genetically predisposed to the disease.

8 Dec 2014

OIST Graduate University joins The Brain/MINDS Project in Japan

Governments the world over are now focusing their efforts in research towards mapping the brain to understand its secrets. America has The BRAIN Initiative and Europe, The Human Brain Project. Japan's counterpart is called The Brain/MINDS Project which aims to map the brain at various scales of detail and function over the next ten years. The maps that result from this research would subsequently be used for the development of neurotechnologies and for disease studies. The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University has become one of 17 institutions in Japan to be awarded a grant by the government to conduct this research.

7 Dec 2014

Study reveals how elite Kenyan athletes succeed in long-distance races

The Journal of Applied Physiology has published an article by Jordan Santos-Concejero of the Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences of the University of the Basque Country, and entitled `Maintained cerebral oxygenation during maximal self-paced exercise in elite Kenyan runners'. This is a pioneering study in the world of the physiology of exercise, given that it describes for the first time that elite Kenyan athletes have greater brain oxygenation during periods of maximum physical effort, and which contributes to their success in long-distance races.

7 Dec 2014

New study explores reliability of optogenetics as method of intervention of temporal lobe seizures

Optogenetics is one of the hottest tools in biomedical research today, a method that uses gene therapy to deliver light-sensitive proteins into specific cells. This new tool allows researchers to interact with a single cell or a network of cells with exquisite precision. Whereas imaging and other technologies allow researchers to watch the brain in action, optogenetics enables them to influence those actions.

7 Dec 2014

Study provides insights into genetic underpinnings of childhood epilepsies

Technological advances in genetic analysis have uncovered changes in single genes that account for a surprising number of infantile and early-childhood epilepsies. Though some of the affected genes have been identified, the physical manifestations of these alterations remain largely uncharacterized.

7 Dec 2014

BUSM's Carmela Abraham receives 2014 Massachusetts Neuroscience Consortium Award

Carmela Abraham, PhD, professor of biochemistry and pharmacology at Boston University School of Medicine, was one of six recipients of this year's Massachusetts Neuroscience Consortium Award out of nearly 60 applicants. The grant was awarded to her for her work on multiple sclerosis and the role of the life extension protein Klotho in the limited repair of white matter in the disease.

7 Dec 2014

Scientists suspect role of mini-chromosomes in cancers, diseases caused by gene mutations

Cancers are due to genetic aberrations in certain cells that gain the ability to divide indefinitely. This proliferation of sick cells generates tumors, which gradually invade healthy tissue. Therefore, current therapies essentially seek to destroy cancer cells to stop their proliferation. Through high-throughput genetic sequencing of glioblastoma cells, one of the most deadly brain tumors, a team of geneticists from the University of Geneva's (UNIGE) Faculty of Medicine discovered that some of these mutations are caused by supplemental extrachromosomal DNA fragments, called double minutes, which enable cancer cells to better adapt to their environment and therefore better resist to treatments meant to destroy them.

6 Dec 2014

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Learning technique may help overcome cognitive issues in fragile X syndrome

University of Illinois study could provide insight into protein-misfolding diseases

Scientists identify brain mechanism that drives our appetite for glucose-rich foods

Clinical markers help identify PD patients with cholinergic deficits

Scientists receive NIH grants to explore sudden unexpected death in epilepsy

Scientists identify brain mechanisms that turn unpleasant experiences into long-lasting memories

Case Western Reserve selected to lead $27.3 million international effort to identify causes of SUDEP

Triple hormone reduces body weight, improves insulin sensitivity

McMaster University researchers identify hormone that contributes to obesity, diabetes

Low doses of fluoxetine could hold key to preventing PMS symptoms

Cellular mechanisms of alcohol dependence: an interview with Dr Sanna, TSRI

Henry Ford Hospital recruits patients to participate in brain cancer clinical trial

Researchers gain new insights into potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease

Baylor-led researchers identify gene linked to familial glioma

OIST Graduate University joins The Brain/MINDS Project in Japan

Study reveals how elite Kenyan athletes succeed in long-distance races

New study explores reliability of optogenetics as method of intervention of temporal lobe seizures

Study provides insights into genetic underpinnings of childhood epilepsies

BUSM's Carmela Abraham receives 2014 Massachusetts Neuroscience Consortium Award

Scientists suspect role of mini-chromosomes in cancers, diseases caused by gene mutations

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

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Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

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