Neuron News and Research

RSS

New research sheds light on common pathogenic mechanisms underlying Huntington's disease

New research sheds light on common pathogenic mechanisms shared by Huntington's disease (HD) and HD-like disorders. The study, published by Cell Press in the May 12, 2011, issue of the journal Neuron, uses a new transgenic mouse model for an HD-like disorder to unravel complex molecular events that drive disease pathology.

12 May 2011

Long ring finger linked to Lou Gehrig’s disease

In some of the latest studies it has been found that finger length could be linked to various traits in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. These people tend to have longer ring fingers, compared with their index fingers, than do people without the disease.

11 May 2011

Scientists reveal nerve cells' navigation system

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered how two closely related proteins guide projections from nerve cells with exquisite accuracy, alternately attracting and repelling these axons as they navigate the most miniscule and frenetic niches of the nervous system to make remarkably precise connections.

9 May 2011

Mirror neuron system in individuals with autism is not actually broken, but simply delayed

Developmental abnormalities in the mirror neuron system may contribute to social deficits in autism. The mirror neuron system is a brain circuit that enables us to better understand and anticipate the actions of others. These circuits activate in similar ways when we perform actions or watch other people perform the same actions.

3 May 2011

Beta amyloid may inhibit specific cell motors and contribute to memory loss

A protein associated with Alzheimer's disease clogs several motors of the cell transport machinery critical for normal cell division, leading to defective neurons that may contribute to the memory-robbing disease, University of South Florida researchers report.

3 May 2011

Lithium shows hope for Alzheimer’s disease

According to scientists Alzheimer’s disease, a progressively damaging motor neuron condition, could be treated by lithium, a naturally occurring element that is extremely inexpensive and already in use for other psychiatric disorders.

29 Apr 2011

Scientists weaken long-term memory

Could veterans of war, rape victims and other people who have seen horrific crimes someday have the traumatic memories that haunt them weakened in their brains? In a new study, UCLA life scientists report a discovery that may make the reduction of such memories a reality.

28 Apr 2011

Scientists identify new risk gene variant for depression

Max Planck scientists uncover surprising genetic links. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich have compared the genomes of a total of 4,088 patients and 11,001 healthy control subjects from all over the world and identified a new risk gene variant for depression.

28 Apr 2011

New study reveals a novel gene linked with major depression

A new study reveals a novel gene associated with major depression. The research, published by Cell Press in the April 28 issue of the journal Neuron, suggests a previously unrecognized mechanism for major depression and may guide future therapeutic strategies for this debilitating mood disorder.

28 Apr 2011

Researchers report game-changing advance in stem cell science

In a paper published in the April 25 early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco and colleagues report a game-changing advance in stem cell science: the creation of long-term, self-renewing, primitive neural precursor cells from human embryonic stem cells that can be directed to become many types of neuron without increased risk of tumor formation.

26 Apr 2011

Rwanda, QIAGEN and Merck launch comprehensive national cervical cancer prevention program

The Government of Rwanda, together with QIAGEN N.V. and Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced the launch, in Kigali, Rwanda, of a comprehensive national cervical cancer prevention program that includes vaccination with GARDASIL [Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16 and 18) Vaccine, Recombinant] for appropriate girls 12 to 15 years of age and modern molecular diagnostic screening for women between the ages of 35 and 45.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 25 Apr 2011

New findings can lead to better understanding of neurological development, cancer metastasis

By shedding new light on how cells migrate in the developing brain, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center also may have found a new mechanism by which other types of cells, including cancer cells, travel within the body.

25 Apr 2011

Research sheds light on molecular movements of neural transporters

A team of scientists from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medical College has shed light on the molecular workings of transporter proteins, molecular machines embedded in the cell membranes of neurons that modulate the transfer of signals between cells and recycle neurotransmitters.

25 Apr 2011

Engineering researchers use carbon nanotubes to create synthetic brain

Engineering researchers the University of Southern California have made a significant breakthrough in the use of nanotechnologies for the construction of a synthetic brain. They have built a carbon nanotube synapse circuit whose behavior in tests reproduces the function of a neuron, the building block of the brain.

22 Apr 2011

Repligen anticipates 30% increase in total revenues for 2011

Repligen Corporation today announced preliminary financial results for fiscal year 2011 which ended March 31, 2011. Total revenue for the year is expected to be $27.3 million compared to $21.0 million in the prior fiscal year, an increase of 30%.

21 Apr 2011

Blocking abnormal movement of mutated human FUS gene also blocks ALS process

In the first animal model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), developed by Dr. Udai Pandey, Assistant Professor of Genetics at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, Dr. Pandey's lab has found in fruit flies that blocking the abnormal movement of a protein made by a mutated gene called FUS also blocks the disease process.

20 Apr 2011

Astrocytes regulate circadian system that controls normal sleep patterns

The circadian system that controls normal sleep patterns is regulated by a group of glial brain cells called astrocytes, according to a study published online on April 14th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. Neuroscientists from Tufts University School of Medicine found that disruption of astrocyte function in fruit flies ( Drosophila) led to altered daily rhythms, an indication that these star-shaped glial cells contribute to the control of circadian behavior.

15 Apr 2011

Stimulation of brain nerves accelerates learning

In a breakthrough that may aid treatment of learning impairments, strokes, tinnitus and chronic pain, UT Dallas researchers have found that brain nerve stimulation accelerates learning in laboratory tests.

15 Apr 2011

Scientists link increase of calcium influx in brain neurons to long-term memory

Using advanced imaging technology, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a change in chemical influx into a specific set of neurons in the common fruit fly that is fundamental to long-term memory.

15 Apr 2011

Scientists identify filter neurons that can reduce 'brain clutter'

Until now, it has been assumed that people with diseases like ADHD, Tourette syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder and schizophrenia - all of whom characteristically report symptoms of "brain clutter" - may suffer from anomalies in the brain's prefrontal cortex.

15 Apr 2011