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.

Eat a good diet and exercise to live longer

The traditional prescriptions for a healthy life sensible diet, exercise and weight control extend life by reducing signaling through a specific pathway in the brain, according to Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers who discovered the connection while studying long-lived mice.

20 Jul 2007

Critical link found between two proteins found in brain tumors

MIT researchers have identified a critical link between two proteins found in brain tumors, a discovery that could eventually help treat a form of brain cancer that kills 99 percent of patients.

20 Jul 2007

Clue to preventing Alzheimer's found in Vindaloo

A new study by researchers in the United States has found during laboratory tests that tumeric, a spice used in curries may offer protection against Alzheimer's disease.

19 Jul 2007

Lubert Stryer wins National Medal of Science

Neurobiologist Lubert Stryer, MD, of the Stanford University School of Medicine, will receive the nation's highest scientific honor, the National Medal of Science, for his achievements in a wide range of fields that included the development of a DNA chip used in genetics.

19 Jul 2007

Affiris alzheimer's vaccine in clinical trial

The Alzheimer's vaccine known as Affitope AD01 from Affiris has now entered the clinical phase of its development. All relevant regulatory and statutory approvals have been secured and this innovative treatment is now being tested on humans for the first time.

19 Jul 2007

RNA essential for survival of mature neurons

There are lots of things that brain cells need to survive. Add to that list microRNAs.

19 Jul 2007

Neurons help find what your are looking for!

A person searching for a ripe tomato at the grocery store is more likely to notice apples, strawberries and other red fruits as well, according to a new study that measured changes in blood flow in the brain.

19 Jul 2007

New study explains placebo effect

Why do some people experience a “placebo effect” that makes them feel better when they receive a sham treatment they believe to be real — while other people don't respond at all to the same thing, or even feel worse?

19 Jul 2007

New approach for restless legs syndrome

Scientists at deCODE genetics ( NASDAQ:DCGN ) in collaboration with colleagues from Emory University today report the discovery of the first variant in the sequence of the human genome ever linked to risk of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) and Periodic Limb Movements (PLMs).

19 Jul 2007

Researchers pinpoint brain region linked to placebo effect

Researchers have pinpointed a brain region central to the machinery of the placebo effect, the often controversial phenomenon in which a person's belief in the efficacy of a treatment such as a painkilling drug influences its effect.

19 Jul 2007

Researchers identify gene-regulating protein in the brain that triggers ability to cope with

Researchers have identified a gene-regulating protein in the brains of mice that triggers the animals' ability to cope with the "behavioral despair" caused by inescapable stress.

19 Jul 2007

Plumber protein uses different tools to turn on genes

St. Jude investigators have discovered how a single molecular "on switch" triggers gene activity that might cause effects ranging from learning and memory capabilities to glucose production in the liver.

18 Jul 2007

Potential dangers of Ritalin

Use of the attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drug Ritalin by young children may cause long-term changes in the developing brain, suggests a new study of very young rats by a research team at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.

18 Jul 2007