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.

New study investigates how healthy individuals and schizophrenia patients interpret their visual worlds

Healthy individuals possess an intact ability to distinguish between events that occur as a result of their own actions and events that occur as the result of someone else's.

20 Jun 2005

Researchers advance understanding of how the brain sorts physical sensations

On the basis of observations of how we interpret the sensation of a simple finger-tap, researchers have advanced our understanding of how the brain sorts important, externally-derived sensations, such as those created by an insect crawling on the skin, from unimportant, internally-derived sensations, such as the brush of one's own hand.

20 Jun 2005

Enzyme family plays role in Alzheimer's

The route to a treatment for Alzheimer's disease may have become more straightforward with the discovery that a key enzyme known to have a major role in this disease is in fact part of a family of enzymes. Only some family members play a role in the progression of this brain-wasting illness, new research at the University of Toronto has found.

20 Jun 2005

Fragile-X-syndrome research

The fragile-X-syndrome is the most common hereditary form of mental retardation and occurs much more often in boys than in girls.

20 Jun 2005

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is an effective, longlasting treatment for small kidney tumors in selected patients

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have shown that radiofrequency ablation (RFA) - a minimally invasive way of destroying tissue - is an effective, longlasting treatment for small kidney tumors in selected patients.

20 Jun 2005

Australian researchers at the forefront of an international project to identify genes associated with schizophrenia

University of Queensland researchers are at the forefront of an international project to identify genes associated with schizophrenia, a common mental illness whose causes are not fully understood.

20 Jun 2005

Harmless bacterium can sometimes trigger outbreaks of life-threatening meningitis

Reporting in the June 20 issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine, a group of scientists in Paris, France led by Colin Tinsley may have discovered how a normally harmless bacterium can sometimes trigger outbreaks of life-threatening meningitis.

20 Jun 2005

Fruit juice, regular exercise, clean teeth and a drink in moderation, all help prevent Alzheimer's

According to a new report, drinking fruit juice, getting regular exercise and brushing your teeth could all help prevent Alzheimer's.

20 Jun 2005

Fish only good for expectant mums if mercury level is low

For years medical experts have argued, as fish can be harmful as well as healthy, and what advice to give people, particularly pregnant women, about how much is safe to eat.

20 Jun 2005

U.S. agriculture officials anxiously await mad cow results

After a series of conflicting test results in the U.S., last week a sample of brain matter from a cow suspected of having been infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, was delivered to a British government-run veterinary laboratory in Weybridge, Surrey.

20 Jun 2005

Studies show Alzheimer's prevented by drinking juice daily and having the occasional alcoholic drink

At a conference in the U.S. on Alzheimer's disease on June 19, researchers said that they think brain scans and simple blood tests may offer the best ways to predict who has the highest risk of Alzheimer's disease.

20 Jun 2005

Brain size and intelligence are related

People with bigger brains are smarter than their smaller-brained counterparts, according to a study conducted by a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher published in the journal "Intelligence."

19 Jun 2005

First demonstration that reduced metabolic activity in the hippocampus may be used to help predict future Alzheimer's disease

New York University School of Medicine researchers have developed a brain scan-based computer program that quickly and accurately measures metabolic activity in a key region of the brain affected in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

19 Jun 2005

Arterial spin labeling distinguishes between Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia

A non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique called arterial spin labeling is just as accurate as invasive scanning techniques in distinguishing Alzheimer's disease from frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in the brains of elderly people, according to a new study at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC).

19 Jun 2005

Most common form of lung cancer may begin in a group of newly isolated lung stem cells

Working in a mouse model, the researchers isolated a novel type of lung cell that can divide into fresh copies of itself and into the two more specialized kinds of cells deep in the lung.

16 Jun 2005

Columbia University launches multi-year campaign to support stem cell researc

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) has announced that it is halfway toward realizing the first phase of a multi-year campaign to build upon the university’s groundbreaking stem cell research and lead the effort to fully realize the therapeutic potential of stem cells.

16 Jun 2005

Neurocrine Biosciences issued new U.S. patent

Neurocrine Biosciences announced today the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 6,903,106 covering a novel polymorphic form (different crystal structure) of its proprietary compound indiplon for the treatment of insomnia.

16 Jun 2005

Hydroxyurea may prevent complications such as organ damage and stunted growth in treatment of sickle cell disease

Treating babies who have sickle cell disease (SCD) with oral liquid hydroxyurea appears to prevent the onset of long-term complications triggered by this disease, according to results of a preliminary study by investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

16 Jun 2005

Schiavo finally laid to rest

Hopefully autopsy findings released today will finally allow Terri Schiavo to be laid to rest.

16 Jun 2005

USDA still not coming clean on reasons for new mad cow tests

The U.S. Agriculture Department's inspector general is still not coming clean on why new tests were ordered unexpectedly on brain tissue from a cow declared free of mad cow disease seven months ago.

16 Jun 2005

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

New study investigates how healthy individuals and schizophrenia patients interpret their visual worlds

Researchers advance understanding of how the brain sorts physical sensations

Enzyme family plays role in Alzheimer's

Fragile-X-syndrome research

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is an effective, longlasting treatment for small kidney tumors in selected patients

Australian researchers at the forefront of an international project to identify genes associated with schizophrenia

Harmless bacterium can sometimes trigger outbreaks of life-threatening meningitis

Fruit juice, regular exercise, clean teeth and a drink in moderation, all help prevent Alzheimer's

Fish only good for expectant mums if mercury level is low

U.S. agriculture officials anxiously await mad cow results

Studies show Alzheimer's prevented by drinking juice daily and having the occasional alcoholic drink

Brain size and intelligence are related

First demonstration that reduced metabolic activity in the hippocampus may be used to help predict future Alzheimer's disease

Arterial spin labeling distinguishes between Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia

Most common form of lung cancer may begin in a group of newly isolated lung stem cells

Columbia University launches multi-year campaign to support stem cell researc

Neurocrine Biosciences issued new U.S. patent

Hydroxyurea may prevent complications such as organ damage and stunted growth in treatment of sickle cell disease

Schiavo finally laid to rest

USDA still not coming clean on reasons for new mad cow tests

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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