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New research finding raises questions about common mutant forms of JC polyomavirus

The JC polyomavirus is clearly opportunistic. It infects half the population but lethally destroys brain tissue only in immunocompromised patients - and it may be outright sneaky, too. Even as a new research paper allays fears that common mutant forms of the virus are the ones directly responsible for the disease's main attack, that same finding raises new questions about what the mutants are doing instead.

14 Jun 2013

Researchers find way to differentiate iPSCs into mature human neurons in the brain

Difficult-to-study diseases such as Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, and autism now can be probed more safely and effectively thanks to an innovative new method for obtaining mature brain cells called neurons from reprogrammed skin cells. According to Gong Chen, the Verne M. Willaman Chair in Life Sciences and professor of biology at Penn State University and the leader of the research team, "the most exciting part of this research is that it offers the promise of direct disease modeling, allowing for the creation, in a Petri dish, of mature human neurons that behave a lot like neurons that grow naturally in the human brain."

10 Jun 2013

Scientists pinpoint genetic traits of cells that give rise to gliomas

A multi-institutional team of researchers have pinpointed the genetic traits of the cells that give rise to gliomas - the most common form of malignant brain cancer. The findings, which appear in the journal Cell Reports, provide scientists with rich new potential set of targets to treat the disease.

4 Jun 2013

Isaiah J. Fidler earns 2013 American Cancer Society Medal of Honor for Basic Research

When Isaiah J. Fidler, D.V.M., Ph.D., left his veterinary surgical practice to pursue a doctorate that would allow him to study and combat the lethal spread of cancer to other organs, he got lots of advice. The common message: Don't go there.

30 May 2013

Scientists reexamine gene strongly linked to Alzheimer's disease

Scientists' picture of how a gene strongly linked to Alzheimer's disease harms the brain may have to be revised, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found. People with harmful forms of the APOE gene have up to 12 times the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease compared with those who have other variations of the gene.

8 May 2013

Complex network of molecules controls formation and activity of neuronal connections

Environment moulds behaviour - and not just that of people in society, but also at the microscopic level. This is because, for their function, neurons are dependent on the cell environment, the so-termed extracellular matrix.

7 May 2013

Researchers identify genetic mutation linked to a typical form of migraine

A research team led by a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at the University of California, San Francisco has identified a genetic mutation that is strongly associated with a typical form of migraine.

2 May 2013

New methods to evaluate how astrocytes contribute to brain function

A study in The Journal of General Physiology presents new methods to evaluate how astrocytes contribute to brain function, paving the way for future exploration of these important brain cells at unprecedented levels of detail.

30 Apr 2013

Astrocytes more effective in promoting recovery after brain injury

The production of a certain kind of brain cell that had been considered an impediment to healing may actually be needed to staunch bleeding and promote repair after a stroke or head trauma, researchers at Duke Medicine report.

25 Apr 2013

New research reveals how acute stress primes brain for improved performance

Overworked and stressed out? Look on the bright side. Some stress is good for you. "You always think about stress as a really bad thing, but it's not," said Daniela Kaufer, associate professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley.

17 Apr 2013

Study provides detail on cellular-level effects of anesthetics on developing brain in newborn mouse

Exposure to the anesthetic agent isoflurane increases "programmed cell death" of specific types of cells in the newborn mouse brain, reports a study in the April issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.

9 Apr 2013

Study applying OPKO Health's technology to identify synthetic peptoid in NMO patient serum published

OPKO Health, Inc. today announced the publication of a study applying its novel library screening technology to identify a synthetic peptoid that binds to anti-Aquaporin 4 antibodies in the serum of patients with Neuromyelitis optica.

6 Apr 2013

Salk neuroscientist applauds launch of BRAIN Initiative

Salk neuroscientist Terrence J. Sejnowski joined President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., on April 2, 2013, at the launch of the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative-a major Administration neuroscience effort that advances and builds upon collaborative scientific work by leading brain researchers such as Salk's own Sejnowski.

3 Apr 2013

Environmental enrichment increases endogenous cell migration, facilitates functional repair

A team of Korean researchers investigated whether "environmental enrichment" can improve the neurobehavioral function of six week-old mice after transplantation of adipose-derived stem cells to treat hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, and found that brain repair (neurogenesis) was aided in some animals through exercise-induced fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), a strong pro-angiogenic factor.

28 Mar 2013

Cleveland Clinic receives $1.97M NIMH grant for innovative autism research

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has awarded $1.97 million for innovative autism research to Bruce Trapp, Ph.D., Chairman of Neurosciences at Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute.

26 Feb 2013

Researchers use familial and sporadic patient-derived iPSCs to model Alzheimer's disease

Working with a group from Nagasaki University, a research group at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA) at Japan's Kyoto University has announced in the Feb. 21 online publication of Cell Stem Cell has successfully modeled Alzheimer's disease (AD) using both familial and sporadic patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and revealed stress phenotypes and differential drug responsiveness associated with intracellular amyloid beta oligomers in AD neurons and astrocytes.

21 Feb 2013

Abnormal TDP-43 protein causes death of astrocytes in motor neurone disease

A discovery using stem cells from a patient with motor neurone disease could help research into treatments for the condition. The study used a patient's skin cells to create motor neurons - nerve cells that control muscle activity - and the cells that support them called astrocytes.

13 Feb 2013

Researchers identify an exceptional mouse model of schizophrenia

Researchers at the Institute for Comprehensive Medical Science, Fujita Health University and the National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Japan, along with colleagues from 9 other institutions, have identified an exceptional mouse model of schizophrenia.

7 Feb 2013

Study identifies how astrocytes regulate a neurotransmitter involved in sleep

Neuroscience researchers from Tufts University have found that our star-shaped brain cells, called astrocytes, may be responsible for the rapid improvement in mood in depressed patients after acute sleep deprivation. This in vivo study, published in the current issue of Translational Psychiatry, identified how astrocytes regulate a neurotransmitter involved in sleep.

23 Jan 2013

Biophysical Society Annual Meeting to highlight innovations in medicine, physics, and more

Honeybee silk-inspired materials; a deconstruction of the Ebola virus; how microbes evolve resistance to antibiotics; and a possible connection between Alzheimer's disease and type II diabetes are just some of the intriguing topics that will be presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society (BPS).

22 Jan 2013