Neurons News and Research

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Newly developed light-sensing protein restores vision in blind mice

A newly developed light-sensing protein called the MCO1 opsin restores vision in blind mice when attached to retina bipolar cells using gene therapy.

22 Oct 2020

Brain metabolic changes associated with loss of smell in COVID-19

A recent study detailed in a preprint paper published in medRxiv, researchers from Belgium, discuss how they investigated possible central nervous system (CNS) involvement in COVID-19 patients with a sudden loss of smell using a hybrid positron emission tomography (PET)-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system (PET-MR).

21 Oct 2020

Study unravels consequences of mating at the molecular level

While it is known that stem cells have the ability to develop into all tissues in a precisely regulated process, the way environmental cues affect stem cell behavior has remained poorly understood.

21 Oct 2020

Research elucidates molecular mechanism behind learning and memory function

The long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) of the strength of hippocampal excitatory synapse involved in learning and memory formation in brain have been separately explained, but the molecular mechanism that comprehensively explains them has not been elucidated.

21 Oct 2020

Time-keeping brain protein regulates memory

Upsetting the brain’s timekeeping can cause cognitive impairments, like when jetlag makes you feel foggy and forgetful.

21 Oct 2020

Study shows SARS-CoV-2 uses a receptor to efficiently infect human cells

To efficiently infect human cells, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is able to use a receptor called Neuropilin-1, which is very abundant in many human tissues including the respiratory tract, blood vessels and neurons.

21 Oct 2020

University of Surrey professor proposes new theory of consciousness

Electromagnetic energy in the brain enables brain matter to create our consciousness and our ability to be aware and think, according to a new theory developed by Professor Johnjoe McFadden from the University of Surrey.

20 Oct 2020

Researchers study the role of cannabinoids in learning

Cannabinoids have a strong influence on how our brains work and how we behave. Many people are only aware of the recreational aspect of cannabinoids.

20 Oct 2020

Study: Localization of neurons is adapted to successful hunting sequence in zebrafish

Spotting, pursuing and catching prey - for many animals this is an essential task for survival. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology now show in zebrafish that the localization of neurons in the midbrain is adapted to a successful hunting sequence.

20 Oct 2020

Researchers discover gene that may help the body sense a full urinary bladder

In a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study involving both mice and patients who are part of an NIH Clinical Center trial, researchers discovered that a gene, called PIEZO2, may be responsible for the powerful urge to urinate that we normally feel several times a day. The

19 Oct 2020

New method makes the superficial white matter visible in the living human brain

Traditionally, neuroscience regards the brain as being made up of two basic tissue types. Billions of neurons make up the grey matter, forming a thin layer on the brain's surface.

19 Oct 2020

Tracing lineage to demonstrate direct astrocyte-to-neuron conversion in mouse brain

Regeneration of functional new neurons to repair injured human brain is a long-term unsolved problem up till today.

16 Oct 2020

Experimental ALS drug shows potential to prolong patient survival

An experimental medication that was recently shown to slow the progression of the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, has now demonstrated the potential to also prolong patient survival.

16 Oct 2020

Scientists receive £265,000 to investigate link between vascular dementia and heart disease

Scientists from the University of Sheffield and University of Manchester have been awarded £265,000 from the British Heart Foundation, to investigate the links between vascular dementia and heart disease, and test whether a drug currently used to treat arthritis could also be used as a treatment for vascular dementia.

16 Oct 2020

Researchers discover mechanism that regulates neocortical dendrite development

The research group of Takao Kohno (Nagoya City University) and Mitsuharu Hattori (Nagoya City University), Takahiko Kawasaki (National Institute of Genetics), and Kazunori Nakajima (Keio University School of Medicine) found a new mechanism by which superficial neurons correctly develop their dendrites.

16 Oct 2020

Researchers discover a new way to isolate critical neurons in zebrafish

By exposing larval zebrafish to a well-known optical illusion, researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology and National Institute of Genetics in Japan have found a clever way to isolate key clusters of neurons critical to processing the direction of motion in the zebrafish's environment.

16 Oct 2020