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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 discover new genetic risk factor for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder

Investigators at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered a new genetic risk factor for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder called NDST3. The findings are published online in Nature Communications.

20 Nov 2013

Brain signals in fibromyalgia patients: an interview with Dr. Marco Loggia from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston

Fibromyalgia patients suffer from a variety of symptoms, including widespread body pain and myofascial tenderness. They are ‘hyperalgesic’, which means that if you give them a stimulus that in healthy subjects is just mildly painful (or even completely innocuous), they may perceive it as excruciatingly painful.

19 Nov 2013

Scientists announce successful installation of first Blue Gene Active Storage system

The ever growing complexity of various simulation tasks not only require a continuous increase of computing power but also the capability of managing large amounts of data.

19 Nov 2013

Weill Cornell Medical College receives grant to support research efforts designed to end women's cancers

MasterCard today announced a $500,000 grant to Weill Cornell Medical College to support research efforts designed to end women's cancers.

19 Nov 2013

Lowering body temperature improves survival, neurological outcome in cardiac arrest patients

Francis Kim, M.D., of Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, and colleagues evaluated whether early prehospital cooling (lowering body temperature) improved survival to hospital discharge and neurological outcome in cardiac arrest patients with or without ventricular fibrillation (VF).

19 Nov 2013

Study finds patients treated with varespladib drug more likely to experience cardiovascular events

Patients with acute coronary syndrome who were treated with the experimental drug varespladib were more likely to experience additional cardiovascular events - including sudden death, heart attack and stroke - than those treated with placebo, according to research from the Cleveland Clinic Coordinating Center for Clinical Research (C5Research).

19 Nov 2013

Boston Scientific gets CE Mark approval for Vercise Deep Brain Stimulation System

The Boston Scientific Corporation Vercise Deep Brain Stimulation System has received CE Mark approval for the treatment of intractable primary and secondary dystonia, a neurological movement disorder characterized by involuntary muscle contractions.

19 Nov 2013

Philipp E. Scherer honored with 15th Naomi Berrie Award for Outstanding Research in Diabetes

Columbia University Medical Center has honored Philipp E. Scherer, PhD, with the 15th Naomi Berrie Award for Outstanding Research in Diabetes, for his work that helped usher in a new understanding of fat and its role in diabetes and other metabolic diseases. His discovery of adiponectin, a hormone produced by fat, helped transform the scientific concept of fat as an inert storage depot to one of it as an endocrine "organ" that exerts control over the brain, muscles, and other organs. The award, given annually by CUMC's Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, is Columbia's top honor for excellence in diabetes research.

19 Nov 2013

OSU researchers make breakthrough in solving 50-year-old problem in hearing technology

Computer engineers and hearing scientists at The Ohio State University have made a potential breakthrough in solving a 50-year-old problem in hearing technology: how to help the hearing-impaired understand speech in the midst of background noise.

19 Nov 2013

Treating traumatic brain-injured patients with anticoagulant decreases risk of dangerous clots

Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine have found that a new protocol that uses preventive blood-thinning medication in the treatment of patients with traumatic brain injuries reduces the risk of patients developing life-threatening blood clots without increasing the risk of bleeding inside the brain.

19 Nov 2013

Viewpoints: Obamacare has resisted death throes before; website success stories from 3 governors; health law taking a toll on choice of doctors in Medicare Advantage

The first time Obamacare seemed finished, doomed, doornail-dead, the voters of Massachusetts played the would-be executioner. In January 2010, they sent a pickup-driving Republican to the Senate to fill Ted Kennedy's seat, apparently depriving the health care bill of its crucial 60th vote and sending Democrats scrambling for a Plan B. ... the deeper force at work, the reason that these near-death experiences keep happening, isn't a website or a broken presidential promise. It's a problem inherent to contemporary liberalism, which is that liberals' proudest achievement, the modern welfare state, tends to resist, corrupt and baffle their efforts at comprehensive reform (Ross Douthat, 11/16).

19 Nov 2013

Extract from bitter melon may have therapeutic qualities to treat head and neck cancer

Extract taken from an Asian vegetable may have therapeutic qualities to treat head and neck cancer, a Saint Louis University researcher has found.

19 Nov 2013

Research findings offer new hope for millions of traumatic brain injury patients

Every year, nearly two million people in the United States suffer traumatic brain injury (TBI), the leading cause of brain damage and permanent disabilities that include motor dysfunction, psychological disorders, and memory loss. Current rehabilitation programs help patients but often achieve limited success.

19 Nov 2013

BIDMC pilot study shows promise for age-related cognitive disorders

It's well known that the brains of meditators change, but it's not entirely clear what those changes mean or how the changes might benefit the meditator. A new pilot study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center suggests that the brain changes associated with meditation and stress reduction may play an important role in slowing the progression of age-related cognitive disorders like Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

18 Nov 2013

New hope for patients whose melanoma has metastasised to the brain

New data show that in patients whose melanoma (BRAF V600 mutation-positive) has spread (metastasised) to the brain, Zelboraf (vemurafenib) extends life expectancy by over six months compared to chemotherapy.1 These results are welcome news for patients suffering from metastatic melanoma, as up to half of these patients are diagnosed with brain metastases with many given less than six months to live.1

18 Nov 2013

Scientists reveal surprising role for HDAC1 proteins in development of skin tumors

Findings by scientists from the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (MFPL) of the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna reveal a surprising role for histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) - a member of a family of chromatin modifying proteins - in the development of skin tumors.

18 Nov 2013

Human error: The most common cause of infant asphyxiation at birth

Findings from a 15-year study published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, a journal of the Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology, indicate that human error is the most common cause of infant asphyxiation at birth. Inadequate fetal monitoring, lack of clinical skills, and failure to obtain senior medical staff assistance are most often cited in Norwegian compensation claims following birth asphyxia.

18 Nov 2013

Researchers explore how certain molecular signaling pathways control aging across all species

Fruit flies are notoriously short-lived but scientists interested in the biology of aging in all animals have begun to understand why some fruit flies live longer than others. They have documented a direct association between insulin and life span, for example, and have observed a tradeoff between prolific reproduction and longevity. A new study, which may have broad implications across species, ties those findings more closely together by tracing an insulin signaling cascade through to protein quality control in muscle tissue and shortened life span.

18 Nov 2013

Researchers develop novel system to image worm brain activity

A research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and The Rockefeller University in New York has developed a novel system to image brain activity in multiple awake and unconstrained worms. The technology, which makes it possible to study the genetics and neural circuitry associated with animal behavior, can also be used as a high-throughput screening tool for drug development targeting autism, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, and other brain disorders.

18 Nov 2013

Study: New device helps people who lost vision due to blinding genetic disease

Research presented today at the 117th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology shows promising data about a device that helps people who have lost their vision due to a blinding genetic disease to recognize common objects.

18 Nov 2013

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Researchers discover new genetic risk factor for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder

Brain signals in fibromyalgia patients: an interview with Dr. Marco Loggia from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston

Scientists announce successful installation of first Blue Gene Active Storage system

Weill Cornell Medical College receives grant to support research efforts designed to end women's cancers

Lowering body temperature improves survival, neurological outcome in cardiac arrest patients

Study finds patients treated with varespladib drug more likely to experience cardiovascular events

Boston Scientific gets CE Mark approval for Vercise Deep Brain Stimulation System

Philipp E. Scherer honored with 15th Naomi Berrie Award for Outstanding Research in Diabetes

OSU researchers make breakthrough in solving 50-year-old problem in hearing technology

Treating traumatic brain-injured patients with anticoagulant decreases risk of dangerous clots

Viewpoints: Obamacare has resisted death throes before; website success stories from 3 governors; health law taking a toll on choice of doctors in Medicare Advantage

Extract from bitter melon may have therapeutic qualities to treat head and neck cancer

Research findings offer new hope for millions of traumatic brain injury patients

BIDMC pilot study shows promise for age-related cognitive disorders

New hope for patients whose melanoma has metastasised to the brain

Scientists reveal surprising role for HDAC1 proteins in development of skin tumors

Human error: The most common cause of infant asphyxiation at birth

Researchers explore how certain molecular signaling pathways control aging across all species

Researchers develop novel system to image worm brain activity

Study: New device helps people who lost vision due to blinding genetic disease

Industry Focus eBook - Neurology/Neuroscience - 2nd 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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