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.

Study finds significant uptick in chronic digestive disorders during COVID-19 pandemic

A study led by Cedars-Sinai investigators uncovered a significant uptick in chronic digestive disorders, like irritable bowel syndrome, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

3 Jul 2025

Gene therapy brings back hearing in young and adult deaf patients

Gene therapy can improve hearing in children and adults with congenital deafness or severe hearing impairment, a new study involving researchers at Karolinska Institutet reports.

3 Jul 2025

Study unveils powerful strategy to rejuvenate effectiveness of CAR T cell therapy against glioblastoma

A team of researchers from the San Raffaele-Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-TIGET, Milan), led by Nadia Coltella and Luigi Naldini, has unveiled a powerful strategy to rejuvenate the effectiveness of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy against glioblastoma, one of the most lethal and treatment-resistant brain tumors.

3 Jul 2025

Measuring tumor force offers new clues for brain cancer treatment

As brain tumors grow, they must do one of two things: push against the brain or use finger-like extensions to invade and destroy surrounding tissue.

3 Jul 2025

TET2 mutations in blood stem cells linked to lower Alzheimer's risk

A study published in Cell Stem Cell reveals that some mutations in blood stem cells might help protect against late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

2 Jul 2025

Breakthrough AI uncovers promising Rett syndrome treatment

Rett syndrome is a devastating rare genetic childhood disorder primarily affecting girls. Merely 1 out of 10,000 girls are born with it and much fewer boys.

2 Jul 2025

Mediterranean diet wins on weight but misses on memory in diverse aging population

A 14-month randomized trial in older African American adults with obesity found that adopting a Mediterranean diet, with or without calorie-restricted weight loss, significantly improved diet quality and reduced body weight and visceral fat. However, no cognitive benefits were observed compared to usual diet.

2 Jul 2025

Electrical stimulation boosts math skills in people with weaker neural links

The strength of certain neural connections can predict how well someone can learn math, and mild electrically stimulating these networks can boost learning, according to a study published on July 1st in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Roi Cohen Kadosh from University of Surrey, United Kingdom, and colleagues.

2 Jul 2025

New MRI technology reveals brain metabolism in unprecedented detail

A new technology that uses clinical MRI machines to image metabolic activity in the brain could give researchers and clinicians unique insight into brain function and disease, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign report.

2 Jul 2025

Transforming OCD treatment through research and innovation

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) impacts approximately 2% of the global population, often preventing individuals from living life to their full potential.

2 Jul 2025

New strategy enhances immunotherapy effectiveness against glioblastoma by utilizing gut microbes

Advanced treatments, known as immunotherapies that activate T cells—our body's immune cells—to eliminate cancer cells, have shown limited efficacy as standalone therapies for glioblastoma, the most lethal form of brain tumor.

2 Jul 2025

Experimental medication sensitizes glioblastoma to treatment and blocks tumor spread

A potential treatment for glioblastoma crafted by scientists at The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute renders the deadly brain cancer newly sensitive to both radiation and chemotherapy drugs, and blocks the cancer's ability to invade other tissue, a new study shows.

2 Jul 2025

Targeting a key enzyme could reverse early Parkinson's effects

Putting the brakes on an enzyme might rescue neurons that are dying due to a type of Parkinson's disease that's caused by a single genetic mutation, according to a new Stanford Medicine-led study conducted in mice.

2 Jul 2025

Uncovering the link between viruses and neurodegeneration through primate models

In a comprehensive Genomic Press Innovators & Ideas interview, Dr. Danielle Beckman reveals how her passion for microscopy has evolved into a mission to understand viral impacts on brain health, offering hope for patients suffering from post-viral neurological symptoms.

2 Jul 2025

Adolescent vaping of THC, CBD and synthetic cannabinoids rises sharply between 2021 and 2023

Novel research has revealed that adolescent vaping of current delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), and synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) has increased between 2021 and 2023.

2 Jul 2025

New brain scan tool predicts aging speed and dementia risk

Any high school reunion is a sharp reminder that some people age more gracefully than others. Some enter their older years still physically spry and mentally sharp. Others start feeling frail or forgetful much earlier in life than expected.

1 Jul 2025

Targeting RAP proteins for next-generation malaria treatments

A University of California, Riverside-led team has made an advance in the basic understanding of Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite responsible for the deadliest form of human malaria, that could make novel, highly targeted anti-malarial therapies possible.

1 Jul 2025

Spaceflight exposes astronauts to hidden threats in their gut

This review highlights how the unique stressors of space travel, radiation, microgravity, and circadian disruption impact astronauts’ gut microbiomes, with potential consequences for their mood, cognition, and immunity. The authors call for targeted microbiome monitoring and dietary interventions to protect astronaut mental health on future missions.

1 Jul 2025

Prebiotics may boost brain GABA through gut microbiota

GABA, or gamma-aminobutyric acid, is an amino acid functioning as the principal inhibitory neurotransmitter that can act on the brain to slow or stop the reception of certain signals to the brain, leading to a calmer and more relaxed state.

1 Jul 2025

Brain cells can burn fat to fuel activity

While glucose, or sugar, is a well-known fuel for the brain, Weill Cornell Medicine researchers have demonstrated that electrical activity in synapses—the junctions between neurons where communication occurs—can lead to the use of lipid or fat droplets as an energy source.

1 Jul 2025