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.

Scientists use nanowires to monitor and influence cellular activity

No longer just fantastical fodder for sci-fi buffs, cyborg technology is bringing us tangible progress toward real-life electronic skin, prosthetics and ultraflexible circuits.

12 Aug 2014

Findings may lead to new tools in understanding human cognitive development, neuropsychiatric disorders

How genes affect intelligence is complicated. Multiple genes, many yet unknown, are thought to interact among themselves and with environmental factors to influence the diverse abilities involved in intelligence.

12 Aug 2014

Study shows castor bean oil reduces epileptic seizures related to Glut1 deficiency

Two years ago, the parents of Chloe Olivarez watched painfully as their daughter experienced epileptic seizures hundreds of times a day.

12 Aug 2014

Study examines the influence of unexpected task constraint on voluntary task switching

Kessler Foundation scientists have published results of cognitive research that show the negative effects that unexpected task constraint, following self-generated task choice, has on task-switching performance.

12 Aug 2014

OncoSynergy's OS2966 receives FDA orphan drug designation for treatment of glioblastoma

OncoSynergy announced today that the FDA Office of Orphan Products Development has granted orphan drug designation for the investigational drug candidate OS2966, a neutralizing anti-CD29 monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of glioblastoma, the most common and deadliest primary adult brain tumor.

12 Aug 2014

Biomedical engineering professor wins prestigious 2014 Early Career Achievement Award

Qi Wang, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, recently won the prestigious 2014 Early Career Achievement Award from the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS).

12 Aug 2014

First peer-reviewed comprehensive expert guidance on the use of neurostimulation for pain

Reflecting groundbreaking international consensus regarding a group of rapidly evolving medical interventions for chronic pain, the International Neuromodulation Society announced it will soon publish the first peer-reviewed comprehensive expert guidance on the appropriate use of neurostimulation for pain.

12 Aug 2014

Majority of adults need to double consumption of fruits and vegetables for crucial nutrition, health benefits

New research published in the September issue of the British Journal of Nutrition and featured in the just released Global Phytonutrient Report highlights a significant shortfall in fruit and vegetable consumption in people's diets around the world.

12 Aug 2014

Study: Effects of testosterone on brain's response to threat cues in healthy men

A new study in Biological Psychiatry reports on a neural circuit for male aggression. Testosterone, a steroid hormone, is well known to contribute to aggressive behavior in males, but the neural circuits through which testosterone exerts these effects have not been clear.

12 Aug 2014

Acidity sensor helps to estimate dynamics of insulin production

Many human metabolic functions only run smoothly if the acid level in the body remains neutral and stable. For humans, normal blood pH values lie between 7.35 and 7.45. By way of comparison, an empty stomach is extremely acidic, with a pH value of 1.5.

12 Aug 2014

Discovery of new mechanism could lead to next generation of drugs to treat schizophrenia

Discovery of a new mechanism of drug action could lead to the next generation of drugs to treat schizophrenia.

12 Aug 2014

Bioengineers create 3D brain-like tissue to study chemical and electrical changes

Bioengineers have created three-dimensional brain-like tissue that functions like and has structural features similar to tissue in the rat brain and that can be kept alive in the lab for more than two months.

12 Aug 2014

Researchers identify link between built environment and disability-related outcomes

Kessler Foundation researchers have identified an association between the built environment and disability-related outcomes for adults with physical impairments.

12 Aug 2014

Novogen receives funding support to commence studies in muscular dystrophy

The Australian biotechnology company, Novogen Limited today announced receipt of funding from the FSHD Global Research Foundation as part of the Company’s efforts to find effective treatments for a range of musculo-degenerative diseases including facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD).

11 Aug 2014

Australia introducing breakthrough cerebral palsy treatment

"If Id had a stroke, I wouldn't be happy waiting two years for a diagnosis and treatment, by which time the damage would have become permanent" says Professor Nadia Badawi, Macquarie Group Foundation Chair of cerebral palsy and Head of Research with Cerebral Palsy Alliance "Well that's what we accept with children with cerebral palsy when early intervention in infancy could re-shape their brains, for example using what's called a motor learning approach, where we train the brain to learn new movements."

11 Aug 2014

Schizophrenia-linked genetic variations and the developing brain: an interview with Prof. Guo-li Ming

How much is currently known about what happens in the developing brain that puts people at risk of schizophrenia?

11 Aug 2014

Nigral neuronal loss and α-synuclein pathology scrutinised in PD

The severity of neurodegeneration and local burden of α-synuclein are closely coupled during disease progression in Parkinson’s disease, a post-mortem study has found.

11 Aug 2014

In vivo dopaminergic imaging strongly correlates with brain pathology

Striatal dopamine transporter binding, assessed using single-photon emission computed tomography, is strongly correlated with substantia nigra cell counts assessed at postmortem, say the authors of a study.

11 Aug 2014

ALS Association awards 21 new research grants to find cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

The ALS Association announced today that it has awarded 21 new research grants totaling nearly $3.5 million to find treatments and a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The grants were awarded to scientists from laboratories located in nine different states in the United States as well as from the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Switzerland, Israel and Australia.

11 Aug 2014

Frequent marijuana use can have negative effect on brains of teenagers

Frequent marijuana use can have a significant negative effect on the brains of teenagers and young adults, including cognitive decline, poor attention and memory, and decreased IQ, according to psychologists discussing public health implications of marijuana legalization at the American Psychological Association's 122nd Annual Convention.

11 Aug 2014

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Scientists use nanowires to monitor and influence cellular activity

Findings may lead to new tools in understanding human cognitive development, neuropsychiatric disorders

Study shows castor bean oil reduces epileptic seizures related to Glut1 deficiency

Study examines the influence of unexpected task constraint on voluntary task switching

OncoSynergy's OS2966 receives FDA orphan drug designation for treatment of glioblastoma

Biomedical engineering professor wins prestigious 2014 Early Career Achievement Award

First peer-reviewed comprehensive expert guidance on the use of neurostimulation for pain

Majority of adults need to double consumption of fruits and vegetables for crucial nutrition, health benefits

Study: Effects of testosterone on brain's response to threat cues in healthy men

Acidity sensor helps to estimate dynamics of insulin production

Discovery of new mechanism could lead to next generation of drugs to treat schizophrenia

Bioengineers create 3D brain-like tissue to study chemical and electrical changes

Researchers identify link between built environment and disability-related outcomes

Novogen receives funding support to commence studies in muscular dystrophy

Australia introducing breakthrough cerebral palsy treatment

Schizophrenia-linked genetic variations and the developing brain: an interview with Prof. Guo-li Ming

Nigral neuronal loss and α-synuclein pathology scrutinised in PD

In vivo dopaminergic imaging strongly correlates with brain pathology

ALS Association awards 21 new research grants to find cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Frequent marijuana use can have negative effect on brains of teenagers

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st 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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