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'Junk' DNA mutations highly significant in autism and stroke

Non-coding DNA, junk DNA, genetic dark matter – these are all names for the 98% of DNA that doesn’t directly code for proteins but is crucial in regulating protein synthesis. This is now the focus of a large new study published in the journal Nature Genetics.

25 Jul 2019

Fungus used in traditional medicine could slow neuron loss in ALS

A Chinese caterpillar fungus that is used in traditional Chinese medicine has been found to minimize motor neuron loss in mice models of ALS.

25 Jul 2019

Molecule inhibits toxic protein accumulation in Parkinson's disease model

Parkinson's disease often begins with small tremors. Over time symptoms worsen. Tremors become shakes and stiffness takes the body hostage.

25 Jul 2019

Nanoparticles foster regenerative healing process after spinal cord injury

Paralyzing damage in spinal cord injury is often caused by the zealous immune response to the injury. NIBIB-funded engineers have developed nanoparticles that lure immune cells away from the spinal cord, allowing regeneration that restored spinal cord function in mice.

25 Jul 2019

Researchers explore stem cells for answers to how fragile X syndrome develops

The lab of Yongchao Ma, PhD, from Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, discovered how the genetic defect in fragile X syndrome – a type of autism – delays production of neurons (nerve cells) at a critical time in the embryo's brain development.

24 Jul 2019

Brain protein mutation from an autistic person alters behavior in mice

A de novo gene mutation that encodes a brain protein in a child with autism has been placed into the brains of mice.

24 Jul 2019

Gene mutation in the brain of autism patients alters behaviors in mice

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has a wide range of possible causes, including genetics and environmental factors. Now, a new study suggests that a brain protein mutation may shed light on the mechanism of neurological and developmental illness.

23 Jul 2019

Altered protein and mutated clusters of genes in Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis and treatment has been a challenge and this is mainly due to the varying degrees of degeneration and cognitive damage seen in different patients. The researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine for the first time used the transcriptome to assess the proteins made from the genes in patients with AD, that could help in diagnosis.

23 Jul 2019

Study finds hidden dynamics in neuronal networks

Neuronal networks in the brain can process information particularly well when they are close to a critical point - or so brain researchers had assumed based on theoretical considerations.

23 Jul 2019

Exosomes can restore health to brain cells affected by developmental disease

Like overpacked suitcases unloaded from the underbelly of a jet, molecular satchels called exosomes are continuously deployed from all cells in the body—each one brimming with an assortment of contents that another cell may unpack and use.

23 Jul 2019

Mosquitoes change their hunting routines in response to host cues

Scientists have found that mosquitoes are changing their hunting routines in response to host cues. For example, in Africa, mosquitoes now recognize when people emerge from bednets in the morning and have begun hunting more often during the day than at night.

23 Jul 2019

Virginia Tech graduate student wins NIH award to map unexplored area of the brain

As you read this article, your eyes are capturing light and your brain is decoding it into tangible fragments of information - things like colors, edges, words, and ideas.

22 Jul 2019

Intestinal microbes may affect course of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have shown in mice that intestinal microbes, collectively termed the gut microbiome, may affect the course of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

22 Jul 2019

UTSA researchers remove newborn neurons to reduce seizures in mice

Epileptic seizures happen in one of every 10 people who have experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, new research at The University of Texas at San Antonio has uncovered an innovative approach to possibly slow the progression of epilepsy.

22 Jul 2019

Using zebrafish to discover and identify new drugs to treat spinal cord lesions

A research team led by Leonor Saúde, Principal Investigator at Instituto de Medicina Molecular, in partnership with the company Technophage, SA, has designed a simple and efficient platform that uses zebrafish to discover and identify new drugs to treat spinal cord lesions.

22 Jul 2019

Aging nerve cells fail to take out the intracellular "trash"

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, have found that with age the neurons or nerve cells fail to perform an activity that they could when they were younger. The team explains that normal cells take out protein and other “trash” or “garbage” through a process of autophagy. This rids the cell of the dysfunctional proteins and aggregates of unused proteins.

22 Jul 2019