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.

Engineers develop simple and inexpensive way to create 3-D brain tissues in lab dishes

Borrowing from microfabrication techniques used in the semiconductor industry, MIT and Harvard Medical School (HMS) engineers have developed a simple and inexpensive way to create three-dimensional brain tissues in a lab dish.

30 Nov 2012

Neuro-inflammation plays a crucial role in initiating prion disease

In a recent publication, researchers of the Computational Biology group at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine showed that neuro-inflammation plays a crucial role in initiating prion disease.

30 Nov 2012

Cleveland Clinic researcher names American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow

Cleveland Clinic researcher Jun Qin, Ph.D., has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). As part of the Molecular Cardiology Department in the Lerner Research Institute, Qin was elected as an AAAS Fellow for exemplary contributions to the field of cell signaling.

30 Nov 2012

German Research Foundation to establish new CRC at Mainz University Medical Center

On January 1, 2013, the German Research Foundation (DFG) will establish a new Collaborative Research Center (CRC) at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU).

30 Nov 2012

UBE3B gene linked to brain development disorder in children

Researchers have defined the gene responsible for a rare developmental disorder in children. The team showed that rare variation in a gene involved in brain development causes the disorder. This is the first time that this gene, UBE3B, has been linked to a disease.

30 Nov 2012

Novel SIRT2 inhibitor protects against neuronal damage in animal models of Huntington's

Treatment with a novel agent that inhibits the activity of SIRT2, an enzyme that regulates many important cellular functions, reduced neurological damage, slowed the loss of motor function and extended survival in two animal models of Huntington's disease.

30 Nov 2012

Scientists define key underlying process implicated in multiple sclerosis

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have defined for the first time a key underlying process implicated in multiple sclerosis (MS)-a disease that causes progressive and irreversible damage to nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. This discovery offers new hope for the millions who suffer from this debilitating disease for which there is no cure.

30 Nov 2012

Alberta Children's Hospital performs first liver cell transplant in Calgary, Canada

A three-month-old Winnipeg girl has become the first patient in Canada to receive an experimental and potentially life-saving form of therapy to improve the function of her liver.

29 Nov 2012

LP-211 compound shows promise against Fragile X syndrome

A potential new therapeutic strategy for treating Fragile X syndrome is detailed in a new report appearing in the current issue of Biological Psychiatry, from researchers led by Dr. Lucia Ciranna at University of Catania in Italy.

29 Nov 2012

ArmaGen closes $17M Series A financing

ArmaGen Technologies, Inc. today announced the closing of a $17 million Series A financing to support the development of brain-penetrating recombinant protein therapeutics.

29 Nov 2012

Yale and Mainz University Medical Center to extend collaboration

The University Medical Center at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany and the renowned School of Medicine at Yale University, USA have agreed upon a future collaboration. This strategic partnership promises to provide an innovative stimulus for the Research Unit Translational Neurosciences at the Mainz University Medical Center. The resulting regular exchange will benefit both basic research and the training of young researchers.

29 Nov 2012

Children of low socioeconomic status work harder to filter out irrelevant environmental information

Children of low socioeconomic status work harder to filter out irrelevant environmental information than those from a high-income background because of learned differences in what they pay attention to, according to new research published in the open access journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

29 Nov 2012

Air pollution exposure in early life linked to autism

Exposure to air pollution in early life or during pregnancy puts children at risk for autism, show study findings.

29 Nov 2012

Imaging window into future for brain injury patients

A model based on quantitative diffusion tensor imaging findings predicts outcomes after severe traumatic brain injury better than current methods, shows a multicenter study.

29 Nov 2012

PDE model identifies contaminants in water distribution networks

None of us want to experience events like the Camelford water pollution incident in Cornwall, England, in the late eighties, or more recently, the Crestwood, Illinois, water contamination episode in 2009 where accidental pollution of drinking water led to heart-wrenching consequences to consumers, including brain damage, high cancer risk, and even death. In the case of such catastrophes, it is important to have a method to identify and curtail contaminations immediately to minimize impact on the public.

29 Nov 2012

Study identifies risk factors associated with co-exposure to lead, mercury and PCBs

Nearly 23 percent of American women of childbearing age met or exceeded the median blood levels for all three environmental chemical pollutants - lead, mercury, and PCBs - tracked in an analysis of data on thousands of women by Brown University researchers.

29 Nov 2012

Suvorexant may bring help for people with insomnia

A new drug may bring help for people with insomnia, according to a study published in the November 28, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

29 Nov 2012

Microglia might play a key role in protecting brain from Alzheimer's

A new experimental study carried out in mice shows that microglia, immune cells of the brain, might play a key role in protecting the brain from Alzheimer's disease (AD).

29 Nov 2012

Answers to the questions of stem cells

Next week, more than 1,200 people from 25 countries are expected to attend the 8th Annual World Stem Cell Summit in West Palm Beach, Fla., a gathering co-sponsored by Mayo Clinic. As those close to the science explore potential stem cell applications, many patients have questions about what stem cells are and how they are being used. Timothy Nelson, M.D., Ph.D., director of Mayo Clinic's Regenerative Medicine Consult Service, answers some of the most commonly asked questions about stem cells.

29 Nov 2012

Reduction in myelin production may also play a role in development of mental illness

Reduced production of myelin, a type of protective nerve fiber that is lost in diseases like multiple sclerosis, may also play a role in the development of mental illness, according to researchers at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The study is published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

29 Nov 2012

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Engineers develop simple and inexpensive way to create 3-D brain tissues in lab dishes

Neuro-inflammation plays a crucial role in initiating prion disease

Cleveland Clinic researcher names American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow

German Research Foundation to establish new CRC at Mainz University Medical Center

UBE3B gene linked to brain development disorder in children

Novel SIRT2 inhibitor protects against neuronal damage in animal models of Huntington's

Scientists define key underlying process implicated in multiple sclerosis

Alberta Children's Hospital performs first liver cell transplant in Calgary, Canada

LP-211 compound shows promise against Fragile X syndrome

ArmaGen closes $17M Series A financing

Yale and Mainz University Medical Center to extend collaboration

Children of low socioeconomic status work harder to filter out irrelevant environmental information

Air pollution exposure in early life linked to autism

Imaging window into future for brain injury patients

PDE model identifies contaminants in water distribution networks

Study identifies risk factors associated with co-exposure to lead, mercury and PCBs

Suvorexant may bring help for people with insomnia

Microglia might play a key role in protecting brain from Alzheimer's

Answers to the questions of stem cells

Reduction in myelin production may also play a role in development of mental illness

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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